CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Conference Threads:
The following threads weave through our conference program, representing important dimensions of 21st Century Volunteering and Service. Use the coding key below as a guide to workshop selection. Because they are interconnected workshops may combine multiple strands.
Innovation =  Leadership =  Volunteer Management =  Social Capital = 
A1
Social Media: Volunteer Management in the New Millennium
Participants will learn how to use social media effectively to enhance their volunteer programs. The volunteer management staff from WGBH, a leader in innovative media production, will demonstrate its use of social networking as a source of volunteer recruitment and program marketing. Resources examined will include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. During the session, participants will have the opportunity to observe case studies of successful online volunteer management. The session will include roundtable discussions to share best practices.
Presenters: Joanna Rothman, Volunteer and Marketing Manager, and Stacy Kasdin, Volunteer Coordinator, WGBH
A2
Galvanizing Volunteers to Effect Change in Communities: Lessons from the Mentoring Field
From its vantage point as the umbrella organization driving the expansion of quality youth mentoring in our state, Mass Mentoring Partnership will showcase powerful examples of mentoring programs that harness wide-scale volunteer engagement to address community challenges. From raising public awareness through media relationships to cultivating corporate partnerships, the mentoring field has best practices to share that will inform your organization’s strategies and day-to-day actions to create community change.
Presenters/Panelists: Jim Mathes, Executive Director, SMILES Mentoring, New Bedford & Fall River; Ed Warnshuis, Executive Director, Stand and Deliver MCAS Mentoring Program, Lawrence; Joel Mora, Coordinator, PANAS Latino Mentoring Program, Boston (panelists); Sue Anne Endelman, Vice President, and Marty Martinez, Director of Program Services, Mass Mentoring Partnership (moderators)
A3
Great Volunteer Program, But Where’s the Money?
The workshop will focus on developing guidelines for measurable outcomes, preparing a case statement and writing proposals to secure or increase funding for your volunteer program. As the economy struggles more and more people look to nonprofits for help; but how do you market your organization’s volunteer efforts to meet the funding demands for your program? This workshop will provide tools, ideas and resources to help you reach out to funders. Please bring a copy of your program’s current mission statement or other marketing materials, if you have them.
Presenter: Jennifer A. Connolly, President, Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts
A4
Social Entrepreneurs: A New Breed of Volunteers
Learn how to widen the circle of potential volunteers, increase volunteerism and produce long term, sustainable impact through entrepreneurial volunteers. (Note: Participants in this workshop may also wish to register for Session B4. This companion session will present case examples of successful projects using the social entrepreneurship model.)
Presenters: Karin Oliveira, Director, and Christine House, Community Builders Coordinator, United Way Community Builders
A5
Sustaining Our Future: Methods to Create the Next Generation of Leaders
This session will explore practical ways to transfer the current swell in youth civic engagement into sustainable and meaningful participation. We will explore current trends in youth civic engagement and leadership development, and present Social Capital Inc.’s (SCI) approaches for empowering youth to develop active citizenship and leadership skills. Learn to create young leaders through a project based service-learning approach and find out concrete ways to measure their progress.
Presenters: David Crowley, President and Founder, and Kevin McGravey, AmeriCorps Member/Youth Programs Coordinator, Social Capital Inc. (SCI)
A6
Becoming Kid Friendly: Easy Ways to Engage Kids and Families as Valuable Volunteers
Families and teachers are searching eagerly for places to teach their kids about giving back and fulfill school service requirements. Agencies can be reluctant to work with kids due to safety and program restraints. This workshop will give you tools to design and implement a simple, safe program that brings in kids (and their parents), who in turn will become your biggest fans and supporters.
Presenter: Amy Cooper-Ayles, Director of Volunteers, The Greater Boston Food Bank
A7
Making It Boom: Successful Volunteering in the Age of the Baby Boomer
Learn ways to make volunteers a valued resource among staff. Discover how to make staff out of your volunteers. In addition, learn more about strategies for successful recruitment and retention. Hear ways that Central Boston Elder Services increased its membership 400% in just 12 months. Meet a baby boomer volunteer and learn why she made the switch from retiree to volunteer.
Presenters: Sherry Ellis, Volunteer Coordinator, and Marsha Colbert, Volunteer, Central Boston Elder Services
A8
Engaging the Under-Engaged: Urban Youth and Natural Resource Professionals Working Together for Change
Eagle Eye Institute shares its three-tiered approach to engagement, youth development and community strengthening using the power of nature. Examples from the Green Industry Career Pathway Program partnering with the Trustees of Reservations and Massachusetts YouthBuild will demonstrate how urban youth development and green industry professionals work as allies to (1) incorporate the environment into academic, community service, career, and leadership development programming; and (2) build diverse communities in which people’s perceptions of each other shift, leadership is enhanced, and urban young people bridge into careers they would not otherwise have considered.
Presenter: Renee Toll-DuBois, Executive Director, Eagle Eye Institute
A9
Volunteer Retention in Direct Service Programs: Support, Training and Appreciation
This session presents methods used by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center to establish a strong volunteer program of direct service for people experiencing crisis. This workshop explores how volunteer retention is achieved via three methods: continuing education, emotional support and personal recognition.
Presenters: Sara Merand, Hotline Coordinator, Micaela Cohen, Clinical Coordinator of Medical Advocacy, and Miranda Hicks-Courant, Volunteer Program Assistant, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center
A10
Training Your Staff to Support Volunteers
Recruiting volunteers is the first step to success, but what do you and your staff do to support them once they come in the door? Learn to align your staff team to make sure every volunteer interaction serves your mission, engages volunteers and leads to excellent outcomes. This session will show you how to build a training plan to prepare all staff to work directly with volunteers, thereby maximizing your impact and ability to engage more people. Let us help you make everyone a volunteer manager.
Presenters: Emily Stainer, Program Director/Massachusetts, and Melissa Rouette, Volunteer Manager/Massachusetts, Citizen Schools
A11
Wow Your Audience: Dynamic Presentations for Diverse Audiences
Does the thought of standing in front of an audience give you the jitters? Are you afraid people will “zone out” during your presentation? Then this workshop is for you! Expert volunteer recruiters will teach you how to become comfortable in front of large or small audiences and how to tailor your presentations to any audience. We guarantee that you will leave this workshop with the tools to create and deliver presentations that are fun, engaging, memorable and get results!
Presenters: Judy Neufeld, Manager of Recruitment of Community Partnerships, and Maile Shoul, Recruitment Coordinator, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston
A12
Tapping into the Next Wave of Corporate Citizens: Small and Medium-Sized Companies
Corporate citizenship is starting to blossom in the sector of small and emerging companies – and it’s about time! With 99% of companies in the US considered small businesses with less than 500 employees, this sector could deliver seismic impact to local communities by adopting even the simplest corporate citizenship initiatives. Understand how some companies are discovering that employee-driven, localized and innovative volunteer-based initiatives can be a “win-win” for the community and for their own corporate culture and bottom line. Learn about opportunities to engage the small business sector as volunteers and how to structure a successful volunteer experience that leads to long-term engagement.
Presenters: Lisa Guyon, Executive Director, and Jennifer Green, Managing Director, Building Impact
B1
Volunteer Management in the 21st Century: Utilizing New Media
Are you using new media effectively for volunteer management? Unsure how to best communicate though Facebook? Wondering what the best sites are for Internet-based recruitment? Join us for a workshop about the best sites, tools and tricks for everything from volunteer outreach to program management. In the first half of the session, you’ll hear about how Boston Partners in Education, an organization that has supported student advancement and the work of Boston’s public schools teachers for over 40 years, has begun using new media to support its work. The second half of the session will be a facilitated dialogue.
Presenters: Erin M. McGrath, Program Director, and Hillary Chazen, Recruitment & School Volunteer Program Manager, Boston Partners in Education
B2
Portable Volunteering: The What, the Why, the Who and the How
Portable volunteering is making an item to be donated to an agency or organization that needs it. Everyone benefits: volunteers can serve without having to travel; agencies can accommodate more volunteers; youth can participate more freely; schools, churches, student groups, moms’ groups and more can volunteer together on their terms and on their home turfs. This session will do two things. First, you’ll leave with a handbook for portable project creation and management. Second, it will help you think about how to make this new wave in volunteering work for all concerned: agency representatives, corporate volunteers, individual volunteers or family volunteers.
Presenters: Karen Boss, Director of Programs, and Kelly Clark, Program Manager, Boston Cares
B3
LoveLed: The Art and Strategy of Leading the Unpaid and the Underpaid
A combination of dramatic, real-life examples and an engaging interactive approach to leadership curriculum provides for a transformational session. Whether in the boardroom or on the front lines, we are faced with motivating volunteers while managing egos, apathy, lack of capital and social politics. Overcoming these obstacles requires honing the three traits of effective volunteer leaders, avoiding the behaviors of pseudo-leaders and disbursing our greatest profit – love.
