SoSA Florida’s diverse volunteer base runs the demographic and geographic spectrum. Throughout the entire state, our volunteers represent various ages, religions, orientations, creeds, and ethnicities. Outreach and recruitment efforts reflect this variety. In person outreach occurs at hunger related or environmental conferences, religious services, volunteer expos, schools, and community meetings..
Urban Abundance helps harvest and tend backyard and community orchards in Clark County, WA. Urban Abundance volunteers help with orchard maintenance, harvest, and outreach..
In Yakima, the program has three types of volunteers: out-of-town groups, in-town groups, and individual volunteers. Our recruitment and management strategies are different for each..
A great way to recruit volunteers while at an established non-profit is to pull from the organization’s networks. Volunteers that are already dedicated to the organization may be looking for additional ways to help. These are people that are reliable and vetted over months/ years…
The New Roots program has the benefit of access to the IRC’s volunteer and communications systems, the most notable of which are a large existing pool of on-call community volunteers and a dedicated Volunteer Specialist who manages requests for volunteers..
Good Cheer relies on over 3,000 hours of volunteer service each month, performed by around 200 volunteers. Whidbey Island is a tight-knit community; news travels mostly through word of mouth, and relationships are key to engaging and retaining volunteers..
The Community Food Projects developed by the first-year VISTA have not so far included volunteers because they are primarily still in the development phase. Volunteers have also been readily available when needed through the structure of each project. The first community meal pilot under the program provided a weekly lunch while a local meal-providing agency (Salvation Army) was taking an administrative break over the summer months..
When volunteers sign-up, they are put on an email listserv (e.g. MailChimp). When a gleaning event is scheduled, an email is sent out to volunteers. If email is not an option for some, take the time to call them; it is worth it!
In order to engage volunteers a Gleaning Coordinator can take some of the following steps: Talk with civic/volunteer groups/clubs such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Masons, Lions Club, Soroptomists, local business associations, etc. Talk with church leaders, especially outreach ministry coordinators. Hold informational events at public libraries…
Training Volunteers It is important before volunteers start gleaning that they have a clear sense of what to expect and what is expected of them. Making handouts that give them clear instructions helps ensure gleaning runs smoothly, and you do not cause any problems that…