Recruiting Volunteers Marketing Materials

Ways to Support Volutneers

The organization’s meeting and work spaces should reflect a diversity of cultures, in particular the Latino culture.

Try to meet the personal needs of volunteers and thus eliminate many of the barriers that may hinder their participation.

Make paperwork as simple as possible.

Treat volunteers as co-workers, not free help.

Provide suitable working conditions and exposure to a variety of experiences.

Provide quality training.

Ask for input and really listen to their ideas.

Recruiting and Supporting Latino Volunteers

B. Hobbs, Extension specialist, 4-H youth development, Oregon State University.

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Supporting Volunteers

Once you have recruited volunteers, it’s essential to create a supportive work environment. This means scrutinizing current organizational structures, policies, and practices and making any changes that are needed. It also means preparing current volunteers and staff for these changes so they don’t feel threatened by new ways of doing business. Following are a few other steps you can take to make your organization supportive.

1. The organization’s meeting and work spaces should reflect a diversity of cultures, in particular the Latino culture. This can be accomplished by such simple things as the choice of prints you hang on the wall, the artwork on your calendar, the decorative objects on tables and shelves. Be sure always to greet each person by name as they arrive and thank them for their efforts when they leave. Provide food, even if it’s simply a cup of tea. Your hospitality increases their feeling of acceptance.
   
   
2. Try to meet the personal needs of volunteers and thus eliminate many of the barriers that may hinder their participation. If some volunteers are not English speakers, have staff available who speak Spanish. Assess the need for transportation. Is there a way to organize car pools or otherwise assist with transportation? Latinos are very family oriented. They want to be together. Find ways for families to volunteer as a unit and provide child care for younger children who accompany adult volunteers. Are there out-of-pocket expenses they can’t afford? Find ways to cover or avoid such costs.
   
   
3. Make paperwork as simple as possible. It can be a relatively unfamiliar and thus intimidating task to fill out forms. Clearly explain why the information is needed and how it will be used. Understand that some potential volunteers will be unwilling to complete the forms because of issues related to their immigration status or a general distrust of government. Accept their refusal graciously, even if it means they will be unable to participate.
   
   
4. Treat volunteers as co-workers, not free help. Make them feel a part of the team. Prepare a package that explains the organization and its programs, procedures, and policies. Write a job description for them. This will ensure that their time is used productively and that they feel their efforts are worthwhile.
   
   
5. Provide suitable working conditions and exposure to a variety of experiences. Give volunteers a choice of assignments where possible. People volunteer for a number of different reasons in addition to wanting to help their community, and they bring with them different interests and skills. A choice of assignments will enable a match between the skills and motivations of the volunteer and the tasks that need to be done. Explain any risk factors that might be involved in their work. What happens if there is an accident?
   
   
6. Provide quality training. If the job is unfamiliar to them, train them to do it. Be very specific as to what they are expected to do and how they should do it. For some, not having a clear understanding of expectations discourages them from participating. One way to build skills and confidence is to have new volunteers work in partnership with seasoned volunteers. This may be designed as a buddy system, a shadowing process, or a mentoring experience. Check in with volunteers and provide guidance and direction whenever needed. Help them feel connected and supported. Help them be successful.
   
   
7. Ask for input and really listen to their ideas. Let your volunteers be creative. Empower them as part of the planning team. Perhaps start with a broad idea about a new direction and then ask for their suggestions about how they could accomplish it. Demonstrate that you believe in their capabilities.

Good volunteers are precious. They are needed for so many tasks, but be careful that they are not overworked. If demands are too great, they’ll eventually stop volunteering. Balance the work with opportunities to meet and socialize, to have fun.

Often organizations find that providing training and volunteer experiences for new Latino volunteers as a separate group creates a more comfortable and inviting environment and results in more active participation. For those with limited English skills, being able to converse in Spanish eliminates the language barrier. For those with limited involvement in the greater community, a separate program offers an opportunity to hone skills and develop confidence in a familiar and comfortable environment before applying those skills in an integrated setting. If separate training and work experiences aren’t feasible, try to recruit a critical mass of Latino volunteers so those who do come forward are not lost or, worse yet, ignored in the larger group.

Ways to Recognize Volunteers

Like other aspects of the volunteering process, recognition of contributions must be designed within the cultural context if it’s to be appropriate and meaningful. In general, because Latinos are modest people, recognition is best carried out in ways where attention to the individual in front of a large group is minimized. Don’t expect your Latino volunteers to attend a formal, community-wide recognition event. They will not attend recognition dinners; they will not find appearing before a meeting of county commissioners reinforcing. Realize also that Latinos may shy away from recognition events because they don’t want to call attention to their community. Some communities purposefully try to go unnoticed to protect those who are undocumented.

Recognition given informally, however, is appropriate. You recognize volunteers when you treat them as very important people, provide support and many thank you’s, and invest time in getting to know them. Telling their peers about their contributions, such as when introducing them to a new volunteer or printing the names of volunteers in the monthly newsletter, also is reinforcing. Providing opportunities for additional training or advancing a volunteer to a position of greater responsibility are other forms of recognition. If volunteers have worked in programs to support their children, they will obtain recognition indirectly when their children’s success is recognized.

Informal gatherings, such as family pot lucks, a weekend camping trip for volunteers and their families, or a small celebration within their community, are another form of recognition. Consider also presenting certificates at such events. If volunteers work in programs for children, having the children present the certificates can be especially meaningful.

Giving small gifts can be met with mixed reactions. If you are working very closely with a few volunteers and you develop a close relationship with them, a gift may be appropriate. In other cases the gifts may be seen almost as an insult—“You think I’m doing this because I want something.” Still others who receive a gift might feel obligated to give a gift in return. Knowing your volunteers well will guide you as to what form of recognition will be appropriate and well received.

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