Fundraising Events and Canvassing for Charity can be Hazardous to Volunteers and Fundraising Professionals
Where would we be without volunteers? Volunteerism contributes to a kinder, more equitable and safer society, so it’s only fair that those who go out of their way to help others should be protected themselves, right?
Recently, a young man volunteering at a charity haunted house in St. John’s, NL was the victim of a terrifying verbal assault as he stood in costume on the street to promote the event. It may have been an unfortunate choice to provide to him a clown costume, considering the proliferation of ‘scary clown’ incidents this year, but he certainly didn’t deserve to be accosted when volunteering his time to help others!
The people who canvas door-to-door for various charities also put themselves at risk, along with those who volunteer in public spaces, whether they are looking for donations to a cause or simply offering information to passers-by. There are folks who react violently to any solicitation, putting at risk those who are only doing their job, whether as a fundraising professional or an unpaid volunteer.
If your organisation employs people, paid or unpaid, to interact with the public for the purpose of raising funds for or awareness of a particular cause, it is your responsibility to provide them a lone worker safety system. In some jurisdictions, you are required to develop, implement and maintain a safety policy, program, practices and procedures appropriate to your volunteers and fundraising professionals.
Invest in OK Alone for easy-to-use, no-fuss lone worker safety systems
While you are probably in complete agreement that your volunteers and fundraising professionals deserve protection, you need to do so economically – charitable organisations can’t afford to spend the money collected without due regard for both donors and the intended recipients.
Fortunately, Ok Alone has an affordable solution. Our lone worker monitoring system is easy for volunteers to learn and use, adaptable to your specific needs, and very effective.
We offer a free trial, so that you can really experience the benefits of our lone worker protection system at no risk.
Ensure the protection of your volunteers and keep your charitable organisation’s fundraising costs down, so that you can do more good. Contact us to learn more about safeguarding volunteers and fundraising professionals.
The Ok Alone team writes informative articles about lone working. Through our articles, we aim to educate readers on the benefits and best practices of using our lone worker app, and how Ok Alone can help mitigate risks and enhance communication between workers and monitors. Learn about other areas including legislation, risk management, and legal compliance plus lone worker features such as man down, high-risk check ins and location monitoring.