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By Trudy Hamilton

I’ve discovered over the years that many volunteer programs are steeped (sometimes simmered to the point of curdling) in hallowed traditions and graces ranging from souvenir recognition memorabilia to elegant recognition events to awards named after someone from long ago that no one remembers, except once per year when the award in their name is presented. Now, think of the changing economy each agency is facing. Add to this the fact that the holidays are just around the corner. I know, it is still August, yet I received my first Holiday Card catalog of the season this morning!

So, where am I going with these thoughts? In the past, the agency did the annual recognition event, one for each county, the usual Thank You, and holiday cards. In two years, we’ve moved to one event for all volunteers to attend, kept the cards, increased the informal Thank You’s, and tried to provide memorabilia unique to the program the volunteer was associated with. Driven, in part, by strategic planning, in part due to budgetary concerns, and in part to have change for the sake of change, I’ve been asked to put together a strategic, year-long recognition plan for this agency. Something boilerplate, that can be undertaken by all staff equally, and to be equally enjoyed by all volunteers.

At first, this challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to institute positive change! On the surface, it seemed like a matter of putting together a list of terrific recognition ideas, and sharing that calendar with the staff who supervise the volunteers. I was excited to have the opportunity to develop standards and expectations for recognition overall. Consistency and conformity would reign supreme! I was giddy to have the chance to put together lists of different recognition ideas, from the free, frequent and informal to the costly and creative celebration.

After mulling ideas over in my head for quite some time, the rest of the story arrived. Those thoughts that niggle in the back of your mind, until they are keeping you awake at night! Was it a good idea to take the creativity and individuality away from staff? After all, they are the ones carrying out the recognition. Can a “boilerplate” design be crafted for volunteers? For every volunteer who finds events distasteful, there are those who think it is the highlight of their volunteer year. For each volunteer who thinks a holiday greeting card is a waste of agency resources, there are those who enjoy displaying them with the rest of their holiday greetings. Even worse, those who have received greeting cards for years, and may think we’ve simply forgotten about them!

Can a better mousetrap be built? How about a plan that focuses on educating staff about volunteer motivation and helps them determine what the volunteer might appreciate? How about providing choices for recognition, and welcoming staff to avail themselves of those choices, or come up with ideas and suggestions on their own? By providing this information, as well as clearly communicated expectations and accountability, I might be on a path that is more enjoyable and rewarding for both staff and volunteers! We’ll see how it works out.

In the meantime, please share your own thoughts, policies, plans, and traditions about recognition by commenting on this entry.

Trudy Hamilton, CVA is the Manager of Volunteer Resources at SeniorsPlus and a featured blogger.

By Elizabeth Cole

It’s late August. The sounds of crickets, katydids, and back-to-school commercials fill the night air. But before you start mourning the loss of yet another summer, remember that the change in seasons isn’t all bad for volunteer managers. The coming of fall and the start of another school year promise a new opportunity to recruit student volunteers.

Put aside your lemonade for a moment and think about this: between 2002 and 2005, the number of college students who volunteered grew by an astonishing 20 percent, the largest increase of any demographic. Tapping into one of Maine’s thirty colleges or universities, not to mention her hundreds of secondary schools, could help you target young adults who are passionate and energized about service and social change. At its heart, service learning is a way for students to bridge the distance between school and the real world, to meaningfully connect with their community, and to deepen their understanding of what they learn in the classroom.

Of course, there are legitimate concerns about involving students in your organization. The first is time. Students today are busier than ever, their schedules filled with academic and extracurricular commitments that might prevent them from volunteering consistently. The academic year is punctuated with extended winter, spring, and summer vacations that may further complicate scheduling. Transportation can also be an issue if students do not have their own cars or bikes. From the student point of view, these same three factors could be barriers that deter them from volunteering. That would be a shame. Your organization could miss out on a host of enthusiastic and talented volunteers.

So what can you do to help attract and accommodate college students? Make it easy as easy as possible for students to get involved: hold orientations, interviews, and volunteer trainings on campus. Do your best to work around their academic schedules. Understand that December and May are going to be the busiest times of year for students with end of term projects and papers. Give them a choice of regularly scheduled meeting times to help them organize their time in advance. Think about offering transportation or arranging a carpool from the campus to your site. Many students get involved with volunteering to explore careers or to add to their resumes. Sit down and talk to students to find out what sorts of training, networking, or knowledge you could provide that might help them with their future plans. Finally, as with any volunteer, provide ongoing structure, supervision, and support. You’ll be rewarded with knowledgeable and eager volunteers.

