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Volunteer Spotlight: Nichole Pangle, Executive Director, The Arc of Northern Shenandoah Valley

The Arc of Northern Shenandoah Valley is part of The Arc, the world’s largest community based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides an array of services and support for families and individuals and includes over 140,000 members affiliated through more than 730 state and local chapters across the nation. The Arc's mission is to work through education, advocacy and awareness to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Nichole Pangle, Executive Director, The Arc of Shenandoah Valley.

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Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.

The Arc of Northern Shenandoah Valley is a local chapter of Virginia. We are a membership organization of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, their families, friends, parents, professionals, community leaders and interested citizens. Our goal is to provide people with disabilities “A Life like Yours” by offering social and recreational activities, advocacy trips, community education and public awareness programs. We rely heavily on volunteers to assist us and to accomplish these goals.

What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?

To all volunteers: You never know the depth of your service. Every minute you spend giving is a worthwhile endeavor and many organizations would not be able to function without your support.

To all leaders: Make sure you are using your volunteers in ways that suit their unique needs and talents. Get to know what your volunteers want out of the experience and match them to projects that will enable them to have that experience. This will keep your volunteers interested and feeling appreciated.

Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

We decided to use VolunteerSpot because it is SO easy. Prior to VolunteerSpot, our organization had to send out e-mails. Information would slip through the cracks or we would be overwhelmed with all the e-mails back and forth. VolunteerSpot made it so easy for us—no more “reply all”. Just sign up for what you want to do, see who you will be working with and you are finished. What a great concept!

Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?

The Arc of Northern Shenandoah Valley would like to thank ALL volunteers for the selfless work you do on behalf of others. Your many gifts and talents truly do make a difference!

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To learn more about The Arc, please visit their website, http://thearcofnsv.org/default.aspx
And on Facebook!

We salute Nichole and all the volunteer heroes out there in the community. 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].

Make Your Memorial Day a Memorable One

By John Sammarco

 
Too often, with our busy schedules, we lose sight of the real meaning of our holidays. It’s all too easy to look at them as just another day off, or perhaps in the case of Memorial Day, a great day for a family barbeque. With Memorial Day just a few short days away, let’s make sure that we not only honor our U.S. servicemen and women who died while in military service, but that this Memorial Day becomes a memorable one by making a small act of kindness that demonstrates our gratitude to those who make the ultimate sacrifice.

 
What is a Small Act of Kindness?

A small act of kindness is simply doing something thoughtful and considerate for someone else, in this case a previous or current US serviceman or servicewoman or a family member, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. Often times, small acts of kindness are made anonymously or bestowed on a recipient who may be previously unknown to the provider of the small act. Performing small acts of kindness as a family gives children insight into how good it can feel to do something selflessly to others.

 
What Kinds of Small Acts are Appropriate for Memorial Day?

First, it’s important to explain to your children what soldiers do for us and why we are grateful. For younger children, your explanation can be as simple as “they protect us”. Likewise, when picking a small act, it’s also important that it be age appropriate. Depending on the age of your children, here is a list of small acts that you can do together or with your friends:

• Make a family outing to a local military memorial or grave of a veteran (e.g. Arlington National Cemetery)

• Place flowers or a flag on the grave of a soldier

• Adopt a U.S. soldier 

• Write a letter to a soldier. The website Let’s Say Thanks lets you and your kids design postcards which are sent for free to our troops.

• Send a care package to a soldier

• Tell a soldier “Thank you for serving our country”

• Contribute to, or pay for, the dinner tab for a soldier on R&R

• Drive a veteran to a doctor’s appointment

• Pay a phone or an electric bill for a family who has a parent deployed

• Ask your school administrators to invite a veteran to the classroom

• Visit a veteran that is staying in a veteran’s home or in the hospital

How Do Small Acts of Kindness Make a Difference?

Although not typically monetary in nature, a small act can have a big impact to the recipient. Recipients are very appreciative, and are often inspired to “pay forward” (rather than to “pay back”) the small act by performing another small act for someone else. In short, one small act can inspire many other small acts which in turn results in even a larger positive impact. Although there are many very good organizations and charities to assist our military servicemen and servicewomen, and their families, there are still many shortfalls and gaps in the system that can only be addressed when a person decides to make a small act of kindness.

