“I am a volunteer program manager,” I’ve said countless times to confused faces at networking events.
“Oh, that’s nice,” The person who just asked me what I do for a living would mutter and then turn to find someone who has a job that is understandable and doesn’t take a lot of martini sipping time to comprehend.
What does the job title “volunteer manager” mean, anyway? What do I manage? Is it people as in, you know, get people to do things? Or is it work, like filling the tasks that need to be done? What exactly am I in charge of?
There is a huge difference between managing a program and implementing a program. This is just semantics, I know, but in semantics we find perception, so please, just stick with me a moment, ok?
Most volunteer managers implement their volunteer programs. The word implement means “carry out” which implies the volunteer manager fulfills the directives from non-profit boards and senior administration who determine how volunteers can be helpful.
This creates a contradiction: Although most volunteer managers are encouraged to think in strategic ways, they are primarily expected to fulfill requests from key staff or departments which leaves little time for vision or innovative engagement. And strategic innovation is the basis for leading a program to full potential.
Let’s examine how volunteer management normally fits under organizational missions. Words such as “enhance,” “expand programs,” “enrich experiences,” and “enable increased staff output” define the volunteers’ participation. But vague idealism is like telling your child to “just go out and be good.” Should they wear clean underwear or be polite to the next door neighbor or stop trading their lunch for six candy bars? What is being good?
Non-specific phrases are so broad they become meaningless. And meaningless phrases lead to implementing a volunteer program versus managing it.
Being governed by broad phrases creates this gigantic task soup. Anything and everything can be thrown in, including the kitchen sink (think “hey, we have less staff now, let’s get the volunteers to run errands.”). But does this soup actually taste good? Is it a defined recipe for success or is it a chaotic mess?
This is why we, volunteer managers need to step in and take some control. We can’t (and hopefully don’t want to) alter the mission, so how can we get away from broad concepts and control implementing managing the volunteer portion? The answer is actually found by breaking the mission down into its subordinate parts: Goals and Objectives. The break down looks something like this:
Mission statements are lofty and broad. For example, “To eliminate human suffering due to unsanitary conditions.”
Goals are what we are aiming to achieve. For example, “To reduce the number of people who have no clean water.”
Objectives are the steps to realizing goals. For example, “To raise funds to purchase 100 installed water filters by end of year.”
As we break our missions down into tangible goals, we can then begin to craft concrete objectives that we have control over. Setting goals with organizational administration will give you the flexibility to create the objective steps that will fulfill those goals.
Invite senior administration and/or your board to meet with you in a planning session. Ask for specific volunteer department goals for the year. For example, if, under your mission statement your volunteers “enrich clients’ lives,” ask for a defined goal to achieve that lofty ideal by defining what that will look like.
Let’s say that by end of planning session, the goal becomes, “by end of year, 20 clients will experience less stress through volunteer involvement.” Bingo! That’s a measurable outcome that you can own and control through your creative objectives.
And, by owning the objectives, we control the volunteer actions that accomplish the objectives that meet the goals that support the mission.
Next time: Goals, Objectives, Actions in a yummy whole-grain wrap called Strategies.
I’m convinced. We, Leaders of Volunteers (#LOVols) hold in our hands more power to affect positive change than we can even imagine.
We have the opportunity to impact the world beyond filling tasks and adding to our volunteer base. The intuitive feelings within each of us are spot on: There’s so much more going on than our excel spreadsheets show.
I remember long ago struggling to find volunteers who could be with clients while loved ones attended church or synagogue or temple or mosque. I would look for volunteers of that same faith and hoped that they would be willing to give up their own attendance to help someone in need. It was the way it had always been done and it was frankly, exhausting.
Then one day, a volunteer stepped forward. Hannah offered to sit with Christian clients on a Sunday morning. (I’d love to take credit for thinking this solution up, but, no, it came from this wonderful, selfless volunteer.) Bam! The light went on.
I feared that mixing faiths (or cultures, or beliefs) would be a challenge in itself, but you know what? (Of course you know what comes next) It ended up uniting people in mutual respect and a desire to understand one another. The mere act of reaching across a cultural or spiritual divide created its own sense of wonder.
