As we read the newspapers each day, stories describe avian flu cases in countries such as China and Turkey. While these cases seem to be located far away from American shores, American professionals have watched it coming closer and began to pose the question, ‘When will it reach America and how will we respond?’ The next question should be how will the US nonprofit community respond?
The closest thing that planners have to compare a possible US avian flu pandemic is the 1918 Great Flu Epidemic that left approximately 40 million people dead. It is estimated that the Great Flu Epidemic killed more people than were killed during World War I. Experts have also determined that a pandemic of the same proportions today would kill more people than die each year from heart disease, cancers, strokes, chronic pulmonary disease, AIDS, and Alzheimer’s combined.
This presents an extraordinary problem for the volunteer management community. If a pandemic were to hit the US, how would the nonprofit community continue to serve its clients? Further still, if community, government and business activities were temporarily suspended to contain further transmission of disease, how can volunteer management professionals tap into a large, relatively idle workforce to address a significant community issue without putting volunteers in harm’s way? During the 1918 epidemic, volunteers, mostly women, served as drivers, office-help, nurses’ aides, and distributed food and clothing. Yet given what is known today about disease transmission, agencies must given continual thought to the safety of its volunteer corps.
Preparing for a disaster that may or may not impact an organization can be a difficult task. The unknown variables can be many. To begin the planning process, an agency needs input from many individuals, as all staff members, clients, and volunteers will be affected. Discussions should include how staff will respond, safety issues, and whether services to clients can feasibly continue in such an environment. Also, consider what messages your organization will need to convey regarding service delivery and response efforts to your clients and the general public.
Next, thought should be given to how volunteers will be able to continue to help your organization fulfill its mission. Organizations who deliver meals to elderly or shut-ins may be able to continue services as meals can be left on the doorstep with no contact between volunteers and clients. Potentially, volunteers could be asked to complete small assembly projects such as creating supply packs or medical kits for the public. Yet questions remain as to how supplies could be distributed with potentially limited transportation and an avoidance of group distribution situations.
The most obvious way to utilize this vast potential volunteer resource is through virtual volunteering. Public health emergencies have the potential to create great fear in the community. However, volunteers can be recruited and trained to provide information about the situation, medically based information about pandemics and the flu and the reasons behind preventative health measures such as masks. Volunteers can also provide on-line volunteer coordination efforts to direct teams to provide a myriad of services, such as, information searches, directing small group projects, creating documents and information sharing efforts such as posting information to community websites and bulletin boards, to name a few. Volunteers are key to providing information prior to an event. Speakers Bureaus, public health fairs and marketing campaigns are effective ways for volunteers to provide information to the public prior to an event.
Organizations should also assess their ability and resources needed to possibly increase client services. For example, organizations that deliver meals to the elderly would probably find their requests for services increase as more people became sick and unable to care for themselves. Food pantries would also see an increase as travel outside of neighborhoods becomes limited. Every organization is different so every response will be different.
Lastly, as with any response effort, planning needs to address registration and deployment processes for spontaneous volunteers who will show up at sites such as hospitals and agencies wanting to help. Again, decisions need to be made as to how staff will handle safety issues for themselves, clients and volunteers. Obviously, rubber gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer will be basic items that everyone will need to protect themselves. But are these items that you will be able to purchase when everyone else needs them, too?
For VPMs, even a brief discussion of a possible public health emergency raises significant issues that present more questions than solutions. While I have tried to present a framework to begin thinking through the possibilities, I definitely do not want to cause alarm, simply stimulate consideration for the impact of possible future events.