Presenter: Allison Black Cornelius, President, BlackBOARD
B4
Entrepreneurial Volunteers: A Case Study of Citizen Driven Projects for Positive Social Change
Discover the remarkable impact that entrepreneurial volunteers have in their communities. Learn how their innate passion to create positive social change translates to emerging new leadership, increased community involvement and innovative collaborations among the business, public and private sectors to address community issues. (Note: This is a companion workshop to Session A4; however, participants are welcome to take either or both!)
Presenters: Karin Oliveira, Director, and Christine House, Community Builders Coordinator, United Way Community Builders; and a panel of Community Builders Fellows: Crystal Newkirk, Founder, The Jump Off; Judy Gentry, Founder, Warmer Winters; Rose Bissonnette, Founder, Central Mass Limb Loss Support Group; Wil Darcangelo, Founder, Good-Will
B5
Weaving a City-Wide Volunteer Network
This workshop will focus on how to engage the community at large and foster relationships with outside organizations/businesses to create a network of volunteers supporting your organization. Learn about successful projects and strategies to break the ice and get your foot in the door. Discover ways to incorporate service learning projects that inspire educational partnerships with local schools or universities, and find out how to keep a corporate volunteer involved.
Presenter: Harris Hardaway, Community Relations Manager, Central Boston Elder Services
B6
Engaging Individuals with Disabilities in Volunteer Programs: The Benefits of Inclusion
This workshop is designed to provide administrators and directors of volunteer programs with an introduction to the concept of inclusion. Participants will expand their idea of volunteerism to include a view of people with disabilities as providers of service, not just recipients of service. Participants will utilize an inclusion checklist to assess their organization’s level of inclusion and create an action plan for creating a more inclusive environment. Creating an environment of inclusion will allow organizations to target a more diverse pool of volunteers, and benefit from the unique skills and talents offered by individuals with disabilities.
Presenters: Alex Freeman, Mentor Match Specialist, and Melanie Marzolf, Mentoring and National Center Associate, Partners for Youth with Disabilities
B7
Engaging Boomer Volunteers: A Win-Win Situation
There are approximately 78 million baby boomers in the United States. Many are still working, but are interested in giving their time to your organization on their own terms. This workshop will leave you with a better understanding of how to engage boomers that have different needs than your traditional volunteer. Their rich life and work experience may turn them into some of your most valued volunteers.
Presenters: Mimi Castaldi, Vice President, Volunteer Engagement, AARP (Washington, D.C.); David Stevens, Executive Director, Massachusetts Councils on Aging (MCOA); Sharon Soong, Volunteer
B8
Engaging Communities of Faith in Service and Learning as a Path to Community Building
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that we live in an inescapable web of mutuality. What impacts one person in the city impacts another in the suburbs, and vice versa. Nevertheless, many of us live in communities divided by race, class, social inequalities and geography. Given the realities of our separate lives, how can service and learning opportunities be designed so that the giver can be the receiver and the receiver can be the giver? In this session we will provide a framework for defining service in an inclusive way. We will share strategies and activities for creating service and learning opportunities that are mutually transformative for the giver and receiver of service, and examine ways to help organizations and volunteers move into a ‘mutuality’ model.
Presenters: Rev. June Cooper, Executive Director, and Carl McDonald, Director, Boston Urban Outreach, City Mission Society
B9
Finding the Right People for the Right Job: Screening Volunteers for Effectiveness and Safety
Do you have volunteers who do not last for the duration of your program? Could it be that your screening process is not accepting the most appropriate volunteer for your program? This interactive training draws on the most up-to-date research on the qualities and characteristics that, if sought and nurtured in volunteer adults, helps build successful volunteer relationships. Based on the Elements of Effective Practice for youth mentoring programs, the training addresses best practices for a comprehensive screening process which includes: an internal job description, application, interview, background checks and orientation.
Presenter: Linda Peterson, Manager of Training, Mass Mentoring Partnership
B10
Retaining Volunteers: Developing and Sustaining a Volunteer Culture within an Organization
Volunteers are especially vital to nonprofits during these difficult economic times when fundraising is stagnant or decreasing, but the need for services is increasing. Staff members -- being pulled in many directions -- are often overwhelmed with the prospect of training and effectively managing volunteers. Lack of adequate training and volunteer management results in low return rates, and undervalued or underutilized volunteers. A special event or gift is not enough to create a culture of “valued” and committed volunteers. Through this workshop, best practice strategies will be presented to facilitate an organizational culture that values, recognizes, retains and is enriched by volunteers.
Presenter: Rosario Dominguez, Vice President of Programs, Community Servings
B11
Kids to Campus Mentoring Partnership
This workshop will present lessons from our experience in creating and sustaining a partnership with higher education and local school districts. Participants will learn how to engage college students as both site-based and community-based volunteers. In addition, we will address how to develop community-based learning experiences for college students that could potentially lead to academic credit.
