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There are a range of measures you can use to persuade people that volunteering is important, both for society<br />
and for themselves. In terms of societal benefit, you just need to refer back to the types of issues discussed in the<br />
Raising Awareness section. In terms of personal benefit, you could point out that the experience they gain might<br />
well improve their job chances. For example, those doing environmental volunteering may end up with positions<br />
within the Parks departments. 119<br />
You need also to convey that volunteering can be fun/social. Examples have included:<br />
• a jazz concert to end the day of volunteering (part of which involved a park clean-up), as done by the<br />
Baltimore branch of national non-profit Rebuilding Together;<br />
• concentrating volunteering into four weekend sessions to create a sense of importance/urgency and the<br />
opportunity to meet lots of people, as done by the Friends of Cass Park in Detroit, 120 and<br />
• clean-up efforts followed by drinks in a local bar, as with Get Trashed on Tuesdays run by Hampden<br />
Community Council in Baltimore (participation grew considerably when the evening shifted away from<br />
Friday).<br />
Figure 4.7: Serious Leisure – you need to make sure volunteering has an element of fun<br />
Some tired but happy youth volunteers get ready for a group cookout and reflection after finishing the clean-up of a play-lot and community garden<br />
planting in a southwest Detroit neighborhood. The day was coordinated by the non-profit Urban Neighborhoods Initiative and partners as their<br />
contribution to Global Youth Service Day.<br />
(source: Dennis Nordmoe, Urban Neighborhoods Initiative, Detroit)<br />
119<br />
A 2013 report by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Volunteering as a Pathway for Employment, found that volunteering can increase employment<br />
prospects by helping job seekers learn new skills, expand their networks, and take on leadership roles. Volunteers, it found, have a 27 percent higher chance of finding a<br />
job after being out of work than non-volunteers.<br />
120<br />
Evidence of the work can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/cass.park.7.<br />
Raising Help | 158