Volunteers in the Public and Nonprofi t Sectors 117
Use of Volunteers
As funding has tightened, government agencies have come to rely on vol-
unteers as a way to deliver services and foster community involvement
(National Association of Counties, 2003; Rehnborg, 2005; Sanecki, 2000;
Scott, 2003). Volunteers are an attractive resource for agencies because
they cost little, can give detailed attention to people for whom paid employ-
ees do not always have the time, often provide specialized skills, provide an
expansion of staff in emergencies and peak load periods, enable agencies to
expand levels of service despite budgetary limitations, and are good for pub-
lic relations. Public agencies use volunteers to serve on task forces, oversee
and instruct in recreation programs, staff libraries, and serve as advocates
for community causes. They work as fi refi ghters, as police auxiliary offi cers,
as senior citizens center assistants, as park maintenance workers, as fi le clerks
and offi ce workers, in fi ngerprinting the public, as hospital and nursing home
attendants, in removing litter from highways and community clean - up cam-
paigns, as teaching assistants in school and correctional facilities, as activity
assistants for the developmentally and physically disabled, in reviewing
grants, in monitoring wetlands, and as museum guides. Volunteers also
participate in community programs such as public safety, services for the
homeless, AIDS prevention, and in programs addressing the health and
well - being of children (Brudney, 1999, Lane, 1995; National Association of
Counties, 2003; Rehnborg, 2005; Sanecki, 2000). At least 60 percent of state
parks use volunteers, and at least 39 percent of state agencies use volunteers
to assist in delivering services (Brudney & Kellough, 2000). In Alaska, vol-
unteer opportunities exist for archaeological assistants, backcountry rang-
ers, museum assistants, park caretakers, and natural history interpreters.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California created a cabinet - level
offi ce for volunteer management, whose secretary will play a role in disas-
ter - related planning and response efforts and coordinating volunteers at
disaster sites. This offi ce will also manage donations that fl ow into the state
for disaster relief (Steinhauer, 2008). In fi scal year 2005, the U.S. National
Park Service ’ s Volunteers - In - Parks program (VIP) used 137,000 volunteers
who contributed 5.2 million hours of service. The dollar value of their ser-
vices was $ 91.2 million (National Park Service, 2008). Examples of other
federal agencies that use volunteers are the Cooperative Extension Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Head Start programs, the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services ’ Older Americans Programs, the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of
Prisons, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Geological Survey, and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Brudney, 1999).
