Logging Volunteer Hours, Teen Volunteer Ideas, Volunteer Communication, And Hospice Volunteer Manager Tips | Track It Forward

Logging Volunteer Hours, Teen Volunteer Ideas, Volunteer Communication, And Hospice Volunteer Manager Tips

Written by Kasey Murphy

Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community Recap Jan 4 - Jan 11

Topics Discussed: Logging Volunteer Hours, Teen Volunteer Ideas, Volunteer Communication, & Hospice Volunteer Manager Tips

We had a busy first week of January in the Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community, and what a better way to kick off 2021 than by gaining perspective from other Volunteer Coordinators when it comes to software for logging volunteer hours, bouncing creative age-appropriate volunteer ideas off of each other, how to schedule volunteers, and advice on a niche volunteer management position - hospice volunteers! 

We love that this group has created an outlet for so many Volunteer Coordinators and Managers, here are some resources to go along with the top content for the week! 

 

 

#1 Logging Volunteer Hours 

How do you all log your volunteers hours?

We covered this last week, but had a lot more ineraction this week, so we are going to talk about it again! Volunteer hour logs are a great way to track volunteer time, but sometimes they can be time-consuming. 

Most of these 67 comments were going through and saying what type of volunteer software they use to track their volunteer hours - if you are interested in seeing what others said they used, click here for the full post! 

Volunteer hour logs need to have different specific features depending on what each organization is focusing on. Here are some resources that you can look at if you are considering different ways to log volunteer hours. 

  1. How to Create Volunteer Hour Timesheets For Efficient Volunteer Hour Logging

  2. Use Google Forms and Spreadsheets to Track Volunteer Time

  3. Track and Log Volunteer Hours via a Mobile App on iPhone or Android

  4. Success Story of Hour Log Volunteer Time Tracking On An Organization 

 

 

#2 Volunteer Ideas For High School Students / Teenagers 

Younger kids might be harder to plan activities and volunteer opportunities for if you are an organization that is used to working with adults. But, many high school students need to volunteer or have a requirement of volunteer hours to reach. 

I work for a foster-based (not shelter) animal rescue and I have been receiving a lot of interest from teenagers wanting to volunteer, but we currently don't have a lot of opportunities available for them. I'm looking for some ideas on how to get teens more involved. Ideas welcome whether you work in animal welfare or not!

It is important to try to make your volunteer program teenage-friendly if you can! If you have any more ideas, place them here! 

The comments provided these ideas for teenage volunteer opportunities: 

  • “I’ve always set teens up with things they can build or do at home, like DIY enrichment items or even more complicated projects like cat trees and such. Depends on your need!”

  • “DYI enrichment are huge for us. I have a bunch of how to templates made already if you want them.”

  • “Collecting donations is nice but teens get bored with that.”

  • “Social media volunteering? If you need individuals to foster you could have young people spreading the word online”

  • Making blankets or toys

  • Learn to make shelters for feral animals 

Teenagers might be able to do projects or virtual volunteer opportunities at your organization! Here are some resources to help spark your creativity when thinking about volunteer opportunities for teenagers or younger volunteers. 

  1. Youth Service and Student Projects 

  2. 2021 Student Volunteer Program & Community Service Hour Ideas

  3. The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up Virtual Volunteering In Your Organization

 

 

#3 Volunteer Communication

Sometimes, it is hard to feel like you are on the same page with your volunteers. It is important to have outlets of communication that are professional, conversational, and some that are used to schedule volunteers or keep important information. This way, you know exactly where to look if you need to remember something you had discussed with a volunteer. 

Some volunteer software programs have mass communication and singular communication tools built into the software. This might be a helpful tool to consider! 

Hi everyone. I recently became the Volunteer Coordinator at my local Catholic Charities organization. I am lucky to have inherited office volunteers who are all helping me with volunteer scheduling. They each come in on a different day. I would like to find an easy way to communicate any procedure changes or messages between myself and all my office volunteers so that we are all on the same way. Has anyone here found a great way to do this? (No paper please) We have access to Better Impact, a shared office volunteer email, and Office365.

If you’d like to comment more on this topic, click here. 

Comments consisted of offering advice like: 

  • Use a communication tool in a volunteer software application.

  • Team chats on platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack

  • Running a survey asking others which platforms they would enjoy

Here are some resources to learn more about communicating with volunteers. 

  1. Email Volunteers In Bulk, Specific Groups, And Set Automated Emails For Events!

  2. The Volunteer Newsletter Guide - Tips, Tricks, Step-by-step guides, and Examples!

  3. 5 Strategies For Effectively Communicating With Volunteers 

 

 

#4 Hospice Volunteer Management

A large niche of Volunteer Management is the sector of Hospice Volunteer Managers. Hospice Volunteer Managers have a strict set of guidelines they must follow within their volunteer program and they deal with a set of specific issues. 

Hey guys! I'm new to the hospice volunteer coordinator scene! Any tips/tricks/advice welcomed!!

Many comments gave specific advice like,

  • Give clear volunteer role descriptions

  • Provide an accurate screening process

  • Evaluate how to train and recruit volunteers 

  • “I would say most importantly given the nature of the work, I don't recruit any volunteer to work directly with any type of client if they have experienced a loss within the last year.”

  • I have had great luck with recruiting from Volunteer Match and Facebook Neighborhood pages.

  • “We reach out to the colleges in the area that we service. A lot of the degree programs require a certain amount of hours of volunteer work.

  • We are partnering with one of the local police departments to do a food drive to grow our food pantry.”

If you would like to see some more comments from this post or add your own, click here! 

Here are some resources that might be helpful: 

  1. Creative Ways To Recruit Volunteers

  2. Why Creating Clear Volunteer Roles & Responsibilities Should Be The First Thing You Do as a Volunteer Manager

  3. Volunteer Orientation - What To Include To Make Them Truly Beneficial

  4. Volunteer Coordinator Job Description & Volunteer Manager Checklist

  5. A Day In The Life Of a Hospice Volunteer Manager 

 

Thanks for all your participation in the Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community Facebook Group. Happy New Year! Let’s continue to use this group as a resourceful environment for all Volunteer Coordinators.