Volunteers with Disabilities

There is a wonderful poem For Friends of the Handicapped which is comprised of a series of statements describing as "blessed" those who have patience, tolerance, respect, and understanding for those with various disabilities. Among these statements is the phrase:

    Blessed are you who asked for my help, for my greatest need is to be needed.

The need to be needed is a great need in all of us, but particularly in those who are constantly the recipients of help from others - these include the elderly, the disabled, orphans, and the poor.

Because of this need, one of the principles of AVS is:
"All efforts possible should be made for recipients of service to, in turn, become contributors of service to others."  

That principle derives from the belief that self-esteem is largely based on the balance of what we give and what we receive - to have self-esteem we must give more than we receive in the balance.

AVS thus seeks to help individual recipients of service:
    Have their needs addressed through volunteer service
    Maintain or even increase their self-esteem through:
     - Encouraging volunteer services which lead to their greater self-sufficiency
     - Having recipients of service work with those helping them, if possible
     - Providing opportunities for recipients of service to, in turn, serve others  

AVS has provided presentations to a number of groups for the disabled – the blind, those in wheelchairs, and others - about the value of volunteering for them - of how it gives them the opportunity to focus on their abilities rather than their disabilities, and to prove their abilities to themselves and others. It can also be a stepping stone for paid employment, since it is much more likely that an employee would take the risk of hiring someone who is disabled, upon the recommendation of an organization that has actually benefited from his/her abilities. From the perspective of organizations, the disabled are an important pool of potential volunteers. For this potential to become a reality, however, the volunteer opportunity must be accessible to the disabled – and placement must be based primarily on the person’s abilities, not his/her disabilities.
 

What, Who, Why and How
Rights and Responsibilities
Corporate Volunteering

Family Volunteering
Volunteers with Disabilities
Retired and Senior Volunteering

Virtual Volunteering
Schools, Service Institutions, and Municipalities