Presenters: Ruth Harms, Case Management Supervisor, and Renee Moss, Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County
B12
Intensive Corporate Volunteering: Placing Business Professionals in the Community for Transformation
Companies today are interested in leveraging volunteerism as a way to engage in corporate citizenship while providing value both to the communities they serve and the companies themselves. In this session we will explore the meaning of intensive corporate volunteering and the many rewards it can bring. Discussion will encompass benefits experienced by nonprofit organizations as well as the employees who provide the service. WilmerHale will outline its new Pickering Fellowship program that places attorneys with nonprofit legal service centers or an organization of their choice, with whom they work for six months. WilmerHale’s partner agency, the Medical Legal Partnership | Boston will share how the organization has benefited from this resource. IBM will describe its new Corporate Service Corps initiative which will offer several hundred high-potential employees from different countries a chance to develop their leadership skills while performing community service to small business enterprises, nonprofit organizations and universities in strategic emerging markets of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. An IBM Corporate Service Corps participant will share her experience working with a small arts business enterprise in Ghana. Session participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions that explore what makes a successful volunteer opportunity for business professionals and how nonprofits can work effectively with a corporate partner.
Presenters: Anne Bowie, LICSW, Public Service Manager, WilmerHale and Chair, Corporate Volunteer Council of Greater Boston; Cathleen Finn, New England Program Manager, IBM Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs; Jennifer Stam Goldberg, Staff Attorney and Pro Bono Manager, Medical-Legal Partnership / Boston; Erica Topolski, Communications Specialist, IBM
C1
Leadership Roundtable
Agency directors and experienced volunteer management professionals are invited to join this facilitated roundtable discussion of trends, opportunities and challenges in the field of volunteering and service. Join a lively discussion aimed at furthering thought leadership at both state and national levels.
Facilitated By:
Ellen Ferber, Vice President of Network Advancement, HandsOn Network
C2
Creating a Team of Episodic Volunteers
Today’s volunteers are looking for flexible volunteer opportunities. Episodic volunteering allows participants to choose their own schedules, engage in a variety of projects, meet new people and learn more about the community. In this workshop participants will learn about the nuts and bolts of creating a team of episodic volunteers – from recruitment strategies, to organizing the team, to collaborating with community partners who need episodic volunteers.
Presenters: Megan Barber, Director, RSVP of Hampshire & Franklin Counties; Ray Duffy, RSVP Director, Worcester Area Volunteers
C3
Converting Volunteers into Sustainable Donors to Your Organization
It is essential for nonprofit organizations to diversify and expand their base of private resources during these tough economic times. This workshop will explore proven techniques for converting volunteers into sustainable donors who are deeply committed to supporting your organization. The presenters from Emmaus Inc. in Haverhill will provide practical tips that draw from their own experience implementing the Raising More Money model, as well as transforming the Cycle for Shelter, Emmaus’ signature event.
Presenters: Gretchen B. Arntz, Chief Development Officer, and Rachel Thompson, Development Associate/Cycle for Shelter Event Coordinator, Emmaus Inc.
C4
Time Banking Facilitating Community Service: Build Community One Hour at a Time
Learn how to cultivate the local economy, embrace your neighbors and build community. A time bank is an economical program that is supported by a community exchange of time and service. For every hour you spend providing a service in your community, you earn one hour that you can in turn spend for a service you need. The time bank promotes and facilitates neighborly assistance, from odd jobs to rides to utilizing professional skills. It encourages reciprocity, helps neighbors connect to one another, and keeps communities active. Its structure supports healthy, sustainable community development and service - building community one hour at a time.
Presenters: Karen Werner, Ph.D., Jessica Smith, and Amber Ortiz, North Quabbin Time Bank (a program of Youth Entrepreneur Society)
C5
Signing Up for Social Change: Working with Volunteers to Engage Communities for Social Change
Working with volunteers to engage their own diverse communities is a new model that BARCC has found increases the reach and salience of our sexual violence prevention messages. The workshop will explore this entirely volunteer, strength-based community organizing model, with an eye toward sustainability and cultural competency. This model can be used to broaden any volunteer base and message any agency’s mission.
