by Penny Kern
This weekend, I helped at an open house for a wildlife rehabilitation center. This is a VERY grassroots, mom and pop organization and the volunteers are people like me – they have an interest and a desire to help.
Being an experienced volunteer manager, this type of set up drives me nuts. I keep thinking it should be better run. Position descriptions, interviews, background checks, etc., etc. etc. I can see so many places that a good volunteer manager could make a huge difference in making it BETTER and run more smoothly.
Then, at the end of the day, after helping over 200 people see the animals and learn about when the rehabilitation center does, I look at what happened and realize that it works just like it is. Two men came to volunteer – just dropped in off the street – and we put them to setting up a table to house the collage of pictures. They helped cut down some thistles and walked around the grounds to make sure there were no tripping hazards. They signed the visitors log, made a donation, and left content that they were of help.
I DO NOT recommend this for other organizations but, for this one and the mom and pop who run it, there’s no better way. As they get to know people, they allow volunteers to get more involved. If they keep coming back and show some aptitude for working with the animals, they help them learn more about how things work.
I think my point is that not all organizations can or should be run by the book. Even though it looks easier and certainly lower risk, it may not be in the long run.
Penny Kern is a retired manager of volunteers and is a featured blogger.
