Category: podcast

Volunteers as essential workers? Dr. Paul Falkowski, PHD lays out his vision for designating volunteers as essential workers. Think about this-volunteer firefighters run into burning buildings, save lives, yet we place risk above benefits when thinking about adults who are suffering from the effects of social isolation.

In part 2, Paul Falkowski, PHD touches on:

• The workloads of nursing home activity directors
• How family members are pushing to be designated essential
• The toll isolation takes on nursing home residents and the surprising statistics 
• Risk vs. gain
• Training for essential volunteers
• Volunteer creativity
• Quirky interview questions that reveal character
• Is reimbursement an answer?
• How creating individualized volunteer help can increase quality of life
• Universal volunteer training
• The need for volunteer managers to mobilize

To connect with Paul and his efforts, please reach him at:

Website: https://voluncheerleader.com/
Email: paul@voluncheerleader.com
Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/voluncheerleader
Twitter: @paulfalkowski1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voluncheerleader
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-p-falkowski-ph-d-2b15512/

Listen on Buzzsprout here

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Thank you Paul, for sharing your vision with us, and for your efforts to elevate volunteers and volunteer impact. And remember, “a Klingon does not run away from his battles.”

-Meridian

Volunteers as essential workers? In part one of a two part interview, Dr. Paul Falkowski discusses how he began his journey to designate volunteers as essential workers. Paul shares how he became a champion for volunteers in nursing homes through a nonprofit he built from the ground up. Paul discusses the importance of team, volunteer education and training, skin in the game, and navigating volunteer management challenges. In the next episode, he discusses his ambitious plan to designate volunteers as essential workers

Listen on Buzzsprout here

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Dr. Paul Falkowski is dedicated to serving the people who live and work in long-term care communities. Paul has a bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Music and a Master’s degree in Gerontology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and went on to earn a doctorate in Gerontology also from the University of Nebraska.  He was first attracted to the field of aging through his volunteering in nursing homes providing musical entertainment. In 1993, he formed a nonprofit that recruited and trained some 700 volunteers for Omaha and Lincoln nursing homes over 26 years. In 2003, he contacted the Department of Gerontology at the UNO and was encouraged to pursue a Gerontology graduate certificate.  Eighteen years later, he teaches online courses for the Department of Gerontology, conducting research and consulting with nursing homes. He recently developed the course “Volunteer Management and Aging Services” and is working on publishing a study in which he connects volunteerism in long-term care and the nursing home’s quality of care measures. Also, he authored “Creating the Volun-Cheer Force: Rethinking the way we use volunteers in nursing homes” and formed VolunCheerLeader LLC to provide support to nursing home managers of volunteers. His passion for volunteerism and improving the care of older adults is unwavering.

VolunCheerLeader website

Thank you, Paul for sharing your inspirational journey and vision for the future with us. And for imagining, no, working tirelessly towards a world in which volunteers are essential workers.

Be sure to catch episode 2, in which Paul lays out his vision for elevating volunteers.

-Meridian

Hear the podcast on buzzsprout:

Do we assume that engaging kids 9-12 is too much effort for the return on our investment? Are we missing an untapped potential? In this episode, Summer Neiss, librarian and student coordinator for the K Kids program at Mabel Rush Elementary school shares the passions, motivations, and untapped potential of youth volunteers. Summer discusses the upsides such as attracting the kids’ parents or guardians, thinking out of the box and cultivating future volunteers. 
Points she shares are:
Kids are natural helpers from toddler on.
Kids who volunteer are highly motivated.
Just like adult volunteers, kids are sustained by impact.
Kids are socially motivated.
Today’s kids are aware of the world.
Kids have big ideas and love to brainstorm.
Summer also shares her thoughts on bettering volunteer programs for kids such as:
Where to find organizations to partner with.
Why conversations about volunteer partnering are necessary.
How kids’ parents or guardians would get involved.
How little things can make big impact.
How community good will is involved. 
For more information on KKids visit: Kiwanis Kids

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A huge thank you to Summer for sharing the work she is doing with her K Kids, for enlightening me on the untapped potential these young volunteers have to offer, and for instilling a sense of community in our future citizens.

I know I came away feeling that the future is looking pretty bright.

-Meridian

What is resilience? Are some volunteers resilient and others not so much? Why?

Are Leaders of Volunteers resilient? (You know what I think, right?)

