If I Was King…
Posted on March 24th, 2009 by Cynthia D'Amour
Here is how I would volunteer.
Last month, Peggy Hoffman started a conversation about volunteering with various association bloggers.
- The focus: ad hoc or one-time volunteer experiences.
- The challenge: to provide five examples.
- Lynn Morton asked me to share my favorites.
Here are five one-time volunteer experiences I have enjoyed.
- All of them are real.
- I would do any of them again.
- They all involve having fun. (Surprise!)
1. Helping to host a special event.
- Standing near the entrance.
- Greeting folks, make them feel welcome then work the room.
- James and I have helped host major fundraisers - as well as some friends’ client events.
2. Helping to problem solve a major chapter challenge.
- Invite me to sit in with the board or committee.
- Let me ask lots of questions and give ideas.
- I bring an fresh eye - and will let YOU implement the solution!
3. Being the front person at the beer tent.
- I’ll take the orders and kibitz with the guests.
- While the team pulls everything together.
- From Jimmy Buffet concert fundraiser to Melon festival, I’ve kept thing moving smoothly while making good money.
4. Throwing an unofficial, yet sort of official, gathering.
- I like to invite others to play with me.
- And see who shows up.
- I’ve helped build the party energy with associations such as ASAE, Jr. League and many other groups.
(Of course, I’m not sure they all knew what I was doing.)
5. Being a video reporter at an event.
- Give me a camera and people to interview.
- Let me infuse the interviews with some high-energy.
- Have had interesting videos result making others smile, cry - and even give money to a cause.
What do these examples have in common?
- I get to focus on having fun interacting with others.
- I’m often managing a lot of details but making it look smooth.
- It feels very personal to share these with you.
How about you?
Makes me think of chapter leaders…what kind of fun, one-time volunteering opportunities do you provide for your members?
Filed under: Getting More Members Involved
Your post (actually, a tweet about your post and a reference to Peggy Hoffman’s blog) inspired me to write about my five favorite volunteering experiences (my first blog post!) — three of mine were also one-time events.
Beer was involved in my experience as well (surprise surprise) — pouring at beer festivals and charity events — fun and social, and well appreciated by the brewers involved. The other two involved interacting with others — prepping and serving Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless and moderating a conference panel.
Writing my blog post made me reflect on what it was in each of my experiences that made them so rewarding to me, the volunteer — good insight into what will be emotionally or intellectually rewarding to our volunteers. And it was a bit more revealing and personal than I expected my blog to be, but that’s okay, I’m pretty uncensored at times!
Thanks to you, Peggy, Maddie, Lindy and so many others for inspiring me to join you in the blogger ranks!
Deidre welcome to the world of blogging. Just checked out your first post. Nice job.
I agree about the personal reflection involved in identifying five personal volunteer experiences you found worth doing.
Perhaps all volunteers and association staff should go through a similar experience? Would be interesting to see the different flavors emerge. I think the answer would be no one size fits all.