VCCV Weekly Volunteer Opportunities

• Volunteers age 16 and older are invited to assist with a youth science program on March 9^th from 9:30 until 11:30 a.m. at the Bluedorn Science Imaginarium.
  
  
• Volunteers age 18 and older are invited to work with third graders while assisting staff with printing press and industry assembly line activities at the Grout Museum District. This opportunity will be held on March 6^th  and 13^th from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
  
  
• Parkview Nursing and Rehab Center is looking for a motivated volunteers to pair up with residents of our facility to meet on a regular basis. Become a "buddy" and provide visits and possibly one to one activity of some sort. Hours are flexible. Individuals age 16 and over are welcome.

• People's Community Health Clinic needs volunteers to serve as Reach Out & Read Literacy Assistants. Volunteers will read to pediatric patients in the waiting rooms and model early childhood literacy pattern roles for parents. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome.

 

Call 319-272-2087 to volunteer!

6 Tips for Recognizing Volunteers

Volunteers are the lifeblood of many organizations, therefore it is important to keep them engaged in their work.  To keep a volunteer engaged, it is vital to provide ample recognition, rewards, and opportunities to volunteers.

Recognize volunteers publicly and privately.

Whether you are working with one volunteer, ten, or a few hundred, it’s important to recognize their efforts.   There are many ways to recognize volunteers, from giving them a hand written thank you note, or one of many other ways to say thank you.  Getting to know your volunteers will help you to know how they would best like to be thanked for their work.

Reward volunteers with creative gifts and gestures.

Gifts for volunteers don’t have to be big and they don’t have to be expensive. The best gifts for recognizing volunteers are things that will be useful to them.

Give volunteers opportunity to grow.

It is important to check in with volunteers on a regular basis to make sure they are still interested in their tasks or want to change their responsibilities.  Many volunteers want to learn and grow by doing new tasks over time.  Make time to meet with volunteers once or twice a year or quarterly to catch up on both personal and volunteer related topics.

If you think a volunteer would work really well in a paid position that’s open, ask them to apply for it. Even if they can’t take it, it lets the volunteer know that you and your organization appreciate their work.

Provide food at volunteer functions.

Providing something to eat, in addition to a well planned event,  is a key way to draw volunteers to events. Rather than offer the same cookies and punch at each event, keep it interesting with theme related snacks. Don’t forget to check if your volunteers have any dietary restrictions so everyone can enjoy the food!

Give volunteers a break.

It’s important not to tax volunteers by overloading them with difficult or strenuous tasks that they didn’t initially agree to do. At the same time, try to realize that volunteers’ might not want to do the same task for the entire time they’re working with your organization.

Check in with your volunteers to make sure they’re happy with what they’re doing, and let them try something new or take some time off if they want to.

Say thank you.

At the end of the day, most volunteers just want to know their work is appreciated and they’ve done well.  Strive to say a genuine “thank you” to volunteers whenever you get a chance.

We thank HandsOn Blog for this information.

Call 319-272-2087 to volunteer!

Family Volunteering

The following are some tips to help parents broaden their children's perspectives on the world through family volunteer activities. Whether you're planning an intensive international volunteer experience or a trip to the local park, there are plenty of ways to spend important time together as a family while experiencing the true spirit of giving.

·    Plan as a family. As you work to develop socially conscious children, it's important to involve them in your discussions about volunteer opportunities. By bringing them into the planning process, you will help your children understand why you want them to be involved and that their input is important in the decision-making process.

 

·    Decide what you're looking for in a volunteer experience. Increasingly, volunteer organizations are providing opportunities for the whole family to volunteer together. Getting involved doesn't have to be that complex: how about getting started in your own community? Volunteer Solutions can help you find opportunities to give back when and where you want. The key is to figure out what works best for your family.

 

·    Determine the impact you want to have. Are you looking for a onetime experience, like volunteering at a clothing drive, or are you looking for an ongoing effort, like volunteering at a soup kitchen once a week? Would you rather volunteer at a community center, school, retirement center, or hospital?

 

·    Find age-appropriate activities. Naturally, a toddler shouldn't be wielding a hammer on a construction site. When looking at options for your family's volunteer experience, consider first the needs and abilities of your own family. Children should be exposed to how they can help their communities, but this should occur in a thoughtful manner, which will help both the children and those you are trying to help.