Before you run off to the nearest campus to start recruiting, keep in mind these tips. First, get permission (and tips) from the dean of students or the office service learning before you conduct any sort of recruitment on campus. Consider asking professors of relevant courses if you can make a short appeal during one of their class sessions. If you presently have student volunteers, enlist their help in developing your recruitment campaign. They can be a valuable asset in helping you develop effective strategies. Ask them to spread the word to their friends about volunteer opportunities with your organization. As the hours of daylight shorten and the air gets crisper, spending a moment now thinking about student volunteer recruitment could pay off in a big way later.

Resources with further tips on engaging college students:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Recruiting College Volunteers: A Guide for Volunteer Recruitment and Management. (1995). Philadelphia: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Tierney, J.P., Joseph, P. & Branch,Y.A. (1992). College Students as Volunteers for At-Risk Youth: A Study of Six Campus Partners in Learning Programs. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.

Elizabeth Cole is an Americorps VISTA with the Maine Commission for Community Service, a presenter at the Blaine House Conference on Volunteerism and a guest blogger.

By Suzanne Gastaldo

Successful management of volunteers is key to securing funding. What better way to justify your bottom line. We employ a mere 2.5 full-time positions, but oversee 140 volunteers who successfully implement our mission, fundraise, strategize and direct our organization. Prove you can manage volunteers successfully - audit their time and document it. This type of data tracking and reporting - total annual volunteer hours gives your organization credibility whether you are standing in front of a group to ask for funds or to include in a grant appeal.

Next, understand that no two volunteers are alike. A volunteer over 67 years old has a different agenda then a 25 year old. Maybe your organization has traditionally used all retirees as ours had. The historical demographics of our Literacy Volunteers have been graduate degree/professionals that have retired in Maine and want to give to our communities. They have the time, commitment and even resources to supplement the organization. Well they are the perfect volunteers…..so do you turn away the 30 year old with children in school? Rethink the profile. Restructure your organization to capitalize on available volunteers of all ages.

A balance turns out to be just what is needed. The younger volunteers often offer shorter stints, but they offer new technological ideas, they are sometimes more suited to certain learners. We are offering them training, career experience, and incite into the world of illiteracy. They can develop a new passion for adults who can’t read. We are helping to create a new society. Think globally. The younger unsettled volunteer can require more time but their gains in association with your organization are so valuable. Their next step may be more insightful and more meaningful for the next target of their volunteerism. When you have a great organization that is well run, organized, and successful – it benefits everyone to share the experience. You may be surprised with the unexpected results.

Lastly, volunteers need to be empowered. Allow the volunteer time to create his or her unique experience within your organization. It is when they are free from constraints and rules coupled with appreciation and support for their individuality that they develop as a volunteer who may surprise everyone in the direction they bring your organization. Successful managers keep an open mind. Do you want to learn more about our organization? www.tricountyliteracy.org

Suzanne Gastaldo is the Adult Literacy Volunteers Program Director for Sagadahoc, North Cumberland, and Lincoln Counties in Maine and is a guest blogger.

By Noble Smith

Being in the development business for 50 years does not make one an expert, but it certainly provides a plethora of fodder for reflection, plenty of laughs and personal commitments not to make the same mistake again.

In today’s economic conditions, philanthropy, whether it be the “sure” annual unrestricted appeal, the “must” capital campaign for new buildings or the “creative” estate planning program, is at its most trying times. Many fund-raising efforts have been abbreviated, downsized or even curtailed.

However, there are several brighter lights resulting in successful fund raising initiatives, one of which will long outlive the current downward philanthropic responses - a win-win opportunity for both solicitor and donor - targeted/negotiated corporate support.

I have always found it extremely helpful before approaching a potential corporate supporter to ask myself, my staff and, equally importantly, the Board Development Committee what does our organization possess that would help Business A, what would create the best exposure for Business A, and does any member of our organization - staff, Board or volunteer - have any personal relationship with officials in Business A?

If the answers are none, then that potential corporation/business contact is given a respite even if it is the biggest in town. This temporary negative overview should always trigger ways to determine and establish new contacts and “partnerships” with the business for future solicitation.

