DISCLAIMER: These posts contain hints, tips and ideas from folks that have had some experiences dealing with this. It is NOT meant to be legal advice here - just related experiences. Please consult with a reputable professional if necessary. Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 11:46:13 -0700 To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Here's the new note to start the workshop on volunteers. Reminder: I'll save, edit and archive the notes for the Equine Rescue Mailing List Home Page so that we'll have it for future reference. There are already some notes on volunteers under the archive/classes section, but let's do it again! To give us a jumping off point ... Rescues - how do you select and train volunteers? What are legal ramifications (if one gets hurt or steals or something) of having volunteers? Can you relate some good and bad experiences with one? And from the "other" side - those that want to help - how do you become a good volunteer? What are rescues are looking for in a volunteer? How do you find a rescue in your area that needs volunteers? I'm under 18 - can I still do something? I'm not able to work with horses due to allergies/injury, etc - what else needs done? I'd like to help a rescue, but there are none in my area - what do I do? Pat Calloway, Equine Rescue Listowner epona@concentric.net (AZ) http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/home.htm ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 17:21:27 -0400 From: Mike & Chris Smith Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Pat Calloway wrote: > Here's the new note to start the workshop on volunteers. > Rescues - how do you select and train volunteers? ERL doesn't have a selection process per se. We've found that people who aren't serious about volunteering tend to "weed" themselves out after a few visits. There are some people who have a very romantic view of what rescue work is, and it *is* very inspiring, but when it comes right down to the hard, dirty labor, the "romantics" fade fast. The people who are seriously interested in taking care of the horses will be back. Every person interested in volunteering gets a "Volunteer Tour" before coming to actually work. They are shown around the farm, introduced to the horses and to other volunteers. The tour also serves as a kind of personal interview in which we can learn a little more about the new volunteer and see how comfortable she (no offense meant toward male list members, its just that most of our volunteers seem to be women ) is around the horses. The training is "on-the-job." A new volunteer is started out on jobs like washing feed buckets, mucking stalls, cleaning/filling water tanks, etc. Then, if she is experienced with horses, may help bring the horses in for feeding or grooming. An inexperienced volunteer is never asked or expected to do anything she is not comfortable doing. If she would like to learn to handle horses, she may start out leading one of the most trustworthy horses in or out or learning to groom those horses; *always* in the company of an experience staff member or volunteer. If at any time she feels nervous, she can ask for help with no embarrassment (we hope). If, on the other hand, she feels ready to take on a new task, she can ask to learn something new, and when a safe opportunity arises, we'll show her a new job. Some enthusiastic volunteers feel that we tend to be overly cautious. We always have to remember, though, that many of the horses we deal with have been mistreated and can act unpredictably to seemingly benign occurrences. We have a Percheron cross mare (biiiig girl!) who was apparently taught not accept treats from people's hands. She acted like we were threatening to hit her rather than handing her an apple. So, along those lines, new volunteers do not handle new arrivals, but can only handle horses whose temperaments and quirks we have a better handle on. We have some volunteers who have been incorporated into almost every aspect of the farm and others who, even after a couple of years, never handle horses and are happy to help in other ways. > What are legal > ramifications (if one gets hurt or steals or something) of having > volunteers? We do have a liability insurance policy that covers volunteers. Even so, each signs a waiver of liability before beginning. Our particular policy limits our volunteers to those 18 or older. We had to make a decision from the start - we could may more for a policy that would include minors, or put that money toward other things. > Can you relate some good and bad experiences with one (a volunteer)? I (fortunately) can think of many more good experiences than bad ones. We have a "core" volunteer staff that will fill in any time any where. There are many more that live too far away to come to the farm on a regular basis, but drive two hours to help with a big event like an Open House. Volunteers will sometimes provide special medications a favorite horse needs or buy new office equipment. And then there is that one special lady who brings the best baked goods for staff and volunteers each and every time she comes! (And she also remembers which horses have special dietary needs and brings special goodies for them too) I guess the down side would be the few people who believe themselves to be horse experts and therefore try to do things their own way rather than the way that is best for the horse or the rescue. ("Well, MY horse always gets alfalfa cubes in the morning! as she stands in front of a 35-year-old with no teeth to speak of.) I can't think of any instances of volunteers stealing or intentionally doing anything to harm the organization. I know these questions were directed to those wanting to help, but thought I'd throw 2 cents in anyway. > What are rescues are looking for in a volunteer? Someone who wants what's best for the horses and *is willing to learn.