 

·    Determine your comfort level. Are you looking to roll up your sleeves and provide a little sweat equity, or would you prefer to work with children or seniors in an air-conditioned building? Make sure everyone in your family is aware of what they are getting into.

·    Incorporate your family's interests. Perhaps you have a child with a strong environmental interest. Or one who likes music. Or a science buff. Whatever your children's interests, try to incorporate them into your volunteering to make the experience more personally meaningful and valuable.

·    Build excitement. Volunteering can be fun! As you research and learn more about your volunteer assignment, encourage your children's curiosity and engage their interests. Have a countdown until your activity, and build in mini-events leading up to your charitable time together. Let your children know that giving back can be fun.

 

·    Reflect together. Throughout your experience and afterward, check in with your children to see how they are doing. Volunteering together as a family can be fun and also extremely educational. Don't miss the opportunity to instill some life lessons along the way.

Make time for family members and friends to reconnect with one another. Don't forget the great gift you can offer together -- your time.

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley has over 100 member agencies and over 180 volunteer opportunities. To volunteer visit www.vccv.org or call 319-272-2087.

We thank the Case Foundation for this information.

Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley Accepting Nominations for Mayors’ Volunteer and Top Teen Awards

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley is accepting nominations now through Friday, March 1 for the 2013 Mayors’ Volunteer Awards and Top Teen Awards. The awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to service through volunteerism in the Cedar Valley.

 

The Mayors’ Volunteer Awards honor the exemplary contributions of individuals ages 19 and older who dedicate their time and talent to volunteerism in Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Evansdale and surrounding communities in Black Hawk County.

 

The Mayors’ Top Teen Awards honor youth ages 13-18 attending a school in Black Hawk County. The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa also selects one junior from each of the accredited high schools in Black Hawk County to receive the $1000 Mother Moon Service Scholarship.

 

All nominees and recipients will be recognized at special events on April 23 at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center.

 

Nomination forms are available online at www.vccv.org or may be requested by calling the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at 272-2087.

 

The awards program is sponsored by the cities of Cedar Falls, Evansdale and Waterloo, the Greater Cedar Valley Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, the RJ McElroy Trust and the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley.

 

 

For More Information Contact:

Lauren Finke, Executive Director

Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley

2101 Kimball Avenue, Suite 1414

Waterloo, IA  50702

(319) 272-2087

lauren_finke@vccv.org

A CALL TO SERVICE

Currently, Iowa is ranked third in the nation for its state volunteer rate (percentage of Iowans who volunteer), however the average number of hours volunteered is near the middle of the pack with Iowans on average volunteering 34.2 hours per year. In other words, Iowans are more likely to volunteer but on average volunteer fewer hours than the national average. As made evident in the Floods of 2008 and the spike in average volunteer hours following the flooding, when Iowans are presented a need and asked to help, Iowans step forward.

Volunteer Iowa: A Call to Service is making that ask. Not just because we want Iowa to be # 1 in volunteering; but, because we know that service is the secret ingredient to meeting all of Iowa goals for education, job creation, and health.

Through the “What’s Your 50?” campaign, we hope Iowan’s will increase their service activities to 50 hours per year. Contributing an extra 16 hours annually per resident would provide an additional $1 billion worth of services and improve the well being of the Iowans who volunteer. Research has shown that an annual contribution of 50 hours tends to be a tipping point for maximizing impact; both to the individual who volunteers and the benefactor of their service.

Imagine the difference we can make by working together to meet some of our communities’ toughest challenges!

Volunteer Iowa: A Call to Service is a public private partnership consisting of Iowa businesses, volunteer centers, nonprofits, and national service programs working in partnership with the Governor’s Office and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service.

 

Call 319-272-2087 to volunteer! The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley is happy to assist you with your volunteer needs.

VCCV Weekly Volunteer Opportunities

• North Star Community Services needs someone to read stories to men and women with developmental disabilities who attend North Star's Advantage program. Book Nook is an on-going activity that happens on Mondays at 10:00 a.m. Volunteers age 18 and over are welcome.

