Remember, the goal is for every volunteer to leave wanting to come back.
Roles #
New Life is a volunteer-led organization. Duty Officers and Team Leaders are encouraged to take the lead, while staff can provide additional guidance as needed.
- Team Leader: Lead a specific task and, in some cases, is the only leadership present
- Duty Officer: Oversee a shift, including Team Leaders, with multiple tasks at once
Prerequisites #
- Must be 18+ years of age for liability reasons
- Must be trained by a staff member or someone directed to train to ensure lines of communication, safety, and consistency
- Experience volunteering at New Life – no set minimum
How to Run a Shift #
- Ensure everyone signs in and wears their nametag somewhere visible. If they don’t have a name tag on (and the printer is working), that means they did not sign in.
- Volunteers must sign up in advance.
- If a volunteer already in the system shows up without signing up, politely remind them they will be turned away if they don’t sign up in advance next time.
- If a volunteer shows up that’s not in the system, thank them for their interest and politely tell them volunteers need to sign up in advance from our website for liability reasons.
- Introduce yourself and get to know your team of volunteers.
- Review safety & guidelines
- Dollies – riding/standing, distributing weight, loading/unloading elevator
- Elevator – only trained operators
- Lifting – work together, posture, bend at the knees
- Tidiness – fire and tripping hazards, “Leave it better than we found it.”
- Software – only Inventory/Sorting Team Leaders, Duty Officers, or Uploaders may use the iPads
- Explain what they’re doing and how it connects to the mission
- Duty Officer – what’s happening overall
- Team Leader – how to do a specific task step-by-step
- At the end, thank them for coming and express that you hope to see them again.
Management Strategies #
The Basics #
- Never put down a volunteer. Tone and choice of words can change how a volunteer interprets what you say.
- Avoid terms of endearment and physical contact, especially with volunteers you don’t know well. Regardless of intentions, calling someone “honey” or putting a hand on their back can make people uncomfortable.
- Be mindful of pronouns. If someone introduces themselves or indicates they use specific pronouns, make an effort to use them. e.g. she/her, him/his, they/theirs
- Volunteer info, just like client info, is confidential. Do not discuss another volunteers’ personal information with other volunteers.
- People are imperfect. Let the small things go and bring any concerns to their attention. People cannot fix what they don’t know isn’t working.
Disengaged volunteer? #
- Redirect to a new task
- Find out interests and see if there’s a task that aligns with those
- Explain importance of the task
Unsafe volunteer? #
- Repeat safety instructions
- Don’t yell at/discipline a volunteer
- Instead, tell them why they’re being unsafe and how it affects others and New Life
- Humor helps (when appropriate)! “I don’t want to have to do paperwork.”
Misunderstood directions? #
- Direct an experienced volunteer to work with them
- Re-explain the instruction in a different way
Concerns about a volunteer? #
- Make the best of the situation and notify the Volunteer and Development Coordinator afterward, unless it’s an emergency.
- We do not turn away a volunteer unless the reason is safety. If a volunteer has a hard time understanding instructions, lacks self-control, isn’t following directions, or doing anything else that poses a risk to themselves or others, contact the Volunteer and Development Coordinator afterward.
- If they pose an immediate danger, ask them to leave politely and contact the Volunteer and Development Coordinator immediately.