However, if the answer(s) is positive, and if a personal relationship has been established, then an informal meeting using the personal relationship with Business A is the next step. Discussing how a relationship might help both organizations, what each has to offer the other and what would be in the best interest of the Business A have proven many times to be the key that opens a new philanthropic door.

Once both parties agree, then a short, but clearly documented, proposal should be hand-delivered, not mailed or emailed, Once the gift is actually received not only does Business A receive the organization’s official thank you, but also a special thank you from a local volunteer goes a long way to solidify the new partnership.

Even the smallest business in town has ways to support a local non-profit though not always by cash over the barrel. In-kind support and, again, what exposure would best suit and help the donor become the creative juices for the non-profit. Forming a lasting partnership offers the platform for an on-going future relationship.

One parting comment - in these economic down times, I have found time and time again that when business must restructure, downsize and lower profit margins, it always behooves the non-profit to insure that they have carefully reviewed their operations, realistically examined revenue and expenditure expectations AND share this knowledge with Business A. Openness and frankness often provide just the confidence that a prospective donor needs to make a positive decision.

Noble Smith is a former Commissioner for the Maine Commission for Community Service, the President of Noble Smith Associates Development Consultants since 1980, and is a featured blogger.

By Heather Banester Bassett

Remember being told, throughout your high school years - “Get Involved”, “The more well rounded you are the more likely you’ll be accepted into college.” Well, this remains to be true even throughout your working years. When applying to colleges, high school students are trying to set themselves apart from “the other college applicants.” In the working world, especially today, people are finding that they are to set themselves apart from “the other job applicants.” So, what does it mean to “Get Involved” in the working world? Just like in high school, volunteerism is one way to “Get Involved.”

Maine has experienced an increase in unemployment over the past year and with this comes an increase in people competing for the same jobs. Employers have seen a dramatic increase in applicants. The competition amongst job applicants is fierce in most cases. This increase in the unemployed and increase in competition over limited jobs then leads into an increase in the period of time in which a person remains in a job search. This period in which people remain in a job search results in gaps in employment history.

I reached out to my Maine Human Resources Network and asked employers to share some thoughts on volunteerism and the role it plays with job applicants. Here is what I heard.

Although most employers understand that the current economy has caused a majority of the unemployment and a longer unemployment period for some, it does impress employers to see that people remain “Involved” during their period of unemployment. Beverly Frizzell-MacCallum, Human Resources Officer at Androscoggin Bank replied “I would view it as a positive if someone were to use that down time as a chance to get involved with volunteer work. What a great way to show that you made the proverbial lemonade!” Krista Thurlow, Branch Manager at Bonney Staffing Center in Biddeford, Maine also shared insight on filling gaps in one’s employment history on their resume, “…I am always more impressed by someone who can tell me they have been volunteering, rather than ’sitting home, or not quite sure’ what they have been doing the past 10 months (they have been out of work.)” As for setting yourself apart from the other applicants, Lisa Janelle, Vice President of Human Resources at Sebasticook Valley Hospital mentioned “…a person who volunteers over time at something they feel passionately about just speaks volumes about that individual’s character.”

Besides the extra boost volunteerism can add to your resume, the act of “Getting Involved” can help you gain relevant experience. Krista Thurlow credits her volunteerism work with a Policy Council at a nonprofit for her transition into an office environment. “From my perspective, volunteering absolutely CAN help a resume! Especially when there is a person looking to transition their skills and/or gain experience in a new field…I had experience working retail/food service, but had gone to college for business.” Because of her personal career transition success with volunteerism, Krista promotes volunteering to job seekers she councils.

Volunteerism can give you that extra kick to get you out networking. “Getting Involved” can increase your exposure to business leaders, community leaders and job opportunities that you may not have heard about otherwise. Beverly Frizzell-MacCallum mentioned “…one of the best things about volunteering is the contacts that you can make in the community. Many business people are involved in non-profits and it is a great way to make connections and learn of opportunities.” She also suggests utilizing your volunteerism contacts for references.

