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by Vicki Schmidt

Some of my best friends are Chief Officers in urban, fulltime “round-the-clock” staffed Fire Departments. Another coalition of friends are career firefighters in fully staffed shift-scheduled union Departments. And then there are my firefighter friends and fire instructor colleagues who, like me, rarely see the inside of a fire department crisp with professional uniforms. Our time is spent serving the always on call fire departments that make up over 85% of the fire departments in Maine. Those that are home to the ever on guard; volunteer firefighter.

Quality training for all firefighters, no matter how the Department is defined, is critical. And instructing in a rural volunteer department is especially challenging. Training props and equipment needed to ensure skills based on National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) training standards and certified curriculum objectives are often hard to locate or construct. While some departments have their own in-house instructor; essential skills that ensure continued professional development, full scale Firefighter I & II program management, and the ability to strategically plan for long term department training needs, often escape the ability or means of many volunteer instructors as well as their Departments.

Volunteer departments in every corner of Maine are often served by part time instructors from Maine Fire Training & Education, (MFTE) an educational branch of Southern Maine Community College, (SMCC). MFTE and SMCC also maintain, and upon request and with support from MFTE’s Logistics Division, distribute any of sixteen specialized fire training support trailers to rural regions of Maine. In fact, during the last three months of 2009 and January of this year, MFTE field instructors provided over 15,000 NFPA certified training hours to 593 firefighters in 63 volunteer departments. Many of these classes allowed rural firefighters to obtain their national Firefighter I & II Certification, as well as credit hours towards a Fire Science degree from SMCC and Maine’s Community College System.*

While termed a band of gypsies by some, Maine’s dedicated group of mobile instructors and the equipment they can deliver is vital to many of Maine’s rural and volunteer fire departments. As our States fire training agencies plan for our future fire services training needs, we are wise to look to the lessons learned in States that currently depend on large scale training facilities. Neighboring New Hampshire and a new state-of-the-art facility in Omaha, Nebraska are currently in the process of buying mobile fire training trailers. Maine’s gypsy trailers, and their band of gypsy instructors, might just be the future. And once again, as Maine goes, goes the Nation.

* MFTE FY10 Advisory Delivery Report EMCC Bangor ME

Vicki Schmidt is a State Fire Instructor II, Maine Fire Protection Services Commission, Maine State Federation of Firefighters, Volunteer Firefighters. She is a guest blogger.

by Ann Swain

In all parts of our world, there are many people with the greatest desire to offer their expertise in a volunteer capacity. In preparing for retirement, I often ask the prospective retiree, ‘do you have a plan?’ If they don’t indicate a plan for their retirement, I will always suggest volunteering. However, there is a population in our world who may not have expertise in any particular area, but they truly have heart. They want to give back, but they don’t even know what to give back or how.

Our expectations of the ‘ideal volunteer’ may need to be rewritten. Our expectations may in fact, not be reality. It all depends on where we are in the world. The day a prospective volunteer walks in your door with the desire to ‘give back’, even if they don’t know what that really means, they may end up being one of the best volunteers you have ever had. They may not be able to read beyond a sixth grade level, or at all for that matter. But they have heart and desire to give to their community. It may have taken all their inner strength to walk through your door and offer themselves beyond what is comfortable. Look beyond your expectations and see.

Expectations and reality don’t always match, and that’s not a bad thing.

Ann Swain is a featured blogger and the Director of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Senior Companion Program.

by Jen Lobley, M.ED, CVA

Having been with UMaine Cooperative Extension for almost 10 years working in the area of 4-H Youth Development, I now find myself with a new challenge. I have recently been named Statewide Extension Educator for Volunteer Development.

Cooperative Extension provides research-based information from the Land-Grant University through a variety of educational programs to local people. Cooperative Extension volunteers play a unique role among volunteer agency programs in that they can extend the reach of Cooperative Extension into every Maine community and help provide a link between the Land Grant University and the people seeking out information. Did you know that 7,987 Extension volunteers devoted more than 151,428 hours to their communities last year? These volunteers are working in a variety of areas including: youth development, horticulture, coastal and freshwater water quality monitoring, environmental work, nutrition education, senior companion programs, sustainable coastal community programs, and parenting education.