* You don't have to be a walking horse encyclopedia and you don't have to come to the farm every spare minute you have. Willing hands are always welcome even if they can only come by every couple of months or so. > I'm not able to work with horses due to > allergies/injury, etc - what else needs done? Ahhhhh....we always have something to do for folks who can't physically work with the horses. Problem is those people are few and far between. Most people want to be around the horses even if it causes itching, sneezing, wheezing, or coughing. But, for those that absolutely can't, there are things like staffing information booths at local events, photographing the horses, maintaining photo albums for display at booths, designing and making educational posters or displays, writing thank you notes to donors, writing newsletter articles, cleaning tack, tending flower beds, farm maintenance, and on and on! Well, after being very long-winded, I hope we'll hear from some volunteers or from people who are thinking about it. It would be interesting to hear volunteers' impressions of how rescues operate....how can we attract more volunteers? How can we keep volunteers coming back once they have started working with a group? Have you, as a volunteer, had any particularly good or bad experiences to relate? Sorry for being so long, but hope some info was helpful. Chris Smith -- Equine Rescue League Leesburg, VA http://freeyellow.com/members7/erl/index.html http://equinenet.org/erl/ ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Diane Creek Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 20:38:52 -0500 I think getting the word out and being flexible is the key to getting new volunteers. I think a lot of people don't want to have to put in a set amount of time but want a flexible schedule. < How can we keep volunteers coming back once they have started working with a group?> Show appreciation. Say thank you, acknowledge that they are needed and wanted. Support them in their learning experiences. I've done a ton of volunteering with all kinds of agencies. Most of my volunteering is with human agencies right now unfortunately. The agencies I like to volunteer for are friendly, supportive, flexible, and show their appreciation. My bad experience was with a horse rescue agency that I won't name. I e-mailed the coordinator and she acted happy that I was going to volunteer. She told me all the things I could do which was a lot. I would be in charge of doing welfare checks all over the state of Kansas with my car, my gas, my time etc. I was more than happy to do that. I waited and waited for the volunteer applications. None came. I was in contact with the coordinator several times and she said that the main person in another state would send me the forms to fill out then I could start. I was so excited and gung ho it was pathetic. I even told the people at work what I was doing and had a girl to travel with me some weekends for the welfare checks. To make a long story short the forms to volunteer never came and I ended up losing interest. So now I don't support them at all and I want to start my own rescue here because the state isn't being covered. They missed out on a great volunteer. I always give 110% of my time, energy, money etc. Oh well. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Now I will start my own and save even more horses. Diane ============================================================ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 19:46:43 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop At 08:38 PM 6/16/99 -0500, Diane Creek wrote: >< How can we keep volunteers coming back once they have started working >with a group?> > Show appreciation. Say thank you, acknowledge that they are needed >and wanted. Support them in their learning experiences. Yup! It's amazing how little the words thank you, I'd appreciate it and I appreciate you doing x are used these days. A little appreciation goes a long way in MANY things. A few strokes can go a LONG way .... heck, bake 'em cookies or bring in some goodies. Write up a "Volunteer of the Month" (problem with this is that it tends to highlight the high achievers and leave others out though) or do some sort of column in the rescue newsletter or on the office/barn BB that highlights contributions by volunteers or just has their photos and names and something like "We Salute Our Volunteers". Above all, don't take them for granted. ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: slyshot@mindspring.com Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 23:31:17 -0400 Days End's policies and procedures regarding volunteers are quite similar to ERL's. We do accept volunteers from age 4 (with a parent) and up, 12 and up without a parent. Everyone must sign a release. As Chris said, the "bad" volunteers are few and far between. They are easily remembered precisely because there are so very few. We keep a sheet in the barn listing all the current horses and any ideosyncracies they might have, and a dry-erase board to keep track of which horses have been groomed or bathed when and the level of experience needed to handle the horse. We also have a few committees of volunteers that handle the nitty-gritty of organizing events and fundraising. Some tasks, notably training horses, do have a time requirement - if you are working with a horse you must come at least twice a week so the horse has continuity in its training, and specific people are assigned to train specific horses so as not to confuse the animal. A training log is kept of what was done with the horse and its reactions. We have sporadically tried doing volunteer surveys to see what folks do and don't like, and any suggestions they may have for improvements. Response is pretty thin, but the few who do respond often have very useful suggestions and give us some insight into what makes our volunteers "tick." >How can we keep >volunteers coming back once they have started working with a group? >Have you, as a volunteer, had any particularly good or bad experiences >to relate? I was discussing this with a fellow rescuer tonight and we concluded that the reason our core volunteers keep coming back is that they can see that they are making a difference, they see a dedication in their fellow volunteers, and this inspires them to continue to work on behalf of the horses. I can go to the farm and look out and see a mare who came in a year ago, horribly skinny with lice and rainrot, standing out there fat, glossy and sassy with her 2 month old filly. Speaking strictly as a volunteer, the thing that keeps me coming back when I don't always agree with the way some things are done, or the weather is truly miserable, or whatever, is the bottom line: I do this to help horses, and the things I do do make a difference and I can clearly see that difference. I have a fellow volunteer who has been there