Headline OLUNTEER HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 Headline YOUR OLUNTEER HANDBOOK

2 Teaming Headline up with a strong volunteer base is key to planning and conducting a smoothly running Fair and the best way to accomplish your Book Fair goals. II

3 Headline 1

4 More Books in the Hands of More Kids Volunteers Make it Happen. Volunteering for a Book Fair is about giving time, energy, and skills freely in hopes of encouraging more kids to develop a lifelong love of reading. While many recognize the worthiness of the cause, many teachers and parents today actually have less time to give. You might find it hard to recruit a group of volunteers. But there are people out there ready to help and we re here to help you get them on board. 4 key steps to building a solid volunteer team 1. Recruit 2. Assign 3. train 4. Appreciate 2

5 A Successful Fair Takes a Total Team Effort Like a small business, a Book Fair requires the support of people with a diverse set of talents and skills. You ll get more done in less time, while reaping the benefits of a large pool of creative minds to brainstorm themes, promotions, and day-to-day operations. A volunteer team is the one common denominator all successful Book Fairs share. 33

6 The Benefits of a Volunteer Team Frees you up to focus on the Book Fair functions you enjoy the most, spreads out the work, and makes the Fair fun and stressfree for everyone. Increases student, parent, and faculty interest and participation. Gets the word out about your Fair. Friends and family of volunteers will likely come to show their support and see what the volunteers have created. Potentially boosts Book Fair sales, since many adult volunteers will shop your Fair. Creates a true team-effort feeling as you rally the community around a reading event to achieve important goals. Allows adults to serve as role models for kids, demonstrating the importance of books and reading. 4

7 step 1: recruitment Best Practices Start recruiting at least 6 8 weeks before your Book Fair, earlier if possible. (NOTE: It s never too soon to look for volunteers. Some schools start as early as three months out! Use the Time, Talents, Skills, and Resources Form located in the Toolkit.) Ask teachers, students, parents, and extended family members to volunteer or recommend possible recruits. Make phone calls, coordinate phone blasts, and send text messages to enlist help. Establish a Volunteer Chain. Recruit two volunteers and ask each one to find another volunteer. Then ask every new volunteer added to the chain to find another until your team is assembled. Post recruitment posters and notices throughout your school in high-traffic areas; promote your search through all communication channels, including the outdoor marquee, newsletters, and . Create a large, colorful display with a sign-up sheet and place it near your front office. Advertise on your Book Fair homepage the skills and talents you are seeking from community volunteers. Assign an energetic, enthusiastic team member to the role of Volunteer Recruiter. Publicly recognize registered volunteers over the PA system before and during your Book Fair as a way of motivating students to recruit their parents. Recruit from groups outside your school, including: Grandparents, retirees, and retired educators Civic clubs like Kiwanis, Rotary Club, Lions Club, and women s groups Community churches Former students now in high school or college (For those seeking service hours, use our Community Service Hours reproducible located in the Toolkit.) Public library volunteers 5

8 Recruitment Time, Talents, Skills, and resources Form Here s a great idea inspired by Rhonda Boggs, Book Fair chairperson at Sammy McClure Middle School in Dallas, Georgia, and repeat champion of the Scholastic Book Fairs National Middle School Student Crew Contest. Several months before your Fair, run copies of the Time, Talents, Skills, and Resources Form found in your Toolkit. Distribute the form to parents via various communication channels including . Have completed forms returned to you. From the information contained on completed forms, begin to identify and contact individuals who can provide the types of services that can help you plan your best Book Fair ever! Time, Talent, Skills & Resources Form 6 Remember, volunteers do not have to be physically present at the Fair. Behind-the-scenes volunteers can send blasts, solicit donations from local businesses, PROVIDE FOOD or decorative items, and create promotional posters.

9 Recruitment Create Instant Team Spirit! A special group name and uniform are the best ways to create a sense of unity among your volunteers. Uniforms do not have to be too involved or expensive. Think T-shirts, aprons, or hats. Or go really basic with Book Fair Volunteer stickers or lanyards. Simple uniforms not only make volunteers feel like they re part of a special team, but also make them easy to locate in your busy Book Fair. BFFF (Book Fair Fans Forever) The perfect name for a high school or college student, or volunteer of any age. VIP Team (Very Involved Parent) Nothing is more important than an involved parent. Give them VIP lanyards to wear. Then come up with a team name for your volunteers. You can even brainstorm ideas with them. Here are some inventive volunteer group names from Book Fair teams around the nation: FBI (Fathers Being Involved) What dad wouldn t want to brag about being a member of this elite group? Book Fair Ladies Club Don t let its social-sounding name fool you. Women with a specific mission get things done. Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) These dads take reading seriously. Give them something cool to wear. 7

10 RECRUITMENT Student Volunteers: Crew and Junior Crew More and more chairpeople are discovering the benefits of recruiting students to help host a Book Fair in their school. Young volunteers have an almost limitless supply of energy to help you plan, set up, and work the Fair. And you can t beat their word-of-mouth advertising. Schools that create Crew (middle school) and Junior Crew (elementary school) teams have found that students benefit greatly from working together and taking on new responsibilities to accomplish Book Fair goals. Here are some of the roles that are perfect for student volunteers: Bag books at the cashier station. Keep displays, shelves, and tables neat and organized. Make you aware of titles that are running low. More detailed information on how to recruit and use Crew/Junior Crew teams can be found in: Ideas Guidebook Informational video: Toolkit scholastic.com/bookfairs/crew How-To Guide 8 Decorate classroom doors, create displays, and make decorations. Create and conduct contests, such as guessing games. Help with Book Fair setup or pack-up before and after classes or during library time. Assist younger shoppers with locating specific titles on the Fair, selecting appropriate books, and completing their student wish lists.

