Volunteer Spotlight: Cindy Esser, Parent Volunteer, Saint Kilian Parish School, Cranberry Township, PA

At VolunteerSpot, we love sharing stories about people who take on numerous volunteer roles. From classroom volunteer, to coaching the soccer team, to coordinating the local fish fry, it's amazing how many roles we can take on while helping out in our community. 

Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Cindy Esser, Parent Volunteer, Saint Kilian Parish School, Cranberry Township, PA

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What is your role as a volunteer leader?

I was the volunteer coordinator for our Church's annual fish fry. Approximately 110 volunteers per week were needed for 7 weeks. We basically ran a mini restaurant, complete with hostesses and cooks. We offered both take out and dine-in service. 

What other activities are you involved in as a volunteer or volunteer leader?

I frequently volunteer at my children's school. Specifically, I help with fundraising events and video conferencing activities. I am the soccer coach for my child's "Under 8" team and also a Cub Scout leader. I work at a local community hospital managing large projects in addition to identifying new technologies that may be valuable to the organization.

 
How did you get interested in volunteering?

I love working with children, especially being involved with my own three children's activities and at their school. So helping out is just a natural way to be a part of their lives

What’s one piece of advice you have for parent volunteers out there?

VolunteerSpot allows the volunteer to determine what they want to do, reminds them of their commitment and gives them the opportunity to cancel. It puts the responsibility on the volunteer and takes the weight off the coordinator. Its amazing how an open slot gets grabbed quickly by someone else, its a great way to communicate without phone calls and emails.

 
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

I was looking for a user friendly tool that was not password protected and could identify open positions.  VolunteerSpot met my needs exactly. The great thing about VolunteerSpot is that volunteers were able to review the tasks and choose what they wanted to do. In the prior year, I spent up to 30 hours placing volunteers into positions and informing them about what time to be there and what to do. This year, it only took me a few hours to initially set it up and conduct a weekly review of those who signed up. I could NEVER go back to the manual route.

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We salute Cindy and all the other volunteer leaders out there working on behalf of our children. If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at VS@volunteerspot.com