Volunteer Initiative: Training Your Volunteers. Elizabeth Steimel, LCSW

Transcription

1 Volunteer Initiative: Training Your Volunteers Elizabeth Steimel, LCSW

2 Economic Security Initiative Volunteers started with ESI program Recruited from local newsletters, newspapers, VolunteerMatch and Advisory Council ESI volunteers transitioned into Benefits Access volunteers after the program ended Volunteers used the Benefits Access program to gain job skills and experience

3 Re-Inventing the Wheel? Program was already established Volunteers were missing the in-depth counseling that ESI offered Volunteers were outgrowing their current roles We did not want to lose our volunteers!

4 Expanding Volunteer Roles

5 Lead Volunteers Build off our volunteers strengths Created a job description for lead volunteers Asked the volunteers to complete a SurveyMonkey Time-limited lead volunteers

6 Lead Application Volunteer We are looking for one volunteer to take on a leadership role in providing assistance on benefit applications. The benefit applications will include: SNAP, MSP, Medicaid, LIS/Extra Help and BAA. The lead volunteer will: Co-facilitate trainings for future volunteers on benefit applications Be able to commit to at least 5 hours per week of total volunteer hours Take part in (future) bi-monthly check-ins with our partnering agency Work with our partnering agency s lead volunteer

7 Lead Outreach Volunteer We are looking for one volunteer to take on a leadership role in providing assistance on community outreach. Outreach will include attending senior fairs, giving presentations and sharing benefits information in community newsletters. The lead volunteer will: Co-facilitate outreach trainings for future volunteers Assist with organizing outreach events and scheduling Be able to commit to 4-6 hours per week in total volunteer hours Take part in (future) bi-monthly check-ins with our partnering agency Work with partnering agency lead volunteer

8 Outcomes of Lead Volunteers Challenges Aligning schedules New volunteers Successes Volunteer retention Train interns Contribute to program development Volunteer Engagement

9 Volunteer Training

10 Considerations for Training Provide structure Use case studies Provide extensive training when the volunteer starts Agency overview and staff introductions

11 Volunteer Flowchart This flowchart provides links to all public benefit applications along with the step-by-step process for working with clients.

12 Benefits Application Training First want to provide the new volunteers with a brief Medicare training For our BEC application training we used case studies, de-identified documentation and paper applications Reviewed the client s information at initial screening and at time for application

13 Benefits Application Training Paper applications were a great tool to see if the volunteer was understanding the public benefit Through initial screenings we have learned that clients are not always aware of their income As part of our self-directed volunteer team the new volunteer works closely with our lead application volunteer during this process

14 BEC Outreach Training AgeOptions has learned that by focusing on one benefit you are able to bring clients to the BEC as a whole. For our volunteer outreach training we went over the three main types of outreach: presentations enrollment events disseminating information to the public

15 Presentations We provided our volunteers with materials on: Tips for picking a host site Scheduling a presentation Materials needed for the presentation Guide to use when presenting How to track your presentations

16 Enrollment Events In preparing for an event we have provided our volunteers with different tools Enrollment flyer Screening tool Portable printer scanner Portable scanner

17 Disseminating Information to the Public For this section of the training we mostly wanted to brainstorm with our volunteers on different areas and organizations we could provide outreach to. We created a brief SNAP description that can be used in community newsletters, newpapers and various publications.

18 Volunteer Recruitment

19 Recruitment Strategies Newsletters Newspapers Community volunteer events Community resource fairs VolunteerMatch Facebook Office networks

20 Examples Work full-time? Not anymore! How about giving back to the community 4 hours per week while keeping your skills polished? Contact or ageoptions.org. Worried your talents are going to waste? Give 4 hours per week to connect older adults to resources and community options. Contact or ageoptions.org.

21 AgeOptions Volunteer Screening Process

22 Volunteer Recognition

23 Volunteer Recognition Quarterly volunteer training Thank-you lunch Annual Volunteer Luncheon Birthday cards Anniversary cards Program development inclusion Presenting/sharing their projects Check-Ins

24 Our Volunteer Team in 2016 Team of three volunteers donated 583 hours of service Screened: 17 people under people over 65 total of 75 screenings Completed: 53 core benefit applications Annual Savings of: $8, in Medicare Part B premiums $36,000 in prescription assistance through Extra Help $38,880 in grocery assistance through SNAP $69,482 in health care costs through Medicaid Enrollment

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26 Resources Extra Help - $4,000 a year Medicaid Spending Full and Partial Benefit MSP - $1, ($ per month) SNAP - $1,296 (average benefit of $108)

27 Thank You! For any additional information or to obtain copies of the tools used in this presentation please me at: