1. Who will be the project leader?
What roles need to be filled in order to make everything
happen? Figure out who will be in charge of what so everyone know what's
expected of them and there's no confusion. (Remember to give all youth a
meaningful role.)
Project leader(s)'s name(s): ________________________________
Supply manager(s) :______________________________________
Fund-raising person:_____________________________________
Poster/flier maker: _______________________________________
Other: ________________________________________________
2. About how many people will you need to
help you get the project done? Will you focus on members of your group? Will
you give others outside your group an opportunity to be involved? How will your
recruit more volunteers?
3. Will you be working with a Volunteer
Center or other civic organization? Good
service learning often involves several groups, or institutions which work
together, or "collaborate" to address the issue. Can you think of
other groups which might be willing to work with you? Which one will you work
with? What will their role be?
4. What supplies/resources do you need? Where can
you get them? Can you get
them donated? Contact local restaurants, food stores and grocery stores - they
may donate food or supplies in exchange for acknowledging their help on posters
and press releases.
5. Do you need money? How
much? Where will you get it? You could do
something as simple as having your friends donate their soda money for a week or
as big as holding a walk-a-thon where people get pledges for the miles they
walk. Approach small businesses (like stores) - ask them to donate money,
supplies or food. Make a list of big businesses (plants, corporations, banks)
and call their public relations or community relations department to ask them to
get involved. They may give a donation or be able to link you with their
employee volunteer group. Be sure to acknowledge their help on fliers, in
welcoming or closing remarks on the day of our project, etc.
6. Who will provide
transportation? Parents? Adult Leaders? Others?
7. Liability and safety issues.
How many adult volunteers do
you have? It is recommended that you have one over 21 years old for every 5
people under 21. Adult volunteers will need permission slips signed by parents.
Adult volunteers will also need to make sure that they have a listing of names
and phone numbers of who to contact in case of an emergency. make sure to take
along a first-aid kit.
Invite adult volunteers to discuss liability and safety
issues:
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
8. Volunteer recruitment
and publicity. Explain
why the project is important to the community... that a difference can be made.
Run a poster contest or get someone to make an exciting flier about your
project. Display posters/fliers in schools,
houses of worship, community recreation centers-anywhere you think that
potential volunteers might see it.
Put an add in your school newspaper including
all the vital information about your project (who, what, when, where, why, how)
and letting them know who to contact if they want to sign up to participate.
Send out an "official press release" on your plans - Submit
it to local TV and radio stations as well as newspapers about a week in advance
of your project. You want as many people to know about your project as possible
so that they will want to follow your example.
Take before and after pictures. - publish
these pictures in your local town or school papers, put together a bulletin
board featuring what you did, share your successes in every way you can. Then
people will want to get involved next time.
Ideas for recruiting volunteers and publicizing the
project:
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
9. Plan for the logistics of
your project. Planning ahead on these things
can prevent some serious stress!
• Specify what
time people should arrive and how long they should plan on staying.
• Set
a meeting place. hand out maps so no one gets lost or confused.
• Create
a transportation plan. How will people get there? Set up car-pools or
find someone with a van. make sure everyone has a ride and knows where to meet.
• Let
your volunteers know if there will be food or water provided or if
they should plan to bring their won. Is there any place nearby to buy a snack or
get drinking water? Remember, hungry and thirsty volunteers can be grumpy
volunteers.
• Make
sure everyone knows who they should report to when they arrive and
that everyone has a specific job to do and knows what that job is.
• Warn people
that they should wear their grubbies if
there's a good chance their work might mess up their clothes or shoes.
• Brainstorm
a detailed supply list. Everything you might need (tape, markers,
band-aids, radios, paint brushes, etc.) and figure out where you get these
items.
• Make
sure that volunteers know about any supplies they should be bringing.
Remind them about the shovels, rakes, paint brushes, markers, or refreshments
they promised to bring.
• Don't
forget about the rest rooms. Make sure somebody makes arrangements so
that your volunteers have access to facilities when they need them.
• Be
sure that you have a rain plan. No matter how good the weather looks,
you should always have a plan for what you will do if you wake up that morning
and it's raining. Let volunteers know that in the event of rain, the project
will take place anyway or will be held on a specific alternate day.
• Have
a first-aid kit and list of emergency numbers (fire, police,
ambulance, etc.) handy. Be sure that you know who should be contacted in case of
an emergency.
• You may want to
write all these details down and make copies for
everyone who will participate. Be sure that you handouts answer the
questions who, what, when, where, and how.
