A Christian missionary organisation, the Voluntary Missionary Movement (VMM) has experienced an unprecedented rise in the number of volunteers, after changing its recruitment tactics. Defying the trend experienced by other charities, the numbers contacting the group surged during the economic boom.
In the past nine years, the number of volunteer professionals placed by the group went from four to 90, each of whom commit to a minimum of a one-year stay.
CEO Vincent Barry attributed the turnaround to a switch in the group's recruiting ethos. ''Most of it was the way we judged people: people would ring up and we would ask them about their religious observance and they were put off.'' Dr Barry said a simple change on the organisation's brochure requiring volunteers to be a ''committed Christian'' to ''committed to Christian values'' saw the numbers contacting the organisation quadruple in the first year.
VMM now account for a sizeable portion of the number of Irish volunteers that travel abroad each year. Goal, one of the most prolific NGOs, send 80 per year, while VSO (Volunteer Services Overseas) send approximately 30.
Traditional mission
''VMM suits a lot more Irish people who believe in the Church and see their vocation as helping the marginalised but they don't identify with the traditional church missionary system,'' Mr Barry said.
His statement is supported by a drop off in numbers experienced by Ireland's other lay missionary group, Viatores Christi.
The Catholic group sends approximately 25 volunteers abroad per year, which represents a significant drop off from the 1980s when it sent an average of 80 yearly.
The group which sends lay missionaries to bolster aging Catholic missions overseas has launched a recruitment drive for its training programme targeting people who have recently lost their jobs. ''Like many other volunteer-reliant NGOs, Viatores Christi experienced a drop in numbers during the roar of the Celtic Tiger,'' a statement said.
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