Choosing a point person—preferably a senior-level executive or manager—who actively and visibly supports your challenge involvement sends a strong message that your organization considers the Community Reading Challenge to be a valuable volunteer opportunity. Your CRC Team Leader will be asked to:
Identify RIF site(s) for volunteering: Before you begin recruiting participants for the challenge, you first must find a RIF site that is looking for volunteers. Many of these sites are schools. You can find a complete list of all sites that have pledged to participate in this year’s challenge here. Look for one or more sites near you; then using the sample letter below, reach out to the Challenge Leader at those sites. Be sure to give the site Challenge Leader an idea of how much you think your organization can help. Remember, the earlier you reach out, the more time you have to plan your participation and rally a great team of volunteers!
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Recruit participants:
Once you get a commitment from the RIF site, it’s time to launch a recruiting drive! Get everyone from your organization involved by promoting the challenge as many ways as you can. Let all your employees or members know about the volunteer opportunity through an initial recruitment email or letter. Organize an informational meeting or brown-bag lunch to explain the challenge, using the PowerPoint presentation below. Emphasize the fun of the challenge. If you can, ask the RIF site Challenge Leader to come to the meeting to say a few words.
However you promote the challenge, remember that your goal is to gather volunteers.
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Collaborate with the site:
You’ve talked with the RIF site’s Challenge Leader, and they’re thrilled to have your organization on board. What now? You’ll need to coordinate carefully with the RIF site to make sure everything goes smoothly on your volunteer day. To make sure you cover all your bases, follow the checklist of important questions on the handout below. Be sure to give your Challenge Leader an idea of how many volunteers you’ll be bringing, and with what activities or tasks they can help.
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Get commitments:
The word is out and the buzz has begun—now it’s time to get people to sign on the dotted line. Ask your members and employees to commit to participating in the challenge. You can have a sign-up sheet available, either at the informational meeting or in the Team Leader’s office, or you can send around a “pledge” form and ask volunteers to put their commitment in writing.
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Build enthusiasm:
Even though people may sign up to be volunteers, it’s important to build and maintain a sense of enthusiasm in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the challenge. That period of time is also an opportunity for you to continue spreading the word about your participation and recruit more volunteers. For example, your volunteers can send out the peer-to-peer email below to invite others to participate in the challenge.
Another way to keep the challenge top-of-mind for your employees is to post reminders—such as the poster below—around the office. If your organization has a regular newsletter or an intranet, submit an article announcing your involvement.
You can also encourage volunteers to prepare for their experience by reading a few of the suggested books for reading aloud from the links lists below.
Finally, encourage your volunteers to learn more about RIF and literacy by subscribing to our eNewsletter, which is distributed every two weeks. Sign up at www.rif.org/newsletter_signup.mspx.
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Schedule volunteer times
As you work with the RIF site, determine the times and days during which your employees or members can volunteer. Share these times with your volunteers so they can schedule when they will participate.
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Volunteer
Volunteering can be intimidating, especially when it means reading out loud or interacting with a group of children. Share with your volunteers RIF’s Tips for Reading Aloud to give them some pointers on getting the most out of their volunteer experience. Give every volunteer who visits the site a participant sticker they can wear with pride.
*Please note: Stickers have been designed and laid out to fit one 8.5x11 sheet of the Avery 5293 specialty labels (round, 1-2/3 inch diameter); stickers are available online at various office supply sites.
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Promote your success
With the challenge over, it’s time to celebrate your success! Share your hard work with the community by announcing your participation in a news release. You should also share your organization’s experiences and success internally, through a newsletter or intranet posting. Be sure to get quotes from volunteers.
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Follow up and evaluateNo campaign is complete without follow-through. Once the challenge is over, be sure to recognize the hard work of all your volunteers with a thank-you letter signed by one of your organization’s top executives. It will help volunteers feel their work is appreciated.
You should also take time to collect feedback from the volunteers to get a sense from them about what did and didn’t work during the challenge, what they liked, and how they would like to approach the event in the future. Finally, let us know what you think! Complete the evaluation below and send it back to contests@rif.org or fax it to us at 202-673-1638.
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