by Catherine Frank

The United Nations has named 2001 the International Year of the Volunteer.

In the United States, the group has challenged all Americans to commit to volunteering as a unifying force to build strong communities and to find new ways to empower and support volunteer services.

Unfortunately, this initiative has not received the kind of local or global attention that some "international years" have received, perhaps because it is more difficult to define exactly who volunteers and how to approach this issue.

As the sole paid staff member of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, a non-profit organization with a mission to protect the built and natural environment of our community, I have given some thought to the important role of volunteers in our organization and community.

I am the employee of volunteers who serve as the executives of the society's board, who set the group's long-range goals and who perform the work of various committees.

I am also the manager of volunteers who give their time daily to help with everything from answering phones and making photocopies to leading tours and acting as advocates for preservation. I have been on the job for less than a year, but I have learned that every year is one in which I must learn to manage and unleash the talents of volunteers, the most important resource of this or any organization.

My first year taught me the importance of building the most diverse possible volunteer population. Many of the daily volunteers at the Preservation Society have retired from other careers and other places. They bring the value of experience and a sense of history. Some excellent young people have found their way to the Horace Williams House, the society's headquarters. These young people have brought tremendous enthusiasm to some special research projects.

As this or other organizations move forward, it is important to find even more groups that want to be involved and that share values and a sense of mission. It is important and not always easy to make sure that everyone feels included so that organizations continue to grow and prove their worth to the community at large.

As one attempts to broaden the appeal and mission of an organization, it is important to remember that volunteers bring needs as well as talents to their work with a group. One of the biggest benefits of volunteering is to meet other people who share a passion.

The person who stands next to you at a community clean-up day may also want to join your book club or go out for a cup of coffee. Families may use volunteer opportunities as a way to spend time together and to meet other people who want to think globally and act locally. Managers of organizations must find ways to allow their volunteers to meet their own needs and fulfill their own dreams as they serve an organization or community.

Finally, organizations must learn to value every volunteer effort. Whether someone gives time to serve ice cream at a Fourth of July celebration, sticks labels on a newsletter, creates ideas for a fund-raiser or manages the finances for a revolving fund, every volunteer is serving the mission and meeting the goals of the group.

Every contribution of time and talent must be valued. I have learned how important it is to work alongside and talk to the person who is attaching labels. Often that person has already led a fund-raiser or has studied town-gown issues in another community and can offer important insights in addition to serving practical needs.

Instead of viewing volunteers as assistants and untrained staff, organizations must create an atmosphere in which everyone has the freedom and responsibility to solve problems. A volunteer is in a unique position. He or she does not have to please someone to make a living but chooses to give time. Organizations and staff must learn to value the volunteer who questions as well as the one who can take directions.

In 1988 George Bush, in his acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination, introduced to our national vocabulary the image of volunteers as a "thousand points of light." He explained in his inaugural address that "everyone who pitches in," from the student who tutors a classmate to the neighbor who makes sure that an elderly person has a hot meal, is one of these points of light. Bush wanted to mobilize committed people in an era when government funding for social programs was being cut.

At least one writer wondered whether a "thousand points of light" was any match for "millions of points of blight." Many of us feel that because we have less and less time left after work and household chores that we have little sparkle left to give to volunteering. It may seem that volunteering is only for those with money and leisure.

The Cultural Arts Group, an informal group of people connected with various arts organizations in and neighboring Orange County, hopes to organize a workshop to address the concerns both of the volunteer and of the "hiring" agency.

This group has a specific goal of encouraging a public view of the arts and hopes to create long-range goals for the arts in our community. Specifically, the group hopes to encourage organizations to open their doors to new kinds of volunteers and to encourage everyone in the community to find time to donate to a cause that stirs the passion or makes a difference.

Watch for more details and help us understand the needs and goals of volunteers in our community.

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Catherine Frank is executive director of the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill.