Publisher's Synopsis
[Headline] A Comprehensive Program for Training America′s Invisible Workforce
Volunteers–skilled, sensitive, and filled with integrity, sincerity, and perseverance–are often a vital component to the success of any thriving service organization. Their tasks are at the very heart of the organization and communities they serve, yet most volunteers receive little or no formal training before their first assignment. Training Volunteers for Community Service is a much–needed manual for leaders who are charged with the task of training, and preserving, their organization′s most valuable asset . . . its volunteers.
Techniques presented in this manual are based on expertise gained over 25 years of training, managing, and retaining 12,000 volunteers at San Francisco′s Shanti, an internationally recognized provider of volunteer training and direct services to those with chronic and life–threatening illness. Sixteen program modules enable volunteer managers to train their volunteers to provide high quality, compassionate service while increasing volunteer retention. Comprehensive and flexible, Training Volunteers for Community Service is a step–by–step guide for creating a training program that is sourced in an understanding of volunteers′ primary motivations and offers trainees a uniquely rewarding training experience. The Trainer′s Guide and Participant′s Workbook provide methods for instructing volunteers in critical issues–such as listening and communication, psychosocial issues, the volunteer/client relationship, cultural diversity–and offers the tools and information agencies need to train, motivate, and retain volunteers.
"This eminently practical and highly comprehensive guide to training volunteers is an effective, thorough, and important program that enables committed volunteers to serve those in need with distinction. Each of the training exercises is carefully selected to teach skills, build community, and offer deeply rewarding life experiences to volunteers."
–Craig Franz, president, St. Mary′s College of California
"Any person involved in the training of volunteers will read, reread, and constantly refer to this text. Shanti has produced what will surely become the standard by which all subsequent books are measured. Well done!"
–Larry Drury, executive director, National Federation of Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers
WORKBOOK COPY
You are an invaluable asset to your service organization
Congratulations, you are one of the more than 100 million volunteers who are devoting their time and energy to work for America′s countless service organizations and nonprofit causes. Being a volunteer requires skill, sensitivity, perseverance, a specialized knowledge base, personal integrity, sincerity, and endurance.
Based on a proven program for training volunteers––Shanti′s highly regarded volunteer training program––this much–needed resource is your personal journal and hands–on workbook for developing the skills you need to become an effective volunteer and an invaluable asset to your service organization. A companion to the Training Volunteers for Community Service manual, this workbook is filled with useful worksheets, self–help tests, and journaling practices. The Training Volunteers for Community Service Participant′s Workbook will help you will learn how to:
[bullet list]
Enhance your communication skills
Feel more comfortable dealing with emotions
Become more sensitive to issues of cultural diversity
Find meaning in your volunteer work
Care for yourself and avoid volunteer burnout
Learn useful life skills while serving those in need with skill and compassion
Charles Garfield is founder of Shanti and the Shanti National Training Institute (SNTI). Dr. Garfield continues to lead workshops on the effective use of volunteers for community service throughout the U.S. and abroad. He the author of the best–selling Peak Performers: The New Heroes of American Business, Sometimes My Heart Goes Numb: Love and Caregiving in a Time of AIDS, and eight other books.
Carol Kleinmaier, an expert in training and volunteer management, is director of the Shanti National Training Institute. She developed the curriculum for SNTI′s volunteer training and volunteer management workshop and has participated in the training of more than 5,000 volunteers.
SOME ADDITIONAL MARKETING COPY
Training Volunteers for Community Service
It has been estimated that more than 100 million Americas volunteer their time and energy to work for myriad organizations and causes. They are America′s invisible workforce. Countless volunteers teach people to read, serve food in homeless shelters, clean beaches of debris, take school children on field trips, and visit people with AIDS. From the Red Cross, Sierra Club, and the American Cancer Society to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, churches and community organizations of many kinds, there are thousands of valuable programs that could not fulfill their mission without the hard work of dedicated volunteers. Yet it is not uncommon for volunteers to receive little or no formal training to prepare them for giving high quality service to clients and to their community.
In this valuable resource, two leaders from San Francisco′s Shanti––the pioneering model for peer counseling and support for people and their loved ones facing a wide variety of life challenging illnesses and conditions––offer a proven process for training volunteers based on Shanti′s highly regarded volunteer training program. Charles Garfield, the founder of Shanti, and Carol Kleinmaier, director of the Shanti National Training Institute have adapted their acclaimed training program to be an effective tool when used by any community service agency.
Training Volunteers for Community Service reflects the best practices in training design and includes vital information on creating a comprehensive program which can be customized to meet the specific needs of an organization. The manual outlines core modules that instruct volunteers in a variety of useful skills including how to develop practical communication skills, deal effectively with clinical issues, become culturally sensitive, avoid burnout and serve those in need effectively in a broad array of applications.
The training package includes an in–depth manual for staff and volunteer leaders to use when implementing training sessions and a hands–on workbook–with worksheets, self–tests, and journaling practices–written for volunteers. This comprehensive program offers the tools and the concepts a service agency needs to train, motivate, and retain volunteers.
