volunteerplaintalk

Tag: new volunteer manager

  • Interview With A Volunteer: Ellie

    contacts

    We all know volunteer feedback is invaluable, during and after projects and assignments. There is also value in gathering feedback from former volunteers who have had the time to process their experiences and take aways.

    Recently I was able to catch up with a retired volunteer, Ellie, and I asked her to look back on her years of volunteering for a hospice.

    VolunteerPlainTalk (VPT): How many years did you volunteer?

    Ellie (E): (laughs) “oh about 18.”

    VPT: That’s a long time.

    E: It was a long time, but it was good.

    VPT: What was your favorite part of volunteering?

    E: Hmmm, my favorite part. I liked the idea of giving and I always felt that I was receiving so much in return, but I guess you hear that a lot.

    VPT: Do you remember the beginning?

    E: Yes. I remember my training. At the end of training, the volunteer trainer handed me my first assignment. She told me that she believed I was ready. And she took me over to the window and pointed to the house of the person I was assigned to. She sort of let me know that it wasn’t far away and I would be close to help if I needed it.

    VPT: How did that go?

    E: I was nervous, but I felt prepared.

    VPT: Was your first assignment the impetus that kept you going?

    E: Actually, it was my first long-term patient, who came right after. We became incredibly close. Before she passed away, she said that she had added one more daughter to her family. And shortly before she died, she called me in and said that she needed to know that I was going to be ok. The extent of our connection was something I never expected.

    VPT: How much of a role did your volunteer manager play in your success?

    E: Oh my goodness, so much. The fact that my trainer and my supervisor, Jim trusted me, had faith that I could do this was huge. And, I always felt that if I had a question, he would be there. I remember I was sitting with one patient whose wife had a part-time job. He had a morphine drip and he thought it wasn’t working and he said to me, I don’t understand why this is not working, can you find out? Now, I have no medical knowledge at all, but I immediately got on the phone and my supervisor got me to the right person. That went a long way to building my self-confidence.

    VPT: So, having someone to contact was hugely important.

    E: Absolutely. I always counted on being able to knock on his door, go in and receive the support I needed.

    VPT: You are also a thirty year now retired school teacher. Why did you volunteer at a hospice and not with children?

    E: (laughs) I think I needed to do something different. After my husband died so young, I felt like I wanted to do something that was meaningful.

    VPT: Did his death influence your decision to volunteer for a hospice?

    E: I don’t think so. It was over three years between his death and my decision to volunteer.

    VPT: How did you find hospice?

    E: I saw this ad, and I knew right then it was a way to fill my life with some meaning.

    VPT: So, there was no magic formula for recruiting you?

    E: Sorry, no.

    VPT: Many people think hospice volunteering is depressing. Were you burdened with sadness?

    E: No. It was quite the opposite. It was fulfilling.

    VPT: Was there any opportunity for fun?

    E: Oh, my yes. I had so much fun with the staff. We let loose all the time. The seriousness of our work was a contrast to the silliness we experienced. I remember the time we made over 100 pumpkin pies for a Thanksgiving dinner in our care center. We laughed the whole time. Having that fun kept us wanting to do more, you know what I mean?

    VPT: I do. Was having fun a good use of your volunteer supervisor’s time do you think?

    E: Absolutely. Life is full of balances. The balance between serious work and letting off steam goes a long way to bond us together. It strengthened our team.

    VPT: I’m pushing here, but I wonder. Have you ever connected your losing your husband, the man you had planned on retiring with, and your work in hospice?

    E: Ehh, no. I just know that I had a lot of years to give and it was a way to fill my life with some meaningful work.  But I do remember one year, I signed up to volunteer at a children’s grief camp.  That day, while driving on the way to camp, I thought about all the little kids who were coming. They had all lost someone important in their lives and I had a little meltdown. I missed my husband.

    VPT: That must have been tough.

    E: I thought about these kids and it occurred to me that I went through this years ago. It brings something home. While I was there, we had a ceremony at night. I was really grieving for my husband. It comes when you least expect it. Sometimes you have an epiphany to a particular circumstance you’ve been through. It was almost like a total realization I had been through a significant loss and I released that.

    VPT: I’m at a loss for words.

    E: I even had grief counseling after his death. But my meltdown shocked me. I thought I had processed the grief.

    VPT: So, in retrospect, did your volunteering have a personal positive impact on you?

    E: Oh my, yes.

    Next time: Part 2 of this interview. Ellie moved away from her hospice, but she stopped volunteering before she moved. Why?

    -Meridian

  • Volunteering is All About Helping, Isn’t It?

    Volunteering is About Helping, Isn't It
    Let’s hope for the best

    “No good deed goes unpunished.”   … Oscar Wilde

    “I couldn’t stop, not after I’d been with her for so long.” Volunteer Jill spoke of her decision to keep seeing the client assigned by her volunteer manager, even though the client was no longer on the program. “Aren’t we supposed to be helpful? I mean, I have a strong connection with her and her family. I can’t just pull the plug.”

    “I didn’t see the harm,” said Miranda, Jill’s volunteer coordinator. “I felt it would be cruel to keep Jill from continuing this great connection. But then, my CEO summoned me the day this former client called in to complain. It seems that Jill gave the client some advice and the client thought she was back on our program.”

    What do we do with volunteers who want to stay with clients after the client no longer is receiving our services? If we’ve made a meaningful match between volunteer and client, then we understand how hard it is for the volunteer to pull back. Severing the relationship seems cruel. Besides, don’t volunteers have free will?

    Although this situation appears muddy, it really is crystal clear: The relationship forged with the client belongs solely to the organization. Staff, contractors, and volunteers all participate in the organization’s relationship with a client. None of us would have created a connection with this client on our own, therefore we do not have a personal relationship. When the organization severs that relationship, we are done.

