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(KEYS TO DOING IT WELL...) Carol Hendrix Burrus, DRE First Church, Houston, TX First, and probably most important, is the sense that I am offering teachers an opportunity, rather than asking them for a favor. Many, many people want to be involved in something important, want to meet people like themselves, want to make a difference, and want to feel connected. I think we offer all of those things in teaching on a UU religious education team. The volunteers get to know two other adults pretty well through teaching with them. They get to know some children/youth. They get to make a difference in the children's lives with just a small amount of their time. I tend to make it an offer, rather than a plea. And I don't push at all. Second, I am very sure of what I'm asking the volunteer to do, and I make sure that I am able to express this information very clearly. (I am always wary of a volunteer job if I don't know exactly what will be required of me.) I try to explain exactly how much time the job likely to take during the week and on Sunday mornings, how many weeks, etc. I explain what resources will be provided for them and what tasks will be done by others. Third, I think we have structured all of our volunteer jobs so that they are not really time-consuming since we have found that so many of our members have really busy lives. This allows more people to participate and get a piece of the connection that we want to offer. It also allows those very solid, successful people to volunteer, making the team positions more appealing to everyone. For example, we have other people fill the baskets with supplies, get books for them, etc. Fourth, the church provides recognition for the teachers twice a year, and the RE Committee holds a January Indian Dinner in someone's home (not a potluck) and an end-of-the-year small gift (the last two years it's been a photo of them with their class in a nice card with a fridge magnet on the back). I don't think this directly influences how people respond, but it creates a good feeling and the word gets around. Fifth, we do some public relations from the pulpit by having some people who have taught. I always choose those who speak well and who really understand the big picture (give testimonies right around the time we are recruiting). Sixth, I try to tell them why I am asking them. I usually have a reason why I thought they'd be good, even if it's based on a one-time impression. Seventh, we give many of the newer people (or someone who hasn't volunteered in RE before) chances to do smaller jobs for us before we ask them to commit to the bigger things. I think this creates a trust and gets them over the hump of doing something new. For example, we have lots of one-time events for which we need adult helpers. |
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