Presenter: Meg Bossong, Coordinator of Community Awareness and Outreach, Boston Are Rape Crisis Center
C6
Engaging Today’s Youth in Meaningful and Tangible Volunteer Opportunities
Increasingly, schools, faith-based organizations and civic groups are requiring youth to participate in volunteer opportunities. As the youth volunteer trend becomes more prevalent the question is “How do we as nonprofit leaders, educators and parents engage our youth in meaningful, tangible service opportunities?” In this interactive workshop we will identify and discuss how to engage youth effectively in service through examining successful models, hearing from current youth volunteers and learning from each other’s experiences. We will also discuss the benefits of engaging students in meaningful volunteerism.
Presenter: Lindsay Jensen, Manager of Volunteer Relations, Cradles to Crayons
C7
Community Fellows Program - A Multi-Generational Approach to Solving Community Problems
The Commonwealth Corps program “Ending Hunger Together” has launched Worcester State College into a new multi-generational model of service. Students age 18 to 85 are together taking a multi-faceted approach to the problem of hunger in our community. South High School and Worcester State College have partnered - not only to raise awareness in their respective schools, but also to combat this problem in the community. Together they are doing food stamp outreach, working at a local farm that raises fresh produce for hungry people, and engaging middle school students in volunteering. Participants also come together to research the root causes of hunger in a “Food for Thought” seminar. This model of action, research and reflection constitutes the core of a Community Fellows Program. Participants will take away ideas about how to use a similar model in other communities.
Presenters: Maureen E. Power, Executive Director, Intergenerational Urban Institute at Worcester State College; Maureen Binienda, Acting Principal, South High Community School (Worcester), and an inter-generational panel of Fellows.
C8
Moving Beyond Icebreakers: Innovative Ways to Jumpstart Your Meetings
“Icebreakers” can often be marginalized, as they are used in the first moments of a group’s experience but not always connected to the work at hand. When used consistently and strategically – with purpose in mind and connected to the work of the group – they turn into something more powerful. This workshop demonstrates the depth and richness of several interactive exercises and their ability to increase positive participation, create and maintain relationships, and discuss challenging topics – all while engaging the hearts, minds and energies of participants.
Presenter: Sapna Padte, Director, Consulting and Training, Teen Empowerment
C9
Working with Volunteers: Risk Management Issues
Volunteers are critical in helping to meet the goals and fulfill the mission of your organization. However, to protect your organization, clients and volunteers, you need to be sure that you have the appropriate systems and safeguards in place. Learn about the importance of defining the role of the volunteer, encouraging a culture of safety, using screening processes for your volunteers and more.
Presenter: Sally Gates Whitaker, Risk Management Consultant, AIG Consultants
C10
No Warm Bodies! Placing Volunteers for Maximum Retention
Your organization has attracted new volunteers, but the key to retaining them is proper volunteer placement. This workshop will focus on developing a volunteer management system that emphasizes volunteer placement as the key to retention and organizational success. You will receive instructions and tips for matching the right volunteer to the right position, and learn how closely volunteer placement is tied to retention. Volunteer recognition will also be discussed.
Presenters: Dianne Gauthier, Volunteer Development & Training Director, Kim Lambert-Serna, Volunteer Learning Manager, Kerrie Constant, Volunteer Specialist, and Jenny Duquette, Volunteer Learning Manager, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts
C11
Corporate/School Mentoring Partnerships: Collaborations that Produce Talented Volunteer Mentors in Large Numbers and Tangible, Measurable Results
Stand and Deliver Corporate Campus is a unique mentoring model that matches local corporations with city public schools, recruits mentors, matches them with students, and supports one-on-one weekly mentoring meetings that take place at the partner company. The program has been working successfully in Lawrence, the second poorest city in Massachusetts, for four years with 200 matches currently in place. It produces higher standardized test scores, improved school attendance and better grades. The workshop will include a presentation, handouts of tools used and concrete results achieved and an interactive Q&A session.
Presenters: Ed Warnshuis, Executive Director, Lawrence Partners in Education and Founder, Stand and Deliver, and John Korba, Stand and Deliver Program Director, Lawrence Public Schools
C12
How to Do More with Less: Leveraging Skills-Based Volunteers
Skills-based volunteering offers a great opportunity to generate long-term volunteer relationships while also building the critical systems every organization needs to sustain and build its high-impact programs. This panel will give attendees practical and actionable tactics to create lasting impact with skills-based volunteering projects. The session will help answer these questions: What makes a good skills-based volunteering project? How can you organize and prepare for skills-based volunteering projects to make them most successful? And how can my organization manage projects for maximum effectiveness?
Moderator
Barry Horwitz, Founder and President, Horwitz & Company LLC
Speakers
Michael Marino, Principal, Public Sector, Deloitte Consulting, LLP
Pamela Civins, Executive Director, Boston Partners in Education
Danielle Holly, Manager of Employee Engagement, Common Impact
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