I really got to see how all of the departments come together
during the Wish-A-Mile Bicycle Tour and Heroes Hurrah, the finish line
celebration for the tour. Communications has to make sure there is proper
signage, the volunteer coordinators manage all of the volunteers, the wish
department takes care of the wish families, and so on. With all of the
departments in action at Heroes Hurrah, I was able to see areas that I think
could be improved upon.
If I was CEO for the day, the first thing I would do is sit
down with the communications team to improve their signage. All of the signs at
Heroes Hurrah looked great but they weren’t always very informative. For
example, many people were confused about where to park and where to go after
they parked. As a result, we had to use some volunteers to direct people even
though we really needed them to be doing other things. This could’ve been
avoided if we had better signs. There should’ve been arrows on the signs or
even arrows spray painted on the cement to direct people where to go.
The next thing I would do if I was CEO for the day, is
suggest to the Volunteer Coordinators that each staff member has the
opportunity to meet their volunteers off-site before the day of the event.
Staff members had a very hard time keeping track of their volunteers the day of
the event because they often blended into the crowd. This could also be avoided
if volunteers were given brighter shirts that would stand out more. I also
noticed a lot of volunteers standing around doing nothing throughout the event
while staff members were scrambling around. As CEO, I would make sure that
volunteers had clear instructions on what they should be doing and who to go to
if they needed something to do.
Make-A-Wish also has some weird volunteer restrictions. For
example, you have to be 21 to be a wish-granting volunteer or to ride in a
support van for the Wish-A-Mile Bike Tour. As CEO I would change this to 18
years old so that more people could experience the awesome-ness that is Make-A-Wish.
I am working for a non-profit organization and I have noticed a lot of similar tendencies with our organization and volunteers as well. It's difficult to see people committing there time to an organization and not necessarily getting their fulfillment out of it if they are just standing around. Communication is so important and it's great you noticed as a staff member the need for them to more clearly instruct their volunteers. Sounds like an awesome internship experience though!
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