It's More than Stuffing Envelopes: How to Effectively Define Volunteers and Develop Criteria 

In this session, participants will learn how to effectively define volunteers and develop enrollment criteria based on these definitions.  Participants will learn how to develop job descriptions using specific guidance provided and will practice this technique by creating a job description based on their ideal volunteer job. 

Volunteer handbooks are crucial to communicating your agency’s mission and relationship to volunteers. This session will outline how to create a volunteer handbook and what is necessary to build a handbook that is informative and helpful to volunteers.  Participants will brainstorm ideas that they feel should be included in a volunteer handbook and be able to apply these ideas to create or modify a handbook with their agency

Finally, we will discuss the importance of interviewing volunteers using a volunteer application as a tool to get to know your volunteers, their background, hobbies, skills and secret hidden talents.  Participants will learn who to include in this interview, how to talk about confidentiality, sexual harassment, and criminal background checks.  Participants will learn how to redirect volunteers who may not be appropriate for the job or the agency.

The target audience for this session is for anyone who is responsible for coordinating, interviewing, and developing a volunteer program either experienced or for the first time.

Stephanie Bates, Assistant Director of Community and Preventative Services at ProAction of Steuben and Yates Inc., will be the presenter for this workshop. 

Interested in networking with other volunteer coordinators? Participants are invited to an informal lunch at Spencer's Restaurant in Corning after the workshop. Individuals pay for their own meal.

Registration is free for IHS members, and $15 for nonmembers. Payment is accepted at the door.

Interested in becoming an IHS member? Learn more here.