    It is one of those tricky realms where clear boundaries, policies and documentation is crucial. If you no longer provide support for the volunteer’s efforts because the client is not in your care, the volunteer is then free to establish their own boundaries and set their own limitations.

    Here’s the question: Should a mishap occur, will the family have a clear understanding that the volunteer is not representing your organization?  That lack of understanding can become a liability nightmare.

    What steps do we need to take when a volunteer feels they must continue to help a former client or family member?

    • Include organizational ties vs. personal ties during orientation, induction and training. Make sure each and every volunteer is aware that they are part of a team, and not individually forming relationships with your clients.
    • Have a clear policy already on paper. The strictest policy would be to fire the volunteer. Or, you may place the volunteer on a temporary leave. Or you might place the volunteer on suspension. Or, you could trust the volunteer to act in a professional manner and monitor their behavior. The point is, have a policy to follow.
    • Communicate with everyone involved. Communicate your policies and boundaries with your volunteer.
    • Speak to the former client. Explain that your volunteer is continuing to be involved as a private citizen, but this means your organization does not support or back the volunteer’s actions.
    • Explain to staff. Be up front, tell appropriate managers and staff and show them the steps you have taken to ensure no harm will befall the organization, client or volunteer.
    •  Document every step of this process. Draft a letter to the client outlining the conversation you had with them and keep a copy in the volunteer’s file. Have the volunteer sign a statement absolving you of all responsibility concerning their actions.

    Connecting volunteers with clients is one of the most satisfying outcomes of our profession. Witnessing a bond formed between volunteer and client is immensely gratifying. Having to cut those ties can be frustrating and painful.

    But we have to remember that not all aspects of our jobs will be easy. At times, we must do the hard things, the necessary things in order to maintain a professional program.

    Leadership means developing the strength to confront and manage the harder parts of engaging volunteers. And elevating volunteer management means becoming a strong leader.

    -Meridian

  • Our Mokita Is In The Room

    our-mokita-is-in-the-room

    Mokita is a New Guinea word that speaks of a “truth we all know but agree not to talk about,” which can more easily be translated into “the elephant in the room.”

    Do we, volunteer managers have a Mokita stomping around our offices?  Do we put our fingers in our ears when it trumpets? Yeah, I kinda think we do. So what is it? What big elephant are we ignoring when it knocks reports off the shelf and whacks us with its trunk as we work?

    We, volunteer managers are at war within ourselves.

    Yep, I believe we are. See, on one hand, we are givers, nice, humble, stand in the background types who push our painstakingly cultivated volunteers to reach for the sky. We fade into the shadows while putting everyone ahead of ourselves-the volunteers, the clients, staff, administration, the board, the donors, everyone. Very noble, right?

    On the other hand, though, we secretly would like to do a little taking. Somehow we magically hope our organizations will recognize the work we are doing, will appreciate all the sacrifice, and will actually see us in the shadows and give us the respect we have earned. We want a seat at the adult table. We want more than just individual volunteers honored once a year. Truth be told, we want our programs and yes, ourselves recognized as well . Selfish, right?

    And when no one sees us in the corner, we get frustrated. We feel beaten down, unappreciated, misunderstood. We can become bitter and angry. We can quit and go work at the Tire and Lube Store down the street or we can stick around and watch the elephant grow bigger on the peanuts of continuing letdown.

    It is our Mokita-our deep appreciation for being humble and giving versus our frustration at not being recognized for our humility and giving nature. And it is our inner turmoil in refusing to ‘sell our souls’ to become selfish in wanting to fix this. It is the elephant that constantly bumps our desks and breaks our spirits. Those silent pretty elephant eyes look accusingly at us and ask, “will you cease to be that nurturing person if you demand some respect?”

    So what do we do? Are we doomed because nice guys really do finish last? Or, are we, as a profession, awakening from under the blanket of background existence woven from fibers of frustration? Can we somehow balance our give and take and still maintain our cultivating spirits?

    What do you think? Well, here’s a question for you to ponder: Do you think volunteer managers should rise to Executive Director positions? If you hesitated, even for just a teeny bit, the Mokita is strong with you.

    Next time, some thoughts on Mokita: Do we have to live in the shadow of the elephant?

    -Meridian

  • The Honestly Honest Truth

    the-honestly-honest-truth

    Brad sighed. “I haven’t had a response from our volunteer, Ashwan in several months. He hasn’t answered emails or phone calls, or come to our monthly meetings. He was a good one. I just don’t know what happened. Did we do anything wrong?”

    This frustration ranks up there along with wondering why I was never employee of the year. Why do good volunteers fade away? Why don’t they tell us the truth about why they leave? Why aren’t they honest with us? We’re really nice people and we listen, right?

    Well, maybe because we need to be more than honest with volunteers right from the start. We need to be honestly honest.  Oh sure, we say to them, “hey, this volunteering might not be for everyone,” but doesn’t that just smack a bit of sanctimonious superiority? Doesn’t that just have an undercurrent of “oh, our volunteering is only for the good volunteers, and that’s probably not you?” If someone said that to me, I’d be looking for the nearest door and planning my exit move too.

    Maybe the breathy tales of our great volunteers can be a bit, well, off-putting for new volunteers. Who wants to have to live up to a Gandhi or a Mother Teresa?

    Maybe, instead of peppering our new volunteer training with story after story of long-term volunteer successes, we could also talk about volunteers who leave and how that’s ok.

    Maybe we could say things like:

    “Take our volunteer Shirley for example. She only stayed with us for three months, but we are so grateful for those three months. We still keep in touch with her. No matter how much or long you are with us, when you’re done, you’re done. Only you know when that is. And that’s ok. All volunteers leave and each volunteer that leaves has made a huge difference and trust me, we are grateful for each one.”

