There are many ways to get your community involved in your parks and recreation organization. Volunteering helps not only your community but also the volunteers themselves, by enriching their experiences, as well as providing value to their résumés and credentials. Having a good variety of volunteer programs will benefit your organization and community, along with allowing more volunteers to find opportunities that fit their needs.
Here are 5 volunteer positions you can create for your parks and recreation organization:
Green initiatives
There are so many green initiatives that can take place in your city, these days. From tree planting to increasing awareness and landscaping duties, volunteers can help make your community more environmentally conscious in many different ways. With a good team of volunteers, all of a sudden, your organization can start new green initiatives. Need some guidance? Vancouver’s bid to become the greenest city by 2020 is a good place to start.
Community Centres
Your local community centre has many odd jobs that could be done by volunteers. Getting intelligent with what kind of work will be worthwhile for volunteers is key here. Think about what will provide value for your potential volunteer but, at the same time, can be done with minimal training. Working alongside staff members can be a way to help support your team’s efforts.
Administrative
Administrative duties can be plenty for a large parks and recreation organization. Minimal tasks may be good for younger volunteers who want to learn, as they help to support fulltime administrators. Many organizations run summer programs likes these that allow students time to learn the industry during their summers away from school.
Ambassadors
Ambassadors can provide immense value to your organization. Park ambassadors can provide tours, workshops, and more. This can further their goals, by training them on how to do these tasks before they set out to do it professionally: providing important experience. With students who have historical, ecological or conservation backgrounds, park ambassadors can give historical tours, nature lessons on what grows in your parks or lay out important conservation guidelines.
Anti-litter Programs
Anti-litter programs are almost essential for a metropolitan area. Not only can you have clean up days where you attract volunteers to help beautify your city, you can also have volunteers helping run campaigns for awareness or change. Get creative here; social media is your friend!
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