This year at the annual conference, the Volunteer Development Team held a successful meeting of volunteers that was attended by more than 100 people. This meeting served as a learning opportunity for new volunteers as well as a helpful refresher for those who have served the Association previously. The group introduced themselves so that colleagues could share ideas with their peers in similar volunteer positions. The group then divided into similar component groups (e.g., regional membership coordinators meeting with other regional membership coordinators) so that they could develop a stronger bond, identify training needs, and share success stories. The plan was to focus on improving the volunteer experience, of which training is a key element as identified in ACUI’s 2011–15 Strategic Plan Direction 5.
Armed with this information and feedback, ACUI’s Volunteer Development Team is looking to expand and to address several topics. This will serve to supplement the work set forth by the Volunteer Engagement Task Force report from 2007–08 that can be found under the governing documents part of the ACUI website. If you are interested in joining the team to assist with the recruitment, recognition, and rewarding of the Association’s volunteers or you have any suggestions or recommendations, please contact Joe Gutowski at joeg@case.edu.
Visit www.acui.org/volunteer for openings and news on the progress of the Volunteer Development Team.