11 Step 2: Assignment Best Practices When you match Book Fair responsibilities with the right personalities, it makes for a more efficiently run and incredibly fun Book Fair experience! Understand volunteer roles Take a look at the volunteer role descriptions on page 10, familiarizing yourself with the skills and responsibilities needed for each position. Place volunteers in positions Use the Time, Talents, Skills, and Resources Form (located in the Toolkit) to pair Book Fair volunteer assignments with the right personalities. Assign Co-Chairs Designate Book Fair co-chairs. They should act as your right hand in recruiting other volunteers, helping to train and update team members as well as head up a committee or two. 9

12 10 Assignment Create Subcommittees Divide your volunteer team into smaller committees, like: Theme Coordinators Brainstorm ideas for an engaging theme and supporting activities. Decorating Team Works in collaboration with Theme Coordinator and Prop Construction Team to create themeinspired decorations and props. Prop Construction Team Builds larger props that may require power tools to support your theme. Advertising and Promotion Group Adds creative flair to signs and displays. Hangs banners, posters, and arrows around school campus and throughout community. Contests and Challenges Team Creates fun incentives, such as guessing games and reading challenges, that encourage students to visit the Fair and read more. Customer Service Group Assists shoppers with locating books, helps at cashier station, and serves refreshments. Cashiers Utilize the Scholastic EasyScan system to check out shoppers. Setup and Pack-up Team Sets up bookcases and tables, unpacks products, and repacks Book Fair after it closes. Merchandisers Build fun, creative displays for floor and table product. Archivists Photograph the Book Fair before, during, and after, documenting all the phases and Fair results; provide photos for national contest entry. Refreshments/Food Committee Supplies refreshments for Book Fair activities or secures local business food donations. Grand Event Coordinators Plan Grand Event activities and send out invitations or coordinate creation of invitations for grandparents and loved ones. Family Event Coordinators Schedule guest speakers and activities for event; work closely with Refreshments/Food Committee to create a themed menu. All for Books Coordinators Organize the collection of donations within school and in the community; work with Contests and Challenges Team to design donation incentives. Classroom Wish List and Teacher Sneak Peek Coordinators Oversee creation of Classroom Wish List display, send out invitations, plan activities, and get gift donations for door prizes and raffles.

13 Step 3: Training Best Practices After assigning specific volunteer roles to your team members, share with them descriptions of their responsibilities and your expectations. (Refer to the Volunteer Job Descriptions reproducible found in the Toolkit.) Then call a meeting with your volunteers to familiarize them with the Book Fair. The more they know about your Book Fair layout, offerings, and product line, the better equipped they will be to assist your shoppers. Give a Book Fair tour, reviewing how cases are grouped by age level, reading level, and similar genres. Then explain how the header panels and shelf-strips located on elementary school Fairs indicate the general category and reading level for books found on each case. Familiarize volunteers with the different categories of books that are displayed on tables. Point out the locations of posters and school supplies, cashier table, and Classroom Wish List display. Show volunteers where book prices are found on most books. Equip volunteers who work the Fair during operating hours with Scholastic Book Fairs booklists. The book categories, advertised titles, and short annotations will come in handy when assisting shoppers. Explain the proper procedure of what to do when they encounter an out-of-stock title. Show chapters 1 and 2 (elementary school) and chapter 1 (middle school) of the Author Video. It s a great review of what books, authors, and series are new and hot. Review how the Classroom Wish List and All for Books programs work and hand out detailed descriptions. 11

14 12 Step 4: Appreciation Best Practices Your volunteers work hard and donate their time to make the Book Fair a fun community event. So make recognition a personal priority during and after your Fair. It keeps volunteers energy and attitude up when your Fair is crowded and busy, encourages them to give their best, and just may guarantee a great volunteer turnout next year. Hang a poster in the lobby of the school with volunteer names listed on it, thanking them for contributing to a successful Book Fair. Personalize and distribute certificates of appreciation. Be specific with how they helped connect kids with more books. For example, include how many reading minutes were generated by their efforts. (Refer to Certificate of Appreciation reproducible located in the Toolkit.) Send personalized notes or thank-you cards like those provided in this kit. Reward volunteers with a small after-fair party. Serve refreshments and hand out small tokens of appreciation. Hold a gratitude raffle. Enter volunteers names into the raffle for each shift they worked. Give away a donated gift basket from a local merchant. Thank-You Card Certificate of Appreciation

15 Tools and resources To assist you in recruiting, assigning, training, and thanking your volunteer teams we ve created a variety of tools, including: Recruitment poster Certificate of Appreciation Thank-you card Sheet of volunteer stickers Additional resources can be found in the Online Toolkit at scholastic.com/cptoolkit. Volunteer Recruitment Poster Volunteer Sticker Sheet 13

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