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Back-to-School Volunteering

Making the Most of Volunteering at School

With 75% of schools around the country heading back to school in the month of August, parents are sure to have 'helping out' on the brain. The calls for parent volunteers is loud and clear once school doors open for another exciting year, and it is important to answer the call with a genuine willingness and enthusiasm. Making the most out of volunteering at school is easy when you practice these 3 things:

Find a job you enjoy: No, that is not too much to ask. Room parents, educators and school leaders want parents to love what they do in school! When school parents are truly enthused by the good work they are getting to do in the classroom, that enthusiasm transfers to the students and reflects on their learning environment and academic success.

If you are super-organized and love managing projects, consider organizing classroom parents with free online signup sheets. If cooking and baking are your forte, help plan the annual bake sale or class holiday party. Love helping kids learn to read, offer tutoring skills or signup to take part in weekly reader time.

Make time for it: When volunteering at school is part of your life and not a task you try and squeeze into an already busy schedule, you are sure to find more meaning in it. When you are asked to signup to volunteer for various activities within the classroom or for the school fundraiser, find a time that allows you to not be rushing to and fro - a window that gives you time to focus on the classroom and how you can make the most positive impact there.

If your busy schedule just doesn't seem to allow for physical visits within the classroom or at the fundraiser, for example, talk with parent coordinators about alternate volunteer jobs that can be completed at home. Working on the class blog or school social media accounts is a great remote volunteer job that gives you freedom to work at your pace; making cut outs for the class bulletin board and baking for the class party are also great home-volunteer jobs.

Celebrate your unique talents & skills: The contributions of a diverse and unique group of parent volunteers is what classrooms thrive off of. Celebrating your special skills and talents is vital to making a big impact in the classroom, and teachers actively seek parents who can enrich the classroom with lessons on gardening, nutrition, technology and more. If you want to spend time with students sharing your educational gifts, speak up! Let the room parent or teacher know when you go back to school.

 

Facebook for Volunteer Engagement

Facebook Tips & Best Practices for Recruiting & Engaging Volunteers

Put Facebook in your basket of volunteer recruitment tricks and get more volunteers involved, participating, and loyal to your cause. Facebook pages, posts and events provide unique avenues to reach potential volunteers where you know they are already hanging out - facebook! The average facebook user (which is most of us) spends over 700 minutes on facebook every month, with 50% logging on daily. This type of online access is unprecendented for many nonprofits, schools and community groups and begs for them to create social communities to help grow their real life communities.

Leaving your organization's social footprint on facebook is a sure-fire way to become a part of potential volunteers' daily lives - a constant reminder of what you are doing, where and when you need help, and an attractive call to join the conversation about your group.

Facebook Page: Create a facebook page for your nonprofit, school or community group that - captures what you are all about, the GOOD work you are doing (with a visual impact in the community), and keeps the conversation going about the topics and causes you are all about.

Large 'cover photos' that lay on the top portion of your group's facebook page like a banner provide a wonderfully visual representation of your organization or school. The About section allows your group to share a little bit about themselves and place a direct link to your own website.

Social widgets, like buttons, located right below the cover photo give your group a chance to get creative with your voice - you can link to photos/videos, share event details and promotions, write notes for public and private viewing, link to your twitter and pinterest accounts and more!

Create a facebook page for your group today - start here.

Facebook Posting: Once you have your facebook page in action, it's important to be strategic and creative with the posts on and things you share on your wall (status updates which appear in your follower's news feeds).

Rich media - photos and videos - are a great way to engage volunteers and get them liking and commenting on your post. 

Taking a cue from Twitter, Facebook now lets users tag posts with hashtags. When posting on facebook, utilize the hashtag symbol to tag locations, ideas & events names, i.e. #Austin, #volunteering, #SummerFest2013

Linking to your own website from twitter, for example, to blog posts, volunteer appreciation pages, event listings and more is great way to drive traffic and spread the word.

Posting shareable links to your online signup sheets and volunteer calendars provides a convenience to volunteers to signup and get involved. More people see about your open volunteer needs and are incited to click and sign up right away.

