Around for the Long Haul!
Anna Guest
Founder and CEO, Rising Tide Volunteer Solutions
During this session, we explore a variety of issues related to getting people involved in "volunteering" and keeping them engaged over time. Language matters in attracting people to the work we are doing. We discover tips and strategies to ensure we are leveraging peoples' passion, skills and internal motivation. We also explore why offering inclusive opportunities and engaging diverse perspectives is important and how we can weave this into our approach. Finally, no volunteer event would be complete without celebration – we hear how communities celebrate volunteers and their accomplishments in large and small ways.
Working with Volunteers
Outreach and Recruitment
Working with Volunteers
AF Communities of the Lower Kennebec
Working with Volunteers
Engaging and Celebrating
Working with Volunteers
Berwick for a Lifetime
Session Resources for engaging all walks of life:
**Not all of these are tailored to Age Friendly Community audiences, but there's great information here!
Data - links to your community Census data are included in your community profile.
Find your Bias
Harvard Implicit Bias Tests: The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you did not know about. Offers a variety of tests for: race, gender, age, disability, religion, sexuality and more.Article: How to Build a Community that Celebrates Diversity and Inclusion
Podcasts and Recommendatsions from Mandy Levine
Ted Talks
Zachary Wood. Why It’s Worth Listening to People You Disagree With
Webinars
Discussion of the myriad of considerations–convener, time, location, language, etc.–that need to be addressed to ensure engagement efforts are inclusive and equitable. Strategies and best practices for equitable and inclusive engagement were shared, with a few community examples.
The National Civic League was joined by the Belonging Initiative and The City of Grand Rapids to discuss the differences between welcoming and belonging and present two new tools to help communities include people fully.
Attendees explored how we can use dialogue to bridge divides & build civic muscle.
We are deeply grateful to Anna Guest and Rising Tides Volunteer Solutions for working with Lifelong Maine to develop these training materials. Special thanks to Sharon Kelley, Berwick for a Lifetime, Candy Eaton, Age-Friendly Sullivan, and Jean Saunders, Age-Friendly Saco, for meeting with Anna to share their wisdom, experiences and challenges working with volunteers
We also want to thank AARP Maine for their thought leadership designing these modules.