VOLUNTEERING

Role of Volunteers

Key areas for participation:

• Instruction and Training
• Supervision
• Counseling
• Assessment

Duties / work

• To advise, guide and assist the participants
• To provide young people with Record Books
• To maintain the operation of Award in a unit
• To keep records
• To liaise and coordinate activities in an area
• To ensure the safety and well-being of the participants
• To ensure the operation of the Award meets the International Guidelines and the standard of the Award are upheld.

Qualities / pre-requisites for an Adult Volunteer

• Business like: organised, systematic, goal oriented and prepared.
• Friendly: warm, empathetic, out-going, positive and friendly.
• Verbally Interactive: listens, accepts, probes questions and encourages.
• Stimulating: imaginative, stimulating, exciting, provocative, interesting and avoids dull routine.
• Individual Oriented: treats each individual as a unique learner.
• Multi-media Integrative: uses diverse media for visualisation, dramatisation, demonstration, and manipulation, reading and listening.

Volunteer management policy for NAA

Volunteers are an essential part of a successful Award Programme in any National Award Authority. Most of them work directly with the participants as Award assessors and group leaders, and provide support to the local and national Award office. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and responsible volunteers can make a huge impact in retaining and encouraging more young people to take part in the Award Programme.

Recognition of Volunteers

The National Award Authority presents adults involved in the Award, certificates in recognition of outstanding service to the Award. The success of the Award has depended largely on the extent to which people have helped with its organisation, development, promotion, operation, and assessment. Meritorious service of this nature can be acknowledged by the award of a certificate recording such recognition. Emphasis is on outstanding service over a significant period of time; the presentation of a certificate is never be regarded as automatic.

The minimum time involvement is normally be at least 3, 5 or 10 continuous years, though there may be exceptional cases when a shorter period of service would be worthy of recognition, or where breaks in service could be taken into account. The judgement of outstanding service is inevitably be subjective, but considerable involvement of an individual’s own free time to the undoubted benefit of a number of young people, is the basic criterion. Evidence is also required of positive advancement of the Award’s aims and philosophy. The person should have demonstrated superior efforts and initiatives during his or her period of involvement with the Award and is expected to have shown exceptional ability, reliability and results in one or more fields related to its operation.

How to take this ahead?

Sign up today. Please call up the national office (NAA) on +91 11 41087062 or email us at bivujit@dofe.in