Facebook Publicity: With a page set up and unique, exciting posts to start engaging your volunteer community, it's important to let potential volunteers know you are even on Facebook in the first place. Make sure to link to your  facebook page from your group's own website, even consider integrating a facebook stream of your posts onto your site. Share your facebook address on all publicity materials (eNewsletters, direct mailings, programs, brochures, flyers and even on printed banners and posters you may have up at events).

With this knowledge and these Facebook tips and tools, your social community will boom and directly drive the growth of your volunteer community too. Happy Facebooking!

VolunteerSpot App for iPhone

VolunteerSpot for iPhone has Arrived - Get the App Today!

NEW! VolunteerSpot's companion app helps you get organized and involved in the things you care about faster and easier than ever before! 

For volunteers and organizers, "Sign Up" by VolunteerSpot (available in the iTunes store) is the ticket to tracking volunteer commitments and coordinating volunteer activities from the convenience of your iPhone.

Once an activity is planned on VolunteerSpot.com, get the quick and easy mobile signups you love PLUS dozens of enhancements for both organizers and participants! (Android app coming soon!)

All Participants can: 

· View all your sign up spots across activities in one place

· View all your invitations in one place

· Sign up on the go with a few taps

· Add comments (interactive)

· Change or delete commitments

· Message the activity organizer (text, phone, email)

· Check activity location

· Receive automated confirmation and reminder notifications

· Feel great about doing GOOD!

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Organizers can:

· See all activities you have organized in one place

· See who is signed up and where you still have openings

· Search for a participant’s shift by name

· Make assignments and remove participants

· Message participants (text, phone, email)

· Add comments (interactive)

· Edit To Do and To Bring Item details such as description, number of spots & times

· Edit participant contact information

(Note – to plan new activities or run reports, please visit VolunteerSpot.com)

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Volunteers and Students can:

· Track volunteer hours with automatic VolunteerSpot-activity volunteer hours-tracking

· Add service records for non-VolunteerSpot activities to your volunteer hours log

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DOWNLOAD Sign Up by VolunteerSpot Today!  CLICK HERE

 

Also check out Clipboard by VolunteerSpot for iPad – Clipboard turns your iPad into a virtual clipboard sign up sheet, powered by VolunteerSpot’s trusted, time-saving signup engine. http://vols.pt/Clipboard

Volunteer Signup Sheets | SPCA

Volunteer Spotlight | Candy Barnes, Humane Educator/Volunteer Coordinator 

The Mission of the Rockingham/Harrisonburg SPCA is to promote respect, compassion, education and advocacy resulting in a humane and sustainable environment for all animals. They accomplish this through temporary refuge and humane care for animals in need; adoption of companion animals into a loving, responsible environment; reduction of local pet overpopulation via a proactive spay/neuter program; humane education programs and shelter tours; promotion of responsible pet care; and preventing cruelty to and removing animals from abusive situations.

Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Candy Barnes, Humane Educator/Volunteer Coordinator for the Rockingham/Harrisonburg SPCA. Candy uses Volunteerspot's online signup sheets to coordinate volunteers who work at the shelter. 

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Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.

We are a not-for-profit animal shelter, and I train between 500 & 1,000 volunteers annually, most of them college students. Our volunteers walk dogs and socialize cats and small mammals to help make them more adoptable. We also use volunteers for showcase events at local Petsmart and Petco stores and at special events in the area. 

Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.

Our volunteers are asked to volunteer for specific shifts, 6 days a week, preferably in advance. Since many of them have complicated schedules and some have some distance to travel, VolunteerSpot makes it easier for them to sign up.  From experience, I know that having an electronic way to sign up for shifts helps with volunteer retention.

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

Use VolunteerSpot!



Why did you decide to use Volunteer Spot?

I had been using another free site for awhile, and had begun having a lot of trouble with it. The site was also not nearly as user-friendly for the administrator as Volunteer Spot is. Some volunteers were also reluctant to use the other site because it required setting up an account, and their personal information wasn’t as secure as we would have liked.  When I started having technical trouble with the other site, I began the search for a new one. As a non-profit, we don’t have the luxury of paying for this service, so when I found your site, I was thrilled, and even more so when I actually started using it. Thanks for all you do to make my life easier.



Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Search us at www.rhspca.org, and find your next best friend! If you live too far away to adopt a pet from us, please choose a local shelter or rescue group when looking for your next pet!


