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 conversations
• The hardest thing he's had to do as a volunteer manager. (and it's not what you might expect)
• Rounding on volunteers, building that relationship
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Example of intergenerational success
• That "third place" where volunteers are free to bond with one another
• After the past two years, where is volunteerism headed?
• Technology-what can it do for us?
• Clear desk, clear mind
• What Wes would love to see "in a perfect world"
• What volunteer managers really want
• Why we need each other
• Are our problems so different from one another's?

Wes' bio:
I was born and grew up in the panhandle of Florida, just north of some of the most beautiful beaches in world. My first job at local radio station found me while in high school. (Believe me, as a shy kid, radio was the last thing I expected to work in!). After 13 years, I transitioned into my first volunteer leadership position at a small hospital on Florida's gulf coast. It was there my love for this field truly took off. I moved into nonprofit multi-state event volunteerism for a short while before finding my current position with a large health system covering Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Here, I manage the volunteer programs for four hospitals, including the system's flagship medical center and only children's hospital. The job didn't start out the way I planned, with the COVID-19 pandemic beginning shortly after. Nevertheless, it has been an experience full of possibilities and new and exciting challenges to overcome. I like to consider myself a "helper to the helpers," serving those who give so selflessly of their time and energy to move our mission forward. I can't wait to see what lies ahead for volunteerism, not just in my small corner of the world, but for all of us who are fortunate enough to call this field home. If you have any questions or would just like to connect, my email is [email protected].

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 volunteers in everything you can, like training.
• Make volunteers feel like they're still here.
• How a former career may have helped-what skills transferred over.
• A forced rebuild.
• New protocols.
• Eliminate roles or find adjacent roles.
• Change management.
• Volunteers "aging out."
• The challenging conversations-sandwich anyone?

Wes' bio:
I was born and grew up in the panhandle of Florida, just north of some of the most beautiful beaches in world. My first job at local radio station found me while in high school. (Believe me, as a shy kid, radio was the last thing I expected to work in!). After 13 years, I transitioned into my first volunteer leadership position at a small hospital on Florida's gulf coast. It was there my love for this field truly took off. I moved into nonprofit multi-state event volunteerism for a short while before finding my current position with a large health system covering Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Here, I manage the volunteer programs for four hospitals, including the system's flagship medical center and only children's hospital. The job didn't start out the way I planned, with the COVID-19 pandemic beginning shortly after. Nevertheless, it has been an experience full of possibilities and new and exciting challenges to overcome. I like to consider myself a "helper to the helpers," serving those who give so selflessly of their time and energy to move our mission forward. I can't wait to see what lies ahead for volunteerism, not just in my small corner of the world, but for all of us who are fortunate enough to call this field home. If you have any questions or would just like to connect, my email is [email protected].

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 something to teach us?
• When introducing change, get those grumpy volunteers on board first.
• Standing up for volunteers.
• Recognizing we are a profession.
• The nonprofit smoke alarm.
• Respect for volunteer program means respect for ourselves.
• Turnover due to poor culture.
• Dare we talk salary?
• Work/Life balance-yes, we must have one.

Laura Rundell has been in the field of Volunteer Engagement for over 20 years, working at organizations of varied sizes and missions. She has worked at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA; LifeBridge Community Services in Bridgeport, CT, and currently works for the Friends Program in Concord, NH. She received her CVA in 2013, has led workshops on performance reviews for volunteers, and written guest blogs for 20 Hats and Volunteerplaintalk.

She received her BA in political science from Earlham College and her MA in History from Northeastern University. You can find Laura at Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-rundell-960a13b6/

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 needs
• Paid staff are scarce
• Pre-pandemic models vs. post pandemic models
• Where does the program go moving forward?
• Navigating a shifting landscape
• Getting volunteer buy-in upfront
• Making volunteer roles definable
• What is sustainable-can we do everything?
• Changing roles to fit today's reality
• Championing a new normal
• Risk management and ethics
• Communication to prevent the volunteer churn

Laura Rundell has been in the field of Volunteer Engagement for over 20 years, working at organizations of varied sizes and missions. She has worked at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA; LifeBridge Community Services in Bridgeport, CT, and currently works for the Friends Program in Concord, NH. She received her CVA in 2013, has led workshops on performance reviews for volunteers, and written guest blogs for 20 Hats and Volunteerplaintalk.