Managers and volunteer project leaders can play a key role in assisting job seeking volunteers. As a manager or leader of a volunteer projects, capturing a volunteer’s interest to gain additional experience is a sure sign that you will have a dedicated volunteer. Capitalize on these opportunities and engage your volunteers. It may open the door to more support in areas that you would not have thought about before. Be sure to document the experience the volunteer gained and after a job well done, be sure to offer a letter of recommendation. This reciprocal support between volunteer manager and job seeking volunteer can have a lasting impact and possibly a long-term volunteer and advocate. Your newly employed volunteer may also pave the way to new networks at their new place of employment. Isn’t that what networking is all about? Job Seeking Volunteerism – a win-win recruitment tool for volunteer projects.

What is the best way to list volunteerism on your resume? Now it’s time, as the job seeker, to set yourself apart from the other job seekers out there and show that you are a well rounded individual. There are many schools of thought when it comes to resume templates. Regardless of the template, do not list your volunteer experience with your regular paid employment history. You don’t want to mislead the reader into thinking it was a regular job. If the experience is relevant to the job you are applying for, add the experience you gained in the qualifications section if you have this as a separate listing. Add a section under your normal job history called “Relevant Experience” - list Volunteer, (title if any), Organization, City, Sate, Time Period and List out the relevant experience gained. If the volunteerism is not directly related to the position you are applying for, simply list your volunteer projects under Associations and Activities - list Volunteer, (title if any), Organization, City, Sate, Time Period. Highlight your volunteerism in your cover letter, especially if the experience is relevant and also if the volunteerism took place in between jobs.

Volunteerism - a great way to boost your resume, close employment gaps, build your network, stay connected, show that your an involved and well rounded individual, and all the while, doing a wonderful thing for someone or something else.

Heather Banester Bassett is the Marketing/PR Director for MyJobWave.com, Employment Times and HRTimes Magazine. She has been an active volunteer for career and human resource related organizations like Maine Career Development Association, Central Maine Human Resources Association, Best Places to Work In Maine and is a guest blogger. For more career related tips and articles visit www.MyJobWave.com.

By Pete Phair

Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter… BlackBerry, Palm Pilot, iPhone… email, mp3, 3G & 4G networks… Google, Bing, Yahoo… Can you even imagine what our lives would be like without these household terms, companies and gadgets? Do you recall a thing called a dictionary? Remember when ‘cut & paste’ meant, well, to cut with scissors and paste with glue? The workplace has seen oodles of amazing changes in the last 20 years around communication, information management, technical support, etc. and as these concepts become more ingrained into our daily lives, both at home and at work, it’s sometimes easy to forget the way we use to do things. It seems apparent that using these valuable, technological resources is no longer user’s choice but rather, an absolutely critical necessity.

I Googled ‘Volunteering” and got 13,700,000 hits about the subject. That’s 13 and a half million perspectives. At the click of a virtual button, I can inform thousands of people about volunteer opportunities, current events and how to properly wax a pair of skis. When WinterKids launches its new website in a month or two, anyone visiting our pages will be able to give a donation, volunteer for a number of upcoming events, retrieve contact information for staff and board members, fill out a volunteer application form, etc… the list goes on… Twenty years ago, you got a phone number out of the phone book and set up a meeting to talk about all the things a company could do for you. These days, phone books are practically obsolete. Marketing and promotions are naked without web links, interactive imaging and user-friendly web tools. Volunteer recruitment is almost impossible without tapping into the World Wide Web somehow. Terms like “Googling”, “texting” and “virtual” are just a sampling of the new vernacular.

Oh sure, we can still use the good old fashioned radio, TV and newspaper mediums and in fact, they supplement new age campaigns rather well, but by themselves, they have become wholly ineffective. Strategic planning now comprises web approaches, electronic media tactics and pinpointed marketing through the web. The days of cold calling, martini lunches and roll-a-dex resource development have been replaced by targeted marketing, video-conferencing and on-line search engines.

Let’s face it, whether we embrace it or not, the reality is, we are globally and electronically connected these days and no amount of kicking and screaming will hold off your eventual acceptance of this fact of the world. Those who scoff at this new way of doing business will suffer for it in some fashion. Those who refuse to develop at least a working knowledge of the techno-tools at their disposal are doing their organization a disservice. Wear your Luddite crown proudly if you will, but rest assured, eventually, a video of you and your crown will be posted to somebody’s YouTube account.

Pete Phair is a guest blogger and the Outreach Coordinator at WinterKids.