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 We salute Candy and all the other volunteer coordinators out there making a difference in our world. 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]

Summertime, and the Giving is Easy!

Turn Your Summer Gatherings into Service Projects

With kids out of school and vacation days booked, summer offers a real chance for families to brainstorm, get creative and take action when it comes to giving back. Check out some of our favorite ways for families to incorporate service and acts of kindness into their Summer happenings:

1. Going to a family reunion? While sharing ideas with family members of what activities to do when everyone is together, throw service into the mix. Between trips to the aquarium, zoo or beach, find a local food bank, animal shelter, or other charity around your location where they could use some hands on effort for a couple hours one day. Makes for truly great family memories!

2. Hosting a pool party or neighborhood block party? Ask attendees to bring 2 or 3 non-perishable items for 'admittance.' Collect them in a decorated box at the front door, and donate to a local shelter or foodbank afterwards.

3. Kids having a sleepover? After the movie and popcorn, break out some craft and construction paper and markers. Encourage kids to make cards for family members, neighbors, or the 'volunteers' in their lives like Scout leaders, youth sport coaches, etc. 

4. Attending a potluck? If you're cooking or baking something for a summer potluck, get the kids involved and make an extra dish or a dozen extra goodies - drop them at an elderly neighbor's or a friend you know could use a pick-me-up act of kindness.

5. Staying active and getting outdoors? If this is on your family's summer bucket list, turn it into a service idea by running or walking in the community 5K or Fun Run where proceeds go to a cause your whole family cares about.

Check out more summer volunteering ideas HERE.

Vacation Bible School | Planning & Success

5 Tips to Make the Most out of Your Vacation Bible School

Scrambling to coordinate the event of the summer for your church or faith group? Vacation Bible School is a truly special time for all involved and an incredible learning and social experience for kids. When the stress of coordinating activities and volunteers becomes overwhelming, it can take away from the true meaning of VBS.

Save time & actually enjoy your Vacation Bible School with these 5 tips:

1. Coordinate volunteers & donations online! Free online signup sheets and volunteer calendars provide a convenient solution for more members to get involved with Vacation Bible School with less hassle.

24/7 access to signups from a computer or smartphone and the ability to post signup links in emails, on a website and via social media gives more participants a chance to engage; and automated reminders help everyone keep their commitments. Don't wait - take a demo NOW and get started today! Click here

2. Provide orientation materials and briefings in person. Quickly get volunteers up to speed on VBS formal and informal requirements in person at an initial volunteer meeting; cover things like background checks and safety considerations, what to do if kids get out of hand, Gospel messages and parables, songs and activities to be covered, contact information, and even small stuff like reminding volunteers they will likely get messy and wet in the course of a typical VBS day.

3. Feed them and they will come! Have sustenance on hand for volunteers like coffee, orange juice and muffins in the morning. If holding an evening VBS, consider providing a simple dinner (pizza, fruit) for both the kids and volunteers arriving after work. If kids are to bring their own bag lunches, make sure drinks and small afternoon treats are provided. 

4. Post a daily agenda and activity instructions at each station for volunteers, and use a papered wall or white board in a central location for your event to detail the schedule for kids and parents too. A bright, welcoming location that gets kids excited about the day to come will also set the vibe for the day to come.

5. Give thanks & show appreciation. Recognizing your volunteers contributions and efforts is big part of retaining your staff for next year’s VBS.  Send personal thank you notes from ministers and kids, give public appreciation during Sunday services and in church newsletters, and post photos and thank you messages on a bulletin board and the church website.  Check out Volunteer Appreciation Ideas on Pinterest!

Kids Contest | Final Day

Promoting Active Kids with Imagination

It's the FINAL day to enter the NFL Play60 Invention Contest for Kids and we want to celebrate all the wonderful bloggers who helped us share this great initiative!

Our final contribution came for the ever-entertaining Natasha, author and owner of HousefulofNicholes.com. She's beating Summer boredom and keeping her family healthy by staying active. Read an excerpt of her Kids Play Blogger Series post below and the entire thing here.

As an American, I’m well aware of the high rate of obesity among our youth AND our adults. As a parent, I want to make sure that I’m not an enabler when it comes to my children and their activity levels. We aim to MOVE for at least one full hour per day. Once again, for the trifecta, that’s a piece of cake – not so much for me.

