November 11, 2009 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Charities, churches, and other civic organizations are failing to harness a potential army of volunteers — veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, says a new report.
The almost two million Americans who have served in those wars are interested in volunteering, but few have been asked, says the report, which was released to mark Veteran’s Day. In addition, it says charitable work would help them make the transition from war zones to home.
Based on a survey of 779 veterans, 69 percent say they have not been approached to donate their time, although 90 percent of them say they believe it is important to volunteer in some fashion.
It is the responsibility of the military and other government agencies to care for these veterans, “but it is also vital that communities across the country get involved and reach out to these returning warriors, survivors, and families,” writes Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the report.
Range of Interests
The report, All Volunteer Force: From Military to Civilian Service, was produced by Civic Enterprises, a public-policy consulting company in Washington. It says members of the military are interested in supporting a myriad of causes.
While assisting other veterans and their families was the most popular, the respondents also expressed interest in offering disaster relief, aiding at-risk youths and older Americans, and assisting environmental conservation.
The report notes that some steps are being taken to bolster veteran volunteers. For example, as part of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, the Corporation for National and Community Service started the Veterans Service Corps to recruit members of the military.
In addition, the retail company Target and VolunteerMatch announced today they would work together to help veterans find charitable-service opportunities and assist people who want to help charities that assist members of the military.
To build on these efforts, the report offers several recommendations. They include:
Urge charities to collaborate with cities like Norfolk, Va., where there is a large military presence, to work with veterans. Encourage churches, synagogues, and other religious organizations to promote veteran volunteers who are in their congregations. Recommend that the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation do more to educate “social entrepreneurs” about the needs of military personnel.
While agreeing that more veterans should be tapped for charitable activities, a volunteer-management expert advised nonprofit groups to be sensitive when approaching this population.
“Not every returning veteran is ready,” writes Susan J. Ellis, the president of a nonprofit consulting company in Philadelphia, in an e-mail message to The Chronicle. “Some may be dealing with huge life crises upon return home. Others may feel they’ve just done the ultimate ‘service’ and aren’t going to jump into another commitment.”
Ms. Ellis says a “one-size-fits-all volunteer recruitment campaign” won’t work but did encourage charities and others to consider military personnel a potential resource.
“It could be very valuable to remind all sorts of groups, especially faith communities and civic associations, that returning military personnel can feel invisible to their communities,” she says.
