Appreciating Your Volunteers

By Kelsey Larsen, VIP Leader at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles

As the nonsectarian children’s literacy program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, KOREH L.A. trains volunteer reading partners to work with kindergarten through fifth grade students attending our partner schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.  Our volunteers work one-on-one with children identified by their teachers as “reluctant readers” for one hour per week, helping enhance the students’ reading skills and foster a love of reading.  Four AmeriCorps VIP Fellows (including myself) work together to serve volunteers in different geographic regions of Los Angeles.  KOREH L.A. also has a program supported by a fifth VIP Fellow called the Teen Literacy Corps (TLC), which involves high school students in the process of increasing literacy skills in elementary school children. TLC partners public and private high school classrooms with nearby LAUSD elementary school classrooms, and trains the high school students for one-on-one reading mentorships. 

One of the most important and fun aspects of volunteer management is recognizing and appreciating your volunteers for all the amazing work they have done.  This year alone, KOREH L.A. had over 400 volunteers working with over 600 students in 60 schools, not including our TLC program.  Here’s some creative ways we’ve shown appreciation to volunteers. We hope you can use these tips to celebrate the work of your great partners!

KOREH L.A.’s Volunteer Appreciation Tips:

1. Have a culminating celebration.  Because we work with schools, the school calendar provides an easy structure for the “end” of the year’s volunteering.  However depending on your program, any time could work for this (December, or the end of the day’s events).  This year, KOREH L.A. held an end of year appreciation brunch for all of our KOREH volunteers, where they had a chance to come together as a group, eat some good food, celebrate, and be recognized for their service. Our volunteer brunch was a great sendoff to our 2012-2013 volunteers!

Welcoming volunteers to our Appreciation Brunch

2. Give shout outs!  Be sure to recognize both the individual and the group.  Individual recognition should be as personal as possible and doesn’t need to be expensive – at the brunch, our volunteers received certificates with their name and the name of the school where they volunteered, as well as a handwritten thank-you from the VIP Fellows.  During our Fall Enrichment Seminar, a festive and educational holiday gathering for our volunteers, we highlighted “great stories” volunteers had shared with us about their experiences. We also love to mention volunteers on Facebook and Twitter.   

KOREH L.A. Volunteer Nikki Turbin shares the KOREH L.A. love!

3. Let them share their stories and advice.  Since recognition comes not just from Volunteer Coordinators but from other volunteers, allow volunteers to be heard!  At all of our events, we provide time for volunteers to discuss their experiences with one another.  Often, it’s hard to get them quiet again!  Another way to connect volunteers is by asking volunteers to share their wisdom or experiences on a blog post.  If you have a volunteer who wants to share their expertise at an event, let them!  At her regional volunteer meeting, VIP Fellow Kaitlin Schluter reached out to a volunteer with a background in child development to share some tips with other volunteers, providing them with valuable guidance.   

 

VIP Fellow Kaitlin Schluter leads volunteers in discussion at her regional meeting

4. Give them something they can take away.  Before our volunteer brunch, we reached out to the LAUSD School Board President, who agreed to speak to our volunteers about education.    This year, each of the VIP Fellows also held a regional meeting for their volunteers, where they led a discussion on a topic that volunteers wanted to learn more about and provided them with ideas for new activities to do with their students.  Whether it is a speech from a respected individual on a topic they care about, or some extra resources, our volunteers appreciate the new ideas and information.

5. Recognize loyalty.  Give a special mention to volunteers who have been serving for a long time (In the case of our program, this is multiple years, however it could also mean coming to more than one service day, serving for one month, etc.).  At our brunch, we had volunteers raise their hands or stand up for the number of years they’ve been volunteering with us.  This encourages volunteers just beginning their service to keep coming back!

Creative Photo Contest Winner

And our last photo contest winner for the 2012 AmeriCorps Week Photo Contest is (drumroll please!)...

 

This great photo of the KorehLA VIP Fellow team!  It takes the "Most Creative Photo" title.  The photo was inspired by KorehLA's mission to enable volunteers to help foster their student’s love of reading, and was taken at The Last Book Store in Downtown Los Angeles.  Congratulations to Molly Soboroff, the VIP Fellow who submitted this photo!

Check out the blog next week to see our winning "AmeriCorps Works" video!

From a Volunteer: Reading with KorehLA has long-term impact

Every Thursday I looked forward to the sound of Marshale, my KOREH L.A. reading partner, sprinting down the hallway of her school to greet me at 1:00PM in the front office of Crescent Heights Elementary School. Each time, Marshale welcomed me with a hug. Then, she’d giggle, bury her face in her hands and lead me to the library. Together, we’d sit side-by side on the floor of her library’s reading corner.


Each session, Marshale  chose  a book from her library’s shelves to read together that day. Most often it was an “Amelia Bedelia” book. From time to time, I’d bring a special book from home that I thought would interest her. Her favorite book from my collection was Queen Rania’s “The Sandwich Swap."


During one session, Marshale took out her cell phone from her backpack (when the librarian was not around) and asked me if she could take my picture. She wanted to program my picture into her phone. She asked for my phone number, too. That same night, she called. While I heard mostly giggles on the other end of the phone, it simply warmed my heart to know that she really had no reason to call, except that it was her way of reaching out to me.


Back at school, Marshale began to enjoy reading. I could see it in her eyes. Her confidence was building, too.


Not only did Marshale learn from me, but I learned from her. She taught me how to do a dance called the “dougie”. She told me I “dougied” better than her mom.


 In May, I got a call from Marshale’s mom with the news that her family was moving. Marshale would be changing schools mid-year. An instant sadness came over me, but I soon realized that I was just thankful to have been able to spend the time that I had with her. Our last session came sooner than we had both expected, or wanted. During this time, I gifted her with my copy of “The Sandwich Swap.”


Just this fall, I received a homemade book in the mail from Marshale. She had created and illustrated a book about prepositions at her new school. Each page highlights a particular preposition and has a phrase that demonstrates its proper usage. Sweet illustrations accompany each page. The first page, for example, highlights “Outside” and says “The Ball is Outside” while the second page highlights “Around” and says “Around the flower there were puddles.”


When I called to thank Marshale for the book, she could not wait to tell me that she had just received her first report card. She proudly informed me that she was getting an “A” in reading at her new school! Marshale will always have a very special place in my heart. I trust that I will be lifelong friends with Marshale, and my wish for her is that as she matures into a young woman, to always remember her newly acquired love for reading.  

Spotlight on: Koreh LA VIP Fellows

Want to meet the new Koreh LA VIP Fellows?  Check out the recent Jewish Federation of LA blog post that introduces this strong team of 5 VIP Fellows serving in LA Unified schools.