Tips on Finding and Developing Volunteer Leaders...Tips on Finding and Developing Volunteer Leaders WELCOME 2 Robert Hoffmann Session Facilitator Volunteer, AARP Volunteer Facilitation
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Expand Your Reach & Impact: Tips on Finding and Developing Volunteer Leaders
Expand Your Reach & Impact: Tips on Finding and Developing
Volunteer Leaders
WELCOME
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Robert HoffmannSession Facilitator
Volunteer, AARP Volunteer Facilitation
and Training Team
About this templatePresenters
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Carole RicksAdvisor, ServiceEngagement
Patricia OhAge-Friendly Communities Consultant
Helen MackVolunteer, AARP VolunteerFacilitation and Training Team
Will StonerManager, Outreach, Training & Development
Build Your Volunteer Team
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The Landscape
◉ Organizations are rarely fully staffed
◉ An unlimited and insatiable need for personnel
◉ “Volunteers contribute an average of 3.5 hours per week —totaling 20 billion hours with an estimated dollar value of $225 billion.” (Source: Network for Good, Participate in the Tradition of Volunteering, 2018)
◉ Skilled volunteers served an average of 25 hours compared to 12 hours of the traditional volunteer
(Source: True Impact, The Comparative Benefits of Skills-Based Volunteerism and Traditional Volunteerism Insights from the Volunteerism ROI Tracker, 2012)
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Attracting the “Right” Volunteer
Target your recruiting:
◉ Think outside of the box◉ Be specific◉ Go directly to the source◉ Notify the community you serve◉ Collaborate
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
Collaborate with other organizations, companies, individuals…you never know where your next volunteer will come from.
◉ Length of Appointment◉ Time Commitment◉ Qualifications◉ Support Provided◉ Benefits
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◉ Recruitment◉ Screening
◉ Candidate placement◉ Management
A well-described volunteer position will improve:
And will include:
Sample Volunteer Posting
Volunteer Position: City Hall ConnectorsWould you like to be at the center of the action at Mulberry City Hall?Do you enjoy helping people find the services they need?
The city's Public Works Department is seeking energetic, positive, customer-service oriented volunteers to welcome and assist guests at the main information desk on the first floor of Mulberry City Hall.
Service hours are available Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.You can choose a 3- or 6-hour shift commitment.
This is a great posting. What could be added to make it better? Beyond welcome and assisting guests, are there other tasks or requirements that volunteers should be aware of? If so, detail. For example: Volunteers will also respond to phone inquiries fielded to the information desk. Volunteers may be sitting or standing for two or more hours. This opportunity is disabled or “differently abled” and 50+ friendly. Are there any benefits a volunteer might receive? For example: -Training will be provided. Upon successful completion of the training, a volunteer uniform will be provided. -Assorted beverages are made available to volunteers
The Way People are Aging is Changing
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…Communities are changing, tooThe Good News• By 2060, the median age of people living in the US
will increase by 5 years—to 43. • We are leading longer & healthier lives.
The Challenge• 42% of people 65+ say they are lonely.• Feeling lonely increases the risk of death by 26%.• Loneliness is worse for your health than smoking 15
cigarettes a day—it is more dangerous than obesity or physical inactivity.
More good news!Having a higher sense of purpose in life, increases the likelihood that people will remain mentally and physically healthy as they age
Presenter
Presentation Notes
No one is born to rock, even the most introverted person among us needs social connections. One way to gain those social connections is through volunteering. Tell story of George… We are living longer and we are living healthier. Older residents have talents, skills, and life experiences that they want to put to work in their communities. However, they don’t want to just to do anything, they want to identify meaningful opportunities.
