Imagine you lead a program for young boys that seeks to instill the values of service and community. While supervising a Saturday afternoon group volunteer experience at a local faith-based nonprofit, within the first 10 minutes of volunteering, another adult who volunteers at this organization regularly says to you “Sometimes help isn’t always good help.” How would that make you feel? Welcomed and valued? Would you look forward to returning to volunteer again and recommend volunteering at the organization to others?
This incident happened a few weeks ago with a group that was in our Shoppes. The group volunteer immediately told the department manager, who was able to turn the day around for the group into a positive experience. The group leader is well-known in our community and is active in his church and in our local Chamber of Commerce. The president of the Chamber recommended Care & Share to the group leader. This was a great connection to make for Care & Share and a wonderful promotion of our group volunteering opportunities. It was a stumble that he and his group of volunteers were initially treated with an unwelcoming stance by a member of our volunteer team.
Frequently we get remarkable volunteers coming with a group that do an amazing job and are a huge help. I hear “Oh we need that group back again!” Sometimes we get groups that may add a little more work for us, especially the student groups, as their youthful enthusiasm may not fully compensate for their inexperience. In these situations, let’s extend grace and praise for the fact that these new volunteers came with good intentions, wanting to serve alongside our team. Let’s use these experiences as an opportunity to show how great it is to volunteer here. What better time than youth to instill a volunteer spirit into a person? Let’s use these times to help develop new volunteers and encourage them on their volunteer journey.
I have my 8-year-old wash the dishes. Are they clean? Not always. Sometimes I will have to rewash them. But he will never learn unless I give him the opportunity. If you have a concern about this topic, please contact me! Thank you for serving with us!
-Maggie Pugliese