By Rachel Church

Let me tell you a story from my childhood. I was maybe seven years old, if even that, and watching my Saturday morning television. I can’t tell you what the program was, but I do remember the commercial. It showed starving children standing in muddy water and dying babies in third world countries. The commercial was designed to tug on the heart-strings of adults so that they would donate money to this particular organization, but at my young age it was just too much. I went sobbing to my mother. She calmly explained to me the realities of what I saw. Afterwards, I went into my bedroom and emptied all eight dollars and 27 cents out of my piggy-bank. I told my mother that I wanted to send it, my whole “life” savings, to help the children on the television, so she helped me send it to a good organization that provided food to hungry children all over the world.

This story would have probably escaped my memory if my mother hadn’t mentioned it to me the other day when we were discussing some of the things I have been doing recently. This was the first time I saw injustice in the world and made a conscious decision to do something about it. It was also the first time I felt I could make a difference in the greater community outside my own little world of matchbox cars and Loony Tunes. That idea stayed with me throughout school, from the Earth Saver’s Club and Hall School Helpers in elementary school to organizing food drives with my high school’s student council. In college I continued to do small service projects here and there, like painting soccer goalposts at a local park or volunteering at the soup kitchen. I was a Resident Assistant in the dorms, which was its own unique form of service to the immediate community I belonged to. I was also studying art.

But it was the beginning of my senior year when another big “ah-ha” event happened. I had decided to step back from my role as an RA, and instead looked into the AmeriCorps Service Leader program. I had always had an interested in it, but never felt I had the time until then. When I met with Michael, an AmeriCorps VISTA at the USM Community Service Office, to talk about the program he mentioned his ideas about starting an art-focus community service program at the school. That is when magic happened. It just seemed to be a perfect fit with my skills and interests and the more we talked about it the more excitement filled the room. Right then, the Community Art Initiative was born.

We discussed the power of and need for community-based art in Portland, and the passion and ability of USM artists to make a difference in their community. The mission of the Community Arts Initiative (CAI) was to connect the two. Through my work with the CAI, I have come to realized that particularly in today’s economic climate and time of change, community art is more important that ever

Starting a program from the ground up was not easy. We had to build a student contact list, find projects and community connections, and most importantly figurer out exactly what the Community Art Initiative was and how we wanted to present it to others. It may have been a lot of work, but I had a lot of help from AmeriCorps VISTAs at USM, who had connections to other AmeriCorps Volunteers in community, who had connections to even more community groups and individuals. AmeriCorps members seem to be everywhere! Having those connections were a great benefit in our program, but also personally. I got to meet individuals from many backgrounds and experiences with similar (and sometimes even very different) ideas about service and community.

The AmeriCorps program also provided me with workshops that developed some of the skills I needed. The first one I attended was on figuring out why you as an individual are called to service and how to commutate that to other. It was something I had never thought about before and was an import step in understanding myself and my relationship with community, which ultimately helped me understand my role in the Community Art Initiative. Other workshops topics included mapping your community network and how to work with youth, the latter of which I admit is not my favorite thing but I discovered is inevitable when doing community-based art.

Another thing that made the jobs easier is that we were just so excited about the work we were doing, and with that we created this contagious wave of energy that spread to the people we talked to and the work we did. Thanks to all of this, the first year of the Community Arts Initiative was a huge success, highlighted by a large collaborative mural making project with the Portland Housing Authority, and a classy Community Arts Gala that raised both awareness of community-based art in Portland and a modest amount of money for a Portland-based, non-profit, arts organization, SPIRAL Arts. (For pictures of these events and others, check out http://usm.maine.edu/studentlife/community/students/communityarts.html.)

It was an amazing experience, and after a year we were all blown away by everything we had accomplished in such a short amount of time, included eight youth art classes at community various community venues, two fundraising events for Portland-based, non-profit arts organizations, two studio clean-up days for SPIRAL Arts, help with the Mosaic of Hope to be installed at the Parkside Community Center, an art class for teens and young adults with intellectual & emotional disabilities at STRIVE, and three on-campus community art events.

