Volunteer coordinator changed my view on unpaid help

I used to think every volunteer gig needed strict sign-up sheets and training, but a coordinator at our food bank in Austin told me to just let people jump in where they saw the need. She said rigid structure pushes away the folks who show up ready to work, not sit through a 20 minute orientation. Why do we overmanage helping out when the point is getting things done together?

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sethh582d ago

The part about rigid structure pushing away people who show up ready to work is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Plenty of places that let folks "jump in where they see the need" end up with chaos, people standing around not knowing what to do, and the same three volunteers doing everything. A 20 minute orientation isn't overmanaging, it's basic stuff like where's the fire exit and which bin is recycling. Maybe the food bank works because it's simple work, but try that at a hospital or a build site and see how it goes. Sounds less like a big lesson about volunteering and more like a chill coordinator at one spot.

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