SRG: Two Hands for Helping

by Adriana Carr, MPA

Senior Center Director

Arlington County Department of Parks & Recreation

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands - one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Audrey Hepburn.

Just about anyone who works with volunteers will agree that they are the reason the program is a success; the work gets done; they are backbone of the organization and so on and so on.  It’s hard to imagine the daily grind without them.   The benefits are reciprocal because volunteering also has a positive impact on the volunteer in a variety of ways.   According to research conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service “older volunteers report lower mortality and depression rates, fewer physical limitations, and higher levels of well-being. (2015)”.

Other researchers found that the benefits of volunteering affect various aspects of a person’s life such as social, physical, emotional health.  For example, older adults who had few opportunities for social interactions in their lives found that volunteering increased their opportunities for friendship and the socializing helped to improve their self-perception. This same study connected social health to improved emotional and physical health.  I would suggest that keeping these ideas in mind may also help us manage our volunteers and volunteer programs better.

Take a look at how your volunteer program affects your volunteers.  They are certainly helping you out.   So think about how you can support your volunteers with a multi-dimensional approach. Go beyond the usual recognition activities and take the 7 dimensions of well-being into consideration to make your volunteer program a holistic one.   Affirming someone’s worth in the community, helping them remain vital and connected is the foundation of most of our work with our clients/participants.  It would be natural to extend that approach to our volunteers.

Some examples of whole person volunteer management from around the Old Dominion include:

In the Norfolk area,  Hope Lomax Jones of Recreation, Parks and Open Spaces Senior Programs tells us that older adults help out as volunteers all the time, especially during large city-wide events like Senior Olympics and Grand Parents Day Events.  Additionally, the volunteers are “either intrigued or feel a sense of empowerment that we value the use of their skills.” This also adds excitement to the event and helps to generate interest.

In Loudoun County, volunteers are a vital component of senior center operations and programs. Cheryl Wheeler of The Senior Center of Leesburg tells me that that volunteers share their time as Advisory board members, front desk and library staff; kitchen assistance, concierges who give tours, hospitality help, class instructors, kitchen servers and delivering meals to homes.  One special group, the Community Ambassadors provides a grassroots effort to enhance safety among the seniors in the community.

Volunteers not only help us do our jobs; they strengthen our connection with our communities.  If you take whole approach to developing your recreational programming, increase its value by implementing whole person management techniques with your volunteers.

Join the conversation by telling us what your volunteer management style is.

Adriana
Karen

Janice

Cheryl
Hope

Management by Christmas Garland

by Sandy Kellogg

Aquatic Operations Supervisor, Mount Vernon RECenter

Fairfax County Park Authority
VRPS Aquatics Resource Group 2016 Chair

VRPS 2016 Awards Co-Chair

I have kind of a goofy tradition at Christmas time.  I have long hair, always up in a ponytail, and I’m usually lucky if I can find a real hair tie instead of a pen, rubber band or even piece of string.  At Christmas, however, my love for the sparkles and glitter gets put in my hair.  No Christmas decorations are safe.  I’ve been known to put tinsel, garland and even ornaments on my head.  I’ve never tried Christmas lights, but there is a mini set powered by batteries at Target that I have my eye on.  It’s rarely the same twice, and at night when I take them out the decorations go right back on the tree. 

This has become a tradition at work, as well.  While I always just thought it was something kind of silly, it has had some interesting outcomes.  When I walk around the facility, people smile!  A lot of times I forget that I have an enormous candy cane bow on my head, and just smile back.  Customers have started looking for it, seeking me out to check out today’s decoration, suggesting things and even occasionally bringing in fancy stuff that goes right into my hair.

There is one more outcome to this silly tradition. It helps me remember the fun that should be at the heart of our profession.  No one joins Parks and Recreation because we love spreadsheets and budgets, meetings and strategic planning.  We are called to it through a love of the outdoors, the water, fitness, children, our community - whatever speaks to us.  When we forget the fun, our staff and facility feels it.  We get too busy drilling down pivot tables to have fun, and fun is at the heart of why we do what we do.  Whether you put garland in your hair, goofy costumes on for Halloween or bunny ears for Easter, just remember to keep the fun in your day.  Your staff and customers will smile and your facility will be a little brighter.  Not bad for a cheap decoration!

Happy Holidays!

NSA Workshop: Interpretation as a Management Tool