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Computer literacy is a real plus for a few of the positions. Patience is a plus for most.
I realize that most people who read this “After Hours” blog are working professionals, so let me add this: if you register as a volunteer to help me with this project this year, I’ll only ask for a minimum commitment of one four-hour shift. That would be your real gift — the gift of time — to your boss. If you’re available more than that, because you find that you enjoy making a difference in the lives of children, that’s all the better for everyone concerned. And I do encourage you to sign up with a buddy for your shift!
Why am I asking for volunteers so soon (or at all, for that matter)? Because I’ve volunteered to be the coordinator for on-site volunteers to make sure this program is a success in 2010. I hold it dear to my heart, and so I’m putting my time into it, too. And, from my experience coordinating Bill Haight’s Christmas gift from staff in the past, I know I can help you pre-plan a meaningful contribution to your employer’s charitable leanings this year. I won’t do the scrapbook but good news — it’s easy to do and someone on staff would surely offer their time, if they can’t volunteer, to do that instead.
Trust me, it is the perfect gift for the person who has everything … or enough “stuff” (and isn’t that most of us, really?).
Here is a list of what help is needed for Toys for Tots — is there a place your team can volunteer?
- Registering families for services (at the Alliant Center): Helping them fill out a simple form to gain access to services
- Data Processing: Putting the registrations in a database (computer stations will be set up onsite, and basic excel spreadsheet skills are all that are required.)
- Serving Toys for Tots lunches
- Matching gifts with registrations (sizes, interests, etc.)
- Measuring heights of kids to determine sizes
- Did I mention serving lunches? (It bears repeating, as there is always a need for help preparing, serving, and cleaning up.)
If you can’t get away for four hours during one work day in November, I’d consider trying to help you adopt a project after hours, and certainly I can get you hooked up with holiday bellringing opportunities instead.
I helped register families for the Toys for Tots program one year, as my own volunteer activity, and it was very moving. There are always many “working poor” among the group, who don’t want a hand-out, but rather a hand-up during a hard time. They are openly embarrassed to ask for help, and it was my experience that they sometimes overly explain why they need it, because they don’t want you to think of them the way … the way they don’t want to think of themselves, either.
These families want the same things for their children that you want for yours — that a child can be a child and not be constantly weighed down with a parent’s unmanageable financial burdens or inability to purchase a new coat or a CD.
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