According to volunteernow.org, “National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to recognize the impact and power volunteers have to tackle society’s greatest challenges, build stronger communities, and transform the world.”

This year, National Volunteer Week’s theme is ‘Celebrate Service’. This theme spotlights the efforts of individuals and causes that inspire others to give their time, talents, and resources. Ways to celebrate can include appreciation or recognition events, highlighting volunteer impact by sharing success stories, personalized thank-you notes, gifts, continuing education, personal development, or anything that helps volunteers continue to grow and succeed.

A strong volunteer base is the bedrock of organizational success. Therefore, it is imperative to foster a positive and enriching volunteer experience. In today’s world, people seek flexible opportunities in a supportive environment that offers innovative ways to develop new skills, grow personally and professionally, and increase community engagement. To achieve this, a well-crafted strategy is essential, including building a people-first culture, recruiting top-notch individuals, having an exit strategy that ensures valuable feedback when they leave, and actionable tips for managing difficult personalities.

Here are ten resources to help you build a strong community of volunteers with the best experience possible.

1. Five Ways to Improve the Volunteer Experience
2. Six Reasons You Need a Volunteer Recruitment Strategy
3. Eight Components of a Volunteer Recruit Strategy
4. Ten Volunteer Recruitment Strategies
5. Building a People-First Culture
6. Twenty Exit Interview Questions for Feedback
7. Handling Toxic Team Members
8. Youth Volunteer Resources
9. Ten Youth Volunteer Safety Ideas
10. Preparing Youth If Disaster Strikes

The significance of a strong volunteer community can never be minimized, but when working with children and youth, the importance of having safe volunteers cannot be emphasized enough. We recommend seven steps to systematically screen individuals before granting them direct access to children. Screening acts as a deterrent for bad behavior, eliminates easy access to kids, and provides a layer of protection. Incorporating screening into your volunteer strategy is the first step to increase safety.

Click here to learn more about the benefits of using secure children’s and youth check-in to help manage your children’s area, keep families smiling, and improve child safety. You can also subscribe to the KidCheck blog or find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash