Guest Post by Mila Sanchez

It’s easy to think about volunteering in places like hospitals, food banks, schools, and animal humane societies, but some places that are commonly overlooked [and could really use volunteers] are prisons.

You’ve gotten to know Roger well over the past 6 months. Without fail, he’s shown up every week to volunteer his time at your nonprofit organization. And never once has he shown up without a cup of coffee in his hand. You know that his favorite coffee spot is just down the street from your office.

Each year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issues a report on volunteer rates in the United States.

This report tells us a lot. We can learn the total percentage of the population that has volunteered over the past year (from September – September). We can see which age groups and races volunteer the most, and whether men or women are more likely to volunteer. We can see if employment status, education level, marital status and more have an effect on volunteering.

Guest post by Ermina Veljacic

Employee disengagement can prevent your business from reaching success. According to a Gallup survey in 2011, approximately 71 percent of American employees are disengaged at work, and 19 percent are actively disengaged. This lack of employee engagement is alarming, and it negatively impacts your business.

The Gallup report also showed that organizations with high employee engagement have 3.9 times the growth rate for earnings per share than other companies with lower engagement in the same industry. Many in the business world consider employee disengagement one of the top three business threats. The good news? Employee volunteer programs can easily increase employee engagement.

Our country takes great pride in the role volunteering has played in our history. We believe that volunteers are virtuous, kind and essential to the health of our society. It is why the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, for instance, is celebrated as a national Day of Service. We are a country that loves volunteering.

As a small business, finding ways to engage your employees is important. For example, chefs from your local restaurant may volunteer together at a soup kitchen to strengthen their relationships as a team and with the community. Or, perhaps your dog daycare’s employees enjoy spending time working together at your town’s shelter.

Dylan volunteering in Boston, Mass.

This post should really be called: “How I learned more about my community and humanity once I stepped outside my college classroom.” You see, going to college in the heart of a city has an abundance of advantages, and many students are quick to take a big gulp of all the opportunities presented by the fast-paced, busy, and unique city landscape.

Updated June 29, 2016

It’s more than just another acronym for you to remember. Volunteer Time Off (VTO) policies are a quickly growing trend among businesses committed to authentic corporate social responsibility.

These companies provide a certain number of hours per year for employees to volunteer in the community – independent from the company-sponsored volunteer days and weeks of service. And just as these group programs show direct benefits for the employee, the company, and the community, businesses who institute VTO policies are finding they make a difference in a number of important ways.

Solutions by VolunteerMatch makes running an employee volunteer program easy. Learn more.

Next week is National Volunteer Week, and we hope you’ll join us and spend some time thinking about the significant role volunteers have played, and are still playing, in our country overall. In the days to come, we’re going to be focusing on volunteer engagement, recognition, inspiration and more. But first, let’s consider just how deeply volunteering is a part of who we are as a nation.

It’s a fact: Filmmakers insert products, messages and themes into their movies that influence the way we think and act. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though.