since before DEFHR was officially organized, over 10 years. There are a good number of volunteers who have been with DEF 3 or more years. That there are so many volunteers of such long duration says a lot about an organization. Last, but certainly not least important, is the leadership and example set by the people who run the organization. I don't know if I would have continued to stay involved at this level for so long if I didn't have Kathy and Allan shining on ahead of me. Simply put, they are my heroes. I could not do what they do every single day with the dedication they muster, sometimes against staggering odds and mostly at the expense of any kind of personal life. And if you were to ask either of them, they would insist that it isn't their leadership, but the quality of their volunteers that keeps the rescue going. I apologize if this sounds a little worshippy, but this is really what makes me keep going back and I know this is true for other of our volunteers as well. Klondike (Cris May) Days End Farm Horse Rescue (MD) http://www.defhr.org ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: slyshot@mindspring.com Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 23:38:30 -0400 >Yup! It's amazing how little the words thank you, I'd appreciate it and I >appreciate you doing x are used these days. A little appreciation goes a long >way in MANY things. Ditto, ditto, ditto. And "could you help ..." is often more effective than "do this." A spoken thank you on a regular basis, a hand-written thank you note for a special effort. Thank-yous are what keep both volunteers and supporters coming back. Klondike (Cris May) Days End Farm Horse Rescue (MD) http://www.defhr.org ============================================================ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 22:07:22 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop At 11:38 PM 6/17/99 -0400, slyshot@mindspring.com wrote: >A spoken thank you on a regular basis, a hand-written thank you note for a >special effort. Thank-yous are what keep both volunteers and supporters >coming back. A good point on thank yous for supporters too! A nice little handwritten note thanking folks for contributions is something that your volunteers (with nice handwriting ) could do. Doesn't have to be long - just a "Thanks for contributing $x or y to Our Rescue. We really appreciate your help and couldn't do it without you. Signed: The Folks at XYZ Rescue" An artistically inclined volunteer could even design a special Thank You card on the computer to print out, although I do recommend handwriting the actual thank you portion. Yeah, it's time consuming and there are stalls to be mucked & horses to be fed, but acknowledgment (not too fancy though - then they think you're spending too much on that!) of contributions may keep more coming in. ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Mike & Chris Smith Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 06:45:14 -0400 > >< How can we keep volunteers coming back once they have started working > >with a group?> > > Show appreciation. Say thank you,... > on the office/barn BB that > highlights contributions by volunteers or just has their photos and names and > something like "We Salute Our Volunteers". Oooh! A Poster! Thanks, Pat! I like that idea a lot! That way every visitor to the farm will know how hard volunteers work, not just those who get the newsletter. Maybe a page of the same sort on the web site too? (Thanks for the "light bulb"...somtimes I need a little nudge toward the obvious ) Chris -- Equine Rescue League Leesburg, VA http://freeyellow.com/members7/erl/index.html ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Mike & Chris Smith Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 06:38:19 -0400 Diane Creek wrote: > > > being flexible is the key to getting > new volunteers. I think a lot of people don't want to have to put in a > set amount of time but want a flexible schedule. Thanks for your input, Diane! We do stay very flexible when it comes to scheduling. Its entirely up to the volunteers what days and how often they come help. All we ask is that they let us know before they come so we can schedule the days work load according to how much help is available. Of course, the feeding, mucking, etc must happen every day, but if we know there will be several people coming, maybe we can schedule some of the less critical tasks like mowing, organizing the tack room, dragging the fields, sorting donated goods for the yard sales, etc. (We also try to vary the jobs the volunteers do each visit. No one wants to much all the time of scrub tanks every visit.) > < How can we keep volunteers coming back once they have started working > with a group?> > Show appreciation. Say thank you, acknowledge that they are needed > and wanted. Support them in their learning experiences. *Very* important. Besides trying to thank each person as they leave for the day, we've just added a "Viva Volunteers" columun to our newsletter where we'll acknowledge one or two people by name. We do have a small paid staff, but with an average of 45-50 horses at a time, there is no way we could care for them without volunteers, let alone have time for educational programs, fundraising, etc. > To make a long story short the forms > to volunteer never came and I ended up losing interest. One thing we've learned over the past few years, is that when someone wants to help, grab them! We started out being very very careful not to impose too much on any one person. But some people want to do more than others, so when they offer, take them up on it! They will only offer so many times, then find another agency that will put their skills to good use. > I want to start my own rescue here because the > state isn't being covered. They missed out on a great volunteer. I > always give 110% of my time, energy, money etc. Oh well. Maybe it was > a blessing in disguise. Now I will start my own and save even more > horses. Diane I hope you are able to fulfill that dream. It doesn't seem that there are many rescue groups in the mid-west (if you're out there, I apologize...send contact info and I'll add you to ERL's liks page) and a new rescue there *would* be a blessing! Chris -- Equine Rescue League Leesburg, VA http://freeyellow.com/members7/erl/index.html ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Jennifer