During his run for the Presidency, Barack Obama called on US citizens to step up and serve our country, saying, Everybody’s going to have to pitch in. On January 19, he and his family participated in Martin Luther King Day of Service, boosting the program’s press and awareness, and helping make 2009 its most successful year ever—with over 13,000 projects completed!

And then mega-coffee chain Starbucks unveiled its mega-volunteer campaign, I’m In, on Inauguration Day. The program makes it easy for folks to pledge five volunteer hours to their community. Helped along by an Oprah plug, the initiative took off, exceeding the goal of 1,000,000 hours pledged nationwide. The Pledge5 website’s total hours ticker was at nearly 1.3 million hours a few moments ago, and it increases by five every few seconds as another person pledges.

What could this mean to you?  Simply put, more volunteers. Of course, that’s a great thing! More volunteers means more brain and muscle power—and a lighter workload for everyone.

But before you send a volunteer out into your community representing your organization, ask yourself, “Who is this person?”  Even if you think you know the answer, consider online volunteer screening. It’s a quick and easy way to ensure the safety of your community and credibility of your organization.