Who Do You Serve? IMPLEMENTING SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR EVENTS

Jan 27

To Serve or Not to Serve . . . That’s really not the question! Of course we serve….our attendees, our staff, our volunteers, our boards, hotel staff, the host community, and the list goes on. In the name of faith, the issue is not IF we serve, but HOW we serve.

I included the first ‘service project’ into my event programming in 1996. It was a hot summer in Fort Worth, Texas and I had 1,000 students that needed to stay busy during the week. I grew tired of seeing corporate events including CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) elements into their events, and not seeing them much in faith-based planning. It seemed wrong. Why shouldn’t a gathering of faith, not help resolve needs in a community where they gather for an event?

I realize the ‘church’ does a lot of this type of work at the local level, but many times, because of location, budgets, transportation, or a longer list of excuses, people aren’t always able to plug in to help. Conferences seem like the ideal time to provide opportunity. We tend to meet in cities large enough to have the right facilities, and usually, the larger the city, the greater the need.

RESEARCH

So, where do you start? I’d suggest you do some homework first.

Analyze the demographics of your attendees – young and/or older, children?, mobility issues…
Next, what about the budget? Do you have monies to dedicate to helping an organization? It doesn’t always require funding, but it might change the type of projects you can offer if money is to be added to the mix.
Transportation – is there a project within walking distance, chartering transportation, can the organization provide transportation?
Scheduling – Is there time in your current schedule to plug-in opportunities, or will you need to rearrange time for a project?

PARTNER

After you’ve determined some answers to the questions above, start partnering with the local community where your event will be held. You’ll usually find the CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) to be a good source for opportunities. You might also find existing organizations that have connections to local needs. The United Way or an alliance of area churches may already have lists, programs or connections to non-profits in need. Sometimes, you may have to do the legwork yourself. If time doesn’t allow, task some students, interns or volunteers that live in or near the event site to start the investigation. Local churches within or outside your own circle may be great sources to help with this task.

Once you have a list of possible organizations that might use your help, you’ll need to ask lots of questions, but the main ones that I’ve fine-tuned over the years are:

How many volunteers can you accommodate? Many organizations are located in small spaces, with limited staff, and can’t accommodate a big group. Food banks or homeless shelters often have larger spaces and can handle a larger volunteer base.
Can you provide any transportation to/from the location? (some organizations may have vans used for other purposes that could be used to transport volunteers. This might be a great sponsorship opportunity to find a company or donor to help underwrite transportation for your service component.)
Are there age restrictions? Many organizations won’t accept volunteers under a certain age.
Are there safety restrictions? Some may have a dress code (no shorts, no long-sleeved shirts, no open-toed shoes)

Will you have enough work for the group to do? One common issue is underestimating the amount of work an organized group can do. I’ve taken groups to projects, expecting to have 3 hours’ worth of work, and we finished the task in 30 minutes!
Are there waivers that need to be completed? You may find that, because of safety concerns, your participants may have to sign a liability waiver. In other places, you may find that no pictures can be taken, because of legal concerns of identifying faces that may need to be protected.

IMPLEMENT

After you’ve determined the project(s) you’ll participate in, then comes the implementation phase. How will you advertise the opportunities and sign up volunteers? If possible, have the answers in place before you launch registration, and make it a part of the process. It’s a great idea to also offer an on-site sign-up location. You’ll likely have last-minute openings and will want to fill all the slots in order to be most productive for those you’ll be serving. This is a great opportunity for volunteers to help staff.

You’ll need clear details about the type of work to be done, the length of time the project will take, number of volunteers needed, any restrictions on age, dress, etc., and transportation options. You may find that an entire project can be completed by a single group attending your event. This may be a youth group, delegates from the same church, or attendees traveling together to your event. You may also find that they have their own transportation (chartered vehicle, church van, or personal vehicles). Don’t miss the opportunity to allow them to get to/from the location on their own!

When possible, task each group to take photos of their work, interaction, and progress. Create a system in which the photos are shared with your planning team. It will make for great publicity, as well as motivation for future opportunities. Don’t forget to consider and follow any restrictions on photography at each location.

A few other considerations – consider adding an opportunity that can be conducted on-site at your hotel or convention center. This allows those that have tight schedules or mobility issues to still participate. This could be a sorting project, where items are brought to your venue, and volunteers help sort; jewelry, food items, clothing, etc. Assembly projects also work well onsite. Collating items for a mailing, sorting documents, labeling envelopes are all needed tasks that require time and little skill!

If there are age restrictions on your events, consider adding an on-site opportunity for children. A few years ago, I partnered with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis and created a project for elementary children to create posters and decorations for IV poles for patients at St. Jude’s. It may seem trivial, but it created a culture of service among our young attendees, and it helped fill a vital role of encouragement to patients undergoing treatment.

Consider a collection project – this allows the greater body of your attendees to join in, without committing to a specific timeframe. Many of our events are ‘over-programmed’ leaving attendees with little free time. Give the busy attendee a way to still participate. This may include asking for a donation of:

Books – to give to a local children’s shelter or school library
Clothing – donate men’s suits to a program to help men dress for job interviews
Gift Cards – to donate to the Red Cross or other crisis agencies that can assist those in need
Phone Cards – to assist military families with long-distance calling
Blood Drive – allow attendees to ‘give of themselves’! Local blood banks usually have a need, and they are accustomed to traveling to set-up a donation center. Dedicate a meeting room to collect blood donations. (Personal note – the event I used to manage holds the record in two different cities for the most units collected in a single day!)

Don’t be afraid to start small – but please start! The Fort Worth Food Bank was grateful for the hundreds of volunteers we helped provide in 1996. You’ll find needs in every community where you hold your events – and people willing to help fill a need!

CELEBRATE & REFLECT

Even if you start small, you’ll find success to celebrate! The organization you serve can usually provide details about how many pounds of food you sorted, how many man-hours were contributed, how many tons of clothing you sorted, how many dollars you saved their organization, etc.

On a greater scale, pull out a couple of great stories from your service projects and have them share on your main stage to the entire audience. This can be done live, or via video with supporting footage of live action from the various opportunities. These stories can help motivate others to either support the cause with their feet or their wallet. Any content you capture during the service projects can be used to help recruit and inspire others to join in at future events.

Make sure to follow up with team leaders and the main contact at each project. Their feedback will be invaluable for future planning. You’ll learn what worked and what needs to be tweaked. You’ll fine-tune the process, and it will become easier to pass some responsibility to others to head-up these programs.

#wherefaithmeets #givingback