 Are you ready to make this Memorial Day a memorable one?

 

 

About the Small Acts of Kindness Network:

John Sammarco is the founder of the Small Acts of Kindness Network, a fast-growing nationwide network of over 3,000 people dedicated to assisting our deployed United States servicemen and women and their families, ensuring that they are not forgotten by a grateful Nation. By leveraging the power of social networking and Facebook®, the network quickly connects a deployed serviceman or woman, or a member of their family, that needs assistance with our members who are able to provide that assistance. The Small Acts of Kindness Network supports service members from all branches of the U.S. military.

For More Information:

 

John Sammarco

[email protected]

Visit Small Acts of Kindness on Facebook 

Countdown to Summer of Service

Summer is all about having fun and trying new activities, especially with family and friends. We'd like to believe that the break from routine and the magic of summertime also pose a unique opportunity to change someone's life for the better.

To inspire everyone to get out and give back to our communities this summer, we're excited to be kicking off the Summer of Service on our blog!  Each Monday in June and July, we'll be featuring a fantastic guest blogger sharing his or her unique and personal perspective on service, volunteering and citizen philanthropy. 

We've included a variety of viewpoints -- from well-known cause and nonprofit leaders (Sloane Berrent of The Causemopolitan, Kari Dunn Saratovsky of Social Citizens, Debra Askanase of CommunityOrganizer2.0, Chris Dumas of First Giving, Jessica Kirkwood of HandsOn Blog), to High School student leader and 'bootstrapped philanthropist' Crystal Yan, Mom-action leader, Jyl Johnson Pattee of MomItForward, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expert Chris Jarvis of Realized Worth.

Their posts will run the gamut from personal reflections on service to practical tips and ideas for getting inolved and making a difference.  Please join us every Monday, starting June 7th, and kick-off your personal Summer of Service!

Click here to see our most recent Summer of Service post and scroll through the entire inspiring series. Thank you!

Slacktivism Activism

 

Today Dan Morrison, founder and CEO of Citizen Effect, brings us a post on how anyone can make a real impact in the world. Check out Citizen Effect for ideas of how people can affect their surrounding communities with simple tools and networks. So without further ado, here’s Dan’s insight on Slacktivism!

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I love the word “slacktivism.” It is a classic oxymoron. The word conjures up the image of a male college student sitting on his couch playing Grand Theft Auto and texting “90999” to support Haiti Relief in the five seconds between games.

And that is a great thing. When I was in college, the college quad was the realm of the activist who wanted to save the world. The dorm room was the realm of the slacker who could care less. Technology has now allowed slackers with a conscience to get involved in the causes they believe in but are too lazy to get up off the couch and support.

Slacktivists are an entirely new market segment that we, as cause marketers, are all salivating over, because so many slacktivists are so willing to procrastinate by picking up their cellphone or going online to give and spread the word about our cause. Slacktivists are the definition of the long tail and cause marketers are going to bed every night trying to dream up schemes about how to get one million slacktivists to text them $10. Unfortunately, for most, that is never going to happen.

But I don’t blame the slacktivists – they are who they are, and are giving in a way that is comfortable to them. I blame marketers, like myself, who scheme about how to change slacktivists into the fundraising juggernaut of the 21^st Century, rather than focusing on giving them what they want – an easy, effortless way to give and get on with their lives.

Slacktivism emerged because social media tools gave slackers with a heart an opportunity to get involved on their own terms. It is a mistake to think that slacktivists are just lazy. Some are too busy or uncomfortable getting involved with a cause in a public manner. Texting, tweeting and social media gave them the ability to give during the limited time they had or provided the social cover they needed to get involved. So I think we should ask not what the slacktivist can do for us, but what we can do for the slacktivist.

For the slacktivists that is more slacker than activist, we have to give them more easy ways to give. Texting for Haiti was simple and you can expect organizations, big and small, to leverage text-to-give programs at the next fundraiser you attend (check out Causecast's mobile text2give program). And suggestion to the Greenpeace volunteers lining the streets of D.C – ditch the long schpeel and just ask people to text you $10 to save the planet. And next time there is a global catastrophe, let’s make it even easier - “Tweet 90999.” The more tools we can develop to integrate giving into our daily lives, the more slacktivists will give.

