Making A Better Place: Planning, Implementing, & Managing a Student Volunteer Program

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to provide Make A Better Place (MABP) with an outline of the essential components for planning, implementing, and managing a student volunteer program; strategic issues pivotal to using college students as service providers for youth clients will be addressed. Recommendations will be made for steps MABP should take towards developing a replicable, model student volunteer program. The information contained in this report is based on a review of current volunteer management literature, trends in student voluntarism on university campuses, and the relevant practices of select volunteer based organizations: Court Appointed Special Advocates of Lane County (CASA), Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), Committed Partners for Youth (CPY), and the University of Oregon Office of Community Internships. These organizations were chosen based on their proximity to the University of Oregon, where this research was conducted, and because they are good examples of organizations using volunteers as primary service providers to youth. This report is also relevant for other arts and culture organizations that, like MABP, are 1) searching for ways to expand the reach of programs and services, 2) have limited resources, and 3) have never had a formal volunteer program or involved volunteers as primary service providers. The principles of volunteer management applied herein to MABP can be applied by any organization to any volunteer population.