I am excited about the challenges this new position will bring as I begin to work to create a volunteer delivery system which will increase our organizational capacity to engage more volunteers. This in turn will help provide long-term program sustainability and expand Extension’s economic, social, and environmental impact on the state of Maine. In the process of getting this work underway, I have set three goals for myself:

1. Make training and resources available for Extension staff members that enable them to gain skills and confidence in building volunteer capacity. Helping staff understand the foundational components of a volunteer system and then helping them create volunteer programs that are reflective of current trends in volunteerism will make up a large part of my work. Trends such as episodic volunteerism, virtual volunteerism and catering to the Boomer generation are all areas to be aware of and consider as we design volunteer opportunities.

2. Utilize research to build effective training opportunities and educational programs in which volunteers will be educated and empowered to assume or accept service or leadership roles. I believe volunteers are the heart of Cooperative Extension. They have played a critical role in the 95 year history of Extension here in Maine and will continue to actively do so in the future. However, the volunteer of today is different than the volunteer of yesterday and this will impact how we work with them.

3. In the near future, Extension will be viewed by other organizations around Maine as a place to find research-based volunteer development trainings, opportunities, and resources that they can access and adjust to fit their individual needs. I envision Extension collaborating with the Maine Commission for Community Service and other groups to help build new partnerships and tap new community resources to expand volunteerism. Just think of the endless opportunities!

So that’s a lot to accomplish, huh? You might be wondering where on earth would she start? The real work will begin internally within Extension. Although I have a general sense of the various programs we offer, I will need to spend time learning about current volunteer engagement within our various program areas and spend time on needs assessment. I am also forming an advisory group. By having an advisory committee to provide input into determining priorities,long-range goals, policy and procedure, I believe a better volunteer system will emerge than if I were to try implementing something alone.

I know demands on our staff in terms of time are tight. As I develop training opportunities I will need to keep this in mind. I will work to develop and provide easily digestible “chunks” of information including monthly Volunteer Management Minute trainings (narrated video clips lasting five minutes or less with a few PowerPoint slides), a series of volunteer management tips that will be emailed out on a regular basis, and create an internal web page for staff members that will host a variety of or resources. (I must note that I am very fortunate to have a VISTA volunteer helping me get these projects started!)

I am proud to work for an organization that supports having a position that is focused completely on volunteer development. Our administration truly understands the value of volunteers. I will make every effort to communicate the importance of volunteers both within and outside the organization- not just to our volunteers, but to paid staff, executive committees, funders, local officials and administration. This truly is an exciting time to be working in the volunteer development profession and I look forward to the work ahead!

Jen Lobley is the Extension Educator for Volunteer Development at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and is a guest blogger.

By Trudy Hamilton

I’ve been trying to think of a top-notch, really exciting and inspiring topic to blog about this week. I’ve been left with “Blog Blank”, or perhaps “Blog Blahs”.

I’ve also been reading Brokaw’s “The Greatest Generation”, and recently had the opportunity to visit Washington, DC. So, here we go…the book often speaks of the civic life led by veterans after World War II. These outstanding men and women who became civic leaders in their communities, whether it was to counsel other veterans, start Little Leagues in their towns, join the Rotary, serve on school boards, lobby for hospital funding. This generation is often thought of as the “builders” of volunteer infrastructure as we now know it, the doer’s, if you will, developing voluntarism to a higher degree in society. They did so many wonderful things, that it is easy to forget what was there before them.

In Washington, DC, pre-World War II reminders surround you. The American Red Cross dates back to 1881, The Salvation Army in America 1879. Girls Scouts of America, The Audubon Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. The Civil War left an unprecedented number of volunteers, who moved west and volunteered their time, the efforts, in creating an expanded territory, new states, and budding infrastructure.

The difference, from what I can see, is how so much was accomplished by these two very different generations. The post-WW II generation seemed to focus on long-standing efforts at the local level, making their communities more pleasant. Sometimes this involved joining with a national organization, other times beginning their own grassroots programs. The pre-WW II group seemed to be more focused on efforts at a national level, often rigidly organized, often with such frenzied energy needed to sustain a national effort in the days before telecommuting, telephone, and telegraph.
Fast forward to the 1980’s, and the creation of so many volunteer-dependent social service non-profits created to fight the ills of society. Often without even a budget for staff members, these non-profits have made great strides in community healthcare awareness, fighting poverty and hunger, protecting the vulnerable, conserving the wild lands. What I note with this generation is a true passion for what they want to volunteer to be involved with. Not that prior generations didn’t have that passion, but it seems quieter, more reserved.