But I cannot resist the temptation that there are slacktivists that are activists just needing the right excuse to get involved. They may not be many, but are a tantalizing segment because converting one slacktivist that texted $10 to an activist that raises $5,000 is well worth the investment. 

But how do we move from mobile and online giving to offline doing?

At the threat of stating the obvious, give slacktivists the same social media tools you use to entice them to give. Nonprofits spend too much time trying to figure out how to use social media tools to entice new donors to give them $10, when they should be figuring out how to empower their existing donors to leverage social media tools to raise money for them. It is the classic “don’t ask a man to give $10; teach him to fundraise $100” scenario. Because asking 10 people to raise $10 from 10 people ($1,000) is much more efficient than ask 10 people to give you $10 ($100). You win even if only two people achieve their goal ($200).

We can also learn a lesson from why texting 90999 worked for Haiti – it was easy, new and fun. People hate raising money – it is as stressful as moving and getting divorced. But if you give someone the control to choose their own project and empower them to fundraise while doing something they love, you can unlock the activist within. At Citizen Effect, we’ve had people of all ages that never raised money before raise thousands of dollars with chili-fests, yoga workshops, cross-country bike rides, swim-a-thons, and simple online campaigns. How? By providing them a platform to market, promote and fundraise for the cause of their choice. And most importantly, allowing them to leverage their true social network – their trusted group of friends, family, and co-workers.

So what do we do with the slacktivist? For most, we continue to cater to their need for fast, easy ways to give. And for those few with the activist living within, empower them with the tools they need to engage their trusted social networks doing what they love to do. 

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Here at VolunteerSpot, we encourage new ideas of how to help our communities, and Slacktivism is definitely an interesting take on traditional activism. Thanks for the cool post Dan! Please visit Citizen Effect today to check out other ideas like this one. 

Volunteering - Build Bonds and Confidence this Summer

 

Tweens and Teens: Improve Family Communication

There is so much chaos in the family these days – from 2 – 3 jobs for mom and dad, kids sports, after-school activities, church -- that sometimes it’s hard to step back and re-center on family life. Have we become a group of individuals swirling in different directions, sharing the same driver and sometimes eating the same food under the same roof? Or are we truly a unit, with cohesive purpose, with a center in which the whole family finds connection?

Parents of tweens and teens especially begin to feel the burden of this “drift” as kids grow more independent and family life feels less central to who they are. Re-centering with a purpose is important to help keep communication lines open and make sure there is real meaning to family life.

Volunteering as a family is one way to re-establish and strengthen the bonds of family and teamwork that can get lost when life gets hectic. Many families already make a point of holiday service to the needy during the holidays – but what if that spirit of giving become a regular part of family life? What about a monthly work day at the animal shelter? Or regular service toward trail restoration? Literacy outreach? Imagine the positive feeling of family unity that could so easily be established by working as a team to help others.

Many children are required to accrue service hours in school as part of their overall curriculum. If that service can be combined with a family mission – whether it’s the importance of a certain cause or a pathway to career exploration, children quickly learn that service isn’t just the school’s idea of something that’s important, the family prioritizes it too.

To make regular family volunteering work, all the members need to participate in selecting one or two causes or groups where they will regularly volunteer. If mom is into the art museum but everyone else wants to help families in crisis, the family could compromise on a smaller commitment to art and a bigger one to family shelters. There are so many different ways to contribute and doing it as a family gives it the stamp of family commitment.

Here are some more great family service and volunteering ideas for this summer:

Families into green causes can support their passion by volunteering at a recycling center or doing fundraising for a Rainforest preservation project.

Sporty families can coach and support low-income kids at a youth league.

Families who love the outdoors may volunteer for trail clean-up, or to maintain an urban garden or local organic farm.

If you’re a musical family, help roundup instruments for kids whose parents can’t afford them or give concerts at a local nursing home.

Technically-skilled families can support nonprofits by offering support for their websites, blogs and facebook pages.

