In the anonymous world of cyberspace, Netizens are discovering a human face to the Internet – and making a difference.
An emerging phenomenon of the e-revolution, virtual volunteerism has slowly been catching on with Internet users, non-profit groups and other organizations.
There are no statistics yet on the number of virtual volunteers. However, about 6.5 million Canadians (or 27 per cent of the population) 15 or older volunteered during 2000, according to Statistics Canada’s national survey about volunteerism. That’s down from 7.5 million volunteers in 1997. But with the explosion of the online population, virtual volunteerism offers a promising remedy to the decline of volunteers in the real world. The number of active Internet users* worldwide skyrocketed from an estimated 95.4 million people in 1998 to 445.9 million in 2001, according to eMarketer, a provider of Internet statistics.
“It’s certainly not yet more popular than in-house volunteering, but I think it’s definitely emerging as a trend,” says Maggie Leithead, president of CharityVillage Ltd. (www.charityvillage.com), an online source of information, news, jobs, services and resources for the Canadian non-profit community. “I think it’s a great way just to involve more people in the organization.”
Others see virtual volunteerism as a way to help close the gap between the haves and have-nots in the access and use of information technology.
“I think from an organizational perspective, it can help with the digital divide because if you get non-profits that don’t have the latest technology, or the people and the skills to do it, then using something like a virtual volunteer . . . you can access the skills of some very talented people anywhere in the world,” says Randy Tyler, webmaster and volunteer co-ordinator at Winnipeg-based Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a 72-year-old charity and United Way member agency which provides treatment and support services for youth and families. “Virtual volunteers have the skills, the software and hardware that can do many complex tasks for non-profits and charities to greatly increase their productivity and efficiency.”
As one of the key pioneers of virtual volunteerism in Canada, Tyler started recruiting, screening and working with virtual volunteers for MYS (www.mys.mb.ca) in 1998. He has since worked with about 200 virtual volunteers, even handing out recognition awards for their hundreds of hours of service last year. Virtual volunteers for MYS help with anything from tutoring foster care children online to creating databases and newsletters.
Cost is not a barrier to virtual volunteerism, either for the organization or the volunteer.
“You don’t need the latest technology to do this . . . as long as you have a dialed-up connection, a computer and an e-mail account,” Tyler says.
Many non-profit workers and virtual volunteers also say that it makes volunteering accessible for people with physical disabilities, time constraints and those who live in remote communities.
“I can set my own schedule, work on my free time and conveniently right at my own home. . . . my volunteer work has not been limited by physical locations,” says Augustus Lo, a computer programmer from Hong Kong who helps Canada-based MYS do research online and maintains their Web pages.
Many non-profit organizations are also logging on for virtual help.
Volunteer Canada (www.volunteer.ca) – which supports research, training, programs and projects that encourage volunteering – is increasingly using the Internet and e-mail to work with its committees, advisory groups and volunteers.
“Virtual volunteerism has allowed us to access a wealth of knowledge and expertise that we might not otherwise been able to given the size of the country. In a cost effective way, it’s helped us achieve our mission of being the national voice in volunteerism,” says Ruth MacKenzie, manager of special programs at Volunteer Canada, which runs the Volunteer Opportunities Exchange (www.voe-reb.org), a website containing on-site and virtual volunteer postings.
Despite the benefits of virtual volunteerism, it’s still a new and intimidating concept for some.
“I think the face-to-face volunteering is still where most of us are working in and is easier for us to understand,” says Kay Larsen, who works in volunteer and membership development at Oxfam Canada (www.oxfam.ca), a non-profit international development organization.
She says virtual volunteerism may not give volunteers the frequent contact, recognition and feedback they deserve.
“Ultimately, volunteering is connecting people with each other, and I think virtual volunteering is losing that human element a little bit,” she says.
She adds virtual volunteerism may even increase the digital divide.
“If we rely too much on the Internet and e-mail to communicate with our volunteers, we might leave some people behind,” Larsen says.
Although some see the impersonal nature of the Internet as a setback to virtual volunteerism, others feel differently.
“I haven’t found that I’ve been isolated at all,” says Amanda Brown, a physiotherapist from Toronto who has been tutoring a 16-year-old boy online for MYS since 2000. “We use the instant messaging services. Once you get used to using it and chatting online, you’re able to communicate just as well as face-to-face.”
Brown adds that the online experience has been just as rewarding as on-site volunteering.
“I think you do make a connection definitely with the person. You hear feedback both from the person you’re tutoring and foster parents that you’re helping them and grades have improved.”
*Active Internet users are defined as people who spend at least one hour per week online.