And here’s the thing. For the volunteers, it was never about, “oh, I’m so enlightened that I want to transcend these differences.” No, it was, “you know what? I’m free on a Sunday morning and you need someone, so what could be a better fit?”
The deep meaningful by-products of volunteering are seldom the initial goals. They just naturally evolve because the volunteer ripple brings out the best in everyone: Clients, families, volunteers, volunteer managers, staff, neighbors, community, everyone.
Think about that. Volunteer programs impact society in rippling positive ways beyond the delivering of meals, or escorting a tour group or passing out information. Our programs share love. Our programs open the doors for unity, connection and understanding to naturally take hold, and not just during holidays.
We often witness a profound change in people. We glimpse moments of powerful interconnection through the simplest of assignments. We stand, watching that small pebble create ripples of inspiring stories.
As you are running around this holiday season, scrambling to fill tasks, stop for a moment and think about the societal change you are helping to bring about. Because you value the innate worth of each human being and believe in their ability to transcend, you are spreading that change like a ripple in a vast sea.
Volunteerism is a rippling movement.
And leaders of volunteers are tossing the pebble into the water.
Do volunteer managers possess the skills required to succeed in the corporate world?
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sally Garrett, a recent leader of volunteers who has taken a managerial position in the world of retail. Sally was the manager of a St. Vincent de Paul depot, an Australian branded “Vinnies” retail thrift store, the highest grossing and net profit store in Western Australia while under her leadership.
VPT (volunteerplaintalk): Can you briefly describe your current job?
S (Sally): My Current job is as a Retail Manager of a lifestyle super store with 26 paid staff.
VPT: How long have you been in this position?
S: I have been here 1 month.
VPT: Before this position, what was your job as a volunteer manager?
S: I ran a large not for profit processing and pick up depot and retail outlet.
VPT: How long were you in that position?
S: Two and a half years.
VPT: What skills do you feel you developed as a volunteer manager and how did they translate to the position you now have?
S: The biggest skills I developed are empathy, patience, organizing people, time management and being able to teach others that they are more than they believe they are.
VPT: What skills helped you the most in moving into your new position?
S: I guess because I had been rostering and managing large volumes of people all doing small roles, the biggest skill that has helped me in my new role is patience. You can’t rush volunteers and you develop a skill of being able to step back and look at the bigger picture all the time, so it became a habit to stop, look and listen. This has helped so much in my present job, because as I have a lot to learn, I am not at all overwhelmed. I am much more rounded in my approach to my team and I listen a lot more and act less, but it’s action with conviction. This means when I do act, it is for the long-term and not the short-term.
I have already found that many people can sort out problems for themselves and become self autonomous rather than needy. I can quickly detect when people are good at what they do or need better training because I’m watching them and listening. I’m not trying to learn their job so much anymore, but placing acknowledgment in what they can do. This has made my new team feel more confident and then their skills began to shine.
The second skill is having learned to not take credit for what others do, but rather celebrate their gifts and achievements. I don’t feel the need to own others’ successes. I have developed the ability to lead, not manage.
The third, most important skill is that I don’t take anything personal. I am impartial to people because I know it is about them not me, and every action someone takes says things about them, not me. So, if someone is frustrated they may call me names or tell me I am not doing my job but this translates into the fact that they are telling me they need more training and are feeling overwhelmed or vulnerable. This took a long time to learn. I always thought I was doing things wrong in this situation until a volunteer pointed out to me that the other 120 people loved what I did and felt supported, so once this skill kicked in it just meant going back to basics and taking time for a cuppa and a chat and getting to the real problem which was 100% of the time the person left feeling vulnerable for some other reason.
VPT: When you accepted this new position, did you find that your volunteer management experience helped you get the job? Any actual feedback from your new supervisor on your volunteer management experience?
S: When interviewing for the position I applied for, I was calm and confident as I knew I had become a leader and not a manager so the interview process was easy and effortless. I had nothing to prove; they either wanted my skill set or they didn’t. If I wasn’t a good fit, I didn’t want to be there.