Inspired to get involved as a family but stumped for a project? VolunteerSpot.com offers a free eBook to spark ideas: Family-Friendly Service Ideas from A-Z.  Have each family member write down one group of interest or cause they’d like to support, then call and find out what kind of “family package” they could offer in return for a committed period of service. Not only will you be building lasting family bonds, tweens and teens will be gaining confidence and perspective as they focus outwardly and learn that they can make a difference in the lives of others.

Young Minds Attract Younger Audiences

Please welcome Anne Ackerson, author of the blog Leading By Design: A Resource for Nonprofits. Anne is the director of the Museum Associations in New York and consultant helping nonprofits with issues of governance and leadership. She's here to share her insights on the importance of recruiting young people into leadership positions. Take it away, Anne!

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If "Younger Minds Attract Younger Audiences" isn't your institution's mantra, you should seriously consider making it so.  Not just for staff and volunteers, this needs to be your board's mantra too.  That's particularly true for well-established, highly-structured cultural organizations presenting traditional programming formats. You know these organizations; you may work or volunteer in one.

While we read about the graying of audiences for some cultural activities, I'm wondering how gray the board and senior staff are.  Do you think there's a distinct correlation?  

Younger minds do more than attract younger audiences.  They keep the cobwebs at bay.  They help us question accepted practice and remix familiar elements to make new connections.  And they are the fundamental bridges to our organizations' futures.

Some organizations use "junior boards" for folks under 40 to try out their chops.  If you shine there, you'll get to move up to the "grown-up board" someday.  Some organizations create "junior committees" primarily to foster under-40 philanthropy (their activities always look a lot more fun than the grander, big-money affairs). 

In big, bureaucratic institutions these mechanisms undoubtedly have a place for training, mentoring, and shaping next generation leadership.  But for most culturals, there's a pressing need to bring younger minds to the board room today.  It seems that few though, have any inkling how to do that.  

Stereotypes about board service -- good, bad, and downright ugly -- seem to prevent so many boards from looking beyond a fairly short radius of known quantities.  This is true when it comes to looking for younger minds.  These boards need to do two things immediately: 

1) Quit repeating that under-40's don't have time for board service

2) Quit saying you don't know anyone.  All great boards are fed by far-reaching, complementary networks, and age is one of them.

If you've made an honest attempt to attract younger minds to board service and come up short, you need to rethink your organization's expectations of board service and its mission.

Tourist, Traveler, Guide: The Journey of a Volunteer, Part 2

A few weeks ago, Chris Jarvis of Realized Worth defined a volunteer's journey from Tourist to Traveler to Guide. Volunteers don't stay stagnate, but their roles evolve over time. Today, Chris is here with tips on how to successfully work with volunteers who are Tourists, Travelers or Guides. 

Tourist – Traveler – Guide. This is the journey of the volunteer. The great failure of volunteer coordinators lies in expecting tourists to act like guides, treating guides like tourists, and ignoring the traveler all-together. Its time we meet people where they're at. Here's what you need to know to get started:  

Working with the Stages 

The idea of taking the time to pay attention to the differences in your volunteers may seem exhausting. Noticing their name tags is difficult enough! The fact is, it tends to take more energy to neglect the differences than it does to address them. Trying to treat everyone like they're exactly the same is a waste of time. We're not the same. Volunteers – as with all people - must be met where they're at rather than expected to be something they're not.

Before you continue reading, take a second to get caught up by skimming Part 1 here: (The Journey of the Volunteer)

Working with Tourists: 

Most of your volunteers are tourists. This is a stage that's easy to manage and offers tremendous benefit to your recruiting and screening process. Tourists can can be so excited they're annoying, or so cynical they're infuriating. Sometimes they just won't show any emotion at all. The point is, they're new. They need to be allowed to look around and take it in without much expected of them. When it comes to tourists, you will be spending a little bit of time with a lot of people. This stage is a place of discovery for you and the volunteer. Resist the urge to develop, recruit, or retain. Just observe, gently guide, and when they go – let them. Tourists who stick around will be doing it because they choose to for internal reasons – and that is the type of volunteer you want. 