Where that commercial 15 years ago showed me that I can make a difference in my world, my AmeriCorps experience showed me just how great an impact I can make. Looking back, I know that my work with the Community Art Initiative was so successful because of the network of people I met and skills I gained as part of AmeriCorps program. With that I was able to do so much more than I ever could on my own. And also, for the first time my studies and career goals connected to my desire to make a difference in my world, two aspects of my life which both became more powerful and meaningful connected than they were separate. This experience has truly changed how I will now view my place in this world.

My AmeriCorps Experience is just one unique story. I would encourage anyone to go and discover their own.

Rachel Church is a AmeriCorps Service Leader at the Community Arts Initiative At USM and a guest blogger.

By Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom

Last month I attended the National Conference on Volunteerism and Service in San Francisco. This was the biggest and most spectacular gathering of volunteer leaders and change agents ever in the United States. The organizers really outdid themselves in terms of star power, meaningful engagement, flawless logistics, etc. So how can we improve next year? Better, more effective use of social media. Social media was a professed new focus of the conference this year, but it was clear to me that this was merely a test year. The greatest sign that the involvement of social media in the conference was not well planned: NO WIFI!

For the uninitiated, let me step back a minute and describe what a conference looks like that effectively engages social media. Conference organizers create the structure that allows conference goers to go the extra mile to engage with one another and share their thoughts and ideas with their peers as well as with the masses of people who wanted to attend the conference but were unable to. For example, the conference decides on a hashtag (a key word that every attendee will use when writing about the conference online so that the information can be found and aggregated). For this conference it was #NCVS. If you go to http://search.twitter.com/ and type “NCVS” into the search box you will find posts from before, during, and after the conference.

Where NCVS organizers dropped the ball was in not enabling social media use at the conference itself. They even set up a blog about the conference but didn’t blog during the event! If they had WIFI access and even someone designated to be tweeting or live blogging from each session or main event, it would have created a rich conversation for people both within and outside of the conference to follow. One of Twitter’s greatest strengths is in helping a large group of people who are all interested in the same thing but don’t know each other, have a massive conversation. If everyone is using the same hashtag / keyword then you can get up-to-the minute information about that topic from everyone at the conference. On a practical level you can find out how long the line to get into the opening plenary is, which session has an engaging presenter you want to see, where to get coffee within a few blocks, and feel the enthusiasm as everyone writes about their reactions to Michelle Obama’s speech.

For more ideas of how Social Media can be effectively used in a conference setting, check out Alan Levine’s guest post on Beth Kanter’s blog.

For more information on Social Media in Local Government, check out the “Wikis, Podcasts, and Blogs –Oh My!” article from the Fall 2008 edition of NAVPLG.

- Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom, Volunteer Program Specialist, Volunteer Arlington and Board Member, National Association for Volunteer Programs in Local Government (NAVPLG), www.navplg.org

By Anne B. Schink

Managers of volunteers are busy people, especially today with tight budgets and increased pressure to bring on new volunteers. In most nonprofit organizations, serving on the Board is a leadership role; consultants provide short term expertise; and traditional volunteers provide direct service or administrative support. Engaging pro bono and highly skilled volunteers requires setting aside some of these traditional assumptions.

What is a pro bono volunteer or a highly skilled volunteer?
A pro bono or highly skilled volunteer is someone who donates his/her professional level services as an “unpaid consultant” to the nonprofit organization. A pro bono volunteer is different from other volunteers in that they bring expertise to an organization on a project basis that includes clear guidelines, deadlines, and deliverables. Pro bono and skilled volunteers range along a continuum of technical expertise and experience in terms of skills, levels of commitment, and the types of projects they are interested in doing.

Pro bono and highly skilled volunteers bring experience, expertise, and perspective to the organization. They are valuable assets for creating an infrastructure. The most common areas are: human resources, marketing and branding, IT, financial management, and legal services.

Among the tools that the Corporation for National and Community Service has provided for managers of volunteers is a new Nonprofit Readiness Toolkit for Pro Bono Volunteers: How to prepare your organization for pro bono and highly skilled volunteers. Under a contract with CNCS I have had the pleasure of creating this toolkit over the past several months. The link below will take you to an online course that will help you prepare for those volunteers we have been talking about. It includes a narrative, a case study, and a checklist at the end to use to assess the readiness of your organization to receive these volunteers who are enthusiastic about putting their professional skills to work in support of your mission.

http://nationalserviceresources.org/news/non-profit-readiness-toolkit

You will need to create a user name and password, but don’t let that be a barrier to taking this course. Having that user name and password allows you to access many other valuable courses through the Resource Center that are designed to provide professional development opportunities at your own pace on your own computer.