I have taken it upon myself to teach them the games of my day – hopscotch, foursquare, red rover, freeze tag, red light, green light, ghosts in the graveyard, and off the wall. All of these great games really don’t require any equipment (other than off the wall) and can do wonders for keeping your heart rate up, and the laughter in full force.

I also TRY not to limit what the youngest children try out. I know that they may not understand all of the rules of outside play – for example, the ladybug loves to hide in the same spot as the person who she was seeking during hide and seek. It’s quite comical. The twins giggle uncontrollably at the thought of being “found” and we’re limited to their hiding unless there are other older children or adults for them to hide with.

Read the rest of Natasha's post HERE.

And enter the NFL Play60 Invention Contest NOW! CLICK HERE

Ends at 11:59p ET today, July 12th, 2013

 

 

Check out what bloggers across the country are sharing about how their family stays active!

Meg Rosker of LetChildrenPlay.com

Connie Roberts of BrainFoggles.com

Sue Lipman of SlowFamilyOnline.com

Adam Gertsacov of DadaPalooza.com

Michelle Price of HonestyandTruly.com

Carissa Rogers of GoodnCrazy.com

Shara Weiss of MommyPerks.com

Heather Johnson of FamilyVolley.com

Trending in 2013 . . .

With half the year come and gone, it's time to reflect on what has people talking in 2013. Volunteer management, motivation, signups and fundraising have all topped our list.

Check out some of our most popular blog articles so far this year!

VolunteerSpot Updates & Features

NEW Volunteer Signup Look

 We Redesigned our Homepage!

 New Mobile Site Means Signup on the Go!

 Lock Your Signup Feature Released

 Volunteer Management Reporting

 Recruit more volunteers with shareable signup links

 

Volunteer Management & Engagement

 4 Questions to Ask When Recruiting Volunteers

 5 Tips for Boosting Your Volunteer Program (Arts Organizations)

 Twitter Basics for Recruiting & Engaging Volunteers

 10 Healthy Habits of a Volunteer Community

 Volunteer Spotlights, Leaders in Action

Volunteer Communication Tools

Best new APPS for collaboration & communication (nonprofits & schools)

 

Signup Sheets & Scheduling

School Carnival & Festival Signups

Spring Sports Scheduling

School Field Day Signup

Swim Team Signups

Teacher Appreciation Signups

Earth Day (Green Team) Signups

 

Volunteer Motivation & Coordination

5 Ways to Increase Your Volunteer Commitment Rate

Health Benefits to Volunteering

Fave APPS for volunteer appreciations

Get Started Volunteering!

Turn helping others into a career with an MSW

Volunteer Appreciation Week

 

Fundraising Ideas

Yummy Product Fundraisers with See's Candies

Shopping for 'Good' & Cause Shopping

Boost Fundraiser Turnout & Profits with Social Media

6 Non-Game Popular Carnival/Festival Booth Ideas

6 Ways to Add Product Sales to School Events

Benefit & Charity Auction Ideas

 

 

NEW! Online Signup & Volunteer Calendars

VolunteerSpot's New Volunteer Look is Here!

You asked, we delivered! VolunteerSpot's BRAND NEW signup look is turning heads and making it even easier for volunteers to signup online in a snap. New features and intuitive enhancements make signing up as simple as 1 - 2 -3!

1. I want to sign up for multiple activities I have been invited to.

Use the "Jump to Invitation" drop down menu right above the calendar feature to quickly access multiple activities you have been invited to. Sign up for school, Scouts and soccer in a matter of seconds!

I want to signup for multiple dates at one time on the same activity calendar.

We hear ya! Use the small calendar at the top right of your sign up to jump to future dates with scheduled needs. Use the legend to check out where spots are open. Click the Sign Up button by every shift/task you want and Save!

2. I want to see what's needed on one screen.

No more clicking and opening day after day on the calendar to see what is available. Our new look streamlines your search by keeping all spots on one screen for you to scroll through and check out. Click the All, Available, or Your Spots tabs to see what is open, filled and committed by you. 

 3. I want to see who else is signed up.

VolunteerSpot's new volunteer signup displays how many spots are full and who is filling them at a glance. Simply click on a ToDo or ToBring to open its details and look at the "Participant List"

I want to leave a comment right in the signup without having to click away.