In this episode, volunteer engagement expert Laura Rundell shares her thoughts and experiences on a variety of resilience topics including:

• What exactly is resilience?
• The filled up cope-o-meter
• Examples of resilient volunteers
• What resilience is not
• Volunteer motivation
• Do we confuse volunteers not being resilient with not being heard?
• What does individual motivation have to do with resilience?
• What goes on in a volunteer’s life may determine resilience
• How do leaders of volunteers advocate for themselves? Describe themselves?
• Drawing the line as a profession
• The ripple effect we may never see
• Advice for new leaders of volunteers  

Listen here on your favorite site:

Buzzsprout here

Spotify here

iHeart Radio here

Apple podcasts here

Stitcher here

Google podcasts here

We, leaders of volunteers are resilient creatures. We have to be. We also have to be innovative, persistent, creative, analytical and passionate.

Hopeful resilience is in our DNA and is helping us cope.

Thank you Laura, for sharing your wisdom, observations and hope for us and our profession. You are truly a resilient leader!

-Meridian

https://www.buzzsprout.com/605416/episodes/5987878

or pick one of the podcast platforms on the left; Google, Stitcher, Apple, Spotify

iHeartRadio

I was fortunate to chat with Elisa Kosarin, CVA, who is one of our important thought leaders in volunteer engagement. Listen in as Elisa shares her insights on:

• strategic planning and how fun fits in
• how volunteer managers should aspire to move up into senior management
• achieving buy-in and the seven kinds of power
• the future of virtual volunteering
• how volunteer managers are embracing and adapting traditional roles to virtual
• how new looks at virtual roles may create more inclusion and diversity
• how doing uncomfortable things makes you grow
• work/life balance
• leadership, vision and creativity
• the first step to achieving your vision

About Elisa:

Elisa Kosarin, CVA, helps nonprofits deliver fully on their missions by strengthening their volunteer programs. Her work is driven by the conviction that volunteers who are supported and valued have the potential to transform their communities.

Elisa consults, coaches, and trains on volunteer management best practices.  She blogs regularly on her Twenty Hats website, exploring the skills and practices that leaders of volunteers seek to build confidence elevate their programs.
Elisa’s blog on strategic planning at CASA: 

Thank you Elisa for all you do for the volunteer management community and for sharing your passion and wisdom with us.

-Meridian

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/volunteer-plain-talk/id1481197705

(Apple may take a full day to list a new episode)

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/meridian-swift/volunteerplaintalk

Thank you Jaylen, for your infectious positivity, your wisdom and advice and for your commitment to making our community a better place. And a special thanks to your grandmother, mom and dad for instilling the volunteer spirit in you.

-Meridian

Coming soon: Volunteer Plain Talk podcast on Pandora and iHeart Radio.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/605416/episodes/3452935

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/volunteer-plain-talk/id1481197705

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/meridian-swift/volunteerplaintalk

Thank you Adam for your insight and humor and for sharing your experiences with us.

Until next time, be well, be safe.

-Meridian

In this special episode of Volunteer Plain Talk Podcast, (recorded Monday March 23) Rob Jackson of Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd. located in the UK, and Meridian chat about coping, challenges and opportunities in uncertain times. Rob offers his thoughts and advice including: (also available on Stitcher, Apple, Spotify)

• “There’s a moment here,” for thought leadership
• Connecting and venting vs. isolation
• Readying our profession for what’s next
• Miss Piggy’s quote
• The abundance of information volunteer managers will have to share
• Harnessing the community spirit and is this like an alien invasion movie?
• Finding comfort
• The good that can come from tough times
• Resources-we are not alone

You can connect with Rob by emailing him at rob@robjacksonconsulting.com or by visiting his website: Please sign up for Rob’s blog, it’s essential reading: http://www.robjacksonconsulting.com/ He is also available on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robjackson74/ and on twitter at https://twitter.com/RobJConsulting

Resource-rich websites for Leaders of Volunteers:

• Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd.
• Energize, Inc.
• Volunteer Pro
• Association of Volunteer Managers
• Volunteering New Zealand
• Coyote Communications
• NCVO
• ALIVE
• MAVA
• Volunteering Australia
• Volunteer Canada
• Volunteer Ireland
• Volunteer Scotland

If I missed any resources, please let me know so I can include them and please subscribe to these websites as they are rich in all sorts of resources for volunteer managers.

Huge thank you to Rob Jackson for jumping on this podcast at short notice. You are amazing, knowledgeable, infectiously funny, dedicated and forward-thinking. Sometimes, I just have to think, “What would Rob do?” 🙂

Be safe, be well, stay connected.

-Meridian