For more on this subject, check out the next issue of the VolunteerFare newsletter. I will provide more detail about pro bono volunteering and the benefits to your organization. If you would like to learn about it in person, be sure to register for the Pro Bono Volunteering workshop at the Blaine House Conference in October.

Anne B. Schink is a volunteer management consultant and the author of the Nonprofit Readiness Toolkit.

By Deb Bicknell

Youth and adults working together to make positive change in the world; a beautiful vision, a creative and powerful solution to solving complex problems, a worthy endeavor and not always as easy as it sounds. Being able to work together effectively to create change within any group of people can be challenging and often when groups of youth and adults try and do this it can be like two worlds colliding. Youth may feel misunderstood or like they are tokens of adult processes. Adults may feel unsure about how to work with youth in a way that gets “the job done” and also honors youth voice and needs. Take a peek at the conversation below for a few thoughts on how to create partnerships that work.

Q: What is a youth/adult partnership that you have been involved in that worked? Why do you think it worked?

Youth: In high school I was part of the school based health center outreach group and I worked in partnership with other youth and our advisor. This partnership worked because we had really open and strong communication.

Adult: Working with youth at the Maine Youth Action Network to do trainings and run events. The partnerships worked because we were willing to share power and to offer youth skills they needed in order to be able to do the work and to share their voice.

Youth: I would tell them to go for it. Go in there and be yourself, you are the future of today. You are the next person who is going to impact the world.

Q: What is a good way for adults interested in involving youth to reach out to youth in their community?

Youth: Have informal meetings to see what the youth’s needs and concerns are and let them know they have the power to create change.

Adult: Send out or make personal invitations to youth you know or ask adults who work with youth to do so. Young people often don’t know about opportunities and even if they do they don’t feel comfortable joining in so having personal invitations can be really helpful.

Youth: Pose a forum or use time and resources that they use, when you open it up to a group you give everyone their voice. Don’t use complicated surveys, frankly they just don’t work.

Q: What do you think is the biggest barrier in youth and adult collaboration? How do you think we can overcome it?

Youth: I think the biggest barrier is a lack of communication and closed minds. In order to transform those things, both youth and adults would need to make a commitment to keep their minds open and their communication strong and clear.

Adult: I think that the biggest barrier is that often adults don’t think to include youth. We often have ideas about things that young people can and can’t do or should or should not be involved in and those preconceived notions can get in the way. Starting to shift the way we think and the ways we invite youth in is a great first step to challenging this dynamic.

Youth: It’s all about language. Body language, your language as an adult. If you start using big terms or stand in a power stance or you come dressed in business attire you throw up a huge barrier.

Q: What is one thing you would tell a young person interested in partnering with adults in creating positive change?

Youth: I would tell youth that partnering with adults to create change is really worth it and that they have the power to create some really amazing change together.

Adult: I would tell a young person that if they don’t share their voice and their talents then no one else can. It is really worth it and you are really valuable. If you can’t find an adult to support you who you trust, trust yourself, ask questions and keep coming back. You will get there.

Youth: I would tell them go for it. Go in there and be yourself, you are the future of today. You are the next person who is going to impact the world. You can do this. Even if you walk into a room and you are surrounded by adult, make it work. Work the scene and make it happen for you. They will listen to you if you make your voice heard.

Q: What is your best piece of advice to an adult interested in involving youth in a volunteer project or some sort of community change effort?

Youth: My advice would be to never underestimate the power you and the power youth have to create change, and always be open to new ideas.

Adult: Be willing to lend a hand and reach out to any and all youth who are interested. Young people have so much to offer and once they feel needed and know that someone will generally listen to them. Remember that youth may need a hand but not for you to do it for them.

Youth: Be like Nike and just do it. If you make the investment your returns will be great.

This is just a snip it of some ideas and thoughts connected to youth and adult collaboration. There are lots of resources and opportunities at the Maine Youth Action Network (MYAN) to learn more about this topic as supporting youth and adults to work together to create positive change in the world is central to our work. Visit www.myan.org to learn more.

Deb Bicknell is the Training and Projects Coordinator at Maine Youth Action Network(MYAN) and a Guest Blogger.