Recommended Guidelines for Public Health Safety Procedures Related to Volunteers and Nonprofit Organizations

This document is intended to provide guidance for Heart of Illinois United Way’s (HOIUW) nonprofit community partners and their student and community volunteers in order to encourage personal and public safety during COVID-19 pandemic response. HOIUW does not dictate the specific safety policies and procedures that nonprofit community partners have in place, but we do ask that nonprofits and volunteers comply with appropriate local, state, and federal public health and safety guidelines before engaging in volunteerism. The following considerations are shared to help keep you safe so you can help others, and so we all get through this crisis together. Our primary goals are to protect the community including:

  • Volunteers
  • Agency Clients
  • Employees of Nonprofit Organizations and Schools

 

Volunteers and Nonprofit Partner Considerations:

  • Continue to consider ways to engage remotely and virtually, including through direct services, behind-the-scenes support, research projects, or advocacy. HOIUW is happy to help you brainstorm volunteer project ideas that would be appropriate for you, your team, or organization. We recommend in-person volunteerism only for services that cannot be delivered remotely. When volunteering in-person, please consider outdoor opportunities or indoor work with appropriate physical distancing.
  • Seek the latest COVID-19 guidance, regulations, and orders from local, state, and federal health authorities. This includes guidance about what services are open/operating, group/gathering size, physical distancing, face coverings, hand washing, sanitation, and the use of barriers and availability of other personal protective equipment (PPE). Make sure you are responsive to any changes in local, state, and federal public health and safety guidelines, and check guidelines on a regular basis and prior to any volunteer events.
  • Ensure up-to-date contact information is shared with nonprofit partners and volunteers so you can communicate in advance about questions and policies/procedures. Sharing information is also important for future contact tracing in the event that nonprofit employee, agency client, or volunteer tests positive for COVID-19. Volunteers and nonprofit organizations should contact each other if they or employees/clients of the nonprofit organization develop symptoms of COVID-19 within 14 days of volunteering so other volunteers, staff, clients, or community members can be contacted.
  • Be flexible and understanding. Volunteer and organization circumstances may change leading to cancellations. Do not proceed with volunteer activities without first confirming support is needed and expected.           

 

Nonprofit Partner Considerations:

  • Comply to local, state, and federal public health and safety guidelines by communicating your policies and procedures to volunteers in advance such as if volunteers will be required to use appropriate PPE and implementing physical-distancing measures from volunteer arrival to dismissal. Consider offering isolation space in case anyone arrives with symptoms.
  • Have a written health screening process in place for volunteers, which might include questions such as whether they have a fever, whether they have experienced other symptoms of COVID-19, whether they have been around others with COVID-19, and whether they have traveled outside the country, state or to large metropolitan areas within the last 14 days. You may also wish to advise volunteers who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, or volunteers that are in close-contact with someone at higher risk, not to volunteer for in-person activities at this time.
  • Make sure all volunteers understand any risks associated with in-person volunteering and the task you would like them to do; understand if they are not comfortable with the level of risk.
  • Collect contact information from your on-site, in-person volunteers in the event future contact tracing is needed.
  • Send home any volunteers who do not meet screening criteria or do not comply with safety policies and procedures established by your organization. Thank them for their willingness to help and make them aware of ways to support your organization remotely or offer to keep their contact information on file for future in-person volunteer opportunities when normal operations can resume. Have a policy in place for when and how a sick volunteer can return to in-person service.
  • Provide formal training for volunteers virtually through a conference call or online presentation. Include current COVID-19 procedures in your volunteer training, as well as other policies volunteers need to be aware of (such as background check requirements, privacy and confidentiality considerations, social media policies, and timekeeping and communication expectations for long-term volunteers).
  • Recruiting individual volunteers or teams of 10 or less people is highly encouraged, utilizing multiple shifts to accommodate larger groups, until further notice. Set minimum and maximum age limits on your volunteer needs.
  • Review your volunteer waiver forms to ensure that it will cover any risks that may arise during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you do not have a volunteer release form, now is the time to put one in place for all volunteers. HOIUW can provide you with a sample volunteer waiver form.
  • Post information in your facilities with best practices, physical distancing, hand washing, etc., check local, state, and federal websites for public health and safety guidelines and recommendations.

 

Volunteer Considerations:

  • Refrain from volunteering if you are feeling ill and/or have chronic health conditions (or are in constant, direct contact with someone who has chronic health conditions).
  • Refrain from in-person volunteering or remote team-based volunteering, regardless of having symptoms, if you have traveled outside the country, state, or to large metropolitan areas within the last 14 days, or have been in contact with someone in the last 14 days who has been diagnosed or suspected of having COVID-19.
  • Ask about any risk that may be associated with the task or in-person volunteering at the organization and do not take part if you are uncomfortable with the level of risk.
  • Comply to nonprofit policies/procedures and any local, state, and federal public health and safety guidelines including wearing of PPE as appropriate and maintain physical distancing by not gathering in groups.
  • Arrive for your volunteer shift early to allow for additional health screenings and please sign-in at the agency while providing your contact information should future contact tracing be needed.

 

Additional Resources:

Illinois Department of Public Health
https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/data/surveillance.html

Local Health Departments
https://www.pcchd.org/289/COVID-19-Coronavirus
https://tazewell-county-illinois-coronavirus-response-1-tazewellcounty.hub.arcgis.com/
http://www.woodfordhealth.org/595/COVID-19---Coronavirus

 

Questions or Concerns

Should you have other questions or concerns about these guidelines, please contact Gina Edwards, VP of Marketing and Community Engagement at 309-674-5181, ext. 1234 or via email at gina.edwards@local.unitedway.org.