I was asked to take on a much larger role than I applied for in the interview; the position was in another shop as they felt I would be of value in that role with a larger team and a busier store. As it turns out I came across as soft and compassionate but with a deep knowledge of people. This is what progressive organizations want. They don’t want bosses anymore, they want team leaders and that’s what you are as a volunteer manager.
VPT: Are there skills that volunteer managers lack, or do not realize are important if they are seeking jobs other than in the world of volunteerism?
S: Acknowledge your value!
I believe a volunteer manager is much more qualified at team leadership than anyone gives them credit for, including themselves. It is a huge task being a volunteer manager and when in the role it doesn’t feel it is that important, but you touch the very core of people when they are a volunteer. Because they aren’t there for money, you find out more of what makes people tick so translating that to paid staff roles, you are able to make your staff really feel cared for when they come to work.
You have developed an ability to shut the work-space out and make eye contact and listen to them and answer their questions. whether it be personal or work related. You have developed the ability to validate people, and that’s what our world needs more of. You are also able to adapt quickly because volunteer management deals with absences regularly. You know how to get work done with few, if any help. Acknowledging the confidence that you know it will get done when the team is there, gives you a calmness and that drives people to help more and work harder. People love that you are in control and that you appreciate their efforts rather than stressing and then making them feel less when they are giving more. All volunteer managers develop this skill.
VPT: How can volunteer managers prepare themselves to enter the world of corporate management?
S: Be the very best version of yourself, it’s really that simple; being authentic and not promising things you can’t deliver, the rest falls into place. When you develop the calmness of self-confidence, you can learn anything; the skill of managing people is the highest of all skills you need in life and work and you have that in the bag once you are a successful volunteer manager.
VPT: Is there any advice you would like to give your fellow volunteer managers?
S: Give them (volunteers) 15 minutes undivided attention and induct, induct, induct!
Make sure when your volunteers start, you have given them your time whether it is 15 minutes at the start or the whole induction if you can, that time is what the volunteer remembers, because volunteers revere you; they know how hard your job is and they see you as their guiding light. If you only knew how powerful you are you wouldn’t worry about a thing. But that’s where volunteer managers are the most successful. We don’t settle for second best because it always has to be the best. Aiming for the stars on every task is what we do. Landing on the moon is not good enough for us, but it’s great to everyone else.
Know you are saving lives! There is a high number of volunteers that are volunteering due to mental illness preventing them from holding down a paying job. Know that you are potentially providing the healthy, stable and compassionate environment that these people need to gain new skills and give their life purpose. It surprised me to be told on three occasions that it was because of me, personally that three people got up and tried again another day rather than ending their lives. It both shocked me and made me seek help myself to understand my role more fully. The knowledge of each person over my time in Volunteer Management truly made me see how I changed lives and how powerful and responsible my role was and how important it was to be transparent in all I did. I had to understand that it wasn’t my responsibility to take this knowledge on board personally and that it was only a part of the role. But the knowledge was confronting and it changed my dealings with people. Compassion isn’t being weak, it is the exact opposite.
Relax more and stress less, develop the ability to tell people they can do it on their own. Softly, gently encouraging and convincing people they are wonderful and able, is the greatest skill ever. It is the most productive management tool in the workplace.
What incredibly inspiring words for leaders of volunteers. Thank you Sally for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. All the best to you in your new position. They are very fortunate to have you on board.
So, the next time all of you volunteer managers feel under appreciated, remember these words from Sally: I was asked to take on a much larger role than I applied for in the interview; the position was in another shop as they felt I would be of value in that role with a larger team and a busier store.
Ebony is in charge of a busy thrift store. The only staff member, Ebony manages sales, donations, store appearance, supply ordering, advertisement and the twenty volunteers who help her throughout the week. She has precious little time for drama or nonsense. Because her volunteers are a tight-knit team, when Bernice, a new volunteer signed up, Ebony placed her on the day the most welcoming volunteers worked. But a month later, those volunteers began to openly complain about Bernice’s attitude. Bernice had quit another resale shop volunteer position and was vocal about her perception that Ebony’s shop did not run as efficiently as her former store. Bernice complained about pricing, merchandising, advertising and lack of volunteer perks such as sizable discounts on merchandize.
Unused to volunteer conflict, Ebony had several heart to heart talks with Bernice and moved her to a different day. The complaints continued. Frustrated, Ebony hoped the volunteers would work things out, but her stalwart volunteers began to call out sick and take longer vacations. The once hard-working team became listless, negative and unproductive. Two volunteers quit, giving broad reasons. The other volunteers refused to fill in on the day Bernice worked. Ebony found her team crumbling. Too late she realized that one volunteer could destroy months and years of team building.
When do we pull the plug on a volunteer? How much trying to integrate one person is too much? This is a dilemma that we all face at some point in our careers. And while we may erroneously feel that we have failed if not every volunteer becomes successfully integrated, we have to weigh the time and effort spent working with a volunteer and their impact on other volunteers versus keeping someone just to keep them.
I remember a volunteer, Dot from my first years as a volunteer coordinator. She was a retired professional and not only belonged to many clubs and organizations but attained leadership roles in most. She was highly intelligent, but authoritarian and demanding. Her air of superiority was off-putting to volunteers and staff. I once complimented her on her outfit and she said, “I have a doctor’s appointment today and I want to make sure he is intimidated by me.” Everyone tiptoed around her because Dot put her own importance above the mission. Being new to volunteer management, I didn’t think we could dismiss Dot, but I asked. My senior managers were already afraid of what she might do, and sure enough, one day she went to the board of directors to threaten a volunteer walkout over a policy she disagreed with. Eventually the senior managers realized that something had to be done and she was let go. It was messy. She wrote a letter to the other volunteers imploring them to quit in solidarity, which thankfully, they did not.
What could Ebony or I have done to integrate Bernice and Dot? Did we miss something? Would spending more of our time have helped? Or is there a point when parting ways with a volunteer is the right thing to do? Can we stop blaming ourselves if occasionally, a volunteer does not work out no matter how hard we try?
The answer is yes, there is a point when the amount of work spent keeping a volunteer is incredibly lopsided against the benefit in having that volunteer. In weighing whether to continue to try to keep a problematic volunteer, you have to ask yourself these questions:
Do I spend more time on this volunteer than on any other?
Do I field more negative feedback about this volunteer than positive?
Do I find other good volunteers and staff refusing to work with this volunteer?
Do I find myself worrying what might go wrong when this volunteer is present?
Do I find myself bending rules and expectations in order to avoid confrontation with this volunteer?
But, hang on, before we can ask the questions above, we have to do some soul-searching of our own deep feelings on the matter to see if there are some personal perceptions that are keeping us unable to meet the challenge head on.
By being brutally honest with ourselves when working with problematic volunteers, we can move away from emotion based analysis and into logical resolution.
Am I petrified of confrontation even though I see there is no forward movement with this volunteer?
Am I afraid that I will just give in and not stick to my convictions?
Am I looking at this as a failure on my part?
Am I thinking that this will make me a mean person?
Am I clinging to my vision that volunteering is perfect? And that I must be perfect?
Am I just afraid of the unpleasantness of it all? Do I just want volunteering to be sunshine and kittens and not involve the hard stuff like requiring excellence and management?
The first set of questions refers to the problem at hand while the second set deals with our own emotions. And lets face it, we have feelings too. But, we can learn to acknowledge our feelings so as to view problematic volunteers in a logical and yet kind way. Sure, our stomach feels like the spin cycle of a washing machine when we are faced with unpleasant conversations, but just remember, by avoiding the issue, it only gets worse, not better. And besides, volunteer success or failure should never be about our feelings, but about the volunteer and the mission.
Next week, part two: FACE It: An acronym to remember when dealing with a challenging volunteer.
I was so impressed by an article I read a couple of weeks ago about the volunteer program at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in Indiana that I just had to call and speak to the volunteer manager, Kathy Terlizzi because something about the article’s description of the program conveyed a specialness about volunteering. Kathy graciously agreed to let me write about our conversation.