• Volunteers age 16 and older are needed to help pack sack meals to send home with children in need that include foods that are shelf-stable, kid-friendly and healthy at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank.

• Operation Threshold is looking for a motivated volunteer interested in filing documents and assisting with large mailings. Hours are flexible. A volunteer is needed to assist at least 10 hours per week between Monday and Thursday. Individuals age 16 and over are welcome.

• Hartman Reserve Nature Center’s annual Maple Syrup Festival is March 2 and 3. Volunteers are needed to assist with kitchen help, table clearing, assist with 'Chris Cakes', sap collection, ticket sales, and parking. Volunteer shifts are 6:30 - 10:15 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome.

Call 319-272-2087 to volunteer!

What to do with deadbeat board members?

There is a blog that I read daily entitled “Katya’s Non-profit Marketing Blog.” Every now and then, Katya shares reader questions. After reading this installment I felt it is interesting enough to share. Thank you, Katya, for sharing your thoughts on some of the more difficult issues faced by non-profits.   

 

Here’s a recent reader question.

I have two board members that I like and want to keep as supporters, but clearly they don’t have the time or don’t make the time to be good board members. Elections will be here soon, should I just call them and tell them that it appears they don’t have time for the board and ask them not to run or do you have a better idea?

This is an interesting one. I find myself asking, what does it mean to be a good board member? I think there are a range of qualities. Good board members are generous - with money, skills, time or preferably all of the above. They are engaged at the right level—they lay out a vision and then let the executive director define the path toward it, without micro-managing. They are reliable, showing up for most meetings and speaking thoughtfully when they are there. They ask for and track results. And they are public champions of the organization, lending their voice to your message and recruiting new supporters.

So let’s assume your two board members are none of the above. That’s a problem. Or maybe they only have some of these qualities. I don’t hear you saying they are toxic - in which case, I would offer different advice than I do here. Basically, I glean that they are checked out. So before calling them up and calling them out, I’d think about why they might be disengaged.

Are they lazy? Is their heart not in the mission? Or do they simply not have the time to make your organization a priority?

Or could it be something you are doing? Maybe you haven’t clearly told them what you expect. Maybe you haven’t asked them to do more. Do you keep them closely updated on your organization? Are you giving them well-organized, clear materials before meetings? Do they get enough time to prepare beforehand? Do you run lively, interesting and engaging meetings?

My advice would be to call them up on a fact-finding mission to get the answer to these questions. Or ask a fellow board member to do it. This is the problem of the whole board, not just yours.

Say something like this:

“I am calling to thank you for your support of ABC nonprofit. We depend on people like you to help us (talk about your mission here). You’ve been with us as a board member for some time, so I wanted to check in and see how you are feeling about your board service. Elections are coming up, so I’m exploring with each board member their interest level in continuing with us.”

Then listen. You may get a simple “Great.” Or you may get a confession (“I’m so sorry I haven’t been to meetings, I just don’t have time”) or an insight (“I am not sure how I can best be involved.”) That tells you where to take the conversation next. If the person said “great,” and they are anything but, you might want to ask another question. Like, “That’s wonderful. Looking forward, we’re going to take steps to make our board more fully engaged. Are you willing to…” then list every single thing they need to do. That should result in their opting out or committing to more. Either way, you get what you need. If they say something like, “I’m sorry I can’t do more” or “Sorry I don’t go to many meetings,” you can gently suggest they don’t run for re-election. Or if they say something like, “I’m not sure how to be involved,” you can tell them. Maybe they had no idea of what was expected.

You say you want to keep them as supporters, so I’d make that clear in any conversation. Be ready with ways they can continue to help, just not on the board.

The bottom line? Rather than calling them and saying “it appears you don’t have time,” ask and listen. You’ll know what to do from there. In my experience, ratcheting up expectations encourages less committed people to be honest about their dedication level, and disengaged people usually are relieved to volunteer themselves for a graceful exit. If you let them do the talking and they don’t want to do more, they’ll walk out the door for you. If the problem is how you’ve communicated or engaged, maybe there is an opportunity to turn things around. Either way, the conversation will be seen as you being a caring partner. And that’s what you want.