Tag Archives: Volunteer Coordinating

Vintage Vignette: Reach Out and Read

Posted on March 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

Vintage Vignettes glimpse into the Communicationist’s past, one to ten years ago from this day.

On this day in 2009 I was leading a group of volunteers to a clinic to read to kids in the waiting room. This was for three organizations. By that I mean the activity was supporting the mission of the non-profit Reach Out and Read, it was facilitated by the volunteer organization Boston Cares, and it was hosted by the Mattapan Community Health Center. This kind of collaboration is what I love about the volunteerism world. Organizations coming together to find where their missions overlap and the synergy of their cooperation helping even more individuals and communities than they could on their own.

Boston Cares needs non-profits who need volunteers. Reach Out and Read is a non-profits that needs volunteers. Mattapan Community Health Center has kids who could benefit from volunteers reading to them. It seems like such an obvious fit but getting partnerships like this to happen isn’t always easy. Thankfully there are a lot of people out there who love to jump in and get involved.

My role was as a Boston Cares Project Leader. When volunteers signed up through Boston Cares for the waiting room reading project, I would be in contact with them about logistics and questions. I’d supervise them on-site so the health center staff didn’t need to take time away, and I’d follow-up with them afterwards to see how it went for them and if they’d like to do it again. When multiple organizations are involved, it’s important that the Volunteer Coordinator have a clear role. Mine was clearly defined as being from Boston Cares, not the other two organizations, and that helped in the organization of the process.

If you’re looking to volunteer, chances are your local city has an organization that can help you connect to the cause, timing, neighborhood, and role that you’re looking for. This Vintage Vignette focuses on Boston Cares, but there are others like Greater DC Cares. No matter where you are, websites like VolunteerMatch will have listings near you and allow you to search by the type of opportunity you want.

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Volunteer Roulette

Posted on December 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

Even though I stepped down as a Chair on the Boston Pride Committee, I haven’t quit altogether. I’ve been keeping a less active role as a volunteer. I helped organize the volunteers for a fundraising holiday party for them last night, and acted as a volunteer myself. We needed volunteers to help run the silent auction, black jack tables, poker tables, and roulette tables, as well as serve as waitstaff and bartenders. I helped with the assignments and set-up, then moved on to my table.

Me running the roulette table

Volunteers (especially at volunteer-run organizations) often end up wearing multiple hats at once. In addition to my roulette lady and volunteer coordinator roles, I was also a prospective donor and a community member. So in this case, Boston Pride would be trying to serve my wants as a constituent, hoping that I donate to the cause, hoping that I get others to donate to the cause, trying to make me happy so that I will volunteer again, supervising me, having me supervise other volunteers to make sure they are happy so they will volunteer again but also that they do their job and get community members to donate while recognizing that the volunteers are also community members who may donate…. Head spinning like a roulette wheel yet?

 
And all of that was perfectly OK because I feel comfortable volunteering for Boston Pride and am happy to take on more than one role. Putting a new volunteer in a volunteer coordinator role wouldn’t have been the right move, but if you find the right volunteer for the job, the roles can fall into place. It is important to keep in mind, though, that volunteers are never just your volunteers: They are the clients that you serve, the donors to whom you market, and the public to whom you advertise. Always put your best foot forward to them and keep them happy in all of their roles by choosing the best task for them as an individual.

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Vintage Vingette: MSPCA Walk for Animals

Posted on September 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

Vintage Vignettes glimpse into the Communicationist’s past, one to ten years ago from this day.

On this day in 2009, I stepped in as the Volunteer Coordinator for the day of the annual Walk for Animals, a fundraising event for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It was a fun day with lots of cute dogs and excited volunteers. I wasn’t involved with the volunteer recruitment or event planning — I had only emailed a few times with the coordinator to get my instructions. I got there early to set up and found myself organizing the volunteers who were there to help with set-up. Our labors produced this tent with Dunkin’ Donuts:

Me where I feel at home

Volunteers checked in with me to get their assignment and then again whenever they had completed a task. I was on Walkie Talkies with the MSPCA staff and would re-direct volunteers as necessary. Set-up and clean-up were the busiest times, and check-in was my favorite part of the event. I really like greeting people at the beginning of the day. The MSPCA passed their goal of $250,ooo and the event was a success!

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Boston Pride Volunteer Appreciation Party

Posted on July 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

One of the responsibilities of being Volunteer Chair for Boston Pride is planning a party to thank all of the volunteers that made the events happen that year. In the past it had been a gathering at a billiards place or bar, but I wanted to make it a real selling point in recruiting volunteers. I approached a few cruise ship companies based out of the Boston Harbor to see if they would be interested in a barter. Boston Harbor Cruises answered the call and donated the ship, staff, food, beer, and wine for a 3-hour event in exchange for a sponsorship package of ads, registrations, etc.

Telling volunteers that they would get a free cruise for volunteering was a huge addition to my pitch. I created a few events within the cruise that I hope will encourage the volunteers to return next year. The first was “Speed Meeting.” Lots of volunteers join up to meet new friends, professional connections, dates, etc. I wanted to make sure those connections were facilitated. I created speed meeting to be like speed dating, but instead of just meeting a date you could meet a friend or other connection. Everyone who wanted to participate had two minutes to talk to a stranger, then I would ring the bell and they would move on to the next fellow volunteer and have two minutes to talk to him or her.

"Speed Meeting"

The other was an Awards Ceremony. This was something the Pride Committee had been talking about doing for years, but hadn’t been done, at least for several years. I created awards such as the “Unwavering Loyalty Award” for a volunteer who stood in the rain without an umbrella or rain jacket to complete his task, the ”Sustained Leadership Award” for a group of veteran volunteers, the “Long-Distance Love Award” to the volunteer who had traveled the farthest to be a part of Boston Pride. Winners received certificates, Boston Pride schwag, CD giveaways, and in some cases, tickets to upcoming shows! Overseeing and MC-ing this ceremony was a lot of fun and I think it gave all of the volunteers incentive to return and go above and beyond in 2011. 

Giving out an award

The whole event was a blast and the Boston Harbor Cruises staff and Boston Pride Committee team helped out so much that I was even able to enjoy myself too. Being the MC was so much fun – I could live with a microphone in my hand. Thanking volunteers is one of the best parts of being a volunteer coordinator!

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