Kathy has been the zoo’s volunteer manager since August 2009 and was a volunteer at the zoo before joining the staff. “I made changes based on my experiences as a volunteer,” she told me. When she took over, the initial training program for new volunteers occurred either at the end of the season or at the beginning which meant some volunteers had to wait before utilizing their new skills and enthusiasm. Also, the training was a comprehensive training which meant that volunteers, regardless of their comfort level were expected to “get out and do what they were trained for”. Many volunteers, Kathy found, were overwhelmed with the comprehensive training and since there was no practical application (mentoring) along with training, the volunteers were not prepared to roll up their sleeves and jump in to some of the more complicated tasks.
So, Kathy, seeing volunteers repeatedly become overwhelmed, initiated a stair step training broken into three parts.
Part one is the basic training for all adult volunteers. This is the ground floor training and volunteers are asked to commit to 18 shift hours before moving up to the next level. Volunteers at the zoo can sign up for shifts online. (the zoo utilizes Volgistics for volunteer management).
Part two is the Ambassador training which helps volunteers prepare to interact and speak to the general public.
Part three is the docent training which helps volunteers become comfortable in crowd situations and with handling zoo education animals during animal demonstrations and off site programs for zoo guests.
This stair step method allows volunteers to take their volunteer training in stages and encourages them to find their comfort level of participation. The more advanced classes may be smaller than the initial basic training, but it ensures that volunteers find their own path and don’t feel pushed into something they are not ready to do. Some volunteers don’t wish to advance while others find that they want to move up. “I believe that volunteers should bloom where they’re planted,” Kathy said.
I heard real pride and enthusiasm when Kathy spoke about her teen leadership program which is set to kick off in June and July. Daily, 30-40 adult volunteers work in the zoo, but during the summer program an additional 40 teens who volunteer during two-week sessions are incorporated. They too, sign up for shifts online after going through a special teen orientation.
Teens 13-17 apply for the two-week sessions and the 172 slots are coveted by 250 applicants. Returning teens account for about 99 slots, so the rest are new teens who go through the new application process which includes filling out an online application, answering an essay question and providing a letter of recommendation.
After the applications are processed and the teens selected comes the logistical nightmare of slotting teens into the program. Kathy spends the entire month of March working on the two-week sessions. Emails and phone calls from interested teens takes over her days as she slots returning teens first and then the new teens are inserted based on gender, age and availability to provide balance. It is an ever evolving schedule as teens find conflicts with their other activities and family obligations.
But, instead of this monumental task seeming a burden for Kathy, she is stoked about the teen program, and told me that at first, she was intimidated working with teens because of all the negative stereotypes she’d heard about young people. But she found that the teens she works with are wonderful, responsible volunteers. She prides herself as an up front person and speaks to them frankly about dress codes, expectations and sensitive subjects like drugs and weapons. The teens are expected to be professional in their participation, especially in regard to zoo guests. In return, the teens take their responsibilities very seriously and frankly, Kathy says, they “have a lot to say.” Kathy believes in speaking to the teens directly, (although the program is transparent and openly invites parental and guardian involvement) and finds that the teens really step up when given the chance to embrace responsibility.
One day she discovered some older photographs of teen volunteers doing the same animal handling as the adults, something the zoo had gotten away from over the years, so she advocated a return to letting teens have equal volunteer responsibility. The parents were open to it, she says, mainly because they knew their children were safe within the zoo framework.
So two years ago, she implemented a two-hour pilot training and 66 teens signed up. At first the teens began with level one animals, bunnies and guinea pigs, but now the teens are handling snakes and tortoises. When the pilot program began, Kathy let the teens know that they were in part responsible for the success of the program and the teens immediately stepped up and showed the professionalism necessary for the program to thrive.
Puzzle Feeder
Another success Kathy talked about was increasing the trust level between staff and volunteers. It was a goal she had when she first started and so she spent the first year building a rapport with staff. “I told them (staff) that volunteers will do anything as long as it benefits the zoo. They won’t, however wash your car.” At first the zoo keepers were reluctant, so Kathy took a proactive approach.
