WHY HAVE TEEN VOLUNTEERS?
The investment is small; the rewards are great.
Just the facts:
0 The number of volunteers who have quit Crandall Public Library Children’s Dept. after having been interviewed, trained, and assigned.
8 Usual number of summertime, regularly scheduled volunteers
24 maximum number of teen volunteers in the Children’s Dept.—so far
2 Number of hours generally necessary to train to valuable work level
30 Minutes per week spent giving feedback and support to working volunteers
40 Usual number of summertime hours staffed per week by teen volunteers
320 dollars per week saved, based on $8/hour, no benefits, by using trained volunteers rather than paying for an additional seasonal staff person
2 Maximum number of hours a 12 year old is expected to work at a time as a new volunteer
900 Reading Folders the teens keep track of
4 Number of years before your 14 year old volunteer will be voting on your budget
Nuts and Bolts: Do this, don’t do that!
DO talk to your regulars 12 years old and above
DON’T take mom’s or dad’s word for it that a kid wants to volunteer
DO have a regular schedule and make it clear that others are depending on this work getting done
DON’T have volunteers work without supervision right away
DO find the personality of your volunteer and suit the job to the person
DON’T try to make a shy person an extravert
DO make sure the volunteers all answer to one person
DON’T forget to catch them being good
DO involve your co workers in recruitment, training, and motivation
DON’T leave your volunteers for someone else to supervise
DO use food as a motivator
DON’T eat too much of their food
DO have fun with this! You may be making an indelible, positive difference in a young person’s life.