Working with Travelers: 

Travelers can be a little tricky. This stage can go by quickly or it can last for years. Each traveler has unique issues, questions, and reasons for volunteering with you. They tend to identify themselves by asking questions, showing up with regularity, making themselves more available, and becoming a bit difficult to deal with. Resist the urge to give pat answers. More importantly – do not blow these people off. Offer answers to their questions in the form of training or increased exposure to issues. Better questions are the point so focus on guiding travelers further down the road of discovery. Classes, assessments, time at a coffee shop, field-trips and introductions to broader networks will all be valuable tools for a traveler.

Working with Guides: 

Guides will consume most of your time and energy, and they should. At this stage, you will spend most of your time with the fewest number of people. A true guide will pay off in spades for every investment you make. They have moved beyond the need for external constructs like your volunteer program. Drop them anywhere on the planet, and they are such dyed-in-the-wool-sold-out-for-the-cause believers they will invent ways to do what they do. Facilitation is the key word here, along with collaboration. Use their ideas, partner with them, give them what they need, resource them and then let them loose. They will recruit, promote, network, fund raise, whatever - all the time. All. The. Time. And you know why? 

Because they are doing it for their own reasons - not yours. There is convergence between your needs, the required work, and their needs. All three horizons (that of the tourist, traveler, and guide) have merged and now they are operating at their highest level of contribution. The only thing you can do to mess it up, is treat them or talk to them like they are tourists.

Now, volunteer coordinators, we've started you off with just a few basic concepts. In order to receive the greatest benefit from this article, you should take the following steps:

1. First: Don't do anything. 

Seriously. Just read about the Journey of the Volunteer and let it all sink in. Allow your mind to wander through personal experiences and examples of volunteers you know who fit these profiles. But don't do anything. Your first step is to become familiar with the concepts.

2. Second: Re-observe. 

Go to the next volunteer event and observe. Watch the people you know and how they interact and mentally categorize them as a tourist, a traveler, or a guide. Choose to appreciate the way they act based on the category they're in.

3. Third: Choose an action.

Now, go back and read again about the Journey of the Volunteer. As you read, consider what it will take to help others in your organization meet volunteers where they're at. Should you simply introduce the concept to the board? Maybe you want to ask volunteers to read the descriptions of a tourist, traveler, and guide and identify where they fit. Once you identify and take this first step, you will be on your way!

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Thanks Chris for taking us on the journey of a volunteer! Please check out Chris' work at Realized Worth.

Realized Worth works with businesses to build their corporate social responsibility through corporate volunteering. Co-Founder and Senior Consultant Chris Jarvis works with his partner Angela Parker to plan and implement volunteering programs for corporations big and small. 

Go to Realized Worth 

for more tips and trips on corporate social responsibility. 

VolunteerSpotlight: Molly Austin, Teacher Appreciation Chair, Oak Hill Elementary, Austin, Texas

Oak Hill Elementary (OHE) School was established in 1974, with the stated mission of preparing each child for life and challenging each child to achieve. Children in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth are taught in a loving, structured and stimulating environment. At Oak Hill Elementary School, parents love to help out. They use VolunteerSpot to help organize parents. Teachers appreciate the help, and parents love the interaction!

Today, our volunteer spotlight shines on Molly Austin, Teacher Appreciation Committee Chairperson, Oak Hill Elementary School, Austin, TX.

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What's your role as a volunteer leader?

I am part of a committee of three that is our Teacher Appreciation Committee for Oak Hill Elementary, Austin, Texas.  I was asked when my older daughter started kindergarten to assist with this committee, and over the years we have refined what we do and how we go about doing it. 

We coordinate several events and projects throughout the school year that promote goodwill toward our faculty.  We have several luncheons.  We create a menu and the recipes, then we send it out to our volunteers so they can make the necessary items for the event.  We bring snacks to the faculty meetings.  We provide food during the TAKS test days for the teachers, so that they can focus on the testing.  During Teacher Appreciation week (first week in May) we create an entire week of activities, luncheons, and other events with the help of our volunteers.  This year, we have about 65 volunteers.


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

I have been actively involved in several roles as a volunteer at Oak Hill Elementary.  This year my duties include: Teacher Appreciation Committee Chairperson, Third Grade Room Parent Coordinator, First Grade Room Parent, and a really big task/role of being one of two representatives for Oak Hill Elementary for AISD Facilities Use and Boundaries Task Force.  I think so far, that was the most daunting and overwhelming role of being a volunteer.

