The Ethical Volunteer: Key Concepts and Guidelines

Engaging on Site

• Importance of Education, Orientation, and Training

  • Vital for enhancing the volunteer experience
  • Deepens knowledge and facilitates better communication
  • Provides tangible understanding of community issues

• Challenges of Academic Perspectives

  • Can be harmful if not applied sensitively within communities
  • Example: Wearing program shirts with sensitive messages can send unintended messages to community members

• Mitigating Harm

  • Focus on treating people as individuals
  • Build authentic relationships and engage in genuine conversations
  • Emphasize humility and recognize privilege

Social Media and Volunteering

• The Role of Social Media

  • Commonplace to share experiences, but can be harmful in volunteer contexts
  • Risk of dehumanizing and demoralizing communities through posts

• Responsibilities of Volunteers

  • Individually

    • Assess the intent behind social media posts
    • Consider the impact on the communities involved
    • Avoid perpetuating stereotypes or "single stories"

  • Programmatically

    • Leaders must critically assess promotional materials
    • Avoid perpetuating the savior complex
    • Focus on empowering communities to tell their own stories

Ethical Storytelling Guidelines

• Disrupt Single Stories

  • Challenge followers’ preconceived notions through storytelling

• Commitment to Organizations

  • Stay engaged with organizations post-volunteering via their social media
  • Advocate for their causes

• Be a Witness

  • Use personal platforms to amplify community voices
  • Support community messages and organizations after volunteering

Conclusion

• The ethical approach to volunteering requires reflection on the impact of actions and narratives, both in-person and online. Volunteers are encouraged to build genuine relationships, exercise humility, and use social media responsibly to support and uplift community voices.