By Paula Burnett
Come on down! Be a volunteer contestant! Select a door! What is behind door #1, door #2, or door #3?
Ok, the volunteer has selected your door (agency). Now it is time to “make a deal” to cement this relationship and keep that volunteer coming back. Ahhhhhhhh, retention is the real name of the game. How many times each day do volunteers consider themselves unnoticed, unappreciated, unrecognized, and just leave? It happens all the time…more than you may realize. The deal is volunteers are not staff, which volunteer supervisors sometimes forget, and the reasons for being a volunteer vary from the sheer joy of doing an activity to a feeling of belongingness to leaving a legacy for future generations. Smiles, thank you’s, sincere feedback, and listening to their suggestions on a regular basis go a long way in terms of retaining volunteers and recruiting new volunteers via their comments to friends, family, and other community members. Put yourself in the shoes of your volunteer’s experience at the site….how would you like to be treated and remembered?
Here are a few volunteer testimonials for why Senior Corps volunteers choose to serve. These are gentle reminders for all of us in volunteer management.
Door #1 Senior Companion Program – “After I retired, I really didn’t know what to do with myself. I really felt depressed and useless, often looking out the window and wondering why I felt so down. Someone told me about SCP so I decided to volunteer. I don’t know that I would be here today if I had not gotten out and started to help other people. I have purpose and enjoy visiting others. Some days when it’s hard to get going, I think of the people who are waiting for me to visit and it really gets me moving. Somebody really needs me.” – Ed Morrissey
“Doing what I am doing has made my life so much better.” – Kay Newman
Door #2 Foster Grandparent Program – “I have grown in many ways. The students and teachers make me feel special every day…It’s been a privilege for me to be a part of FGP. We don’t have the responsibilities the staff has, but I believe we help so they can do what they need to do as they teach the kids to be intelligent, responsible adults. They [the children] are our future; we need to take care of them. They will need all the help we can give them.” – Prudy Turner
Door #3 Retired and Senior Volunteer Program – “Volunteering is fulfillment for my heart and allows me to meet the needs of my community.” – Edith Hussey
In conclusion and celebration of Senior Corps Week, I would like to take this time to encourage all volunteer managers to review the promises, trainings, and tasks that were set forth for their volunteers when the volunteers started serving. In other words, have you lived up to the DEAL you made with your volunteers? Perhaps, it is time to make a new DEAL.
Paula Burnett is a RSVP Director at the UMaine Center on Aging RSVP and a guest blogger.