I have also participated in church activities at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Austin TX. as Craft Chairperson for the past three years of our Vacation Religious Education Program in the summer. This involved attending meetings to prepare for the camp, creating the theme/ideas surrounding the week of camp, and coming up with the craft ideas for that week. I was also in charge of ordering all supplies for the crafts and implementing the crafts when camp was in session, with the help of 10-12 volunteers each day.  We taught various craft projects to 250-300 kids, ages 4-14, each day. 


How did you get interested in volunteering?

I think it is just part of my nature, or heritage.  My parents were very involved in scouting (both my brothers are Eagle Scouts, and my parents both obtained the Silver Beaver Award in Boy Scouting, which is the highest honor as a leader you can receive.)  They were very involved in church and community, and my dad was Man of the Year for my hometown because of his volunteer efforts.  

I started volunteering at a young age, and have continued to do so.  I enjoy helping people out and connecting the dots.  If there is a need, and I feel like I can help out I usually jump in without too much thought as to what I am getting myself into.


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

Please help out in any way you can.  I know lots of people are too overwhelmed or feel inadequate about getting in there and helping out, but whatever you can do to step in at your own comfort level (even the smallest amount helps.) PLEASE do so.  Always know that most of the volunteers appreciate any help you give.  I appreciate anyone doing the littlest thing to help out, because it is a gesture of getting in there and being a part of your community that makes a difference.

The other thing that I have found out through volunteering is that you make more friends and build a sense of community within your own surroundings.  

There are so many ways you can get involved, just take the first step, and I know you will be glad you did!


Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

The webmaster of our PTA site and I began discussing several options last spring, and after doing quite a bit of research, we felt that VolunteerSpot fit all our needs in the most user friendly fashion, so we could be assured of getting the help we needed when we asked for it.

Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your school, event, or volunteering?

In the past few years, Oak Hill Elementary has become a wonderful community of volunteers.  I love being involved with a group of  “can do” people always promoting the possibilities of what we can become.  I think VolunteerSpot has played a large role in helping us succeed.

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We salute Molly and all the other volunteer leaders out there helping those in need. 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]

Simple Tips for Organizing Swim Moms (and Dads) that Make the Season Even More Fun for Everyone!

 

New swim team moms (and dads) are about to learn what veterans know all too well: swimming is NOT a spectator sport! Whether your children are involved in a neighborhood summer swim team or a highly competitive swim club, it takes a small army of dedicated, enthusiastic parent volunteers to make the season fun and successful. When the entire swim team experience is well organized, parents find that supporting the team easy and rewarding, and kids enjoy each other and are more likely to return year after year.

Here are simple tips for organizing your team parents and creating a welcoming environment that's fun and fulfilling for everyone involved.

1. Set expectations up front: ALL parents participate!

When parents know what they're getting into ahead of time, they can arrange their schedules and make better decisions about how they would like to contribute and participate on the team.

• Make it easy to get involved. Almost all teams require parents to volunteer at a certain number of meets during the season. Successful teams also offer volunteer jobs beyond swim meets. Parents are needed to shop for concession stand supplies, host social activities, supervise fundraisers, and manage the team website or facebook page.
• Plan online. Making it easy for parents to choose when and how they will help at the start of the season gives them plenty of time to organize their calendars and gives team leaders peace of mind knowing they will have help. Simple online sign up tools like VolunteerSpot (www.VolunteerSpot.com) let parents pick the job they want for each swim meet, whether it be a lane timer, ready bench helper, ribbon organizer, or working the concession stand. VolunteerSpot keeps the schedule accurate in real-time, works with the team's current website or team page, and sends automated confirmation and reminder messages that help keep everyone on track. Some teams require parents to sign up to volunteer before children can be registered for the season.

2. Welcome New Families

Giving new families a warm welcome helps parents and swimmers feel confident by the pool and encourages participation in team activities.

