Hot Topics
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Hot Topic Is the Hot Topic
Submitted on 22Jan03 by Ivan Scheier, volunteerism consultant,
New Mexico USA
Throughout
my time in the field, I felt our most grievous failure
was disinclination to deal seriously and beneath the surface with
the real problems organized volunteerism does have. So, hurrah for
the hot topic! If it steps on some toes now and then,
maybe that just makes us even more real in a world where
there is indeed a lack of unanimity and
a foggy presence of superficiality.
Submitted on 15Jan03 by Sheila S. Pastore, Volunteer Coordinator,
California
I loved the article about United
Way (December 2002 Hot Topic) and its impact on volunteer centers
under its umbrella. It made me think about an issue I had not thought
about
before.
I did not
reply for the simple and common reason many of us volunteer coordinators
have: too busy, and happily so.
Submitted on 9Jan03 anonymously, Florida USA
I also appreciate Hot
Topics but sometimes it is hard to know how to respond to a hot topic
when
you
live in a "small pond". Unless the response is pretty generic
it could be hard to even give a response anonymously. I guess the
good thing is that many of the people I have told about Energizeinc.com
must be visiting the web site!
Submitted on 9Jan03 by Jayne Cravens, UN Volunteers program,
Germany
I get weary of the same topics over and over again at
conferences and online discussion groups for volunteer managers --
how to recruit,
and to retain, and how to thank. There are controversial issues
that need to be discussed! There are disagreements that need to be
aired!
And, for me, that's what the Hot Topic is for sometimes. There
seems to be no other forum, online for face-to-face, for provocative
topics,
other than e-volunteerism.com. I'd
rather have a tough question from Susan Ellis than, say, a funder,
or someone
who is hostile to volunteerism -- Susan confronts 'cause she cares.
Sometimes the Hot Topic changes my mind, sometimes it pushes me
to be even more of a believer in my alternative stand, but it always
makes me think. And often, even makes me inspired.
Submitted on 8Jan03 by Anne Hislop, Volunteer Development
Scotland, Scotland
I, like many others already posted, look
forward to the Hot Topic each month. Last month's was of particular
interest
and
was
highlighted
in training to stimulate discussion and thinking.
Submitted on 7Jan03 by Rob Jackson, RNIB, London, England
First off, as a man working in this field I love Miriam Leslie's
suggestion that by being a volunteering manager I may be reputed
to be a "queen of nice". I don't think anyone has ever
called me that, directly or by implication, before :-).
Like others, I look forward to the Hot Topic as a thought provoking
and challenging start to each month. The professional exchange
they encourage is vital to our continued development as a field
and enables spin off discussions on other forums such as listservs
and eGroups.
I would very much encourage people to step out of their comfort zones
and post responses and, if they feel strongly enough about an issue,
maybe even offer to write the Hot Topic themselves.
Submitted on 7Jan03 by Kristin Floyd, Webmaster, Energize, Inc.
Website
As Webmaster of the Energize site (and the interviewer in
this Hot Topic!),
I
thought
I’d
take a minute to respond to Hilary Robert’s concern
that we might screen the answers to the Hot Topic. Generally, I
am the one who reviews all the Hot Topic responses and I post them
before Susan has even had a chance to see them. There are three
instances in which I don’t immediately post the response:
-
The response needs some editing to make it easier to understand.
If I think the response needs clarification, I forward the response to Susan and see if she agrees. If she does, I send the response back to the individual for some editing. -
The response is off topic.
If I think the response is off the topic, I forward the response to Susan and see if she agrees. If she does, I send an explanation to the individual who posted the response and see if they want to revise their answer to better respond to the Hot Topic. -
The response is sent anonymously.
In general, our preference is not to accept anonymous posts. However, we realize that some subjects are indeed “hot” and being publicly identified may pose personal or political problems for the writer. So, we handle anonymous listings the same way as newspapers handle Letters to the Editor: We must know who is submitting the post, but we will honor a request for anonymity if the individual asks for it and if s/he explains the reason for it in the response. Even then, we reserve the right to limit the number of anonymous responses.
Submitted on 7Jan03 by Karen Patton, Coordinator of
Volunteer Services OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Illinois/USA
I agree
with Robin Albert's suggestion
regarding the topic of court
ordered "community service." It would truly
be a worthwhile issue to debate. Please consider it as a future
Hot Topic!
Submitted on 6Jan03 by Miriam Leslie, Volunteer Coordinator,
Kids Kottage Foundation,Alberta, Canada
I look forward to the Hot Topic. It stimulates
my thinking and is a helpful tool to me professionally.
I replied once and my response was posted.
I look forward to this year's topics and lively responses!
I also agree about managers of volunteers having the "queen of nice" reputation. Not a totally bad thing but it's wonderful to have a forum to address valid concerns and issues and to be helped to creative and practical solutions. Happy New Year!
Submitted on 6Jan03 by Robin Albert, Director, United
Way of the Greater Seacoast Volunteer Action Center, NH
I think
a discussion around court ordered "community
service" would
generate interesting debate. Even calling this type of community
restitution "community service" is an issue! Please excuse
me if it's been a hot topic before, and I'm just not remembering.
Submitted on 6Jan03 by Sue DeGolier, Past President
of Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration, Director
of Volunteer Services
at Ridgeview
Medical Center, Waconia, MN
I did not see the responses
to the hot topic last month, but I did appreciate the Q & A format in response
to what, aparently, was quite a discussion. One of my favorite sayings
is, "There
is wisdom in the council of many." Sometimes our thinking can
get very narrow minded -- especially if we surround ourselves with
people
who think just like we do! It is good to expose ourselves to new
ways of thinking about issues. I appreciate Susan because she is
direct -- You do not have to guess where she stands. I prefer that
to people who are two faced, seeming to agree with something, but
using various methods to attack. Thank you Susan for providing an
arena for discussion. I agree -- there is almost always more than
one way to look at any issue. Sometimes we will not agree -- we can
choose to respectfully disagree -- but hopefully that can be done
after airing the issues. Then all sides can at least understand why
the others think the way they do.
Submitted on 2Jan03 by Hillary Roberts, Director,
Project Linus, NJ,
Happy New Year, Susan and staff at Energize Inc.,
Last month's hot topic renewed my interest in returning to your website.
I found that particular hot topic timely and "spicy." A rare thing when we agree, however, it was immediately clear that the topic hit a nerve and will continue to be challenging for every Volunteer Center. As a result, I shared your website with several colleagues. It was the first time my post appeared on Hot Topics.
Frankly, I have found that the nonprofit community is so closely woven that even on an international exchange like Hot Topics, professionals are careful. Volunteer administrators wear many hats and clearly the postings emphasized how much "stepping on toes" plays a role in responses. I found your choice to make Hot Topics the "topic" indicative of how careful and professionally smart we all try to be.
In the past, I have sent posts, and they did not appear within the hot topic. In 2001 when I didn't agree with your perspective on IYV I was sent an email by your office privately. My post did not appear within the topic listing.
I was left then with the feeling that only "in agreement"
arguments were considered for publication. Today, I was left hopeful.
Susan replies:
Hillary and I exchanged e-mails after we received this. My message
to her was: "I am very concerned at your note that you have sent
posts which did not appear online. I assure you that we have never
edited anything for disagreement. Sometimes a posting is truly unclear
to us and we will then ask the person to please clarify before we
post. At any rate, I apologize if you felt censored in any way and
assure you that was never our intent. In fact, I'd like to use your
e-mail as a response this time."
The negative reaction from my staff to which Hillary referred occurred in 2001 and there is no way to track it down now. But she was willing to allow me to share this with everyone and said further: "As I said, today's hot topic post reminded me of my IYV experience and also gave me hope that criteria for replies have matured. Keep those hot topics comin'! Knowledge is power....and more often a source of pride."
Thanks for giving us another try, Hillary!
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