I was reminded last week that April was Volunteer Recognition Month by a friend who leads the hospital auxiliary at Immanuel-St. Joseph Hospital in Mankato. For many hospitals, the duties performed and dollars raised by volunteers makes a profound difference in the quality of care provided to patients. Imaging and surgery technology, in the hands of skilled professionals, renders life-saving magic. The volunteer, tending the surgery lounge or ER Coffee Cart, delivers a different depth of community care.
Minnesota is among the top three states that lead the nation in volunteerism. The Corporation for National and Community Service tracks four main categories of activity: fundraising, collecting and distribution food, general labor and teaching/tutoring. Minnesota outranks the national average in every one. It’s a track record of which we are proud, a natural element of our community culture.
It may seem corny to call attention to the valuable contributions volunteers make, but last I checked, we all appreciate performance evaluations and praise. The New Economy has made the job of every “community profit” or public sector leader only more difficult. Demand for services has never been greater and sources of revenue are less stable or have dried up altogether. Every day that the glass may seem half empty or plagued by a leak, volunteers keep contributing their time.
Successful recruitment, proper utilization and retention of volunteers don’t happen overnight. And as volunteers, don’t we all feel better knowing how our time or talents contribute in a tangible, unique way to the mission of the organization? For many in job transition or temporarily underemployed, a volunteer gig is a bridge to stability, self-esteem, a new network of people or a job that fulfills personal mission or cause..
Chances are good, gentle reader, that you are a volunteer and perhaps, even serve on the board of directors or chair a committee for a community-profit or public sector entity. An important, nearly-universal practice found in leadership curriculum is to nurture the hearts and souls of those we lead.
Volunteer Recognition Month is over, yet a Minnesota spring is reason enough for celebration of renewal, growth and the promise of a better day. Use your stature within your own networks to offer sincere praise for those in the volunteer ranks. It costs nothing yet is long remembered. In Minnesota, at the intersection of Leadership and Community, you will find a crossing guard, who is most likely, a volunteer.
~ Guest post by Cynthia Bemis Abrams.
Cynthia,
Nice article on your blog about volunteerism!
Pamela