The latest group, current college student age, are also volunteering in ways that fit their lifestyles, about things they are passionate about, and building a whole new model. Think about the service learning opportunities now encouraged, or the FeelGood movement (one cheese sandwich at a time to end world hunger). This generation has the access to all the traditional methods of volunteering, and is also creating new ways for their peers to get involved when it fits their schedule.

When you look at all the changes over time, the different pieces each group has added, how well what they have done has worked, as a building block for the next group, it is truly stunning. It also makes me wonder what we’ll see from today’s kindergartners, 30 years from now. If history repeats itself, it should be something to marvel over! Any ideas?

Trudy Hamilton is the Manager of Volunteer Resources for SeniorsPlus in Lewiston and a featured blogger.

By Noble Smith

D-Day Has “Commeth”

Some will view this day in panic, dash for the white gloves,
Or seek a preacher’s script, determine whether a magician
or a witch doctor approach would be most successful!

It is none of the above!
It is a win-win partnership for everyone!

A couple of brief off-the-cuff comments made by captains of industry during training and rehearsal sessions as they tried to set the stage for volunteer training and enrichment on D-Day.

The late John T. Dorrance, former Chairman of Campbell Soup and Chairman of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s major capital campaign in the 80s wasted no time to described what should be in a solicitor’s mind when ringing the doorbell of a prospect’s home:

“Remember the ‘four birdies’

The purpose of the visit is to ask for money!
Talk opportunities, not needs!
Stay sensitive to what your prospect is thinking while you are
talking! Begin, be brief, beat it”

The late Cyrus Vance, former Secretary of State and Chairman of one of WNET’s early capital campaigns, stated at a Board/volunteer solicitation training session:

“When soliciting, be aware of a prospect’s motivations. Make a sincere effort to identify what moves your potential donor and tailor your approach accordingly. Good old common sense and individual sensitivity are two keys to a successful solicitation.”

During a year-long effort to preserve valuable environmental lands in suburban Philadelphia, Christopher Asplundt, Chairman of Asplundt Tree Service and Chairman of the Pennypack Land Preservation Trust, clearly made his points at the final volunteer solicitation training session:

“Never close the deal and ask for the bacon unless you can answer any and all objections, reservations and concerns!
Philanthropic giving needs an atmosphere of optimism and universality!
Finally, remember that the greatest sin in the pursuit of philanthropy is not asking!”

Many of us in the development field adhere to the D-Day mentality since planning and rehearsal play such a dominating role in any successful fund-raising endeavor, whether it is for annual unrestricted support, capital and endowed needs or programs of estate planning.

Hours and hours of behind the scenes initiatives, and prospect research with the ultimate goal of setting in motion a process that will match the right cultivators and solicitors with the right prospect asking for the right amounts and for the right projects and programs. These exercises are not the purview of development personnel alone, but must be the joint task of staff, Board and volunteers working as a team.

The same planning scenarios apply also for annual giving programs and estate planning initiatives, although some of the components might appear in different hues and formats. However, always keep in mind that planning is 90% of any fund-raising success platforms.

Noble Smith is a former Commissioner and the President of Noble Smith Associates (Development and Marketing Consultants) and a featured.

Sarah Ryan, Ph.D.

When it’s time to give the talk about “increasing diversity” to staffers, volunteers, donors, or board members, it can be tough to find the words. Drawing upon social science research and best practices from the public sector, I suggest the following talking points…

1. Humans seek comfort in sameness; public servants seek justice through diversity.
For a host of reasons, we tend to gravitate toward the people most like us. Communication scholars call this the principle of “homophily” or sameness. Homophily can help ease tensions, minimize misunderstandings, and make people feel more comfortable (e.g., when they don’t feel the need to explain their cultures to colleagues). We seek homophily without even thinking about it most of the time. But when we do stop to think, most of us realize that we also value diversity, complexity, and the productive discussions that arise out of misunderstanding and explaining. We want our nonprofit organizations, our volunteers, and our donors to be diverse. So, we cast out our nets for heterophilous, or diverse, people. Still, attracting and retaining diverse volunteers, staffers, and donors is difficult. We need to start by inviting them…

