One-on-one volunteer recruitment:
tales from the field
Melinda Remington

"When my neighbor moved in, I told her about my work with my A-F committee," recalls Community Connector Melinda Remington. 

That conversation sparked exactly the kind of connection the Bethel Area Fall Festival was designed to create.

The festival provided the stage to show that face-to-face conversations are still the most powerful volunteer recruitment tool for building age-friendly communities.

The Bethel Area Age-Friendly Community Initiative (AFCI) hosted a booth on the Common. Visitors browsed handmade afghans benefiting the Senior Citizens Club and shopped from RePant - a program using the motto "Reduce, Reuse, Repant!", to create reusable tote bags from upcycled clothing. Proceeds supported the District Exchange (which provides clothing assistance), the Food Pantry, and the Smile Fund (which provides financial assistance for dental work).

But the real magic happened in the conversations. Community Connector Melinda Remington, along with AFCI board members Marilyn DiFillipo and Charlie Raymond, spent the weekend talking with neighbors about AFCI's free services--and the personal approach worked! 

Two new volunteers signed up to become drivers for the Neighbor2Neighbor rides program, while others offered to help with the Handy Neighbor program. Charlie's sign-up sheet attracted steady interest, and excitement is building for the newly launched Durable Medical Equipment Lending Closet, a collaboration with the Bethel Rotary Club.

The success of the weekend came from teamwork. "Working together, we had fun, forged new bonds of friendship, and made an awesome team," Remington said.

The Fall Festival demonstrates that when you create opportunities for genuine connection, people naturally want to get involved in making their community more age-friendly.