• Remind coaches, swimmers, and veteran parents to introduce themselves to newcomers.
• Share a tip sheet to help parents understand guidelines about parking, drop off/pick up, where to sit during practice, where to leave swim bags and towels, food rules, etc.
• Offer a downloadable roster to help parents arrange carpools, playdates and other support.
• Provide a complimentary item to promote team spirit such as a visor or water bottle with the team logo.
• Print a refrigerator magnet (or handout) with the season schedule, website address, and team emergency contact information.
• During swim meets, pair new parents in jobs with experienced parents and mix up the groups throughout the season.
  

3. Play Together

The team that plays together stays together. What kinds of activities would be fun for your parents and swimmers?

• Summer poolside movie night -- create an outdoor theatre with a projector, laptop, DVD and a white wall or sheet
• Pizza picnic or special treat once-a-week after practice
• Monthly cupcake party celebrating all children and coaches who have had birthdays during the month
• Field trips to local attractions like waterslides and amusement parks
• Parents-only poker night or Bunco with the winnings donated to the team
• Kid-friendly fundraisers like carwashes, hula hoop contests and ice cream socials
  

4. Engage Older Kids to Keep Meets On Track

Nothing's more exciting to little kids than big kids!

• Asking older kids to help shepherd younger ones during meets and practice keeps everyone on time and offers an opportunity to model teamwork and good sportsmanship.
• Consider recruiting responsible teenage helpers as stand-ins for parents who have a conflict and can't attend a swim meet. Some teens have found 'swim meet duty' to be quite a lucrative source of summer income, covering parent shifts for an hourly rate.

5. Seek Feedback Midway Through the Season

Ask parents what they like about the team experience and what they would like to see improved. Sometimes little things like shifting a practice 15 minutes to accommodate traffic, making changes to the concession stand menu, or adding a wireless internet connection can make a world of difference to parents' happiness and commitment. Free online survey tools like SurveyMonkey make it easy to gather feedback.

Adopting and improving on these suggestions will have a big impact in helping parents have a positive experience -- and that makes for more fun for the whole team all season long! Please share this post with your team parents and coaches and share your tips and best practices in the comments section below.

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This post was first published by VolunteerSpot on the National Association of Swim Moms website - www.NAOSM.org. It’s a one-stop resource with helpful tips, coaches instructional videos, Olympic swimmers' testimonials, and much more. In addition, the site has an online store with deep discounts and free shipping (for members) on all your swimsuit and equipment needs!

Love your Teachers? Want your kids to learn more? Fund Education Technology!

by Karen Bantuveris, VolunteerSpot Founder

The 20th Century Classroom

I was recently privileged to participate in an education technology chat (and online moderated dialogue, #edtech) about The 20th Century Classroom. I expected to share the perspective of how technology can inspire and increase parent participation in school – since that’s what we do at VolunteerSpot. Instead, I found myself drawing on my roles as an elementary school mom and former PTO Board Member, fundraising for my school and approving funding technology requests for our teachers. 

At our school, like most, parents fund key technology purchases through the proceeds from school carnivals, auctions, product sales, and underwriting campaigns.  We do it because we want more for our children than what state budgets or tuition alone can provide. What became clear to me in our 20th Century Classroom conversation is the power we have as parents to influence purchases and support, and our teachers in integrating new technology into their practices and lesson plans.

In my 3-year tenure on the PTO board, some of the teacher technology requests we funded included digital cameras, portable laptop stations, projector microscopes, and document cameras. All these items were easy purchases for me, thinking in my mind - YES, our kids need that, and YES, we should fund it. Why? Because I knew what these things were. I was familiar with their benefits or used them myself at home or at work.

When the school was fundraising for interactive whiteboards this last carnival/auction season, I have to admit, I didn’t get it. I knew what a whiteboard was and had used whiteboards with print capabilities long ago. We had computers in the classrooms, so why an interactive whiteboard?  In my research for the 20th Century Classroom discussion, I learned why – and WOW!  The ability to bring the whole world to the classroom through interactive lessons, podcasts and web access on the wall where all the kids can see.  The teacher can quickly change from math to reading to social studies and access Best-in-Class curriculum and resources from the web.  That students and parents can access lessons and material archived once it’s gone from the board. It’s a game-changer for empowering teachers and giving our kids the best possible, relevant and engaging learning opportunities. 