She saw that the giraffe keepers had to prepare food daily for the giraffe puzzle feeders (a hanging feeder with holes that let the food stick out-these feeders simulate the natural foraging of giraffes) and offered to ask volunteers to do the preparation, thus giving the keepers more time to focus on other more pressing tasks. At first the keepers wondered why any volunteer would be willing to do that job, but within five hours after posting the job online, the shifts were all filled. Now volunteers sign up for 2 hour shifts to prepare the giraffe puzzle feeder food.
Another proactive instance came when the aquarium manager mused about organizing ph data he had been collecting so Kathy offered him a volunteer who was computer savvy in spreadsheets.
At first he reluctantly turned over a month’s worth of data but when he received his data back in a neatly organized spreadsheet, he quickly turned over much more information to the volunteers.
That’s how trust is built. Kathy also found a way to incorporate seamstresses into the zoo’s programs. These volunteers make costumes for zoo presentations and also cold weather quilts for the education animal carriers. She also utilizes Spanish-speaking volunteers to help translate signage.
Kathy has found a great way to work with groups. She says that the community wants to be involved in zoo volunteering so she offers the community the opportunity to participate in Annual Enrichment Workshops (run by a volunteer and his family) where they can do meaningful crafts like make fishcicles or paper mache animals in bulk. These items are requested by keepers and ultimately given to exhibit animals as enrichment. She also utilizes corporate volunteer groups for some of the zoo’s larger events throughout the year.
But when I asked for Kathy’s advice to new volunteer managers, she grew wistful, “I would tell them to get ready for the ride for it’s all encompassing. It’s fun and rewarding but also sometimes sad because you have this personal rapport with the volunteers and you get involved with their lives.” She also would like a new manager to know that volunteer management is not a 9-5 job, as there are weeknight trainings and weekends spent recruiting or trouble shooting. She says, “there’s one of me and 450 volunteers. And they all want and deserve some of my time. That’s why my job is social.”
She told me that she had been a manager for many years before working at the zoo and it opened her eyes when she took a personality quiz and found out how high she scored on interacting with people. Volunteer management has fit that bill. Kathy spoke glowingly of being able to put a volunteer in a place where they can grow. Whether it’s a shy, sensitive teen or a senior who is feeling unfulfilled, she derives tremendous satisfaction in seeing volunteers bloom.
As you can imagine, Kathy is comfortable talking with anyone. She says, “I kid that I need one of those take a number systems outside my door. My office is right across from the volunteer room. Everyone talks to me, volunteers, staff, guests, even family and friends. If I wear my zoo t-shirt to the store, the clerk wants to talk to me about the zoo. So I take the opportunity to ask, how about volunteering for us?”
For me, it was easy to see why this volunteer program succeeds. Kathy Terlizzi, the volunteer manager, is both passionate and practical. I heard in her voice that she wants every volunteer to succeed, to have a meaningful experience, and to be part of something in which they can take great pride. It’s no wonder the Fort Wayne Children’s zoo is the number one attraction in all of Indiana. This zoo and volunteer program is a success story we can all learn from. I know I’ve taken away these principles from my conversation with Kathy:
1. Be proactive with staff-analyze their needs and offer volunteer help whenever possible-build that trust that volunteers can help and free up staff to do other pressing matters.
2. Invest time and thought into your training program-use levels to encourage volunteers to find their niche and don’t overwhelm them with all training at once, instead encourage them to take training in steps. Make sure that the volunteer opportunities are meaningful work.
3. Model professionalism and responsibility, especially to teens and they will step up to the challenge.
4. Be prepared to give your time and attention to every volunteer.
5. Create new opportunities whenever possible to expand your volunteer reach.
6. Take pride in your work. It’s infectious.
Thank you so much to Kathy Terlizzi for allowing me a glimpse into this very special volunteer program. It is volunteer managers like Kathy who take volunteering to the next level through dedication and a willingness to believe in volunteers.
