By Holden O'Neal, SHARE's Director of Leader Development
"A rising tide lifts all boats!" - John F. Kennedy
As a volunteer-run organization, SHARE is dependent on the efforts of its charitable members. Case in point, the annual events, which provide a network of talented individuals with the opportunity to gather and share knowledge. But providing this platform for collaboration is no small feat. While SHARE is an on-site experience through its week-long events, it wouldn't be possible without a lot of prior off-site planning and preparation. It all runs smoothly with the invaluable help of volunteers and SHARE headquarters staff.
During my tenures as a Project Officer and Deputy Project Manager for zNextGen, I realized just how much behind-the-scenes work the volunteers really do. Now as the new Director of Leader Development, I am excited to evaluate and improve the current volunteer experience at SHARE.
My primary initiative is to provide educational material for our volunteers to help outline their roles and responsibilities within SHARE. My goal is to empower current volunteers, while also giving them tools that they can use to introduce the volunteering experience to other SHARE attendees. We want potential volunteers to have readily accessible information on how to excel as a volunteer, and already have the answers to questions like, "What kind of time commitment is this role?", "How do I get signed up?", or "What is the organizational structure of SHARE?".
The sense of community within SHARE is what makes it outstanding, and volunteering at SHARE is an opportunity to delve deeper into this amazing community. The volunteer experience at SHARE is rewarding and fun!
If you are already a volunteer at SHARE, think back to your first SHARE event. What tips or tricks would you give to help volunteers welcome first time attendees?
Feel free to reach out and contact me (honeal@share.org) if you have insight or ideas to improve our volunteer organization. Together we can do great things!