by Tim Sullivan
Over the years my spouse, Charlotte and I have had many amazing experiences with both travelers and hosts. Absolutely none of these encounters would have happened without volunteers. Today, every Servas country operates with only volunteers. There is not a single paid staff member anywhere. When you think of supporting a peace building nonprofit you will not find one that has a higher percentage of revenue going to supporting programing. I have no idea how many volunteers it takes to support a smooth running Servas worldwide, but in the US I have heard we have more than 100 active volunteers.
Charlotte and I started volunteering when our arms were twisted by Joanne Fergusson Cavenaugh to join the ranks of interviewers. Over time I became more involved with member services which has a terrific group of volunteers working behind the scenes. Next Joanne twisted my arm to run for the board. It took a year or two but here I am writing this article to twist your arm a bit. Volunteering for Servas is one small way Charlotte and I actively support peace building in a world that desperately needs organizations like Servas.
Both Servas International and US Servas currently have a variety of volunteer opportunities. US Servas needs candidates to run for the Board of Directors. This is a critical need for us, and we could use folks with skills in technology, leadership, and really just engaged creative people. The 1st question I often get asked is, what is the time commitment? The answer is for most board member, on average, less than 5 hours a week. If there is project work or an event coming up, it could be more in a week, but on average, it is less than 5 hours. Here is my invitation for you:
Please consider joining our Board Expectations Session (Zoom meeting) on Saturday September 6, 2025 10 am Pacific time. To attend, email us at Elections@usservas.org .
Other great ways to volunteer for US Servas are to help our member services, Open Doors newsletter, event coordination, or peace and justice teams. For more information or to sign up to volunteer for US Servas go to: https://www.usservas.org/Volunteering.
Last but not least Servas International (SI) is always looking for volunteers. There are many US Servas members who volunteer for SI, including Radha Radhakrishna, the current President, and several people on the technology committee. There is a current call out for volunteers to apply for leadership positions. You can find more information here: Call for Volunteers: Help Shape Servas International 2026–2028 | Servas International
If you would like to join our great team of volunteers, we would love to hear from you and we love that you are supporting peace building by being a member of Servas!
