V is for Volunteers #A-ZChallenge
Welcome to Day 22 of the #AtoZChallenge. Don't know what the AtoZChallenge is? Find out more here.
My theme is about Family History Societies. What they are, How they work, Who is in them, Why they exist.
And which ones begin with V !
Societies beginning with V
Family Organizations beginning with V (Family Search Wiki)
V is for Volunteers
How many volunteers work for your Society? I've just gone through our Who Does What List and counted 53. Of those 53, 33 are wearing multiple hats. And I mean multiple! Often up to 7 hats. Sometimes that's just a liaison or contact point role. It might mean going to a meeting once a year but many have quite demanding responsibilities e.g. running the education workshops, being on the management committee and running a special interest group.
I hasten to add that that list of 53 doesn't include all of the library assistants - you can add another 21 to that list. We have 33 Library Assistants currently but need more. And that's not including all our indexers. The list goes on. So about 10% of our membership volunteers for the Society.
Why do people volunteer? You need to understand why volunteer or in other words, what they get out of it? Is it friendship? New skills? A sense of purpose? A chance to try something they've always wanted to do?
What are the challenges facing volunteers? For some, it's lack of time but it could be other things e.g. lack of transport or mobility.
What can your Society do to make the volunteer experience more appealing? More accessible? Would you consider offering a reduction in membership fees for members who offer their time to help with running the Society? We haven't tried it at our Society but it used to work at a Pony Club we once joined. Just a thought.
v-Library
I must also make special mention of our v-Library system which we use as our library management system at QFHS. It was installed in 2011 and was chosen for its functionality and affordability. It was so exciting to be able to access our library catalogue from anywhere. Unfortunately the operating system it runs on is no longer supported and we need to review our systems, integration of those systems with each other, what our needs are and what we can afford. Lots to consider.
What other things can you think of that begin with V that are important for a family history society's health?
Comments
Molly - Yes it took a bit of hunting to find the image that I thought represented volunteers best. It is all heart isn't it? Thank you for reminding me about writing for society publications and transcribing and tagging. Volunteers are a very versatile bunch :)