    “Volunteer Craig left after he tried a few different positions and found that they weren’t what he was looking for. Let’s be honestly honest here. We MAY FAIL YOU. Yes, that’s right, we may not intend to, but we may seem to take you for granted, or fail to use your skills. We’re human too and we want to fix things, for you and for other volunteers, so please, tell us when something is not right, because we are not perfect. Craig discussed this with us and we fixed some things because he shared his experience.”

    “Believe it or not, we don’t expect you to stay forever! And believe it or not, losing interest or moving on is something we experience all the time. That happened with our student volunteer, Sheri. She finished her degree and moved on. She got what she wanted from her experience here and took those skills with her when she left. That’s great! You are growing and changing and so are we. Nothing remains the same and if you find yourself feeling restless and wanting to move on, let us know. We want to have the opportunity to talk about it with you. Please don’t rob us of the chance to say thank you.”

    “If you find volunteering elsewhere a better fit for you, let us know so we can send a great recommendation along with you. All volunteering is good work and we are not in competition with other organizations. Our volunteer Marvin found that another organization was a better fit for him. We were so pleased that he took his volunteering to the next level. He comes back and helps us with special events and we love to hear about how he’s doing.”

    Every volunteer leaves a lasting impression on us. And while we strive to make volunteers comfortable with us, they may not be comfortable enough to share the reasons they leave. They may just think that our conception of a good volunteer revolves around how long they stay. Then, when they fade away, we lie awake and night and wonder why.

    So why not be honestly honest from the beginning and try to make it easier on them. And ultimately, easier on us too.

    -Meridian

  • A Corporate Volunteering Interview

    corporate-volunteering-interview

    I was really lucky to catch up with and interview Sadie, a busy mother and professional who took charge of a corporate volunteering event this past December for her financial firm. Here is the interview:

    VPT(volunteerplaintalk): Thank you for speaking with me today. I understand that you took the reins on a corporate volunteer project over the holidays?

    S: Yes, my firm allows us 4 hours of paid time to volunteer and I wanted to do something myself around the holidays because it felt like the time to give back. And because our 4 hours does not accrue for the following year, so I either had to use the time or lose it.

    VPT: How were you chosen to head up the corporate volunteering event?

    S: Quite by accident. I was just looking to fill my 4 volunteering hours.

    VPT: So you had planned on only volunteering yourself?

    S: Initially, yes, along with one of my friends.

    VPT: Did you find the organization you chose on your own or did they reach out to you?

    S: I found it on my own. It is a local toy drive put on by a local city organization and my mom had done something similar in Florida and I thought it would be a festive, holiday experience and I know that there is actual work that needs doing during the holidays to pull off these events.

    VPT: How did you end up doing a corporate volunteer event?

    S: Well, I approached my HR department to see if this organization would count towards my 4 hours and they told me that a number of employees hadn’t yet taken advantage of the volunteering hours for the year. They asked me if I would take charge of making it a corporate volunteering event and I agreed.

    VPT: How did you feel about taking charge?

    S: I really didn’t mind, because at our firm, we run projects, and so we are often in charge of other team members. But I will say, that there is more pressure when you are trying to create a worthwhile experience for a group. You don’t want to waste your fellow volunteers’ time.

    VPT: So, how did you set up this volunteering event with the organization?

    S: Well, I went to their website and saw that groups could volunteer. There were several categories, including sorting toys and food, setting up and also volunteering to help the people shop on the giveaway days of the event. I wanted our group to volunteer on the day they actually gave away toys and food to needy people, because I thought that it would be very meaningful for us.

    VPT: And how did you sign up?

    S: There was a place on the website to sign up for a particular date, so I did that with the names of the members of my group. I signed up two groups on two successive days. I also called the number listed on the website and left a message, because I wanted to make sure that my sign-up was recorded and I did have a few questions.

    VPT: And what did you ask when they returned your call?

    S: I never did get a return call.

    VPT: What? No one called you back?

    S: No, no one did.

    VPT: Did you try again? Did you get a confirming email?

    S: I called again and left a message. I did not get an email either.

    VPT: Were you worried at that point?

    S: Yes, very. I was now responsible for my co-workers’ volunteer hours, and time was running out on the year.

    VPT: What did you do?

    S: Well, I was very busy, what with all the family things to do and at work we had some projects with deadlines, so I waited for some sort of acknowledgement.

    VPT: Did it come?

    S: Luckily, yes. When I was about to look for another volunteer opportunity, I received an email asking me to sign up again through a website called signup genius. I clicked on the link and re-signed the  two groups for two separate days.

    VPT: Did you get a response then?

    S: Yes, an automated one from signup genius saying thank you and confirming.

    VPT: But no personal response?

    S: No, none. I did get a reminder from signup genius, so that was helpful.

    VPT: Was that enough?

    S: It would have been reassuring and helpful to get a personal phone call or email, but I just trusted that we were good to go.

    VPT: And did you inform your group that you were good to go?

    S: Yes, I forwarded the confirmation email to them with their names listed.

    VPT: Did you meet with your group before the event?

    S: No, we did not meet. It seemed pretty straightforward.

    VPT: Did you have an idea of who and where to report to on your volunteer day and what role you would have?

    S: I was in the day one group, so I could inform the group on day 2 of anything they needed to know. But, no, I had no idea who we were supposed to report to or where. I did have the address, though.

    VPT: And so, in good faith you just…

    S: (laughs) We just showed up.

    VPT: And how did it go?

    S: Well, parking was a real issue and we couldn’t figure out how to get into the building..

    Sorry to cut it off here, but the interview is longer than one post. Next time-what happened on the day of volunteering: The conclusion of Sadie’s interview.

    Thanks and have a great week!

    -Meridian

  • Your Volunteer Manager Horoscope for 2017 Part 2

    your-volunteer-manager-horoscope-for-2017

    …and the rest of the volunteer manager horoscopes for 2017 are…

    Leo
    July 23 to August 22

    This is a very social year, and a lunar eclipse in Leo awakens your self-awareness, giving you the confidence to advertise your many program successes, which means you will wake up one morning, after having dreamed about vicious little Gavin in third grade who always copied off your papers and then threatened to rub your face in his tuna sandwhich if you told, and you will borrow a megaphone from your football crazed cousin who smells like ham and lives in your aunt’s basement. You will don your wizard’s hat left over from your Gandalf Halloween costume and you will arrive early at work, and stand near the front door, fist raised, blasting loudly all the things you’ve accomplished as staff and volunteers arrive. You continue to amplify stats such as “our volunteer team increased by 15% this year, are you listening?!” and “volunteers now have a hotline to call thanks to me,” until you feel a tap on your shoulder and you turn quickly, hitting the CEO in the side of the head with your megaphone which sports a sticker that reads ‘Balls are for Playing,’ knocking his new designer glasses to the pavement, breaking them in half.

    On the flip and positive side, you do think about real ways to trumpet volunteer successes so you enlist businesses up and down the main thoroughfare in your town to post pro-volunteer messages on their marquee signs. These messages announce volunteer stats and words of support and thanks during volunteer appreciation week, which increases awareness and not only brings in more volunteers, but also creates new corporate donor partnerships with your organization. Your CEO forgives you while sporting new glasses and asks you to increase your campaign of awareness, enlisting other departments to help.  (You social guru, you!)

    Virgo
    August 23 to September 22

    Uh, oh, Saturn is still squaring your sign giving you lessons to learn, and encouraging you to take it slow and steady. This means you will suddenly declare your office space a “No Emergency Zone” and you will send out a memo to all staff that you have hand printed on recycled gift paper with scented markers from a co-op in India. The memo reads in part: “Placement of volunteers is no mindless task, like making coffee or calling donors. NO! It is a thoughtful, nuanced and carefully crafted exercise that takes experience, level-headed planning and the most bodacious, artful begging in the world! There are at least 20 steps to making the correct volunteer assignment, and if you need me to read those steps to you, send me a note and I will read them to you when I am good and ready. From here on out, volunteer requests must be submitted no less than three weeks in advance, to ensure excellence in all volunteering assignments.” You will nail a box to your door marked. “Properly Planned Volunteer Requests. No Last Minute Filing Need Be In Here! This means you, too, administration.”  When you smugly open the box the first time, you discover chewed gum, used tissues and a note that says, well, I can’t print it for all the profane language. Your immediate supervisor will force you to remove the box after you submit a volunteer name to marketing one week after their event is over.

    On a more positive side, this is a year of putting down roots, so one afternoon while accompanying a friend who is apartment searching, you come up with an idea for a volunteer education program you call  “Rooted in Learning.” This idea resonates because you have experienced the growth or your volunteers due to their hunger for knowledge about your program. You enlist virtual volunteers to help create a monthly educational newsletter filled with articles, tips and research not only pertinent to the volunteers’ jobs, but also to the volunteers’ personal well-being and development. It is such a hit that it becomes a weekly newsletter with contributions from a growing team of virtual volunteers, who then ask for more work and they begin to aid other organizational departments as well. This new program wins a local award for innovation and creativity. (You innovative master, you!)

    Libra
    September 23 to October 22

    Oh, Libra, Jupiter retrogrades in the spring, bringing rapid change which means that you will suddenly decide after visiting that new Turkish coffee shop  to complete all your pending projects in a weekend you dub, “Rapid Fire Volunteering.” You decide to camp out at your office, bringing in a sleeping bag, toothbrush and soap, and a picture of your ex-partner because the sight of him makes you wildly aggressive. You schedule volunteers in one hour shifts to help you arrange all your notes and binders on the floor and tables in your office and you work non-stop while listening to vintage Prodigy albums. At 4am, a security guard finds you sleeping among strewn potato chip bags, “Firestarter” playing in a loop, and, thinking you are a vagrant, he calls the police.  He pokes you with his night stick and almost tasers you when you jump up swinging because in the dark, the policeman slightly resembles your ex-partner.  The policeman helps you to your feet and then confirms your employment by phone with a very angry and sleepy senior manager. Your organization circulates a memo, initiating a “no sleeping in your office policy,” and they include a picture of a sleeping you, dried saliva running down your cheek.

    But ironically, this energy serves you well and one day, you are in a departmental meeting involving volunteer services, marketing and PR. While listening to the marketing manager talk about their wish list,  you hatch an idea to create a volunteer marketing assistant group. You enlist your most vocal volunteers and with a marketing training course, these volunteers accompany speakers to speaking engagements, providing support, volunteer success stories and that personal touch. The volunteers also contact local groups to book more speaking engagements, increasing your organization’s community awareness, support and donations. (You brilliant thinker, you!)

    Scorpio
    October 23 to November 21

    Good ol’ Jupiter hangs out in your 12th house allowing you to reboot, creating a desire to really recharge. This means that although you pore through brochures about retreats to Nepal, the grim reality is that you can’t afford such a lavish trip, so you decide to go on a pilgrimage right there in your own town. You dress in Buddhist robes and sandals and carry a gnarled walking stick that you name “Metaphysical Mike” and begin your odyssey, quoting the Dali Lama as you walk through the main shopping area to raise awareness of volunteering. One morning, while pausing in front of Donna’s Diner to adjust the placard around your neck that reads “non-violence is volunteering,” you are approached by a man dressed in fur. He claims to be Sasquatch and although he just wants to hug you, you defensively bonk him on the head with Metaphysical Mike. He backs away, knocking over the diner’s cute cafe tables and Donna herself comes out to yell, but you hike up your robes and run. You finally breathlessly stop outside your office building, where a group of retired seamstresses are politely waiting for a tour of your organization. One of the group’s members is a volunteer who happily announces, “Oh, here’s our volunteer manager. She’ll take us on a tour!” Trapped, you lead the group through the building, your dirty and tattered robes falling off as you raise Metaphysical Mike and point out a startled group of administrators having lunch.

