How to Attract Volunteers
In my travels of the last few months working on growing our Generation Bridge connections, I have networked with many non-profits. One of the things I heard was that finding volunteers and donors is a key challenge (I know - “d’uh”). But in reality it is something to consider and think about.
Non-profits do many of the jobs that we can’t fund through the government AND that we can’t do on our own as we struggle to find the time to take care of our families, let alone find time to organize and run public service works, etc. Plus, let’s face it, even when we are looking for volunteer opportunities, we sometimes get distracted if the right volunteer opportunities don’t present themselves to us.
So I found this article that puts some structure around identifying and finding volunteers for your public works and non-profit initiatives. While much of this may seem common sense, that is a good thing - common sense usually means that it is based in some sort of reality. But the other thing to remember is that we often don’t set aside the time we need for planning and strategy because we get caught up in the process of the day to day work that we do.
So it’s important to get a refresher on some of the basics and to take a few hours out of our day to help think through an organization’s goals around volunteer recruitment. Who, how many, where can I reach them, what are the types of volunteers we are looking for (repeat, point in time, etc.)? If you know people working in non-profits, this is a good article to share with them.
BBB: Con artists using Social Security numbers to file phony tax returns, steal refunds
The BBB is urging consumers to file taxes earlier rather than later in order to minimize the risk of a false tax return being filed that results in a stolen refund check. They also have a list of other helpful bullets in the article to take precautions against this scam including a red-flag from notices from the IRS like, you have submitted a duplicate return OR you “owe” additional tax. Make sure you call the IRS number you can find on their government site and always be wary of any communications you can’t verify through another way.
There are bad people out there - so always err on the side of caution.
Coping with Dementia - Going Into Their World
How can we get passed or at least minimize some of the feelings we have when caring for someone with Dementia. The utter sadness of watching someone you loved deteriorate into someone completely different and often not exactly the “best” patient. It’s tough - dementia slowly robs a person from us, and in such a way that we can find ourselves in a toxic mindset of frustration, anger, disappointment, etc.
Lately there are many articles out there of new and different ways that we can put ourselves into the mindset or life of someone suffering from dementia. Things that help us to live the world through their eyes (walk a mile in their moccasins). This article calls out some helpful hints to cope with some of the emotional challenges we face when confronted by the realities of dementia. Debbie Selsavage, the author, is a certified trainer and consultant in the Positive Approach to Care and a certified dementia practitioner.
She closes her article by saying, “I can tell you from my own experience, when you learn to enter their world without judgment, you will discover some beautiful ideas and feelings that make it easier to replace conflict with compassion.”
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