We hear a lot about volunteers just cleaning up a park.
What about volunteers leading in information gathering and guidance for the future of an entire park and recreation district?
The board of the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD) in Oregon solicited feedback to guide them in future decisions, and that information-gathering, as well the subsequent report, was done by volunteers:
A dedicated multigenerational, multiethnic, and multilingual volunteer group – the Visioning Task Force (VTF), was recruited to work together and with district staff to lead outreach efforts. Their task: lead and help create public involvement strategies to meet communities where they are. Throughout the summer of 2019, they captured the unique stories, experiences, and creative ideas of district residents.
Our volunteers represented the community well, reflecting a diversity in age, ethnicity, race, gender, and languages spoken. Their ability to connect with and advise the district on outreach strategies was impressive. Even more impressive was their commitment and dedication to leading the engagement efforts themselves and the hours they spent volunteering at events throughout the community to gather input.
The resulting Vision Action Plan was written by those community volunteers.
Was this done because it was cheaper than hiring a consultant? I hope not. I hope the reason it was done was because volunteers were probably the best people for this task: they had no financial interest in telling the board what they might want to hear. Volunteers can often be more neutral, more questioning and more free-to-speak than paid consultants or employees. I would love to know more how these volunteers were chosen, supported and guided.
How is your organization involving volunteers in LEADERSHIP roles?
Also see:
- Mission statements for your volunteer engagement (Saying WHY your program involves volunteers)
- Trusting teen volunteers with leadership – would you?
- Missed opportunity with #volunteers: “No one ever asked me for my name. They didn’t have a sign in sheet.”
- Volunteer management is community engagement
- Make volunteering transformative, not about # of hours
- Measuring the Impact of Volunteers: book announcement
If you have benefited from this blog or other parts of my web site and would like to support the time that went into researching information, developing material, preparing articles, updating pages, etc. (I receive no funding for this work), here is how you can help.