PanCAN PurpleStride. Advocacy. November Awareness. We are all familiar with these three focus areas to recruit and retain volunteers in our affiliates, right? Even if you do not have a ton of volunteers, you can find dedicated people to devote time and passion into these important tentpoles. They shape our affiliates to meet our PanCAN goals of increasing revenue, the survival rate and awareness.

Great, now how do we keep our volunteers engaged the rest of the year?? This has been a perennial and at times frustrating problem for many of our affiliates. There is not a one-size-fits-all response to this situation.  What works best for your affiliate?

I was the Volunteer Chair for three years before shifting to Affiliate Chair for six years. Doing both roles is a daunting task, as many of you know. Currently I am Volunteer Coordinator for Boston, a position created to keep me involved within the affiliate.  I do have to say I LOVE being the first point of contact with volunteers who are directed to PanCAN.

During an initial call, I try to find out the volunteer’s story, interests and time commitment. I direct the volunteers to our meetings and social activities and add them to the mailing list so they can learn more about what we do within the course of the year. Suggesting the volunteer follows our social media platforms gives them a better sense of what PanCAN does for patients. I also introduce the prospective volunteer to our leadership team so we can all communicate efficiently. Once a volunteer gives a sense of their interests, I encourage them to become a part of a committee. Or start with one simple task.

That doesn’t address the former question: How do we effectively and efficiently recruit, retain, and fully appreciate our volunteers? Burnout is real. Time is precious. Location between volunteers may create barriers. Some of our affiliates do not have the luxury of having an extra body to commit to volunteer recruitment. This makes our volunteer roles more challenging, to say the least. Stopping to take care of ourselves now and then to reenergize our passion and ‘WHY’ is so important. DO THIS! Then, do what your affiliate feels is the most important, and tackle that. It is not necessary to do it all!

What is important is getting people in the door for their first task. This could be volunteering on event day, perhaps. PurpleStride is how I got my start with our Boston Affiliate. That entry point task can make or break the volunteer experience. Suggest a task like raising awareness in their workplace or place of worship. Wearing purple and telling their story can be powerful to everyone who hears the message. Ask volunteers what THEY want to do to raise awareness or promote fundraising.  You would be surprised at how creative people can be with their passion for volunteering. I have a high school student who wants to start a PanCAN club in her school!

I know personally, when I am recruiting in New England, I have to be honest and say: These are the four major things we do as volunteers. We need volunteers all year long to raise awareness in our communities, educate, reach out to medical facilities, and fundraise.  But in January, or July and August?? Maybe this would be a great time for a social event to bring the affiliate volunteers together. An ice cream social. Plan an awareness event at a local park. Have a thank-you party for your PurpleStride teams to gather and get to know some of the volunteers. Or give everyone a break and take the month off. We deserve it!

What is your favorite or most successful tip for volunteer recruitment?

If you have creative ideas, PLEASE share with the VAC so we can spread the word.  Or network with other affiliates across the country.

Have fun as a PanCAN volunteer.  What we do matters so much!