Please use the feedback form to suggest additional questions and comment
or elaborate on the answers.
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Question:
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As a volunteer in a food closet, how can I be helpful
to clients but at the same time, avoid being taken advantage of? |
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Answer:
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Some people may ask for whatever they can see. One way
of dealing with this is to keep particularly prized items out of sight,
e.g. soap, coffee, jello, tampax. The receptionist receiving clients
talks to them about what they most need, and she or other workers
can perhaps meet one or two of those needs without having clients
ask for everything in sight. |
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Question:
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If someone comes to my food closet and really needs
food, but they live in a different zip code and are not eligible,
what should I do? |
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Answer:
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One option is to provide them with food on a one-time
basis, but give them information about a food resource (food closet,
soup kitchen etc.) that's closer to where they live. However people
living right on the edge of a zip code may actually be closer to your
food closet than to any other one, even though they are not in a zip
code that your food closet normally serves. In that case, you could
put a note in their file or on their card that this household may
receive help. In short, volunteers and staff can be trained as problem-solvers
and reminded that situations are not always black and white. |
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Question:
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How do you deal with clients who are belligerent,
perhaps intoxicated, on the verge of being out-of-control? |
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Answer:
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If possible, provide them with a bag of food, maybe
even giving them a little something extra, and move them out as quickly
as possible. However it is also important to focus on listening carefully
to them while they are in front of you (even if they're "in your
face"), and try to give them a number to call where they may
be able to get more help. Don't be accusatory or judgmental. You want
to get across to the person that this is what I can do for you today
(a bag of food) but here's another resource that will, or at least
might, be able to help you more. |
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Question:
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What if an aggressive, unhappy client won't leave?
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Answer:
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Continue to ask the person to take the offered bag of
food and the phone number of an agency or organization that can help
them more, and move on. Finally, you may have to say something like:
"We have to do the things that we are set up to do; if I can't
move ahead with the work of the food closet, and help people who need
food, I'll have to close down for today." |
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| Question: |
What equipment and material does every food closet
need? |
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First, maintain and keep updated a wish list - ask
for what you need! You are welcome to post your wish list on the Hunger
Commission web site - just keep us informed as your needs change.
Important items:
- A telephone in the food closet itself, for security reasons,
other emergencies, times when the church office is closed, etc
- Lots and lots of shelves
- As much cold storage as you can afford
- One or more food service carts (for bringing heavy boxes of
donations in, etc.)
- A strong dolly is very useful
- Bulletin board space for posting information useful to clients
- A way to organize record-keeping, whether by computer or manually
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| Question: |
What is the best way to keep a valuable volunteer
working for your agency?
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Answer:
Eileen Thomas, River City Community Services
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I think the most important concept is "feeling
connected." The volunteer must connect with the mission first
and feel that her work is extending the mission to the people who
need it most. Volunteers must also feel connected to each other
because they work best as a team.
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| Question: |
How do you keep a volunteer from "burning out?" |
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Answer:
Eileen Thomas, River City Community Services
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"Burn out" is a two way street. Sometimes it occurs because
too much is asked of the volunteer; and sometimes the volunteer asks
too much of himself. In other words, boundaries must be kept so that
a volunteer is not asked to do more or put in more time than is appropriate
for his lifestyle and commitments. Talking and watching are a part
of the Director's job. I feel like I need to intervene at times if
a volunteer is doing too much for us and not taking care of himself.
As an example, one of our volunteers left during his shift because
he had not been feeling well. I followed up with a call the next day
and again the day before his next volunteer shift. I encouraged him
to take care of himself first, and I think that eased his sense of
duty and responsibility. Sometimes we all take ourselves too seriously. |
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| Question: |
What is the best way to foster a supportive working environment
among volunteers and encourage a "team spirit?" |
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Answer:
Eileen Thomas, River City Community Services
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I find "team spirit" to be a challenge because our volunteers
only come once a week and never meet the other volunteers who work
other days. In an attempt to keep everyone aware of "new faces"
I have a picture bulletin board with the names of all volunteers and
the day of their service. I realize that is not enough. I recently
secured a small grant to host quarterly breakfasts for all of our
volunteers. I am planning the first on October 21st. and will use
the hour and a half to do ice breakers, introductions, socializing
as well as disseminating information about our progress, accomplishments
and challenges that lay before us. I hope our team spirit will be
revitalized! |
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| Question: |
How do you ensure that a volunteer is client oriented? |
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Answer:
Eileen Thomas, River City Community Services
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Most volunteers who come to us choose this work because they care
about the problems of hunger and poverty. They want to do something
to help others. Our Volunteer Manuel gives them some background,
and when I interview new volunteers, I stress the importance of
respecting the dignity of each client. Sometimes the tricky part
is when a volunteer has been working with the organization longer
than the Director! The way I model my interaction with clients is
another way to "teach" volunteers.
To actually "ensure" the client orientation of each volunteer
is a daily endeavor because all of us have our "great"
days and our "not so good" days. I sincerely feel that
at RCCS, our "great" days outnumber all others.
As always, the Director needs to "listen" to interactions
between clients and volunteers and intervene when necessary. Loving
but firm lines of expectations need to be established and that is
a fine line.
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| Question: |
What is the best way to prevent volunteers from promoting their
own agendas that are contrary to agency policy or are negative for
clients? |
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Answer:
Eileen Thomas, River City Community Services
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My new goal is to enhance and increase communication
between volunteers and myself in order to promote and keep RCCS's
mission alive and well. I am utilizing the bulletin board in a better
way and I think the quarterly newsletters and breakfasts will help
in this endeavor. The short answer is communication, communication
and communication.
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