2. Diverse people must be invited to participate or they won’t know they’re welcome.
The idea of inviting in diversity comes from renowned arts marketer Donna Walker-Kuhne. She is perhaps most famous for assisting George C. Wolfe in transforming New York City’s Public Theater into a multicultural destination for the arts. George wanted the audiences at The Public to be as diverse as the folks waiting for trains at subway stops. Donna articulated the steps that enabled him to reach his dream. She wrote down her activities, methods – even to-do lists – in “Invitation to the Party: Building Bridges to the Arts, Culture and Community” (2005, New York: Theatre Communications Group). In a nutshell, Donna argues that people must be invited to participate in cultural events and volunteer work, or they will think they’re unwelcome. She suggests transforming institutions around the practice of inviting…

3. Inviting is a strategic, thoughtful activity that requires dedication and follow-up.
When we commit to increasing the diversity of our organizations, we realize that we must extend invitations to people who have not traditionally donated, volunteered, or supported our events. The good news is: we usually know who these people are! A quick comparison of a donor list with the local phonebook is a great start. From the research, we also know that African Americans and Hispanics are frequently overlooked as donors and volunteers. The marginalization of these or other groups of people arises from a number of misunderstandings and stereotypes. These assumptions are rooted in subconscious homophily, translated into “people like me will give time and money to the organizations and activities I value.” We need to consciously shift this line of thinking to “people different from me might value and support the same things I value and support.” We need to test out this idea by inviting diverse people to participate in our activities and following-up with them regularly.

Invitational campaigns can begin at any time. But, they require a deep commitment to cultivating diversity. Still, as Donna Walker-Kuhne suggests, if we invite people to the party, they will come. And it will be a much better party!

Sarah Ryan, Ph.D., is from the Department of Communication at The University of Texas at El Paso and is a guest blogger.

By Josephine Cooper and Carl Lakari

Last month, we featured a blog from Project AWARE Coordinator, Carl Lakari. This month, we are featuring a letter from one of their youth volunteers, Josephine Cooper.

I want to share with you a letter from one grateful youth volunteer. Read it, find inspiration, share it with your networks … and please remember the potential that exists in our youth. Carl Lakari, Project AWARE Coordinator

Letter from Josephine Cooper, Age 15, Saco, Maine

Project AWARE is an organization that encourages young people to lead in their communities. For me it has done just that. When I joined the Project AWARE Players in 2005 it gave me a chance to use my creativity to better myself and others around me. I am given the opportunity to speak to young people and adults alike, about the importance of an alcohol and drug free lifestyle, and encourage natural highs, and making a difference.
This is my fifth year being a part of the Project AWARE Players. When I was in the sixth grade, I became the director of the Project AWARE Player Juniors. As a sixth grade student I was given the opportunity to write skits pertaining to issues that I was concerned about. Then, present them to students and adults in a creative and fun way. Throughout middle school, I continued to gain self-confidence and a feeling of leadership through the Project AWARE Players, which now serves to my benefit every day of my high school, and one-day adult life. I now provide artistic direction for the Project AWARE Players.
In the summer of 2008, an opportunity arose, which has proved one of the most influential and unexpected of my life. I attended the Project AWARE Summer Film Institute. There, I was able to use my love for film to make more of a difference than I would have ever dreamed. Another Project AWARE Players member and I created a one-minute PSA about the importance of parent role modeling. This is a topic, which affects everyone’s life, and isn’t sufficiently discussed. Several months after the PSA premiered, my partner and I were confronted with a proposition from Project AWARE, to make our PSA into a movie! After a year of planning, writing, casting, and a lot of learning, the shoot for the 30-minute film began. For a week and a half I, a high school student, got the opportunity of a professional director. I worked with a professional camera crew, and professional actors. Everything I had ever learned about leadership was put to the test. I blocked scenes, called action, and watched the magic of film come to life on the monitor.
Never before have I felt so proud. Not only did I get to direct, but I got to act as well, and prepare for the career I hope to someday pursue. I can’t think of a better experience than to be given the chance to not only wear the director’s hat, but that of a writer, producer, and actor as well. It was an exhilarating process, and amazing hands on experience. I became a leader of an entire film operation, all ultimately geared towards making a difference about an issue I feel is of great importance, while being supported by Project AWARE.
Not only have I learned a remarkable amount, and had such great opportunities from being a member of the Project AWARE Players, but I have also met some of the greatest people I could ever hope to encounter in one lifetime. Project AWARE has supplied me, since I was young, with role models. I have grown up with people to encourage me to make a difference, and follow whatever dreams I may have. Also, people to show me the importance of a drug and alcohol free life, and to teach me that there are so many wonderful things out there to spend my precious time doing, rather than wasting it with unhealthy decisions. To this day, I think back on all of the amazing people I would have never met without Project AWARE and the Players.
How many teenagers have the opportunity to speak to a room full of organization heads, and school faculty, about the issues they feel important? How many young people are given the chance to educate children about the importance of healthy choices? How many people in general learn to really be a leader, and express themselves in a creative and meaningful way? Thanks to Project AWARE, these are all things I can proudly say, I have done.