Every ToDo and ToBring now has it's own embedded Interactive Comments field for you to quickly leave a comment or note when you signup.

 

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Are you a volunteer manager or school parent coordinator?
Organizing your volunteers CAN be this easy.
Get started today with a free demo & start saving time (and stress)!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day! 

Whether parading, barbequeing, or picnicing, today is a great day to take part in and enjoy the freedoms offered to us by our Founding Fathers, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the brave men and women who sacrifice for our country daily.

As volunteers, the saying rings no truer:

To love one another, as you love yourself,

is the greatest freedom availed to you.

 

Organizing a July 4th potluck, picnic or luncheon? Use VolunteerSpot's free online sign up sheets with reminders - save time and get more folks involved! Click here

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Check out some fun 4th of July family activity ideas:

Delicious July 4th Treats over on RoomMomSpot

July 4th Family Fun Ideas on Pinterest

Yummy Independence Day Snacks via The Crafty Crow

July 4th Fun for Kids over on RoomMomSpot

4th of July DIY Projects for the Family from CoolMomPicks

 

Social Media for Social Good

Twitter Basics for Recruiting & Engaging Volunteers

"Tweet Tweet!" That's the sound of volunteers joining the conversation about your organization and what you're doing in the community. Twitter rocks the volunteer sector by helping organizations connect, share and collaborate with one another to get more people involved and fighting for their cause. Here are 4  great ways to use twitter for social good:

1. Recruit Volunteers: Gone are the days of illegible clipboard sign up sheets and reply all emails! Free online sign up sheets and volunteer calendars are easy to link to online from twitter. Best Practice: Tweet the date of your event, time and link to your online sign up. Use hashtags where people can search you - think location, your event name, etc.

2. Network: A response on twitter is oftentimes faster than via email or by phone. Connect with like organizations, local news outlets and community leaders on twitter to help spread the word about what your group is doing. Don't be afraid to ask for retweets and follows. Twitter is all about having a conversation online and sharing what you are doing. Reach out and tweet!

3. Spread the Word/Publicize: From recruiting volunteers to tweeting the day of your event, a strategic social media plan involving twitter is a great way to leave a digital footprint for your cause. Encourage volunteers to tweet their experience before, during and after your event and include your twitter handle on all publications - eNewsletters, brochures, flyers, webpages, etc. As your organization continues to show up in the social feeds of your volunteers and their friends, more people will learn about what you do and want to get involved.

4. Show Appreciation: Volunteer recognition is the most vital component of engaging and retaining volunteers within your program. Using social media tools like twitter to shout out volunteers, post pictures and videos from volunteer events, and publicly show volunteer appreciation is a must in this day in age!

Join VolunteerSpot on Twitter TODAY!

 

Summer Activities for Kids

School's Out . . . Time to Play Yushino!

A Summer without school, homework or class projects makes kids very happy, however, they can quickly become physically and mentally restless when there is little to do. Don't let lazy Summer months leave your kids spending hours on the couch watching tv. Instead - get up, get out, and get gaming! Check out 3 ultimate summer activities for families:

1. Play a Game! Turn kids' mania for mobile games and apps into an educational tool with Yushino! A Scrabble with Numbers game, Yushino is great for the whole family. Logic, strategy and friendly competition help kids practice math, numbers and counting. What does that mean? A Summer full of fun, education and family bonding.

BONUS! Playing Yushino is good for the brain and helps you do good! For every new player, Yushino donates $1 to All Hands Volunteers to help Oklahoma tornado victims. A family game that’s a lot more than just a game.

Can a college graduate mom lose to her 13-year-old? Download the game and make a family challenge out of it! Download Yushino Free now!

2. Cook Together! Cooking together is a family tradition that crosses many generations. Kids practice reading, measuring, and patience when working from favorite family recipes and helping Mom and Dad craft the ultimate dinner. How about putting together the ultimate fun and healthy bento boxes? Check out some of our favorites HERE.

3. Make Your Own Toys! How about using hands and brains to make our own toys? Summer gives us endless hours of daylight, perfect for kids to be creating their own toys and crafting gifts for friends and loved ones. Check out some of our favorite easy kids crafts HERE.