The mission of the The Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers is to build and strengthen families and their children, instilling hope for the future and better quality of life. They serve their mission by nurturing healthy relationships, developing support systems and providing guidance towards responsibility in order to encourage clients to become independent and contributing members of society.
Today our spotlight shines on Cristen Sawyer, Development Associate/Christmas Program Director, who uses VolunteerSpot's online signup sheets to organize volunteers year-round.
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Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
The Harland A. Turner Counseling Center offers outpatient mental health counseling for children, adolescents, adults and families. We also offer a Teen Parent School Program, an early child care and education program, birth parent support services, a summer camp scholarship program and a Christmas Program. We also offer comprehensive assistance to families hoping to adopt.
Most of our volunteer opportunities take place from late October to mid December as we pack Christmas boxes for over 1700 financially disadvantaged children throughout the state of Maine, ages 12 and under. Volunteers pack boxes of toys, clothing and other gifts, help stock shelves with inventory for the Christmas Program, help process donated items, take phone applications from needy families.
Other times of the year, volunteers may help us with our annual yard sale, do yard work, read to children, though those opportunities are few and far between. We estimate that we use between 200 and 300 volunteers each year.
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
VolunteerSpot has become a crucial part of our volunteer program. By eliminating the need for phoning volunteers, it has saved us countless hours of time on the phone. The communication tools for canceling or changing volunteer events is a great help as well. Whenever I have a need for volunteers, I simply create an event, send out an invitation and wait for volunteers to sign up.
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?
For leaders: Don’t be afraid to delegate. Volunteers are there to help you achieve your mission and take a great deal of pressure off you if you learn to delegate. This was a challenge for me at first as a volunteer coordinator. I simply believed that I should be doing it all myself and quickly became anxious and overwhelmed by my responsibilities. Also, make sure to always thank your volunteers profusely and often and with meaning. Look them in the eye and tell them how much you value their time and commitment. Finally, feed them and hydrate them. Cookies and a bottle of water or a hot cup of coffee go a long way in keeping volunteers feeling appreciated. If you can, small gifts of thanks are wonderful too.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
I could see right away that it would eliminate a lot of time spent on the phone. With VolunteerSpot, volunteers find the best times available for their schedule that meet your needs without the back and forth exchange on the phone. They can easily see what times volunteers are needed and decide what works best for them or their group.
Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?
We couldn’t do what we do without our many wonderful volunteers. Anything that helps us schedule, communicate with, thank or reward them is crucial to the success of our organization and it’s mission.
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To learn more about The Maine Children's Home for Little Wanderers, please visit http://www.mainechildrenshome.org or see them on Facebook!
We salute Cristen and all the other volunteers out there making a difference in our ministries. 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].__
