EXPECTATIONS & COMMITMENTS

ESC volunteers have a deep commitment to public service and to building a better quality of life for everyone in our communities.  As people who have successfully served in long-time leadership roles in their careers, they come to us looking to apply their expertise and knowledge to make positive change for organizations and people in need. As professionals seeking to apply years of experience and expertise, our volunteers have high expectations for themselves and for ESC.

Mutual Expectations

What ESC expects from you:

What you can expect from ESC:

  • A minimum of 20 years of professional and managerial experience in your career field

  • Ability to commit significant time and effort to client projects

  • Eagerness to learn new skills and deepen existing ones

  • Active participation in our renowned training and professional development program

  • Openness to different cultures, new people, and new experiences
  • Personally and professionally rewarding service opportunities
  • An impact that you can see – an impact that makes a difference
  • A professional framework that will sustain your work and your ongoing learning
  • New friendships with volunteer colleagues who share your dedication
  • Enthusiastic support from your fellow volunteers and the ESC staff

Time Commitments

Volunteering with ESC is a significant commitment.  If you become an ESC volunteer, you are committing your time, talents and energy – and ESC is committing to support, train, and utilize you. While ESC is always flexible and responsive to every volunteer’s individual needs and schedules, what we do – and how we do it – does require a time commitment.  This commitment will vary from project to project and depend on your availability and desires.

Most ESC volunteers are individuals who have the ability to adapt their schedules to maximize their opportunities to serve clients. Historically, many ESC volunteers have been retired from their professional careers, and are looking for a way to put all that they have learned and done to use in an important way. Today, ESC also has volunteers who are still working, but able to dedicate time from their schedules and some who are retired but still work in some capacity.

Most client work happens during the traditional 9-5 work week.  And almost all of our services to clients are provided “on-site” – our volunteer consultants do most of their work either at a client’s location or from home.

Training & Professional Development

All incoming volunteers are required to participate in a short series of mandatory orientation and training workshops, held at several times during the year at the ESC offices in the Loop.  These courses introduce you to various aspects of ESC and how we operate.

Throughout their time with ESC, all volunteers are strongly encouraged to participate in the ongoing series of workshops and other professional development/continuing education opportunities provided throughout the year.  Led by our volunteer faculty, these workshops and other sessions help us deepen our skills in areas from strategic planning to marketing or fund development, as well as keep us current on trends and needs in the nonprofit sector and gain new insights and skills.

Priority Skills & Interests

One of the ways that ESC responds to our clients’ evolving needs is recruiting volunteers who have certain experience or abilities.  At present, some of the “value-added” skills and interests particularly sought in new volunteers include:

  • Knowledge of current issues and strategies, especially in marketing communications, instructional design, fund development and financial management
  • Bilingual fluency, especially in Spanish

Getting Started!

If this sounds like a volunteering opportunity in which you might be interested, we would be happy to arrange a personal interview so we can get to know one another.

To request more information, please contact us.