-Meridian
So, we all know there is a paradigm shift happening in volunteer management. As the WWII generation sadly leaves us, we are looking to the baby boomer generation and on to fill their prodigious shoes. When I first started working with volunteers, the greatest generation was busily humming along, doing every and anything necessary to fill needs. Nothing was beneath them and honestly, I didn’t manage any of them, I basically stood back in awe and occasionally ran for some refreshments. They taught me humility for it was in their essence to be humble, hardworking, non-complaining, authority respecting and generous.
As I watch their faces grow more lined, their limbs more trembling, their gait unsteady, I can only stand by helplessly, offering a hand to their elbow as they decline. Their eyes, though, clear as an autumn sky, still hold the hardships they endured as they endure one more.
As these volunteers age and retire, we, volunteer managers know that the next generation of volunteers will be different, will be their own people with a new skill set needed to recruit, engage and cultivate them. So, as I read the research and advice on how to find and keep great baby boomer volunteers, I make note of not only the advice that’s out there, but the experiences I’m having as well. I’m seeing that boomers are different; they are not as inclined to want repetitious jobs or confining schedules. They want more perceived meaning in their lives and they balk at boring assignments and rigid requirements. A lot of them look at volunteering through a spiritual or universal prism and speak freely about their journey to find meaning. There are those who were very active in the 60’s revolutions and after working corporate jobs for years, want to return to their activism roots.
But back to the WWII generation. I remember Dora, a volunteer who came in to shred papers. Her husband was a big band trumpet player and she accompanied him on USO tours during the war. She would sit for hours in front of the shredder, pulling staples and paper clips, shredding no more than three pages at a time. Dora was possessive of the shredder and when another greatest generation gentleman, Bob came to shred papers, she sniped about how he didn’t do it right. Bob, a man who was orphaned during the Great Depression, was a bombardier who flew missions over Germany. Those two volunteers knew that we needed the sensitive material shredded and they dutifully spent their time helping us see that job done right. For them, there was no answering of phones, no fund-raising, no strategic planning, nothing except paper shredding with no complaints.
Both Dora and Bob died some time ago. I tried to replace them and could do it piecemeal for a while by asking office volunteers if they would “just do it for an hour” while they were at work. An easy job became harder and harder to fill as Bob’s and Dora’s generation started to slip away.
As we grew used to the dwindling of the generation that included widows who never worked and needed more training and help with office duties and war heroes who never spoke about their experiences, we embraced the boomers who work hard, have boundless skills and opinions and challenge us to dig deep for a more involved volunteerism.
So, what’s the challenge? It lies in being able to integrate the paradigm shift into the fabric of our organizations. Newer organizations or those run by young people already have a deep understanding of millennial and generation X and boomers. It’s the organizations that are older, run by long-term administration who looks at volunteer services as “it’s always been thus.” Convincing them that no one wants to shred paper anymore after it’s been shredded for years by willing volunteers is tricky.
I loaned a volunteer out to another department who needed one time help putting together last-minute binders for a presentation. Jill, a fabulous boomer who normally works on statistics and research agreed to lend a hand for a day. She came back and pleaded, “don’t ever ask me to do that again because I will quit first. They had me copy a 100 page binder thirty times. Do you know how many people came up to me and complained that they couldn’t get copies made while I was there? And the machine ran out of toner, then it jammed, I think it probably overheated too. I had to just stand there and watch as the copier ran. It was excruciating!”
Thankfully, Jill happily returned to her more meaningful tasks and we laugh about her foray into “copier purgatory.”
As we have adjusted our thinking regarding volunteers and their changing involvement, our organizations need to rethink their view of volunteers as well.
Old thinking: Volunteers will do any job regardless of how tedious.
New thinking: Volunteers need meaningful experiences.
Old thinking: Jobs that have always been done by volunteers will happily continue to be done by volunteers.
New thinking: Maybe we should invest in a paper shredding service and use volunteers for more important jobs.
Old thinking: Volunteers are all the same, they come to be helpful, we tell them how to be helpful, they do the job and go home happy.
New thinking: Volunteers have so much wisdom, experience and passion to offer, let’s find ways to tap into that.
