Return to Table of Contents / Previous Article

IMPACT


Resources

Publications

  • Utilizing All Your Resources: Individuals With and Without Disabilities Volunteering Together (1996). This manual discusses strategies for enabling individuals with and without disabilities to volunteer together in their communities for fun and civic service. Topics covered include recruiting, training, liability for, challenges of, and coordinating volunteers. Available from Publications Office, Institute for Community Inclusion, Children’s Hospital, Boston • 617/355-6506 (voice), 617)/355-6956 (TTY). Order #RES1.
  • Boards of the Future!: A Participatory Guide for Building Inclusive Board Membership (1999). By Burdett, C., Hartnett, J., Lacroix, D., and Richards, J. These manuals were created to accompany (and assist facilitators in leading) workshops on inclusion of persons with disabilities on organizational boards. Boards of the Future is a learning tool for all types of decision-making groups, and is meant to develop a collaborative leadership environment within the workshop and on boards. Available from Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council, Waterbury • 802/241-2612 (voice/TTY), 888/317-2006 (voice/TTY).
  • Not Another Board Meeting! Guides to Building Inclusive Decision-Making Groups (1994). By Gobel, S. & Flynn, J. A very useful tool for self-advocates, support persons, and board members seeking to include persons with disabilities in decision-making groups such as organizational boards. It includes separate materials suitable for making overhead transparencies for training for each group separately or all together. Very accessible format, with people-first language. Available from the Oregon Developmental Disabilities Council, Attn. Jill Flynn, Salem • 503/945-9941.
  • People First of Washington Officer Handbook. This handbook can be used to teach people with developmental disabilities about the basics of board membership. Includes explanations of the typical officer roles on a board, simplified Robert’s Rules of Order, and other essential information. Available from People First of Washington, Clarkson • 800/758-1123.
  • Leadership Plus (1995). By Hoffman, M. Three very helpful manuals to support leadership by persons with disabilities. The participant manual assists people with developmental disabilities to develop and initiate their leadership, self-advocacy, and self-determination skills (including much on board participation). The facilitator’s manual assists facilitators to take people with disabilities through the Participant Manual. “I Make a Motion Too” is a brochure-like guide that assists in the understanding and inclusion of the roles of people with disabilities on public boards and committees. Materials are suitable for making into overhead transparencies, and include activities and role playing suggestions. Available from Tulsa ARC, Tulsa, Oklahoma • 918/582-8272.

Web Sites/Listservs

  • The Virtual Volunteering Project (http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/). The purpose of the project, which is based at the University of Texas, is to encourage and assist in the development and success of volunteer activities that can be completed, in whole or part, over the Internet. It recognizes that many people desire volunteer activities they can complete from their homes, and that use of the Internet opens up additional volunteer options. Included in the site is information on the benefits of online volunteering for persons with disabilities, strategies for recruiting and involving people with disabilities in online volunteering programs, and personal stories of individuals with disabilities who have been virtual volunteers.
  • Internet Nonprofit Center Web Site (http://www.nonprofits.org). This Web site includes a listing of resources entitled “Organizations That Promote Volunteering by Persons with Disabilities.” The list includes links to the Web sites of the organizations and descriptions of what they offer.
  • Service and Inclusion: A Multi-media Resource for Inclusive Community Service (http://www.serviceandinclusion.org). This Web site documents the active participation of people with disabilities in community service through national service programs including AmeriCorps, National Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America. The content is meant to encourage and support the participation of persons with disabilities in national service programs, while offering resources to organizations seeking to increase the involvement of persons with disabilities in community service. Included in the site are excerpts from interviews with individuals with disabilities who have participated in national service programs; they talk about what they have contributed and gained, and offer advice to programs seeking to successfully include people with disabilities. Also included are links to disability resources and national service programs, as well as a glossary of disability and national service terms.
  • National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Web site (http://www.servicelearning.org). This Web site has a section on service learning and individuals with disabilities that lists publications and organizations offering information on service learning and youth with disabilities.
  • Texas Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service Web Site (http://www.onestarfoundation.org/). The Web site has materials designed for AmeriCorps programs seeking to include members with disabilities, and of use to other organizations involved in community service and volunteerism. Among the materials are fact sheets on “Including Members with Disabilities in Your Service Program: Recommendations for Developing a Recruiting and Application Process That is Accessible to Persons with All Types of Disabilities,” “Interviewing Persons With Disabilities,” “Practical Suggestions for Recruiting Members with Disabilities,” and “Identifying Essential Job Functions.” The site also includes links to other resources the support fostering diversity in volunteer and service programs.
  • Disabilitylist Listserv. This listserv has been created to facilitate communication among national service programs, providing a forum for programs to share information and resources and to discuss issues related to the sustainable development of national service experiences for persons with disabilities. The list is open to anyone interested in the topic area. To subscribe go to http://lyris.etr.org/scripts/lyris.pl?enter=disabilitylist.
  • VolunteerMatch.org. This Web site is dedicated to helping everyone find a great place to volunteer. Volunteers enter their ZIP code on the Web site to find volunteer opportunities posted by nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations in their area. Volunteer-Match Corporate is a customized, co-branded version of Volunteer-Match licensed to corporations to make it easier for employees to volunteer. Information about both is found on the Web site.
  • National Service Resource Center Web site (www.etr.org/nsrc). The NSRC operates a resource library with a wide range of resources for programs funded by the Corporation for National Service. The library catalog can be accessed online. Among the items available for borrowing from the library are “Activity Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities” by Helen Lowery (#C1203) and “Youth Volunteer Corps: Training Manual for Working with Youth Volunteers Who Have Disabilities” by White, Froehlich, and Knight (#C1202).
  • Questions and Answers From the Access: Opening the Doors Conference (www.nationalservice.org/resources/cross/index.html). Responses to questions concerning legal responsibilities, reasonable accommodations, program accessibility, disability funds, member compensation, and recruitment as they relate to including people with disabilities in national service.


Top

Return to Table of Contents / Previous Article


Resources: Resources and Related ICI Publications

__________

Citation: Shoultz, B., Miller, E.E., & Ness, J. (2001). Impact: Feature Issue on Volunteerism by Persons with Developmental Disabilities, 14(2) [online]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration. Available from http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/142/.

__________

Hard copies of Impact are available from the Publications Office of the Institute on Community Integration. The first copy of this issue is free; additional copies are $4 each. You can request copies by phone at 612-624-4512 or E-mail at icipub@umn.edu, or you can fax or mail us an order form. See our listing of other issues of Impact for more information.

The print design version (PDF, 448K, 28 pp.) of this issue of Impact is also available for free, complete with the color layout and photographs. This version looks the most like the newsletter as it was printed.

College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator.