Safe Food For the Hungry -- II

Learning Center Activities Part 3: Volunteer Management


Learning Center Activity 6:
Developing and Effective Volunteer Program--Lesson Plans

Objectives:

During this activity participants will learn about current trends in volunteerism, the steps in a successful volunteer management system, and the problems associated with volunteer liability. Specifically, participants will:

Materials:

Preparation for Activity:

  1. Photocopy the Instruction Sheets.

  2. Photocopy the bull's eyes.

  3. Photocopy Volunteer Issue Cards cards on heavy paper or card stock, cut on the lines, paste answers on the reverse side. (Note: You may wish to color code the questions, i.e. Red = liability, blue = volunteer trends, Yellow = volunteer management)

Instructions for Activity:

  1. Hang the ISOTURES, Taxi, and Liability posters.

  2. Post the 3 Bull's Eyes.

  3. Place the dot or star stickers near the Bull's Eyes.

  4. Place the Volunteer Issue Cards on the table.

  5. Post the Instruction Sheets

  6. Encourage Participants to examine the ISOTURES, Liability, and Taxi posters.

  7. Encourage Participants to look at each of the Bull's Eyes and place a sticker at the spot that most closely represents their program.

  8. Encourage Participants to read the Volunteer Issue Cards and try to answer.


Job Descriptions??

A. We have written job descriptions for all positions.
B. We have written job descriptions for critical positions.
C. We have no written job descriptions.


Volunteer Training??

A. All volunteers receive orientation and training.
B. We provide orientation and traininng for key positions.
C. Volunteers receive no training.




Volunteer Recognition??

A. All volunteers know they are appreciated.
B. No systematic program, but try to make volunteers feel appreciated.
C. Volunteers perform a task or duty. No recognition is necessary.


Volunteer Issue Question Cards

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Volunteer Trends - 1

Woman volunteer more than men-true or false?

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Volunteer Trends - 2

The higher your income and educational levels, the more likely you
are to volunteer-true or false?

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Volunteer Trends - 3

People who are active in church or synagogue are more likely to
volunteer  -- true or false?

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Volunteer Trends - 4

People with full time paid jobs do not make good volunteers-true or
false?

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Volunteer Trends - 5

Youths do not volunteer for any type of service or activity-true or
false?

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Volunteer Management - 1

It is not important to have job descriptions for volunteers because
they are willing to do whatever is needed at the time-true or false?

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Volunteer Management - 2

Only paid staff should train and orient new volunteers-true or
false?

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Volunteer Management - 3

Delegating jobs to volunteers frees paid staff to strengthen other
program areas-true or false?

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Volunteer Management - 4

For a successful program, all parts of your volunteer management
system must be coordinated in sequence-true or false?

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Volunteer Management - 5

A volunteer's time is valuable.  You should not underutilize your
volunteer's time-true or false?

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Liability - 1

Risk Reduction is a strategy to reduce liability in your
organization-true or false? 

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Liability - 2

Developing job descriptions for volunteers can limit your
liability-true or false?

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Liability - 3

It is not necessary to provide volunteers with periodic evaluations
of their performance-true or false? 

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Liability - 4

A risk is defined as "any actual or potential event or situation in
which a person or property may be damaged, harmed, or affected
negatively"-true or false?

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Liability -5

Risk Acceptance means that you know that you will eventually have a
law suit brought against you no matter what you do-true or false?

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Volunteer Issue Answer Cards

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Volunteer Trends - 1

False.  Approximately 49% of all men and 51% of all women volunteer,
when you consider sports teams, firefighters, church, and board
members.

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Volunteer Trends - 2

True-but changing.  40% of people with incomes below $10,000/year
volunteer.

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Volunteer Trends - 3

True.  Although the statistics are not definitive, there seems to be
a correlation.

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Volunteer Trends - 4

False.  49% of volunteers fulfill full-time job obligations in
addition to community service.

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Volunteer Trends - 5

False.  52% of youth age 14 to 17 are volunteers. 

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Volunteer Management - 1

False.  Job descriptions help in recruiting volunteers and ensure
that there are no misunderstandings between the organization and the
volunteer.

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Volunteer Management - 2

False.  New volunteers like to be trained by people who have done
the job in the past and orientation can be performed properly by
informed volunteers.

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Volunteer Management - 3

True.  One of the easiest ways to increase performance of paid staff
is to properly delegate to volunteers.

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Volunteer Management - 4

False.  Volunteers are the key to successful programs.  Volunteer
Management Systems should support the organization and its
volunteers. 

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Volunteer Management - 5

True.  Always have work prepared in advance or call the volunteer in
advance to change the schedule.

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Liability - 1

True.  Assess and eliminate circumstances that increase the
magnitude of a loss due to a risk.

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Liability - 2

True.  Job descriptions provide a concise description of
responsibilities, qualifications/limitations, and supervision.

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Liability - 3

False.  Evaluations can document strengths/weaknesses,
successes/problems and ensure equal recognition opportunities for
all.

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Liability - 4

True.  To manage risks you must be concerned with property and
people.

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Liability - 5

False.  Risk Acceptance means that you recognize and accept the risk
and develop strategies to minimize the effect of the risk.

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Volunteerism Fact Sheet

Why do people volunteer?

People volunteer for a wide variety of reasons. If you would ask 100 different people why they volunteer, you would get 100 different answers.

Top Five Reasons for Volunteering:
(Based upon data collected by the Gallup Organization)

  1. To do something useful to help others.
  2. Enjoy doing the work.
  3. Have an interest in the work or activity.
  4. Felt those with more should help those who had less.
  5. Gained a feeling of personal satisfaction from giving and volunteering.

Who volunteers?

In many ways, the statistics show us that there is no clear "profile" of the American Volunteer. However, there are several trends that can be helpful when attempting to identify potential volunteers. Refer to the next page for information about today's volunteers.

Be sure to ask!

The fastest and most significant way to increase volunteerism is to ask more people to help. People are more than four times as likely to volunteer when asked than when they are not. Among the 45% of respondents who were asked to volunteer in the past year, 82% actually did.

Make use of under utilized groups

. Certain demographic groups are asked to volunteer less often: African-Americans and Hispanics; families with household incomes under $20,000; single people; people who are divorced, widowed or separated; and persons who are not employed. But, when asked, these groups volunteer at a similar or even higher rate than the national average.


Who Are the Volunteers of Today?


ISOTURES-A Volunteer Management System

Volunteers are the key to successful programs. The processes implied by ISOTURES are not done in sequence. Rather, all are important as a part of an effective volunteer-led program. Each part of the ISOTURES system can be thought of as a piece of a puzzle. All pieces are necessary to complete the puzzle.

Pieces in the ISOTURES Puzzle

I     Identification

Finding people who have the competence and attitude to fill specific positions.


S     Selection

Placing motivated volunteers.


O     Orientation

Orienting those recruited for the positions they will fill.


T     Training

Preparing volunteers to be successful.


U     Utilization

Providing opportunities to increase knowledge and skills.


R     Recognition

Recognizing and rewarding volunteer performance.


E     Evaluation

Giving useful feedback.


S     Supervision

Helping leaders obtain the results they wish to accomplish.


How Effective is Your Volunteer Program?