Volunteer Position Guide
The Stamford Historical Society

Volunteer Coordinator

Reports to Executive Director

Recruiting and coordinating volunteers.

Requirements

• Acquire knowledge of the Society’s and the volunteers' needs.
• Establish rapport with staff, chairs of committees, and especially with volunteers. This is achieved through visits to the Society as well as personal contact with volunteers.

Sources of volunteers

• Internet sites such as Volunteermatch.org and the local Volunteer Center’s ucanhelp.org, as well as the Society’s own website have been invaluable in bringing our needs to the public.
• Communication with area schools brings the Society student volunteers. Many schools now require students to do community service. We have had great success in responding to individual students as well as attending school volunteer fair in order to enlist student volunteers.

Important! The Society’s hours do not necessarily fit well with the school day, so Saturdays are the only times students can come to work for us during the school year. Because this is generally a student’s first experience volunteering the Coordinator must realize that he/she could be setting a life long path of enjoying volunteering. Be sure that the volunteer task is one of interest to the student, one that he or she will look forward to coming in to perform rather than thinking of it as yet another chore. While this is also true for matching adults to volunteer work it is of greater importance in dealing with student volunteers.

Process

After initial contact is made via telephone or email, the Coordinator sets a time for an interview with the prospective volunteer. It is your chance to ‘sell’ the Society. Once the candidate is interested in what we have to offer he/she is introduced to the appropriate committee chair who will give an in depth picture of the particular needs in that area. This can be done at the same time as the initial interview or at a second meeting. Once a match is made, the Coordinator maintains contact with the volunteer to be sure they are enjoying what they are doing and to answer any questions they may have.

Record keeping

All volunteers complete a volunteer information form that is filed in the appropriate notebook in the Director’s office. Volunteers sign in and out whenever they come to work. The Coordinator tallies the hours and lists the names of volunteers annually. The sign in sheets and lists are filed in the paper file in the office. Some volunteers work at home and they should inform the Coordinator of their hours on a monthly basis. Oftentimes board members do not sign in and so the Coordinator must estimate their volunteer hours. The totals of both number of volunteers and total hours worked are sent to the Chairman of the Board of Directors annually.

Time commitment

1 to 10 hours a week depending upon the need for volunteers. Some volunteers are needed for work on special projects as opposed to regular weekly or biweekly projects. Toward the end of the school year many students need letters from the Society verifying the time spent as well as the job done, the Coordinator is responsible for these letters. A good deal of the Coordinators work can be done offsite so he/she must keep records of hours worked.

Contact

Pam Coleman, Interim Volunteer Coordinator
Stamford Historical Society
1508 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06903

Telephone: 203-329-1183
e-mail:musicnhistory@gmail.com