Bringing research and evidence that volunteering is changing and that we must adapt is no small mission. Telling management that old thinking is well, old thinking and that it is nearly impossible to find volunteers to do menial tasks without sounding negative takes finesse. Being proactive and showing what the new volunteer paradigm can do goes a long way to ease the pain of losing shredding volunteers.
Let’s see, volunteers who shred papers vs. volunteers who design websites or consult or have management experience? Hopefully, organizations choose a new wave of professional skill sets over mundane tasks.
Old thinking: All a volunteer coordinator has to do is ask and a volunteer will magically appear to shred.
New thinking: It takes multiple complex skills on the part of our volunteer coordinator to engage the new volunteer. Let’s listen to him or her about volunteerism and accept that he or she has done the research and has knowledge on the subject.
Added bonus or really new thinking: Let’s give him/her some much-needed recognition next Wednesday during International Volunteer Managers Day.
-Meridian
On some days, I don’t think it all matters. Granted those are tough days, and on those tough days, the thought of futility can set in. What difference does it really make? The vast majority of difference we make as volunteer managers, we cannot see. That makes it hard. We don’t see the person who, after the phone call telling them that a volunteer will come out and help, cries into their hands with relief. We don’t see the family who gets to make it one more day because we sent a volunteer who we personally trained and mentored correctly.
So, we have to tuck those times when we do get that glimpse into how we matter away and take them out when times get tough. Then, we need to multiply that nugget by 100 or maybe 1000, because we don’t see our volunteers spreading what they’ve learned from us into the community either.
Three nights ago I drove to a local shuttle bus depot to pick up my husband after a few days visiting his brother. He had taken the shuttle after flying into our closest airport. I sat in the car and listened to the radio. All of a sudden he came up beside the door and said, “Quick, you have to get out and come with me.” At my alarmed look, he added, “you have to meet someone.”
Husbands, I thought. I’m in crappy clothes and now I have to meet some guy who probably golfed every golf course on the planet. So I got out and followed my husband to the shuttle bus where a lady came up to me. “This is my wife,” my husband said to her while stepping away to get his luggage.
She looked at me and smiled. “I’m Sandy Duvall. Does that name ring a bell?”
Whoa, I thought and my mind started to scroll. “Robert, the actor?” I weekly replied.
“No,” she said kindly. “Jeremiah.”
I stared at her face as the confusion dissipated. “No, seriously, you’re Jeremiah’s wife?”
Sandy had been sitting in the row in front of my husband on the bus. The driver had called out all the last names and when she heard Swift, she wondered. Later during the ride, she happened to hear my husband chatting with the person next to him and heard the word “hospice”. So, she turned and asked him whether his wife worked there and when he said “yes”, she told him a story. He then told her that she would have a chance to meet me when they arrived at the depot.
Fifteen years ago, Jeremiah Duvall rode his bicycle to our care center. He was only 62 years old and dying of cancer. He wanted to volunteer. He lived in another state with his wife, Sandy and was just going to be in our area for a few months. Sandy worked and could not come with him. He wanted to take the training, do some volunteering and then volunteer at a hospice where he lived. He made no bones about his illness and no bones about not letting it get in the way of helping others. I believed him instantly. Jeremiah was a one-in-a-million. I taught him nothing and he taught me so much. He taught me about grace and courage and living life to its fullest. Sadly, he took training, volunteered a few times and had to return home where he died within a month. To this day, when I see a bicycle parked in front of the care center, I think of him.
In the middle of all the commotion of the returning travelers, on a warm, dark night, Sandy asked me, “do you remember the letter you wrote me after Jeremiah died?’
I did and I do. I struggled to write that letter, to let this person whom I had never met know how special her husband was. I almost didn’t send it. I thought it was too much.
With tears rolling down her face, she said, “I still have it. and I want you to know how much it meant to me. I told him that no hospice would let him volunteer because of his illness, but he insisted. Thank you for taking him. You have no idea what that did for him.”
No, I didn’t know. But fifteen years later, on a crowded nondescript night, I got a gift. It is the gift of hearing that you have done the right thing and that it mattered. How I treasure that gift. I will take it out and turn it over in my mind when things are hard and I struggle to do the right thing. And I’ll never doubt my husband again.
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