Can someone with PR exper. give me some help re: spay clinic?

Question

I am volunteering to do PR for this clinic. Many people in our rural area overpopulate cats and dogs and have caused a crisis in our local KILL facility. As new dogs/cats come in, the older ones are put to sleep if a rescue cannot occur, (there are only 22 kennels). It's so important to inform our community, any help, slogans, ideas will save lives.

We are trying to get people to USE it. There are people that have litter after litter. There is a phone staffing problem, I hope to rectify by being in the office to get the calls. We are always looking for more volunteers, but have a lack of commitment from those that say they will, then are always "busy".

Answer 1

Many people say they are interested in volunteering somewhere before REALLY thinking about the commitment they are making.

Start by requiring all new volunteers to come onsite for a training. You talk to them about the mission of the organizations, what the frequently asked questions are to your  organization, what your organization goals are, and what the expectations are of a volunteer -- exactly what they are agreeing to (for instance, they must fill a certain number of slots over a certain period of time).

Whether volunteers would staff phones or help with your outreach campaign, they should ALL go through this same orientation. This will screen out the people who don't have the commitment. Such people will balk at the idea of having to spend time "just in training" and the list of expectations. The people who will "screen in" will be even more energized, as they see that this is a real commitment, one where the organization is counting on them.

Use a google search on these keywords, not in quotes:

humane society volunteer orientation

ASPCA volunteer orientation

animal shelter volunteer orientation

You will be able to find the volunteer orientations for similar organizations, and use them as a guide for making your own.



You might also consider joining the CYBERVPM online discussion group -- it's for volunteer managers, including people at animal shelters. You may be able to find people willing to share their volunteer applications, orientation methods and marketing campaigns with you.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cybervpm/

I feel so strongly about this issue in particular, volunteers in animal shelters, that I invite you to write me offlist -- I'll be happy to help you in other ways that I can. You can read more about me and my experience in volunteer management here:

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/volu...

Contact information is below.