She received her BA in political science from Earlham College and her MA in History from Northeastern University. You can find Laura at Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-rundell-960a13b6/

In part 2, Paul Falkowski, PHD discusses his vision for designating volunteers as essential workers. He touches on:

• The workloads of nursing home activity directors
• How family members are pushing to be designated essential
• The toll isolation takes on nursing home residents and the surprising statistics 
• Risk vs. gain
• Training for essential volunteers
• Volunteer creativity
• Quirky interview questions that reveal character
• Is reimbursement an answer?
• How creating individualized volunteer help can increase quality of life
• Universal volunteer training
• The need for volunteer managers to mobilize

To connect with Paul and his efforts, please reach him at:

Website: https://voluncheerleader.com/
Email: [email protected]
Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/voluncheerleader
Twitter: @paulfalkowski1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voluncheerleader
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-p-falkowski-ph-d-2b15512/

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 the people who live and work in long-term care communities. Paul has a bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Music and a Master’s degree in Gerontology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and went on to earn a doctorate in Gerontology also from the University of Nebraska.  He was first attracted to the field of aging through his volunteering in nursing homes providing musical entertainment. In 1993, he formed a nonprofit that recruited and trained some 700 volunteers for Omaha and Lincoln nursing homes over 26 years. In 2003, he contacted the Department of Gerontology at the UNO and was encouraged to pursue a Gerontology graduate certificate.  Eighteen years later, he teaches online courses for the Department of Gerontology, conducting research and consulting with nursing homes. He recently developed the course “Volunteer Management and Aging Services” and is working on publishing a study in which he connects volunteerism in long-term care and the nursing home’s quality of care measures. Also, he authored “Creating the Volun-Cheer Force: Rethinking the way we use volunteers in nursing homes” and formed VolunCheerLeader LLC to provide support to nursing home managers of volunteers. His passion for volunteerism and improving the care of older adults is unwavering.
VolunCheerLeader website: https://voluncheerleader.com/

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 natural helpers from toddler on.
Kids who volunteer are highly motivated.
Just like adult volunteers, kids are sustained by impact.
Kids are socially motivated.
Today's kids are aware of the world.
Kids have big ideas and love to brainstorm.
Summer also shares her thoughts on bettering volunteer programs for kids such as:
Where to find organizations to partner with.
Why conversations about volunteer partnering are necessary.
How kids' parents or guardians would get involved.
How little things can make big impact.
How community good will is involved. 
For more information on K Kids visit: https://www.kiwaniskids.org/


  

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-meter
Examples of resilient volunteers
What resilience is not
Volunteer motivation
Do 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 resilience
How do leaders of volunteers advocate for themselves? Describe themselves?
Drawing the line as a profession
The ripple effect we may never see
Advice for new leaders of volunteers  


Laura Rundell has been in the field of Volunteer Engagement for over 20 years, working at organizations of varied sizes and missions. She has worked at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA; LifeBridge Community Services in Bridgeport, CT, and currently works for the Friends Program in Concord, NH. She received her CVA in 2013, has led workshops on performance reviews for volunteers, and written guest blogs for 20 Hats and Volunteerplaintalk.

She received her BA in political science from Earlham College and her MA in History from Northeastern University. You can find Laura at Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-rundell-960a13b6/

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 mapping takes patience.
How elevating volunteers means letting go (in a good way).


Brittany McGarry is a Volunteer Engagement Specialist with the National MS Society. With a background in Higher Education and her passion for volunteering, she stumbled into nonprofit work and found the perfect niche in this field. She serves as a Board Member with DOVIA Colorado and the Event Chair for the Colorado Conference on Volunteerism. She welcomes connections, brainstorming and opportunities and can be reached at [email protected]. 

In this episode, Elisa Kosarin, CVA shares her insights on:

• strategic planning and how fun fits in
• how volunteer managers should aspire to move up into senior management
• achieving buy-in and the seven kinds of power
• the future of virtual volunteering
• how volunteer managers are embracing and adapting traditional roles to virtual
• how new looks at virtual roles may create more inclusion and diversity
• how doing uncomfortable things makes you grow
• work/life balance
• leadership, vision and creativity
• the first step to achieving your vision

About Elisa:

Elisa Kosarin, CVA, helps nonprofits deliver fully on their missions by strengthening their volunteer programs. Her work is driven by the conviction that volunteers who are supported and valued have the potential to transform their communities.

Elisa consults, coaches, and trains on volunteer management best practices.  She blogs regularly on her Twenty Hats website, exploring the skills and practices that leaders of volunteers seek to build confidence elevate their programs.
Elisa's blog on strategic planning at CASA: