International Year of Volunteers 2001
	Volunteers at Face to Face International
	Volunteers of the Month
	Volunteer Assistance to Face to Face Campaign Partners

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers (IYV 2001). IYV 2001 sought to achieve four goals: recognition of volunteers and volunteer action, promotion of volunteerism, facilitation of volunteer opportunities, and enhanced networking opportunities.

To mark the conclusion of this important year, the United Nations General Assembly passed Recommendations on Support for Volunteering in time for International Volunteer Day on December 5th. This resolution called on governments to encourage voluntary activities through such activities as implementing public awareness campaigns, building public-private partnerships, measuring the impact of volunteerism on society, and incorporating volunteerism into national development planning. The resolution also suggested ways for the United Nations system to boost its support of volunteer activities globally.

During IYV 2001, Face to Face International launched its Volunteer Program under the direction of Katie Gibson and with a grant from a Face to Face campaign donor.

Face to Face International initiated a Volunteer Program in our office in New York City in July 2001, coinciding with the United Nations’ International Year of Volunteers (IYV 2001).

From the outset, we realized that volunteers could offer valuable skills to Face to Face – that they could give us their talents, not just their time. The goals of this program are to tap volunteers’ unique skills to raise awareness of Face to Face International, build organization capacity, and increase Face to Face Campaign program reach and effectiveness.

In October 2001, we launched an initial five-week volunteer recruitment drive to retain volunteers in seven specific areas: Internet/Research, Writing, Public Relations, Design, Video Distribution, Translation, Library/Archiving. This recruitment effort met with great success. We received 80 volunteer applications and recruited 29 volunteers, each with a particular skill set useful to Face to Face.

These Face to Face volunteers completed a wide variety of projects in 2001. The projects included translating materials for our web site, designing a volunteer management database, conducting corporate fundraising research, and writing and editing articles for our newsletter.

The early success of our Volunteer Program can be partly attributed to Katie Gibson, Face to Face International’s Volunteer Manager. Ms. Gibson is a Harvard University graduate with a degree in Social Anthropology. Previously, she worked with not-for-profit organizations in a range of capacities, including community organizing and volunteer management. She reported, “Face to Face volunteers offer an incredible range of skills and a wide diversity of experiences. I am constantly amazed by their enthusiasm and their dedication.”

Volunteer

Each month we recognize one or more Face to Face Campaign volunteers for their outstanding contribution. Below are profiles of two of our Volunteers of the Month.


Rachel Sobel

Rachel Sobel is a science writer for U.S. News and World Report. She welcomed the chance to help out after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, September 11, 2001. Rachel wrote for Face to Face a well-researched and balanced account of the potential maternal and fetal health impacts of the fallout from the two collapsed towers. Face to Face distributed the piece in pamphlet form to clinics and hospitals throughout New York City. Ms. Sobel noted that during a time when everyone wanted to help out, it meant a lot to her to be able to apply her particular skills to providing some relief.


Wendy Chamberlain

Wendy Chamberlain is a database designer and manager for a union in New York City. She offered to create a Volunteer Management database to assist Face to Face in recruiting and tracking volunteers. She said, “The big difference between volunteering for Face to Face and volunteering for other organizations is that I am doing something I am skilled at. I am bringing to them a skill that not everyone has.”

Volunteer

In the coming months, Face to Face will begin offering our volunteers’ talents to helping Face to Face Campaign Partners around the world.

Face to Face volunteers have already begun translating Face to Face campaign promotional materials into the languages of Campaign Partner organizations. In the future, they will help translate the population assistance-related materials of our Campaign Partners into English for wider distribution. In addition, direct assistance will include qualitative and quantitative Campaign issue-related research.


Volunteer