Since the start of the health alert, most of the direct intervention carried out by companies and social entities through volunteering has been stopped or digitized. "Online action is possible, even optimal in certain scenarios, but it cannot replace the physical proximity between people and its beneficial effects in certain actions," explains Juan Ángel Poyatos, founder and director of Voluntare.
In this sense, the guide takes into account the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare of the Government of Spain. And, in addition, the peculiarities associated with volunteer activities: phases, common spaces, use of tools, etc. In this way, it becomes a tool for volunteer managers in designing the development of actions. Finally, it includes two other documents specifically intended for volunteers and beneficiaries of the action.
The 'Specific Recommendations for Volunteers' are a handy summary that guides the safety protocol and provides individual behavior guidelines. Its purpose is that it be distributed in the training prior to carrying out the activity that the volunteers receive.
For its part, the document in easy-to-read format for beneficiaries is an adaptation that allows people with reading difficulties to read and understand it. It is estimated that around 30% of the population, for physical, psychological or social reasons, has difficulties using reading as a vehicle of communication. For this reason, the easy-to-read criteria established in 1997 have been followed, which define the basic guidelines for preparing and editing these texts.
- Collaborative guide
The document has been prepared by a Voluntare working group in which representatives from Atresmedia, the Spanish Red Cross, the Adecco Foundation, the Sustainable Life Foundation and GN Environment have participated. The exchange of experiences and points of view has produced a useful document for managers of volunteer activities both in companies and in social entities in the gradual recovery of face-to-face actions.
Voluntare, the largest network for the promotion of Spanish-speaking corporate volunteering, with almost a hundred members, between companies and social entities in Spain and Latin America, thus fulfills its objective. In this case, through the dynamism of collaboration among its members, to generate and disseminate knowledge that contributes to the extension, innovation, improvement and impact of corporate volunteering.
