The authors explain that volunteers are vitally important to our national infrastructure, providing much needed services and support in multi-faceted ways. Over 90 million people volunteer more than 20 billion hours of their time every year. However, in order to engage volunteers and keep them interested in providing much needed services, organizations that rely on volunteers need to run volunteer programs effectively. According to the authors, there are three key elements to running an effective volunteer program: screening, training, and ongoing management and support. This handbook discusses each of these elements in order to facilitate the effective and successful implementation of volunteer programs across the country. According to the authors, successful volunteer programs begin with the selection of volunteers. It is of vital importance that volunteers are appropriately matched to the task at hand. Some of the issues to consider when recruiting volunteers are the safety of those receiving services and the level of skill offered by the volunteer. A second element of effective volunteer programs involves the training of volunteers. The authors explain that when volunteers are well prepared for the job at hand, they are more likely to stay longer and perform their duties more effectively. Finally, the ongoing management and support of volunteers ensures that volunteer programs offer quality services and engage the full support of volunteers. 42 Endnotes