Volunteer Plain Talk

In the conclusion to part 1, Wes, who began his new job as manager of volunteer services in December 2019 and as the new head of volunteer services, had to almost immediately send volunteers, ones he didn't get to know well, home. In part 2 of this interview, Wes chats about his experiences, including:Difficult conversationsThe hardest thing he's had to do as a volunteer manager. (and it's not what you might expect)Rounding on volunteers, building that relationshipDiversity and InclusionExamp...

Wes began his new job as manager of volunteer services in December 2019 and as the new head of volunteer services, had to almost immediately send volunteers, ones he didn't get to know well, home. In part 1 of this interview, Wes chats about his experiences, including:That initial shock.The suspension and not knowing what would ultimately happen.How do you introduce yourself and say, "Hi, BTW, stay home."Nurturing the personalities you've not gotten to know yet.Am I the bad guy?Involve the vo...

In this second part of my conversation with Laura Rundell, we chat about:Inspirational volunteers who support people knowing they cannot change circumstances.Volunteer appreciation-do we need a luncheon or even a week? Where should our focus be?Evolving volunteer recognition.Team nomination vs. volunteer of the year.No one, including staff gets there on their own.Person of the year? What's the point?Volunteer voice of descent-why we should listen.Grumpy volunteers-just grumpy, or do they have...

Laura Rundell and I chatted last year about resilience in episode 15. In this episode, Laura and I get back together and chat about today's volunteering landscape. What has changed? What is the same? Laura discusses:Are volunteers returning?Change means an uptick in needsPaid staff are scarcePre-pandemic models vs. post pandemic modelsWhere does the program go moving forward?Navigating a shifting landscapeGetting volunteer buy-in upfrontMaking volunteer roles definableWhat is sustainable-can ...

In part 2, Paul Falkowski, PHD discusses his vision for designating volunteers as essential workers. He touches on:The workloads of nursing home activity directorsHow family members are pushing to be designated essentialThe toll isolation takes on nursing home residents and the surprising statistics Risk vs. gainTraining for essential volunteersVolunteer creativityQuirky interview questions that reveal characterIs reimbursement an answer?How creating individualized volunteer help can inc...

In part 1, Paul discusses how he began his journey to designate volunteers as essential workers. Paul shares how he became a champion for volunteers in nursing homes through a nonprofit he built from the ground up. Paul discusses the importance of team, volunteer education and training, skin in the game, and navigating volunteer management challenges. In the next episode, he discusses his ambitious plan to designate volunteers as essential workers. Dr. Paul Falkowski is dedicated to serving t...

Do we assume that engaging kids 9-12 is too much effort for the return on our investment? Are we missing an untapped volunteer potential? In this episode, Summer Neiss, student coordinator for the K Kids program at Mabel Rush Elementary school shares the passions, motivations, and untapped potential of youth volunteers. Summer discusses the upsides such as attracting the kids' parents or guardians, thinking out of the box and cultivating future volunteers. Points she shares are:Kids are ...

In this episode, Laura Rundell chats about resilience, a timely topic during the Covid pandemic: Laura shares her experiences on these subjects:What exactly is resilience?The filled up cope-o-meterExamples of resilient volunteersWhat resilience is notVolunteer motivationDo we confuse volunteers not being resilient with not being heard?What does individual motivation have to do with resilience?What goes on in a volunteer's life may determine resilienceHow do leaders of volunteers advocate...

In this episode, January 2021, Brittany McGarry shares her thoughts and suggestions for:Where do we go from 2020?How are volunteer managers viewed?How to engage volunteers quickly.How forced opportunities can help us navigate the future.How a simple coffee hour changed everything.What volunteers really want.What volunteer retention is built upon.Why complicated does not mean better.How to use surveys to your advantage.Why we shouldn't provide quick volunteer assignments.How volunteer journey ...

In this episode, Elisa Kosarin, CVA shares her insights on:strategic planning and how fun fits inhow volunteer managers should aspire to move up into senior managementachieving buy-in and the seven kinds of powerthe future of virtual volunteeringhow volunteer managers are embracing and adapting traditional roles to virtualhow new looks at virtual roles may create more inclusion and diversityhow doing uncomfortable things makes you growwork/life balanceleadership, vision and creativitythe firs...