Fall Volunteers
Marcia and Xandi- Perhaps this can work via the blog, but we can all talk in person if we have to. With the fall season rapidly approaching, we need to work out a better system than we have where volunteers are concerned. Here are a couple of things we should discuss:
1) Craft prep volunteers for the Fall. Marcia, you were asking about tasks for your volunteers- it's going to be relatively quiet during August. I would advise that you simply give them the month (or a few weeks at least) off. Maybe they would be interested in signing on during the school year- perhaps you could set up weekly times with them through the fall. That said, if we don't have anyone that wants to carry over from the summer, we'll have to discuss number of volunteers and times and dates for them to volunteer, so we don't have a repeat of some of the awkwardness of who brings on more volunteers and how. I'd like to work out particularly with you, Xandi, the specifics of the on-call volunteer list and how that could be set up so that anyone with a volunteer need or crisis can use it easily :).
2) Calling volunteers. Would it be most helpful if we figured out ahead of time who is on when and actually scheduled the calling? Maybe a calendar with calling times and people written on them? Maybe you guys have a system that will work better for you- if so, run it by me.
So- questions? Comments?
posted by 82jp at 6:37 PM
2 Comments:
It absolutely sounds like we're all on the same page with regard to reminder calls: I think these should be scheduled for a specific person's shift, as well, if possible. On days when Xandi and I don't see each other, there has sometimes been confusion (at least on my part) over whether a task like this has already been accomplished. We hate to call twice, not only for the duplication of effort, but also because it's annoying to the folks at home!
I wonder, could this kind of calendar be set up on E*vents, so we could all see who has done what and when? For that matter, if we could post the whole volunteer schedule there, then there would only be ONE location for changes to be made, and all of us would have full access to full names, phone numbers, and scheduled times for all volunteers. This might also be a place to post specific jobs that need to be done, and/or to check them off when they're finished.
As for fall volunteer needs, I don't know what my fall schedule is yet (AF??), but ANY TIME that I am scheduled to work at the gazebo, I am HAPPY to have volunteer(s). If my schedule doesn't fall entirely during school times, I'd like to "insist" on having at least one volunteer for at least a couple of hours, at least one day per week.
I'm not keen on the idea of using "on-call" volunteers for the types of volunteer tasks I typically oversee: these jobs almost always come up without lots of advance warning, and *if* they can be done quickly, they also go away quickly. Having to take extra steps to arrange for assistance actually adds to the awkwardness of using volunteers, and for the sake of logistics, I'd probably end up doing these tasks myself. For me at least, it is easier to look ahead and call a regularly scheduled volunteer, *if* there's nothing to be taken care of on a given day.
Hope none of this muddies the waters...
Here are some specific situations where I like having reminder calls done:
-first couple of weeks of storytime- because there are usually so many people on the waiting list, I want to be able to say "we called you" at least once before we take their name off
to make room for others
-programs where registration is under 25
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