    On a saner and positive flip side, you do create a retreat for your volunteers, enlisting the services of your town’s business owners. You feature alternative therapies, such as yoga, massage, healing touch, reiki, and aromatherapy in a day of “Recharge and Refresh.” It is a resounding success and your CEO asks you to head up a committee to create annual staff and volunteer retreats. You agree and find that you are now recruiting more alternative therapy volunteers who go on to create innovative and meaningful programs for your clients. (You freakin’ guru, you!)

    Sagittarius
    November 22 to December 21

    Since your ruling planet is in your teamwork zone, you are pumped to make teamwork a priority and after spending an evening at a local sports pub because your friend wanted to meet the cute new bartender, your mind is swirling from all the television sets broadcasting various sports channels. While watching extreme sports, you decide to create your own team atmosphere by hand printing shirts for your volunteers that say, “Team Bestest Ever.” You wear a cap proclaiming yourself “Head Coach of Team Awesome” and one afternoon, you pass out pom poms to all employees in a staff meeting, claiming that they are the cheerleaders for team volunteer. You then pull three random staff members to the front of the room and attempt to lead them in a cheer, asking them to respond to your cheers by shouting “volunteer:” “Who’s the team that’s underappreciated? Volunteer! Who’s the team we fail to notice? Volunteer! Who’s the team that everybody should be thanking but don’t cause we don’t really know what they do and how complicated it is to keep them engaged? Volunteer!” When you realize no one is participating, but rather looking at you in total shock, you sulk back to your seat and sit down. You then are made to take down all the posters you have put up all over your organization, especially the ones that read, “Team Volunteer is Smarter Than Team Finance” and “Team Volunteer Challenges Team Grant Writers To a Cage Fight!”

    Thankfully, when the talk of your ” epic breakdown” fades away, a more positive team idea formulates. You create teams of volunteers made up of a mix of seasoned veterans, new volunteers, prospective volunteers, varying age groups, gender, culture etc. to promote a spirit of volunteer teamwork. The ensuing by-product is these team members support one another, disseminate crucial information, fill in for one another when necessary and work at retaining the members of their group. It is a teamwork win-win and your organization asks you to help recreate the concept for staff which infuses a positive and recharged organizational spirit. (You winning coach, you!)

    Capricorn
    December 22 to January 19

    Saturn rounds out a tour through your 12th house, meaning you will reveal many hidden things and so, one night while reaching for another tissue while watching “How to Train Your Dragon” again, you conjure up a volunteer department based on honesty and revelation. The next day while speaking to a volunteer who asks why she wasn’t told there were no chairs for her to sit upon at the table she manned during the last community fair, you try out your new communication style and answer, “Well, because Doris, the manager of PR, didn’t tell me that we needed to furnish our own chairs.” And in a fit of honest lunacy, you add, “let’s go up and give her a piece of our minds!” Horrified, the volunteer reluctantly follows you up to administration where you rap on Doris’ door, smiling sweetly at your petrified volunteer. When a puzzled Doris invites you in, you point to your volunteer and say, “our volunteer has something to say to you. Go on, be honest.” At this point, the volunteer bursts into tears and runs from the office, bumping into another volunteer who just collated 100 copies of the new procedures manual. Both volunteers drop to the ground, sobbing while gathering the scattered pages and you end up spending your day re-collating the manual and apologizing profusely. Doris, meanwhile bans you from her office for the next three months.

    When fellow staff stop avoiding you, you feel the time is right for your volunteer department to spread some much-needed positive joy within your overworked and stressed organization. You obtain permission for your volunteers to read “words of joy and inspiration” at staff meetings. The volunteers recount some of their personal journeys and experiences while volunteering and these 3 minute episodes are a huge hit with grateful staff. Based on the new-found camaraderie, your volunteers decide to create a “spa day” for overwhelmed staff, an event that features massage, and art therapy and stress relieving journal writing. Spa day becomes an eagerly awaited yearly staple and fosters a new appreciation for volunteers.(You wicked good leader, you!)

    Well, there it is! After she rolled up the charts, Ms. Crystal Ball-Starrzowie wiped the sweat from her brow, either because she had worked really hard, or maybe because the broken furnace in her basement kept running on super high, I’m not sure which. But she did grab my face, locked her eyes on mine and said, “Now this is vitally important. Listen very carefully.” She tightened the grip on my cheeks and added, “your credit card was denied. You owe me $78.”

    Cheers and here’s to 2017!

    -Meridian

  • Your Volunteer Manager Horoscope for 2017

    your-volunteer-manager-horoscope-for-2017

    I was so excited (after paying an online $78 service fee) to book a one hour session with the famous astrologer, Crystal Ball-Starrzowie in her uptown “basement of timeless possibilities.” I could not wait to learn all that is in store for volunteer managers for 2017 and so I took a bus into town, finally stumbling over two garbage cans and upon “Starrzowie’s Astrological Emporium” tucked in between a laundromat and convenience store. Crystal Ball-Starrzowie met me at the door and immediately shushed me, putting her purple cat fingernail over my lips, then she led me down past the ping-pong table to her “mystic room.” The patchouli incense burned my eyes, but I knew I had to do this for you, so I sucked it up, literally, and in between mopping the tears from my painful eyes, I wrote down her breathy predictions for volunteer managers for the coming year.

    Here they are:

    Aquarius
    January 20 to February 18

    Jupiter, that giant gaseous seeker planet moves into your global ninth house, indicating you will take an epic pilgrimage this year, which means you will most likely rent a family sized van and carpool a group of volunteers to a self-help seminar, where, after 15 minutes you will lose them in the crowd just as the presenter shouts, “Grab hands of the person next to you!” You will end up frantically enlisting security to help you find your missing volunteers, who have all wandered next door to the competing seminar, “Take No Prisoners, Grab What You Want Out of Life.” As you approach, the volunteers wave their seminar lists of ‘stand up rights’ and forcefully demand that they now be provided with organic snacks while volunteering and that they will pick the route on the drive home which involves stopping at the local Pottery Barn for a clearance sale.

