Models of Volunteers

WHAT: As a 4-H extension agent, my main role is to serve as a volunteer manager. Having a strong volunteer base is important to the mission of 4-H and having a strong volunteer base helps ALL those involved. There are many different types of volunteer management models (such as the ISOTURE or the L-O-O-P) which not only sets up the organization for success, but also develops the volunteers involved teaching them life skills such as leadership and responsibility.

SO WHAT: In Amelia County, VA it is my job to Recruit, Train, Retain, and Recognize volunteers in order to have a successful 4-H program. Currently there are tough financial times hitting us at all angles within the state which trickles down into county programs. There isn't enough money to fund everything. However, if your volunteer management is effective you will see positive responses in program quality, educational output, increased numbers, etc. The value of your volunteers

NOW WHAT: When there are organizational leaders who do not take the time to provide a valued training and development for their volunteers, the impact will fall short of a success. In regards to the L-O-O-P model, the description fits: the program should be running like a well oiled machine and each part impacts one another. I plan to continue to provide orientation and training and recognizing my volunteers which hopefully continue to retain them hopefully creating an umbrella management. All in all, the resources are abundant...but it begins with the volunteer manager. This will in turn positively impact your program. Last year 40 volunteers in Amelia County had a value of over $81,000 and in 2008 Virginia volunteers had $4.5 billion of service in a time when funding was scarce no less.

Recognition+Appreciation=Smiles

In the office today we started ordering gifts and preparing certificates for our volunteers and donors. It is absolutely necessary for us to have volunteers, especially 4-H, and this is our time to say THANKS!!

Last year was the first one that our office had done in at least 5 years. When I started I was cleaning out the file cabinets and came across plaques with volunteers names on them. Some of them I recognized and some didn't. I was dumbfounded when I looked at the date that was on them too - 2004. I started in December of 2007! What in the world was going on that there was NO recognition given?! Everyone likes to have a little pat on the back once in a while but for 3 years these "Thank You" items remained unseen. They were hidden as if they were ashamed.

After seeing them I vowed to give them to their rightful owners in a nice way, in an honorable way, in a public way. In October of 2008, we hosted the office's first (well, first in a long time) volunteer appreciation night, and the attendance was mediocre at best. How much had appreciation had these volunteers received?! However the ones that were there, were just a bit excited to be honored.

Immediately following the reception we found those volunteers who did not attend and personally gave them their plaque and said Thanks. That's all it took: a little energy to give back to the people who have been giving ALL ALONG. What a great feeling.

Sometimes it doesn’t take that much effort to show someone that you appreciate them and in the end your organization will one held in high regard. The impacts and results are worth it, aren't they?

Why I Help

I saw this article this morning and thought it would be good to share...why people volunteer is a great question...

Why I Help

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To be or not to be...a volunteer.

WHAT: The concept of volunteering dates back to the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which stresses the importance of helping your neighbor out and demonstrating human kindness. Today it seems that more organizations are requesting help from others in order to fulfill their mission, but recruiting those volunteers is the hard part. Can pushing people to volunteer constantly be a bad thing?

SO WHAT: After 9/11, President Bush "saw the need to renew the interest in helping our neighbors...[creating] several new programs and the President's Volunteer Service Award to be given to those the help to make a difference." Celebrities encouraged all Americans to volunteer and help each other because they do. Not all Americans want to be told what to do; they want to do it on their own accord. Congress disagreed:

Serve America Act

In regards to that bill: "We contribute our time and money under no government coercion on a scale the rest of the world doesn't emulate and probably can't imagine," said Luke Sheahan, contributing editor for the Family Security Foundation. "The idea that government should order its people to perform acts of charity is contrary to the idea of charity and it removes the responsibility for charity from the people to the government, destroying private initiative."

NOW WHAT: It is important for people to feel and see their worth, not just told it. In my job as a 4-H Agent, I rely heavily on volunteers and I encourage youth development of life skills especially citizenship. I want them to WANT to volunteer and to see the impact that they, as an individual, can produce, without being told to do it. Giving volunteers the autonomy of making their own decisions works well, because when they see their own impact, importance and worth, they will return.