Josephine is one of many youth “volunteers” at Project AWARE .

Carl Lakari is the Project Aware Coordinator and a guest blogger.

By Margaret Mayo

If you missed part I click here.

4. What is Peace Corps service like?
In two words, Peace Corps service is eye-opening. It’s easy, in America, to ignore what goes on in developing nations and just go about your life at home. However, after living here for seven months and visiting the capital city (Accra) after being a resident for just three, it seems ridiculous that so many people in this country are living on the bare minimum, barely scraping by, while others just miles away have luxurious homes, servants and running water (imagine that!). I can’t help but think about the number of malnourished children that could be fed or sent to school with the money that gets spent on other things in Ghana (or the number of computers that could be bought for a school that has none, or how electricity could be provided to a town that has none—as many in Ghana do not).

Much of the last paragraph sounds a bit pessimistic, but I’m not trying to portray it as such. These problems can’t and won’t be solved overnight by a fairy godmother; they’re hard realities of life, and I hope that with the help of Peace Corps and other organizations, they can start to change.
Though life here is full of challenges, I am really appreciative of the opportunity to live amid another culture with a way of life vastly different from my own. I always thought I was an adaptable person, but just seven months of Peace Corps service has forced my mental and emotional stability to twist into more pretzel shapes than I could ever have imagined possible. I’ve done OK thus far and (I hope) am better off for it, and I will continue to adapt as new curveballs are thrown my way. Things that irked me at the beginning of my stay in Ghana (certain mannerisms, people who always want my phone number, the constant cacophony of animal sounds—the pervasive “barnyard,” as my Dad put it) have almost all become minor nuisances or non-issues. I also feel much more comfortable starting a conversation with a total stranger than I ever did in the U.S. This is due partly to the fact that Ghanaians quite often seek me out and start talking to me, and to the fact that I used to have to ask directions all the time. The two most important things I’ve learned here are, as I said before, patience and tolerance. I’ve learned to tolerate so many things; for example, the chronic inability of 95% of taxi drivers, bar owners and electronics shop operators to TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!

Another facet of the cultural divide has to do with respect, which is a different animal here in Ghana. You respect, without question, those who are older than you or those who hold the same or a higher position than you; not much respect is afforded to people who fall outside those categories. Teachers don’t respect students the way we would expect them to in the States. They often treat students poorly in class, yell at them, belittle them, dismiss their questions or ignore requests. Teachers tend to view students as smaller than they are—people who need to be kept in line and sometimes mistreated, if necessary. Additionally, it is not uncommon for various teachers or administrators to take students out of class in order to have them perform other tasks like fetching water or doing grounds work. If there are too few students in a classroom (which could be caused by GES delays, as happened here, or by students being sent to the fields to work), teachers will often ignore those who are present and leave them sitting untaught in their classrooms for long periods of time. I am discouraged sometimes when I see my first-years sitting in a teacherless classroom or out in the school yards hoeing or weeding when they have paid significant school fees to come here and learn.
It’s tough to see the neglected conditions of the schools every day, but it keeps reminding me that I’m here to do my best and to give the students all I’ve got for two years. I just wish the students had shown up earlier so we could get a move on!

