VolunteerSpot loves highlighting the good works of users around the country. Today our spotlight shines on Annie Harris, a volunteer leader at a Seacoast, New Hampshire hospital, as well as a board member for her daughter's Irish Dance parent group.
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Please tell us a little about yourself and your role as a volunteer leader. How did you get interested in becoming a volunteer leader?
I am the mother of a busy pre-teen and an Occupational Therapist (OT) turned Volunteer Manager for a hospital in the Seacoast Area of New Hampshire. As an OT, I am always thinking about ways to make life easier and more functional. Volunteering for my daughter's Irish Dance parent group board of directors was a way for me to be involved with her activities, while at the same time, helping to fundraise for over 160 dancers. It is also providing me with a lot of social opportunities that I otherwise wouldn't take the time for, and I have met so many great people. I am having fun and doing good things all at the same time!! It's win win!!
Professionally, I manage 100 wonderful volunteers for a busy hospital. I am exploring how volunteers can really enhance the overall experience of our customers. It's a new role for me this year, but I am finding it very rewarding and exciting.
As a volunteer leader, what are your scheduling and signup needs? Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
Scheduling and signing people up has been a big challenge for both of my roles. For our Irish Dance events we often have a lot going on between regional and national competitions, community dance-out performances, fundraisers, and events, like our end of the year festival and bus trips to competitions. It's a lot to keep track of and there's a lot of room for error with traditional sign up sheets and email blasts. We need to know which parents are going to help and who will be attending the different events. Everyone has a busy schedule so sending reminders out for each event is imperative!
VolunteerSpot came along for me just at the right time. I found it through an email from the United Way and I haven't looked back. In about 15 minutes I had taken the tour, set up my account and immediately started planning for our end of the year festival/fundraiser. We had over 125 dancers and 42 parent volunteers participate. The event went off fantastically. I know for sure that I wouldn't have been able to get as much done without the help of the VolunteerSpot site. It gave me time to really add some personal touches to the activities. All the volunteers showed up on time and I heard lots of appreciation about the reminder notice and messages they received leading up to the event. I love the roster and ability to convert to an Excel sheet - another great feature and time-saver!!
I have also found uses for scheduling special projects for the volunteers at the hospital and arranging interviews for potential new volunteers. Volunteer Spot is my favorite new tool! It allows me to "do it all" (have time for my family, work full time and volunteer), do it all well, and feel less stressed. I can honestly say that it makes my jobs a lot more enjoyable!!
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or volunteer leaders out there?
Become web savvy!!! It's inevitable for the future. Things are now designed to be more intuitive than ever. With a little bit of time and exploration, you can master just about any online tool. It will save you time and help minimize your stress. VolunteerSpot is a great place to start, it makes it so fun and easy. With a little education, you can have everyone onboard.
What else would you like our readers to know?
Finding your own "Just Right Challenge" is the key to happiness -- doing enough to keep you engaged/involved, but not so much that it burns you out.
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We salute Annie and all the volunteer heroes out there everyday making our communities better places to live! 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 [email protected].
