There are at least two different perspectives of any organization: The way it looks from the inside, and the way it looks from the outside looking in. This is never more true than when you are talking about connecting with volunteers and donors. From the inside it sounds somethings like this: ”Just pick up the phone and give us a call, we need all the help we can get.” But from the outside it sounds like this: ”Frankly, we’re too busy to let you help us”. Is this true of our Mission? It must be, since unless there is widespread focus on the volunteer’s viewpoint the most natural thing to do is to put the responsibility on the volunteer. Most staff would never dream of telling a volunteer that they are “too busy”, yet their actions and the priority they place on helping a volunteer get acclimated to our work says it all. The question is not “do we do this?”, but rather, “how can I put myself in the volunteers shoes?”
A few years ago I was a part of a large outdoor meeting. There were tens of thousands of people gathered to hear a speech, everyone huddled together to stay warm and dry, as it was a very cold and wet day. As I tried to make my way into the crowd, it was a sea of bodies. It was very difficult to find a spot to move into the group and make my way to a decent spot to view the speech. The job was made all the more difficult by the fact that many had umbrellas up to guard from the rain. This made for a nearly impenetrable shield. Many people just walked around the large group looking for an opening in the crowd. Most just latched onto the outside and made another barrier for others to try and break through.Clearly, this is what happens in most organizations that need and work with volunteers.
If you put yourself in the volunteers shoes, you’ll see that it looks like a large, hard to penetrate organization that is hard to get plugged into. It’s true of churches, non-profits, and even true here at the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Interestingly, when I was at the outdoor speach I actually pushed through the crowd and found that there were pockets of space on the inside where I could get a great view. Unfortunately, most people don’t push through, they circle the outside of the organization and then just go away quietly.Let’s make a point to put ourselves in the shoes of those who want to serve along side of us.
Our goal must be to make it easy for them to get in and be part of our great work.Please contact Kathya@trm.org or JulietL@trm.org if you need help in seeing how your department can become more volunteer friendly, or if you are interested in volunteering. DC