5. What projects am I working on?
For now, I’m focusing on trying to cover as much of the first-year integrated science syllabus as I can. I have some ideas for secondary projects, including but not limited to:
• Covering graffiti on classroom walls
• Painting chalkboards with a long-lasting, nontoxic covering (as opposed to used battery acid, which is what they use now)
• Turning the cluttered, outdated chemistry lab into a usable and effective learning space
• Obtaining dust covers for the computers so they don’t get ruined during the dusty dry season
• Obtaining more computers to supplement the three currently in the school library
• Sorting through unopened boxes of books that have been donated to the school library and sat there for years
• Finding a way to get students’ fees paid so they can attend class and make use of textbooks
• Having the school provide desks instead of forcing students to lug them to campus from their homes

My ultimate goal is to see the WASSCE test scores rise. The problem is that I will be here for only two years while my first-year students will be enrolled for four. I won’t be around to see their final results when they are ready to leave high school, so I’ll have to gauge my success by their performances throughout the year on class tests and term exams. I’ll also have to check back two years after I return to the U.S. to see how my former students did.

Challenges faced by students, teachers and families in Ghana:
I’ve only been here for about seven months—not a huge amount of time—but it’s still shocking whenever I discover the holes in the educational background these kids have. For example, they do not attend history class. One Peace Corps story I heard was about an ICT (information and communication technology) volunteer teacher who was conducting an ordinary class. Through one exercise, she discovered that the students did not know what the Holocaust was; they had never been exposed to that historical information. So she changed tack and held an impromptu history lesson so that her students would be possessed of what most Americans would probably feel is absolutely necessary knowledge.

This is not to say that the students here are vastly underprepared. They do take courses in social studies. But unlike American schools, where this term generally means “history,” in Ghanaian schools it means just what it says. Social studies class here is a study of human behavior, social problems, and other related subjects; this is certainly beneficial for the students, but I thought they might also need to know a bit about what’s been happening in the world.

Students in Ghana are forced to learn completely in English by the time they reach late primary school. Though they begin English lessons early in primary school, very few of them grow up speaking English in the home. These lessons are certainly not enough to make them fluent in English, and so they are taught in what is, to them, a foreign language—their second or sometimes third language—for the rest of their school careers. This is not conducive to helping students learn to the best of their abilities, and their progress is almost always hampered.

Another thing holding kids back from learning is the country-wide lack of emphasis on education. As a schoolchild in America, I took for granted that the biggest expectation of me was that I would go to school, learn, and do my best in each class. I wasn’t saddled with many responsibilities outside of that—to help around the house is not a big deal for many American schoolchildren. But in a different culture, education and home life aren’t always so compatible. In Ghana, education is certainly valued, but that value doesn’t override the importance of many other things as it does in the U.S. Here, an average schoolchild has to worry about sustaining the family’s income, keeping the farm afloat, caring for younger children, or the time it will take to walk long distances to fetch water or firewood for cooking. Once school lets out for the day, students return to their families and must perform these duties and more, leaving minimal time for schoolwork. Those without electricity in their homes face an additional challenge, and it is not uncommon for children to miss school for reasons varying from caring for younger siblings to a lack of money for school fees (or food) to not wanting to stand during class because they have no desk.
Even walking to school can take an enormous amount of time for those children who live far from campus and don’t have bicycles. School buses are nonexistent, and while Ghana generally has very good public transportation in the form of taxis and tro-tros, these run infrequently in rural areas and the cost can be prohibitive for many families.

Even when students do make it to school, they are often taken out of class to fetch water for teachers, to perform landscaping or grounds work around the school campus, or to harvest crops; or they might just wander off. There is no system in place to ensure that students come to school or, once they have arrived, that they stay there.

School fees for second- and third-year students are GhC 50.00 (about US$30), which includes the fee for textbooks. For first-year students, the school fees themselves are GhC 65.00 and the textbooks are another GhC 44.00, totaling GhC 109.50, or about US$70. If first-years don’t pay the fees, they can’t “register”—they can’t come to school. Older students can attend without paying, but not for the entire year; and they don’t receive their textbooks if they don’t pay. To give an idea of what this amount of money means, it would take me, as a Peace Corps Volunteer with a salary comparable to other Ghanaian workers, almost half a month to save enough wages to send a child to school—without buying any other necessities, like food. And I don’t have to support a family in terms of food, clothing, electric and medical bills.

Margaret Mayo is a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Ghana and a guest blogger.