Williams Subject: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999 12:20:06 -0500 Now I was wondering - what do some of the organizations do for their volunteers? We (Lone Star Equine Rescue, newly formed, non profit status pending) had a members appreciation trail ride. We supplied hamburgers and hotdogs as well as water and soft drinksfor the members who came and everyone brought a side dish. Some people went riding and others just sat around and talked. Our turnout this time wasn't huge - but we are just starting out and do not have loads of active volunteers. Those who came seemed to enjoy it. We've got people spread out all over the state, though, and I was trying to think of something we could mail them to show appreciation.. Do any of you do 'certificates of appreciation'? Do those seem to make people happy? From being involved in other organizations who DO NOT thank their volunteers - I know I want our volunteers to understand how much we appreciate them! Jennifer Williams Lone Star Equine Rescue ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: slyshot@mindspring.com Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 20:02:43 -0400 > Now I was wondering - what do some of the organizations do for their >volunteers? We do a cookout/campover very similar to Lone Star's, but without the trail ride. We have a large annual Holiday Party with food and a band at which we present tokens of appreciation to all who volunteered in the previous year, I believe anything over 5 hours for the year. The "token" given depends on volunteer hours and is, if I recall correctly, broken into 3 segments: over 500 hours, over 100 hours, under 100 hours. One of last year's tokens was a wristwatch with the farm logo on the face. There are companies that cater to orgs. that want to reward volunteers/employees in this way and the cost of the tokens is fairly small but people do seem to like them. We used to give certificates but I believe we no longer do - too many volunteers and the tokens are much nicer. We have been thinking of doing a smaller, private party to reward volunteers. The Holiday Party is a fundraiser and some of our kid volunteers can't afford the ticket price, or their families don't want to shuttle them off for hours, and we were afraid some folks weren't feeling appreciated enough. (Note: the cost of admission to the Holiday Party is whatever ticket price AND a gift for the horses - this ranges from money, feed, blankets, meds and vet supplies, etc.). We have a soft drink machine where the drinks are available at cost ($.50). This is really great during the summer months. And when we have open house (and animal control officer trainings) we provide coffee and donuts for the volunteers. All working volunteers are given a chit for free food and drinks during the open house. Klondike (Cris May) Days End Farm Horse Rescue (MD) http://www.defhr.org ============================================================ Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 13:32:55 -0700 To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Looks like things are slowing down/coming to a close on the Volunteer Workshop. A few more things that I don't think got brought up.... How many of you do background checks on prospective volunteers? If so, what do you look for? How many have volunteers sign a waiver of liability (in case someone gets hurt) and if so, have you had anything go to court and how did it fare? Any other questions/comments, etc on volunteers/volunteering? ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Ahorse5225@aol.com Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 20:39:48 EDT I have a couple of questions on the area that Pat brought up about doing background checks, for one; assuming this is done by some/all rescues, why is it done? For the horses' sake, to prevent theft? Second; does having them sign a waiver *really* protect the rescue should someone-heaven forebid!-get hurt? A ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: "Elizabeth Adams" Subject: RE: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 19:54:21 -0400 Pat Calloway wrote: > How many have volunteers sign a waiver of liability (in case > someone gets hurt) > and if so, have you had anything go to court and how did it fare? If anyone out there does have a waiver of liability for their volunteers, I for one would love to see it. Please feel free to e-mail it to me off list if you would like. Also, do you use the same form for your foster families or do you have a separate form for them? One other question I have is how do you keep track of how many hours a person has volunteered with you? Do you have to use this information when applying for grants or for other purposes and, if so, what are they? Thank you for any information! Elizabeth Adams Lexington KY eadams@qx.net ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: slyshot@mindspring.com Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Volunteer Workshop Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 21:45:35 -0400 >How many of you do background checks on prospective volunteers? If so, >what do you look for? <<<< We never do background checks on volunteers. They are pretty closely supervised during the first 20 hours of service, and in fact there is only a handful of volunteers that are ever at the facility alone, all of whom have many years of service. There has never been a need for background checks. We do check references, etc. when we are hiring a paid employee. >How many have volunteers sign a waiver of liability (in case someone gets hurt) >and if so, have you had anything go to court and how did it fare? Everyone must sign a release, excepting casual visitors who are always escorted. We've never had a problem. We actually have a bigger problem with the dogs, and have had to put up big warning signs because people have assumed that the dog that looks friendly will still be so when their hand gets on the other side of the fence, which isn't always the case. >Any other questions/comments, etc on volunteers/volunteering? It would be nice to hear some feedback on what has been posted, from those interested in volunteering or starting a rescue. What did you like or dislike about what you read? Any suggestions? Klondike (Cris May) Days End Farm Horse Rescue (MD) http://www.defhr.org ============================================================