Chidi realised that she needed more volunteers to help her. She couldn’t do it all on her own, and she needed people to be able to take over if she was sick, needed a break, or if her mother’s sickness got worse. She had some volunteers, but they often seemed flaky or incompetent. Sometimes it seemed that they made more work for her than the time they saved her.
If we are to reach our goals we need to find the people to help us to deliver our projects. Sometimes it’s a real struggle to find the right people. Not everyone is the right volunteer for your organisation. Good volunteers are people who:
- Want to give their time to support your work, not their own ends
- Committed and have integrity
- Believe in your mission and vision
- Have the skills or abilities that you are looking for – goodwill alone is not enough
- Are keen to learn how your organisation works and how they can contribute
Volunteers may be our friends, and hopefully will become our friends, but their role as volunteers is to work competently and as part of a team. To this end, it helps if you recruit and induct volunteers formally, so they know what you expect of them and their rights. This also allows you to meet your safeguarding commitments.
Sometimes we have the right people, but they are not being put to best use, or not encouraged by us. Here we are going to look at three women who have told Chidi that they would like to help her with the cooking club, and some questions to help you to think about whether and how they could actually help Chidi:
AMIRA
Amira is a 22-year-old girl from Chidi’s church. She is a good student, loves cooking, and wants to do a postgraduate qualification and become a school teacher.
- Why does Amira want to volunteer?
- What does she want to achieve?
- How can she help Chidi?
- How can Chidi support her?
MARGARET
Margaret is Chidi’s colleague and friend and Chidi has invited her to get involved. She hasn’t worked with young people before and isn’t a very good cook, but her husband often travels for work, so she is home alone.
- Why does Margaret want to volunteer?
- What does she want to achieve?
- How can she help Chidi?
- How can Chidi support her?
- What challenges/opportunities could she bring?
DR ANI BROWN
Ani Brown is a retired headteacher who heard about the cooking club through the grandmother of one of the girls. Her husband has his own well-known company, and they are very well connected. She used to teach in a strict girls’ school and is a keen disciplinarian. She has often expressed her opinion that the girls are too opinionated or disrespectful of her status as an elder, but is also a very regular and dedicated volunteer.
- Why does Ani want to volunteer?
- What does she want to achieve?
- How can she help Chidi?
- How can Chidi support her?
- What challenges/opportunities could she bring?