By Elizabeth Cole

My nephew is going through the why phase. You know, the phase where you can’t go more than three minutes without some existential discussion?
“Auntie Liz, Why do ants live in the dirt?”
“Because they like to.”
“Why do they like to?”
“Well… It’s always the same temperature and it’s easy to dig in.”
“Why is it easy to dig?”
“Um… Well, because it’s softer than, say, concrete.”
“Why is it softer?”

For those of you who read this blog regularly, you may remember that I wrote last a piece last month introducing the concept of coaching. So why am I opening this post with an anecdote about domestic bliss, toddler style? Well, as it turns out, my nephew is preparing for a promising future as a volunteer manager.
Supervisors of volunteers who use a coaching model ask open-ended questions, helping their volunteers to discover answers and solutions on their own. As a “coach,” you will typically help your team members to solve problems, make better decisions, learn new skills, or otherwise progress in their role. Not every question should be treated as a coaching opportunity, but with a little coaching, your volunteers’ performance will improve dramatically.

One proven approach to coaching is the GROW model. GROW is an acronym standing for Goal - Current Reality - Options - Will. The model is a simple yet powerful framework for structuring a coaching session.

1. Establish the Goal: First, with your volunteer, you must define and agree the goal or outcome to be achieved. You should help your volunteer define a goal that is specific, measurable and realistic. In doing this, it is useful to ask questions like:
“How will you know that you have achieved that goal?”
“How will you know the problem is solved?”

2. Examine Current Reality: Too often, people try to solve a problem without fully considering their starting point and miss some of the information needed to reach the most effective solution. Useful coaching questions include:
“What is happening now?”
“What is the effect the result of that?”

3. Explore the Options: Help your volunteer generate as many good options as possible. By all means, offer your own suggestions. But let your volunteer start and do most of the talking. Typical questions used to establish the options are:
“What else could you do?”
“What are the benefits and downsides of each option?”

4. Establish the Will: Your final step as coach is to get you volunteer to commit to specific action. In so doing, you will help the volunteer establish his or her will and motivation. Useful questions:
“So what will you do now, and when?”
“What could prevent you moving forward?”
“And how will you overcome it?”

A great way to practice using the model is to address your own challenges and issues. When you are stuck with something, you can use the technique to coach yourself. By practicing, you will learn how to ask the most helpful questions. Write down some stock questions as prompts for future coaching sessions.

Elizabeth Cole is a guest blogger and an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Maine Commission for Community Service.

By Anne Schink, CVA

I recently taught a class for managers of volunteers and it was interesting to see who actually showed up for the class. We had an executive director (the only paid staff) of a local land trust, an office manager of a nonprofit that was almost entirely run by an all-volunteer board, a department director of a housing complex, an event planner from a local business development organization, a brand new staff member of an animal rescue organization, and three staff members of a large youth-serving organization. I point this out only as a reminder that who we define as a manager of volunteers varies widely from organization to organization. On the up side is the fact that organizations of all types and sizes recognize the importance of volunteers in achieving the organization’s mission.

Clearly no one job description would cover this disparate group of participants. Yet many of their concerns were the same. While they all expressed the desire to increase the effectiveness of their volunteer programs, their expectations about what these people would do and what kind of people they were trying to attract was all over the map. Most of them had a mental picture in their heads about who was ‘typical’ for their organization. It took some stretching for them to see that they might have to re-think their vision if they were going to attract tomorrow’s volunteers.

In a recent Webinar I attended, the presenter said that tomorrow’s volunteers wanted the four F’s in their volunteer assignments—Flexible, Fast, Friendly, Focused. That goes for Board members, volunteers functioning as external consultants, behind the scenes administrative support, or direct service positions. No one, in any generation, is signing on for life these days. Flexible means that the position is shaped to match the volunteer’s schedule, not the other way around. Fast means a quick response to their initial inquiry and a quick turnaround in placing them. If you don’t catch them the first time they try to reach you, they will go elsewhere. Friendly means that you need to welcome them, make them feel part of your organization, and give them a meaningful role working with others. Focused means deadlines, time limits, and real measurable outcomes.

This may fly in the face of more traditional ways of creating a volunteer program, but it is a reminder that this is an ever-changing landscape. Having clearly defined job descriptions is the foundation of a sound volunteer program, but the experienced, adaptive manager of volunteers will make the changes required to build a creative program that meets a wide variety of interests and personalities.

Anne Schink, CVA is a Consultant in Volunteer Management and a featured blogger.