    On a more positive note, a couple of lunar eclipses enhance your self-authorizing nature and spur a long-awaited change which means you will finally raise your hand in a staff meeting and say, “while it may seem like it is easy to ‘just get volunteers to do that’,  I’d love to help as best as I can. Meanwhile, may I present at next quarter’s meeting on the nuances of managing volunteers so as to give everyone a perspective on volunteer engagement?”  And then you will follow through with an awesome presentation on the changing world of volunteerism. (You freakin’ rock star!)

     

    Pisces
    February 19 to March 20

    Saturn, the sage planet has been messing around in your success-driven 10th house and you will make some lifestyle changes, meaning that after much thought, you will decide to switch to an unlisted phone number, then you will reconsider and make that number public when you miss all the volunteers calling you at all hours, then in a fit of what most of us deem insanity, you will invite volunteers to your house for a home-made vegan dinner (which consists of canned corn and frozen zucchini because both are out of season at the farmer’s market) and a round table discussion on ‘zany ways to make volunteering more appealing’. Several volunteers choke on the clumpy corn and you meet some really nice paramedics who calm you with a shot of tranquilizers.

    On a positive note, while you are considering planning a volunteer recruitment square dance, spiritual Neptune drifts through your sign, sparking real creativity. Instead, you design an open retreat for all volunteers from your community, focusing on the spiritual aspect of helping others and from this humble gathering, you not only gain new help, you forge a group relationship with other volunteer managers in your area. This group will provide much welcomed support for one another. (You creative genius!)

    Aries
    March 21 to April 19

    Five, count them, five crazy planets influence you this March which indicates epic, grassroots advocacy, meaning you will have an epiphany one night and will picket your own organization, cajoling three volunteers to join you in carrying signs that call for the ethical treatment of volunteers. When the local TV news station shows up, having been tipped off by a staff member who is still mad you didn’t get a volunteer to run an errand for her three years ago, you run in a zigzag pattern, just like you saw on CSI into a nearby parking lot where you and two volunteers hide behind parked cars. (the third volunteer hides behind a tree making bird sounds because she just had knee surgery and can’t run.)  Luckily, your executive director is not overly angry, but sits you down and challenges you to put all that leadership energy to better use.

    On a more positive note, since this is the year powerful partnerships emerge for Aries, you will seek out and partner with a local corporation to combine team building with meaningful corporate volunteering, which garners a positive write-up in the local newspaper and makes your executive director very happy she didn’t fire you. (You amazing activist you!)

    Taurus
    April 20 to May 20

    Jupiter, Mr. Humongous Adventure will shake up your sixth house of routine and responsibilities, meaning you will create a giant mandala on the floor around your desk where you will place buckets representing tasks to be done, such as read email, assign volunteers, plan events, etc. Each morning you will throw handfuls of shredded documents into the air and whichever bucket gets the most scraps of paper is the task you will complete. Other staff will steer clear of your area until they can no longer bear the sound of your mantra chanting “volunteers are people too, volunteers are one with the mission,” and administration will make you remove the fire hazard burning candles.

    On the other, positive hand, because your persistent nature abounds this year, you will finally convince your executive director to free up some funds to send you and several volunteers to educational training opportunities which leads to new successful and innovative projects, a few of which are piloted by those same, capable and motivated volunteers who attended the educational sessions with you. (You raging bull, you!)

    Gemini
    May 21 to June 20

    Crazy Jupiter is in retrograde from February through June giving you a chance to experiment with your already amazing style. You dye your hair purple, go completely boho and wear white t-shirts on which you have volunteers draw pictures and write their favorite quotes, uplifting messages and thoughts. You wear these “canvases of inspiration” to all meetings and events until your town’s mayor who officiates a major fund-raiser points out that on the back of your shirt is scribbled, “kick me in an inspirational place.” You then visit your local thrift store for new to you clothes, because you had given all yours away.

    However, in a positive vein, the planet of surprises, Uranus influences your friendships which means, creative Gemini, that you will forge a friendship with a video maker who helps you to create a series of volunteer training videos that are informative and engaging and aids you in attracting more well-rounded volunteers. (You star, you!)

    Cancer
    June 21 to July 22

    Mars, that red planet named after the god of war, can create aggression and impulsive behavior and he makes an appearance in your house this year. Tired of being playfully called the ‘caretaker’ because you always pick up the slack to ensure that volunteers have what they need at events and assignments, you’ve finally had enough of doing other people’s jobs and you go on strike. You refuse to make another volunteer assignment until your volunteer manifesto is read over the intercom. Fearing for your mental health, HR schedules an appointment with a psychologist who happens to be the brother-in-law of a senior manager. He thoroughly agrees with you, having tried to volunteer at your organization years before you got there. Having been treated as ‘just a volunteer,’ he understands your frustration and releases you immediately, commenting that you are saner than his own family.

    In the positive meantime, pesky Saturn, the sage comes into your sixth house of structure and you wisely focus on putting volunteer procedures and job descriptions into place. Your intelligent policies and procedures attract the attention of the Quality assurance folks and they enlist you to head up a task force to rewrite organization policies. (You smarty pants, you!)

    Ok, enough, I have to decipher the rest of my hasty scribbling, because at this point I was wiping my eyes with my paper which smeared a lot of the notes, but I will post the rest of Ms. Ball-Starrzowie’s earth shattering predictions next week.

    Happy Positive Year!

