{"id":4212,"date":"2018-08-20T04:27:09","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T11:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/?p=4212"},"modified":"2018-08-17T14:32:34","modified_gmt":"2018-08-17T21:32:34","slug":"perfectvolunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/2018\/08\/perfectvolunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"Some people think they aren’t perfect enough to volunteer with you"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Meridian Swift has a terrific blog about the impression our volunteers-in-action photos<\/a> might give, unintentionally. She imagines this scenario:<\/p>\n

Yvonne took in the photos of volunteers working together, triumphant smiles on their busy faces. She imagined how dynamic these volunteers must be, and here she was, shy, insecure, and full of doubts. She wasn\u2019t like them. They were so\u2026amazing and who was she kidding, she was just stumbling through life. With a wistful sigh, Yvonne closed the tab and moved on.<\/em><\/p>\n

She’s right, and not just about photos: when we celebrate volunteers on the organization web site or in a press release or at a ceremony, we celebrate things most people cannot<\/em> do: volunteer for more than a decade at the same organization, in the same role, or volunteer 100 hours or more in a year. That isn’t to say that those volunteers shouldn’t be honored, but what about honors for the most tenacious volunteer, or the volunteer who made a big impact with a small project?<\/p>\n

As Meridian says in her response to volunteers who may be thinking they aren’t perfect enough to volunteer, per the perfect-volunteers imagery:<\/p>\n

You may think we want you to be perfect. What do we want? We want to do some good in this crazy world and we don\u2019t have all the answers. We\u2019re not looking for perfection. We\u2019re looking for you.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s something to keep in mind as you recruit and welcome new volunteers at your organization.<\/p>\n

Also see:<\/p>\n