Then it got better!  Promethean offers an interactive whiteboard on WHEELS!  This means classrooms and learning specialists can SHARE this awesome resource with our kids from class-to-class and extend our school’s technology budget.  I’m an evangelist now and I’ll be fundraising with a purpose - to get more awesome learning tools like these into our classrooms and get our teachers trained in how to use 'em!

From Active Parent to EdTech Evangelist

How did I go from an interactive whiteboard skeptic to evangelist? I saw the Promethean in action and heard teachers talk about how this kind of technology changes how they teach and reach our kids. So here’s my big take away for principals, school boards, parent organizations and teachers: Get parents pumped about the technology you want by helping us experience it! Let us know how it helps you do your job better and helps improve learning outcomes (while saving time and money, even better).  If you can do that…we will work (hard) to find ways to fund it!

Easy Actions to Engage Parents in Supporting and Funding Education Technology

• At Back-to-School Night, host a ‘Cool Tool Open House’ corner in the auditorium. Have demonstrations set up showing current technology teachers use and also the "wish list" technology you hope to purchase with parent fundraising this school year.

• Use (yes, actually use) the technology during PTA meetings and setup demonstration sessions at every school event (carnival, book fair, field-day, Auction, etc.).

• Take advantage of having parents at school during parent-teacher conference days and host a technology "petting zoo", while parents wait in the halls for their turn with the teacher.

• Teachers, send home samples of work made possible through technology purchases and add a note - “Thanks for funding our new XYZ from the fall carnival proceeds. Check out the cool work Jr. did today!”  Have samples and signs ready at Open House, too!

• Show pictures (and video clips) in the school newsletter & website highlighting how new technology works, how our kids use it and why it’s helpful. Remember, the technology is new for us parents too and we need guidance.

My eyes are opened!  I’m a mom on a mission – to help our schools and teachers embrace (and afford) more technology!  Special thanks to Sloane Berrent, The Causemopolitan, Kevin Prentice of Swift Kick Online, Adelma Stanford of Promethean USA, and the awesome #edtech community for joining last week’s online conversation.  

Now….if you want to talk about boosting parent participation rates at school...I’m ready!

Confessions of a Kindergarten Parent Helper

Teacher’s Appreciation Week begins today! All of us at VolunteerSpot want to thank teachers everywhere for your leadership, inspiration, passion, encouragement and all around awesomeness you share with our children and our communities. We realize that molding the minds of our kids is no easy task, and that every day is a new adventure in the classroom. To honor (and empathize with) educators everywhere, we are featuring a post by Ann Imig, self described Stay At Home Humorist of Anns Rants (www.annsrants.com), that shares a parent volunteer’s point of view of the joyful controlled chaos of her child's kindergarten class. Enjoy!

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Confessions of A Kindergarten Parent Helper

By Ann Imig

I have no idea whose turn it is.

I have no idea what to do either, Buddy.

When your teacher was giving instructions I was frantically gesturing to my own child to stop digging in his nose, get a tissue, and follow up with hand sanitizer. It was a three-pronged interpretive mime that required all of my energy, and attracted none of his.

Count on your fingers. Actually yes, when you count that way 10-3 does look like 8. Use my hands. Do my nails always look like this? Go get a number chart.

Of course I can help you with your barrette. Can it go next to one of the other 72 barrettes on your head? I didn’t think so.

I am smiling as I give you this high five, but note the fear in my eyes as your hand comes to greet mine from deep, deep inside your pants.

Buddy? Yes, you buddy. No, not him buddy. OF COURSE I KNOW YOUR NAMES, don’t be silly, you Silly.

I can help you more easily if you open your eyes

Sure you can go to the bathroom, but where are you now?

Sweetheart? Your bottom is all the way out of your pants. Oh, it always is. Got it.

Yes I would love to hear your rendition of Billy Jean. Now would you like to hear my rendition of Billy Jean? I mean, lets focus on counting by fives.

See you next week, Buddy. You too, Silly.

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Thanks, Amy!  For more fun stories and adventures, please subscribe to Amy's blog at AnnsRants - sure to add humor and enjoyment to your day!  http://www.AnnsRants.com