 by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Author's program note. In this punk economy, the nation's 1,000,000 charities, non-profit organizations and eleemosynary institutions are hard pressed to do all that must be done for the good of so many. To achieve their admirable goals, they need volunteers... and lots of them. But volunteers who don't know how to be good volunteers are, in fact, a drag upon an organization's limited resources. Thus this article from an old hand in the volunteer business. Whether you are a recruiter of volunteers or a public- spirited person looking for suitable volunteer options, this article is for you! For the music to accompany this article, I have selected perhaps the greatest recruiting song ever, "Indian Love Call." It was first published as "The Call" but became instantly popular in the 1924 operetta-style Broadway musical with music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert Stohart, with book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein. They made it good.... Nelson Eddy and Jeanette Macdonald in the 1936 film "Rose Marie" made it great. If there is a drop of blood in your body and a heart that still functions, you cannot help but respond to its soaring lyrics: "When I'm calling you will you answer too? That means I offer my love to you to be your own." Go now to any search engine. Find this celebrated song. Put a box of tissues where you can easily get access. Turn it on... and be prepared to call your favorite charity when finished. You are about to give of yourself for the good of others. "You'll belong to me. I'll belong to you." With this article in hand, you will soon be the best volunteer this organization has ever seen. It's a Job. The first thing you must realize about any volunteer position is that it is not just like a job; it IS a job... and must be treated accordingly. Sadly, too many volunteers think that because there is no paycheck that they have the right to be frivolous and cavalier about the business at hand. Nothing could be more wrong. This seriousness starts even before you are engaged as a volunteer. What you need to know, and what either the executive director or designee must tell you, is exactly what your duties and responsibilities will be. In other words there must be a clear understanding of what the organization expects from you and your ability to live up to these expectations. Naturally, both parties should expect to put all this in writing, so that both parties are clear... and so that they remain clear throughout the volunteer's involvement. Here are just some of the things the volunteer must be told and the organization must be clear in informing: * clothes. What you'll be doing will guide your selection. * name and contact information for person responsible for assisting the volunteer. * available training materials and where to find them. * exact duties and when, where and how they must be done. * how to report progress and/or where and how task-related queries should be handled. Note: new volunteers are in need of constant hand-holding and TLC. Expect to provide it. Introduce the players. New volunteers must be assigned a mentor, someone who will show them the ropes, a person like the Artful Dodger in Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" . His song in the 1968 film perfectly sums up the relationship between mentor and mentee. "Consider yourself at home. Consider yourself one of the family. We've taken to you so strong. It's clear we're going to get along... Consider yourself one of us". Exactly. Mentors must be friendly, knowledgeable, accessible, "good people" willing to extend a helpful hand and (above all) gifted with a sense of humor and an ability to live by the words of Theodore Roosevelt, "to do the best you can, with what you've got, where you are." In short paragons of astonishing virtues and skills. Is there more to learn? Of course there is... there always is, if you want to be one of the best volunteers ever. * Stay informed about the organization by promptly reading all organization emails, ezines, etc. Do not allow yourself the luxury of falling behind. * Action everything requested in a timely fashion. Do not make your mentor or other organizational contacts chase you for the information they need to do their jobs. * Ask for and listen carefully to constructive criticism. Properly handled and considered it becomes a fuel for improvement and advancement. * Be proactive. If you see a problem, bring it to the attention of your mentor. This is the way to show your mentor that you are "with it," loyal, thoughtful, a self-starter... in short just the kind of person this organization needs and must have. Still more tips. * NEVER criticize what you see. Ask why it is that way. Never come across as a pompous know-it-all. * If you cannot keep a scheduled job assignment, let your contact know as early as possible. Remember, something you cannot do must be done by someone else. * Always be prompt and keep your excuses to the barest minimum. * Solve all pc and other electronic device problems as fast as possible. Don't burden your contact with a boring "blow-by-blow" description. Don't discuss the problem. Solve it. Three more key points. * When you see a problem you can solve, solve it. Organizations rely on people who are willing to do more than their share, and gladly. This is the most important person of all. BE THAT PERSON! * Work to make the CEO's life easier. CEOs are people with more on their plates than can easily be processed. In helping them you help yourself; for the more you are able to assist without adding to CEO burdens, the faster you go up in the organization. Never forget this. And, finally, HAVE FUN! Never look upon what you do as drudgery, beneath you, something to be done with as soon as possible so that life's fun and games can begin. Work properly understood is, as Sigmund Freud knew, one of the two pillars of the successful life, the other being love. Treat this opportunity for constant growth and development accordingly. Then reach out to other volunteers, newer than you, who'll be glad to hear how you got started and why everyone in the organization speaks so well of you! |