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Identifying Meaningful Volunteer Opportunities
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Not everyone wants to chair an age-friendly community or participate in community planning. Implementation is a time for volunteer recruitment—a time to engage people who are interested in making specific changes in their communities. The woman gardening with the children in the elevated bed garden created by Age Friendly Saco, is a master gardener and former primary teacher. In this photo, she has the opportunity to bring both of her passions together. One way to recruit volunteers is by showing people what the possibilities are. In the picture on the top left, notice the woman in blue. The adaptive tool table is an initiative of the Bethel Area Age-Friendly Community Initiative. They brought it to the “community days” event and gained a volunteer in the process. She is a retired OT and now volunteers to meet with people in their homes to talk about adaptive tools that can make everyday life a little easier. In the bottom picture, you see the woman on the left has vast experience planning. She was co-chair of the age-friendly committee in her community. One of the needs in the community was to increase recreational opportunities and physical activity. To do that, she needed to recruit volunteers but “everyone” knew that all the good volunteers were tapped out (ever look around the room and think there aren’t any other people available to volunteer—it seems pretty common). She placed notices in the village newspaper, no response. She went to the polls and sat up a table. One sign up. Finally, she put a message on the community’s informal “friends and families” facebook page that she was starting an outdoor club for people available during the weekdays for hiking, kayaking, snow shoeing, etc. Today, the club has more than 40 members. Some of them have also stepped up to get trained to offer evidence-based fall prevention programming, work with the youth, start a line dance class, and lead a walking group. She found her volunteers by starting with the fun and moving to the ask.
Engaging Volunteers
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Engaging All Ages
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Age-Friendly communities are better places to live for all ages. Don’t be ageist and forget to ask young people to volunteer! In the bottom left, picture, the eagle scout worked with the age-friendly team in Augusta, ME to design and build benches for the city’s 3 municipal pools. In the bottom right, these young people are learning from a master gardener while helping her keep her elaborate gardens thriving even though she can no longer do all of the physical work herself. How do you engage these volunteers? Ask if your HS has a service requirement for graduation, reach out to boy scouts and girl scouts. In the top left picture, one of the age-friendly leaders in Maine is volunteering her time to teach children who go to the Boys and Girls club how to sew. They get to keep some of the flannel hats, mittens, and scarves they make but the majority are donated to the local warming shelter. The project started when the age-friendly team asked the Boys and Girls club in their community how they could partner. The boys and girls club said they needed volunteers.
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Recognizing the Contributions of Volunteers
Presenter
Presentation Notes
One way to recruit volunteers—and keep them engaged—is to recognize volunteers and celebrate new victories. In this case, the age-friendly group in Raymond won a challenge grant to create a multigenerational garden near their town library. By publishing the opportunity, the group more than doubled the volunteers available to work on the project. And look how they are celebrating! This sends out the message that volunteering on limited time projects is fun!
Our process is easyGain Super Powers!
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
Communities gain their super powers when all the generations work together.
Engaging Volunteers
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Why Teams Work?
◉ Taps the skills & knowledge of many people
◉ Builds from diversity in the broadest sense
◉ Allows people to choose from a variety of roles
◉ Creates energy◉ Sustainable over time◉ Meets a number of community
and team member needs
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Our process is easyIce Cream Story
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Big“L”
Little“l"
Our process is easyLadder of Engagement
Easy Entry
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Sample Volunteer Roles in Livable Communities
◉ Advocate on transportation issues before elected officials
◉ Develop volunteer daily phone check-ins for frail residents
◉ Volunteer as a friendly visitor◉ Provide rides to people who need transportation◉ Get trained to give evidence-based fall prevention
classes and then offer the classes◉ Run food pantries◉ Create guides to local transportation options◉ Chair the age-friendly team in your community
or region
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
Positions to call out: -Advocate on transportation issues before elected officials -Volunteer as a friendly visitor -Get trained to give evidence-based fall prevention classes and then offer the classes -Run food pantries
Our process is easyMoving Up the Ladder by “Dating”
Will Stoner – Manager, Outreach, Training & DevelopmentHelen Mack – Volunteer, AARP Volunteer Facilitation and Training TeamRobert Hoffman – Volunteer, AARP Volunteer Facilitation and Training [email protected]