    -Meridian

  • Bringing Home the Volunteer Kitten or Puppy

    bringing-home-the-volunteer-kitten-or-puppy

    I remember the day my husband gleefully arrived home from work with three homeless and abandoned kittens. He just beamed when the kids scooped them up and cuddled each mewing fluff ball of pending responsibility. Yes, that moment of blissful love and connection comes with a hefty requirement attached for they will grow to be cats and require a life-long commitment.

    Fortunately, volunteer managers don’t bring volunteers home. (Well, sorry, but I will throw a fellow volunteer coordinator under the bus and mention that she began to take a recently widowed volunteer into her home to have dinner with her and her family and it spiraled out of control from there.)
    But, other than physically, do we symbolically bring our volunteers home when we start friending them on social media? And what are the implications for being connected to our volunteers beyond the workplace?
    Not too long ago, volunteer coordinator Tami was so stressed that she burst into tears. “I had this huge event that I worked months on getting the best volunteers for and on the day of the event, when I arrived and asked where our lead volunteer Agnes was, the other volunteers told me that Agnes had to go out-of-town last-minute with her husband. I just about died! I asked the volunteers why Agnes didn’t call me to let me know and they said that Agnes had posted it on social media and probably assumed I knew. What a horrible day that was trying to fill in for Agnes while doing all my other tasks. It was a day I never want to repeat.”
    Or how about Lena, who spent so much time involved in her volunteers lives beyond their volunteering that her evenings were spent liking posts and commenting on cute photos of Granddogs’ shenanigans.
    Or Jessup, who befriended so many volunteers on social media that he started following anyone who followed him in case he might snub one of his volunteers and ended up with a hacked account .
    Or Marley who learned one of his volunteers was cheating on his partner while innocently going through posts.

    Hmmm, it’s a great big involved world out there, so what do we do, ban all volunteers from interacting with us after hours? No, of course not, that’s not only unreasonable, it’s just not us. We care about our volunteers and realize that what happens in their lives impacts their volunteering. We don’t wish to be the cold authoritarian manager and so we come to respect volunteers as they relate to us: Associates, neighbors, peers, fellow do-gooders, and yes, friends. Then the question becomes, can we keep these relationships separate and confined to working hours?
    Connecting with volunteers on personal social media is like bringing home that first soft and warm innocent-eyed waif. But imagine bringing home 20 or 50 or 100 little caterwauling waifs. There are laws against this sort of thing for a reason. Here are a few things to consider when connecting on social media with volunteers:

    How is official information communicated? Do your volunteers rightfully think that you know they will not be able to make their volunteer committment because they posted their illness or vacation on social media? Having a policy in place on how official volunteer absences are communicated will eliminate the chaos of word of mouth or “I just figured you knew” scenarios.

    Will every volunteer be treated in the same manner on social media? What about those volunteers who don’t subscribe to social media or rarely post their children’s first soccer game or their latest duck in puff pastry with pomegranate red wine reduction recipe? Will they feel left out? What about the volunteer who posts every detail of their lives? How will you pick and choose which posts to like?

    How much valuable time and precious energy do you spend on keeping up with volunteers’ personal lives? Let’s face it, we are human and only have so much energy to expend on our jobs, our families, our friends, our interests, our education, our health and our well-being. When we start spending more and more time on keeping up with volunteer pursuits outside of volunteering, what aspect of our lives are we cheating?

    Is it possible that your social media connection can become a place to publicly whine or complain? If you are always “available” via social media, why wouldn’t a volunteer message you or worse, post a complaint? Then will other volunteers chime in until you have some real or imagined dirty laundry aired for everyone, including potential volunteers, board members, other staff and administration to see?

    What we do know can hurt us: Too much information can color the way we view our volunteers. What are their political or religious beliefs? How do they treat their family and friends? What are their attitudes towards other people and topical issues? Would this knowledge make us think more or less of them and how do we handle that?

    How much of our personal lives do we want our volunteers to know? Social media is a two-way street. Do we want our volunteers to know about the escapades we share with our close friends?

    How do we view our role as a volunteer manager? Are we friendly supervisors, good buddies, caring peers, empathetic coaches or a bit of all? In reality, we are in charge and we manage the volunteers’ experiences. The more professional our approach, the better the experience for all volunteers.

    Next time you want to bring that adorable little cuddly volunteer home with you, just keep in mind there are serious commitments and pitfalls associated with that warm and caring intention. Always striving to keep professional relationships with volunteers not only benefits them, it benefits us as well.

    Unless you really want a household full of cats.

    -Meridian

  • Patchwork Quilt or Fluffy Comforter?

    quilt

    “That is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen,” Raelinn huffed as she stared at the cacophony of colors and fabrics hanging before her eyes. “I mean, who would ever think that was art?”

    Her best friend, Edna, slowed her pace and was at first taken aback. This quilt, entry #37, was indeed a mess. Irregular shapes, jumbled colors and materials ran every which way over the body of the cover, rendering it a shreeking noise in a choir of lilting quilt voices. But as she peered closer, she noticed a cat with an umbrella on a powder blue patch that had come from a baby blanket. She scanned the oddness and found another sort of large circular patch that must have been an old stained t-shirt from a wine tasting trip. It proclaimed, “Wine Not?” There was a somber black piece of cloth next to a tattered lace collar with the tiniest of stitching. She leaned in and saw the remains “Mothe” embroidered on the faded lace. Looking over the rest of the quilt, she took in the snippet of army uniform, the worn apron, the wedding dress, the graduation robe, the bloodied football jersey, the funeral attire.

    As Raelinn pulled at her arm to go, Edna felt the the ugly quilt tug back and she smiled, thinking of all her volunteers. She gave a quick nod and the smallest of curtsies to the intimately messy display of the quiltmaker’s life and followed her friend.

    When we field a request for volunteers, does the requesting person think they will get a volunteer who is a soft, new smelling fluffy comforter? Do they imagine the perfection of a perfectly laid out and sewn quilt?

