VOLUNTEER MANAGER BANNED!

Job title to be banned?

Don J Volau

The Irish Gazette


"Irish parliamentarians will debate a motion on whether to ban the title “Volunteer Manager” for those who manage volunteer programs and are salaried. In a motion sponsored by the Liberty Party it will be argued that the title ‘Volunteer Manager” is misleading unless its “owner” is unpaid and is “truly a volunteer”.

Trevor Fryar, Liberty Party spokesman for the third sector told the Gazette that he felt that he had been hoodwinked for years and that change was needed. “I’ve met several people at conferences and even social gatherings over the years who have informed me that they were Volunteer Managers. I’ve always told them that I thought they were so noble and were a credit to their communities” the senator said.

However, an event four months ago came as a huge shock to the senator and led to his course of action in parliament. “ I was at a function recognising volunteers where this chap introduced himself as a Volunteer Manager. As is my want I congratulated him on his nobleness and asked how long he’d been volunteering for. When he informed me that he was paid I burst out laughing thinking he was joking but the serious expression on his face didn’t change.” The senator says he did some research and discovered that there were other so called “volunteer managers” out there who were paid.

The Liberty party says that it wants to introduce legislation to state that anyone using the title “volunteer manager” must in fact be a volunteer. A government spokesperson refused to comment and no volunteer manager could be found to comment."


The above story is complete fiction! I made this up and sent it to some colleagues on April fool’s day this year on April 1st. 90% of them believed the story. Which is a little bit of a reflection on the issues we face in volunteer management perhaps.

So my mischievous prank taught me a lot. It taught me that we truly believe that our titles may have some negative connotations. It taught me that we are not really surprised when such ridiculous controversial moments arise!

Some of my colleagues have warned me to be aware next year! Revenge is a dish best served cold.