THE VOLUNTARY SERVANT

A seasoned event organizer offers insights into maximizing the efficacy of volunteer work in this manual.

With an MBA from Columbia University and three decades in the corporate world that culminated in a position as vice president of human resources for a Fortune 500 company, Evans has extensive experience in motivating and distributing responsibility among large groups of people in an organization. Following the death of his wife, he left corporate America, obtained a Ph.D. in psychology, and supported a range of community volunteer projects, from food banks to high school mentoring programs, in addition to service as the president of a local Rotary Club and organizer of an annual festival that celebrates the work of C.S. Lewis. In this volume, he blends his academic knowledge of human behavior with personal experiences and “real-life practices” to offer both volunteers and organizations insights into how “to do more good, more effectively, and have more fun while…doing it.” Divided into three parts, the book focuses first on “The Volunteer Self” and the ways in which individuals can identify work that complements their interests and talents. The section’s broad definition of volunteering includes religious and charity work and social and political advocacy. Perhaps most useful in this part are vignette “spotlights” that provide perspectives of individuals who found volunteer niches that fulfilled their own longings to make the world a better place as well as meeting community needs. These stories, ranging from recent retiree Rene, who helped coordinate a food bank during the height of 2020’s Covid-19 pandemic, to Stacy Smithers, who answered calls on a crisis intervention phone line for LGBTQ+ youth, provide poignant examples of the power that individual volunteers can have in changing people’s lives.

The book’s helpful second and third sections present best practices for volunteer teams and organizations, covering topics that include delegation of responsibilities; integrity and ethics; and the fostering of cooperation, with a particular emphasis on the value of “servant leaders.” Ultimately, Evans concludes, “high-functioning groups” embrace a democratic model that “supports mutual goal setting, problem-solving, decision-making, and critique,” while autocratic or laissez faire (“let everyone do what they want”) organizations are far less effective. Many chapters in all three sections conclude with specific “Action” ideas that volunteers and organizations can embrace to best ensure that their resources and time are not needlessly wasted on extraneous diversions and that encourage evaluation of individual and collective effectiveness. Discussion questions are similarly included for individual reflection or for organizations to discuss as part of a communal book reading. Particularly useful to organization leaders is a chapter on how to provide “mindful” feedback to volunteers that validates their work and motivates them to be team players. Though based on personal experience, the volume contains ample research and strong endnotes to substantiate its tips and strategies. An entire chapter is even dedicated to “implementing plans with participative action research.” An additional emphasis of the manual is on cultural competency. Multiple chapters pay careful attention to the dynamics of race, multiculturalism, gender, and sexuality. Though its sometimes mawkishly positive writing style that is peppered throughout with inspirational quotes and anecdotes may be too corny for some readers, the book balances these maudlin excesses with pragmatic, evidence-based advice.

An engaging, well-researched guide to volunteering.