I know someone who worked for Red Cross for many years. In fact, she was a first responder at the Pentagon on Sept. 11. She said that the Red Cross generally needs two things—blood donations and money. Anything else, including unskilled volunteers, is often more a burden than a boon.
I doubt it was that they didn’t want people donating their time, but rather that they had no one to coordinate the effort.
Managing volunteers is a lot of work. People need to be screened, at least minimally interviewed, background checks performed, trained, and in some cases get health screenings (flu shots and TB screen to volunteer in a hospital, for example)…then scheduled. It’s frequently not as simple as telling people, “Sure, come down whenever you like!”
then you get all this squared away and you’re ready to actually deploy your volunteers, and a bunch of people don’t show up because “well, they’re not paying me: it doesn’t matter if I go in.”
as others have pointed out, the person who coordinates all.this is surely very overworked and may be a volunteer themselves.
It was a cause I really believed in; the phone was never answered and there was no answering machine, and e-mails weren’t responded to either.
And whenever there’s a disaster, the Red Cross, at least the one around here, puts out the word that THEY DO NOT WANT YOUR STUFF. If you want to donate, send them some money; do not bring your crappy old clothes to their office. This is one organization where the volunteers have to be vetted and extensively trained; you can’t just walk in and do it. If you have old clothes, toys, dishes, etc. that you aren’t using any more, drop it off at an existing thrift store.
I am a very active volunteer at my local library, sorting donated books and helping manage our self-service bookstore, and it’s something that fits me because I can do it any time the library’s open, stay as long as I want, and there’s any number of different tasks which can be done. I did have to fill out an application, mainly consisting of my name, address, phone number, and a few sentences about why I wanted to do it, and a brief orientation.
To volunteer at my local library system, you have to fill out an application, and jump through some other hoops – it’s practically the same as applying for a job.
No thanks. I’m not going to go through all that rigamarole unless I’m going to get paid for being on the premises.
Especially for things like camps and organizations like the Red Cross and others that see people at their most vulnerable moments. Just because you are not asking to be paid does not mean there isn’t a cost to bringing you on board. With basic background checks and all we’re talking like $100 a person. Multiply that by a lot of people calling and leaving signs of interest and it gets to add up. Best bet is to attend some event where they have a display (community event for example) and express your interest there. Or get active and known at something smaller (again some sort of community-based thing) and spring-board from there.
Cast a wider net. And yes, be prepared for a lot of hassle. I’ve had organizations never call me back. I’ve had organizations who require mandatory training that is never scheduled. Some organizations have more volunteers than they need and the only way in is through the rather cliquish group of people who already volunteer. Some don’t have enough people to bring on more people.
In Minnesota participating non-profits share background checks. Which is nice.
Serious Q: how would you prefer that the library manager handle getting volunteers? What process would you be willing to follow?
If they’re going to get value from your volunteer service don’t they need to ensure that you have the characteristics that will be useful to them? I don’t think any reputable organization is going to be willing to put trust into anyone who just shows up.
By putting a few barriers in place to volunteer, they are effectively weeding (some of) out the people who won’t honor their commitments, or do quality work. It’s quite effective.
Heck, some places make their volunteers pay for the honor. Most people still consider it worthwhile because of the perks or fun experiences. (The San Diego Zoo is the one that springs to mind…)
I help run a non-profit organization that relies on a lot of volunteer labor. We have a small paid staff but volunteers provide somewhere between 80% and 90% of our labor. We have enough volunteers to do our work but we can always use more volunteers to spread the load, to improve our services, and to ensure continuity should some of our key volunteers leave.
We have a paid Volunteer Coordinator who responds to prospective volunteers pretty quickly. Organizations similar to ours often rely on a volunteer to be Volunteer Coordinator. If no one signed up to be the Volunteer Coordinator that month, it can take a while to get a response from them.
We have office volunteers who cover our main phone number in shifts. So, if you call us, you will speak to a volunteer who does that job for maybe ten or twelve hours per month. Most of the phone calls to our main number are from solicitors. Many of the remaining calls are from people who ask questions about getting involved but are never heard from again. Our very small paid staff has a lot to do so we don’t want them distracted by fielding these calls. Occasionally there are gaps in coverage on the phone. (It turns out that almost no one wants to volunteer to cover the office phone over Labor Day weekend, even though we make it really easy by routing the phone calls to the cell number of volunteer’s choice.) Sometimes, the office volunteer will simply drop the ball. Please just call back if you really want to help. I assure you that placing a second phone call is much less work than actually volunteering with us. We can’t really use a volunteer with such a low level of commitment and a high sense of entitlement that placing a second or even third phone call is too much bother.
If you’ve made it this far, you will need to fill out an application, agree to a background check, submit references, and (depending on the work you want to do) complete our training. Training for most jobs is done by volunteers and sessions are generally once or twice a month but sometimes it can be a couple of months between sessions. This process protects the vulnerable population we serve and we aren’t going to compromise.
For what it’s worth, no one likes calling people back who just “have a question.” That sounds like a poorly structured sales pitch. Without knowing what the question is, the person who gets the message won’t know whether they have an answer or whether answering the question will benefit the organization at all. If you want a response, leave a message that has your name, contact information, and says you would like to volunteer to answer phones or do other work while seated to accommodate your ankle injury. It’s much more likely that message will go to the person who actually needs that help and has a motivation to get back to you. Good luck and best wishes recuperating.
Exactly, and for most positions they don’t want just any bored whackjob off the street to apply for them anyway. I mean, sure if all you need is warm bodies to pick trash off the side of the road I suppose you don’t need much of any barrier to entry, but for most positions, some is necessary, especially if it requires some training of the volunteer. Heck, to become a dog walker at the city dog pound here I needed to take a short training class and pass a background check. I’ve never even had a job that required a background check, to my recollection. And given the number of weirdos out there there are when it comes to animals, that bit of precaution was not a bad thing (and I’m also guessing probably required to all volunteers for city institutions.)
Another thing I was wondering about, is the fact that I really hate my first name so I go by my middle name and have for years. I am wondering if I should introduce myself by my middle name or if that would look sketchy like I am trying to hide something, and what name I should fill out on the volunteer forms. I don’t want to go by my first name but I don’t want them to not accept me as a volunteer either.
Lots of people go by their middle names. Fill the forms out with all your names but when you introduce yourself give the name you prefer.
I’ve seen job applications where the person had to put their full legal name on the application, and then it was followed by, “What do you prefer to be called?” That would be all you needed to do.
What should I do when the application does not have a spot for a middle name?
Uh…
“Hi my name is Humperdoo McEdelsteinski. But I go by my middle name, Sara. Nice to meet you”
Something wrong with that?
I just filled out a couple of volunteer applications with the county, one for me and one for my SO. The applications have a space for volunteers to put what they prefer to be called.
I wish I knew. I took 4 hrs. of on-line training for the local Humane Society, only to be shown to the laundry room on my first day, where I spent my entire first shift. Nope, not what I signed up for, you know?
Then don’t put a middle name down. The application isn’t a means to know you better socially(Hi! What do you like to be called?) They need your legal name on the form.