    We, who work with volunteers, know that each and every volunteer is really a wildly irregular patchwork quilt. These folks who volunteer their time are the cumulation of their life experiences to date and most are looking to add another patch to their diverse collection. Some volunteers want us to sew up gaping holes in their quilts, while others want us to erase the stains that mar their perception of beauty. A few have blank spots they want us to fill with something inspiring. Once in a while. someone would like to rip apart everything on their quilt and start over, hoping that we have the skilled hands to help them sew something redeeming.

    But after all, we are a cumulation of who we are and who we have been. No volunteer is a fresh from the package down comforter that we can shake free and fluff to meet expectations. Edna, who looked into the details of the ugly quilt and found meaning in each and every patch possesses the ability to recognize the complexities of volunteers’ motivations and needs. She understands that volunteers are not manufactured fluffy comforters but are individually sewn quilts of textures and fabrics.

    That is why volunteer managers are so good at placing the right best correct most deliberately chosen volunteer in every position and situation. It is our job to see the many patches and know how they will affect a volunteer’s performance and experience. The more compounded and complicated the job, the more relevant those patches become.

    One of the greatest challenges facing volunteer managers today is enlightening our fellow staff on the nuances of volunteer recruitment and retention. Pulling a fluffly comforter off a shelf of hundreds of fluffy comforters is never what we do.

    A patchwork human being takes a lifetime of experiences to create. Reading the meaning behind those patches requires a tremendous amount of perception and skill.

    And when a quilt wraps a bed in harmonious warmth, it is then that the volunteer manager can stand aside and admire the perfect pairing.

    -Meridian

     

  • Oh BTW, Get 42 Permanent Volunteers By Next Month-Part 2 Looking Back

    Oh BTW, Get 42 Permanent Volunteers By Next Month-Part 2 Looking Back

    We have to be prepared for it. One day you’re working hard placing volunteers when bam, you’re now in charge of a new program. Your focused energy now has to be refocused. Your carefully managed time has to be completely reworked. Your priorities which you have so meticulously set have to be reset. It happened to me and I survived and here is a quick perspective regarding the project that was handed to me a long time ago.
    First off, the Good:
    Ok, I learned that I was fairly capable after I waded through all the self-defeating voices and just got on with it. I’ve found over the years that equating my work with my worth just held me back. Once I realized that no one concocted this project in order to make me fail, I could logically begin to actually put a plan in place. Tip: Personalizing thoughts can sabotage efforts, so focus on the task at hand in a logical, non-emotional way.

    Now, the Bad: So I have to admit, I fantasized about all the accolades I would receive when I accomplished this gargantuan feat. But, I wasn’t exactly crowned prom queen. Results were ongoing, fluid and expected, therefore in organizational speak, I did not go above and beyond, even though I felt that I did. Tip: Be careful as to your expectations, but don’t go all “aw shucks” and downplay the results. Frame them in terms of volunteer accomplishments and benefits to organization and clients. Then ask for a raise.

    And then, here are just a few Useables:
    Cross-training volunteers is the same as having extra volunteers. When assessing a volunteer request, I learned to look to all volunteers and not just those on a particular list. I’d ask kitchen volunteers to go into homes of patients in their neighborhood (stop by on the way home? Please?) (Mind you, all volunteers got the full patient training). Nursing home volunteers who I knew did not attend a worship service would be asked to come in once in a while on a Sunday or Saturday. Everyone was cross trained so that they could fill in when necessary.
    Volunteer staying power sometimes is really about finding each other. I learned to make sure that the members of groups working together as a team were compatible with each other instead of simply filling time slots. It took more effort and sometimes a time slot would remain open longer, but after losing volunteers due to mismatched teams, I realized the effort was crucial. Members of cohesive groups encourage each other, fill in for each other, and create that camaraderie that keeps them coming back.
    When you have a big ongoing project, you at least have something to offer volunteers who are interested in volunteering with you instead of putting them on hold. In volunteer training, I used to tell the story of two new volunteers, Della and Debbie who told me that absolutely under no circumstance would they ever work in a kitchen. Well, you guessed it, they tried it temporarily, loved it and not only gave 12 years to the kitchen project, they did fundraising, trained new volunteers and filled in for other jobs.
    Don’t pigeonhole a job: So, sure, kitchen work didn’t sound like meaningful stuff for many volunteers who wanted to work with patients, but we were able to expand the kitchen role by having volunteers take trays into rooms, and chat with families about menu choices which led to some real meaningful conversations. Some volunteers started in the kitchen and moved “up” to working exclusively with patients.
    You have to honestly believe that every job matters and not just try to “sell it”. Why did it matter that volunteers were cooking for patients? Well, heck, the meal the volunteers prepared may have been the patient’s last real meal and shouldn’t it have been made with care? Besides, the patient’s family would see the pretty garnishes on the plate, see the homey touches in the food, and see the hand written signatures on the place mat. But do those tiny actions by volunteers really matter? Oh, wow, did I learn that it’s the smallest things that matter the most. Once I began to experience the project in terms of how it impacted real people, my recruitment pitch changed drastically for the better.

    Somehow, in some way, make it your own. When you initiate a project, you already have ownership and buy-in. When you are handed a project, you need to find a way to make it your own so that your enthusiasm and commitment is akin to a project you created. Since I was handed no real guidelines to follow, I quickly made it my own by giving my project a title and mission statement, thereby taking it from the cold ‘Volunteer Dietary Project’ to ‘Homelike Meals Made by Caring Volunteers.’ It was a simple but very powerful transition from an antiseptic concept to a vibrant and purposeful one that I could get behind.

    Big results come from big work. The effort may take a great deal of time and energy, may go forward then backward, may sometimes look impossible, but with the skills already honed from managing volunteers, a project can succeed. We, volunteer managers are stronger and much more capable than we might think.

    -Meridian