Communication - Page 2 of 12 - Youth Workin' It

10 Ways To Recruit, Manage And Maintain Volunteers

November 13, 2012 By Shae Pepper Leave a Comment

Q: I have a hard time getting and keeping volunteers – they either flake out or burn out. Do you have any tips?

A: Recruiting, managing and maintaining volunteers can be a daunting task. Sometimes you have people banging down your door to help, but that’s not usually the case because you don’t work with the cute little kids or the cool college age students… you work with the tweens (‘between elementary and high school’ i.e. middle schoolers) and teens.

We’ll unpack these areas more in the coming weeks, but for now here are some easy tips for recruiting, managing and maintaining volunteers for your youth work:

3 Tips For Volunteer Recruitment

Tell stories – Share positive stories with people about what good things are happening in your youth work or ministry. Everyone loves a good story or vision to get behind.
Make volunteering organized – Be organized when it comes to schedules and rosters for volunteers. Everyone loves clear, direct information.
Make volunteering easy – Be ready for potential volunteers to apply and have application packs prepared, easy to complete and get back to them in a timely manner. If you say you need help, be ready to get people involved ASAP. Everyone loves to feel needed.

3 Tips For Managing Volunteers

Have clear expectations – Have a clear volunteer policy or ‘job description’ that outlines your expectations. Your volunteers will then know what to expect when they get into it.
Get feedback – Meet with your volunteers after sessions so they can know and share immediately what they think worked well and what didn’t. This shouldn’t take long, so they won’t get burned out by long meetings after a session.
Meet regularly – Meet with your entire team regularly – weekly, monthly or quarterly depending on your organizational and volunteer needs. That way, they feel like they’re part of the team and ‘in the know’ about everything happening currently and in the future of the youth programming.

3 Tips For Maintaining Volunteers

Give them breaks – Schedule breaks and sabbaticals into your volunteer job description or policy so they know they will be able to have a break.
Be professional and reliable – Treat them professionally by being on time for meetings and sessions, calling them, making sure they have their resources and valuing their input.
Incentivize them – Give them incentives in the form of training, particularly with useful and transferable skills like computer skills, people management skills and youth work skills. This can help make up for the fact that they aren’t getting paid, but can still build up their resume or CV.

Here is a bonus tip which applies to each step in recruiting, maintaining and managing volunteers:

APPRECIATE THEM

Find ways to thank your volunteers through calls, texts, cards, dinners, gifts, coffees, recognition nights, opportunities for growth/development etc. Whatever you can do to let them know you value them will go a long way in making sure they get involved and stay engaged for the long haul.

Find out from your volunteers how they feel most appreciated and then do that for them. This doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money, but it will cost you time. The investment of time is well worth it though when you have a team of committed and happy volunteer youth workers.

Question: What tips do you have for recruiting, managing and maintaining volunteers in your youth work or youth ministry? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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How Much Should I Charge For A Youth Retreat?

October 23, 2012 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Q: How much should I charge for a youth retreat? Quite a lot of the young people I work with are from low-income families, so I don’t want to set the price too high. I want to be sensitive to how much their parents can afford, but don’t know the best way to address the issue with them. Can you help?

A: Money is always a tricky subject, especially for activities that cost more like youth retreats. Like you said, it’s important to be sensitive to how much parents can afford without simultaneously embarrassing them that they may not be able to afford to send their child on the retreat.

Once you’ve started investigating possible youth retreat centers, you’ll have a much better idea of how much your budget will need to be. This is because the center will probably be the largest part of the budget. Check out our previous post for a more detailed guide on how to calculate a youth retreat budget.

Before making a final decision on which center to book, we’d recommend putting together a Parent Cost Feedback form.

What’s A Parent Cost Feedback Form?

The form should contain a table that lists the following:

A shortlist of three retreat centers
Some pros and cons of each center
The estimated cost for a child to go on the retreat
Empty boxes beneath each option

Try to estimate the total cost of the retreat and put this on the form, rather than just putting down the cost per child for the center only, as this will give the parents a better of idea of how much they can expect to pay overall. It doesn’t have to be a final quote at this stage, but enough to give parents a good idea of what the options are.

You could include more than three youth retreat centers on the list, but this might give too many options to get a true gauge as to how much parents can afford.

Beneath the details of each center on the form, the empty boxes are for parents to indicate which would be their preference. All they need to do is to put an ‘X’ in the box for the retreat center that they would prefer, taking into account the cost along with the pros and cons. Using only an ‘X’ helps ensure anonymity so that parents aren’t embarrassed to choose the cheapest option.

At the end, you should have a good idea as to which is the most affordable option for the parents.

How to get the form completed

How you get the form completed will depend on your contact with parents. Here are some different methods depending on parental contact:

Church

Many youth retreats are organized through churches, so if this applies to you then the best option will probably be to make an announcement during a service. Leave the Parent Cost Feedback form at the back of the church for them to complete as they leave.

Community Center

If parents drop their children off at your youth club at a community center, ask them to complete the form at that point. It’s best to get this done at the beginning of the evening rather than at the end, as parents will probably just want to get home when picking them up.

No Parental Contact

Perhaps you never get to communicate with the parents of your young people for whatever reason. If that’s the case, mail them a copy of the form along with a return envelope with a stamp on it to encourage them to reply.

Another option is to set up a survey through Survey Monkey. This is free and you can email the link to parents if you have their email addresses.

Downloadable Parent Cost Feedback Form Template

When you buy a copy of How To Plan A Youth Retreat, you also get exclusive access to many different youth retreat templates and forms. This includes a sample Parent Cost Feedback form, as well as a blank feedback form that you can complete with details of the retreat centers you find.

Discover more about the book using the link above or buy it from Amazon by clicking on the image to the right.

Question: How do you find out from parents how much they can afford for activities like youth retreats? Let us know in the comments below.

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Secular Youth Work vs Christian Youth Work – A Bridge Too Far?

October 5, 2012 By Stephen Pepper 2 Comments

Today’s guest post is by Aaron Garth of Ultimate Youth Worker. His posts often make our youth work blog posts of the week, so we were really pleased that he was willing to write this guest post for us.

Secular Youth Work vs Christian Youth Work – A Bridge Too Far?

Over the years I have worked in both secular and ministry environments from local church to local council and everything in between. I have worked in non government agencies that chose me because of my youth ministry background and others in spite of it. I love the work I have done as a youth worker and I have loved the work I have done in youth ministry.

However, all too often I have heard that the chasm between the two is too far to bridge. To be fair it can seem this way because of things like people not having qualifications, the policies of the two sides are in opposition and even the ideologies which underpin our work seem at odds. To state the opinion in our organisation, not only can the chasm be bridged, it must be to ensure the future of youth work.

There is no shortage of academic research, blog posts and journal articles out there that decry the onslaught of youth ministers working in a youth work capacity and causing untold issues because of a lack of “appropriate” interventions. Conversely, there are also numerous dialogues out there in cyberspace about the inability of secular youth workers to bring healing and hope to young people in a broken world. Both of these camps of thought detract from the amazing work done by 99.99% of ministers and youth workers. As usual it is the few rotten eggs which cause trouble for the bunch.

Here in Victoria the state government has just closed submissions for “an Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations”, after intense pressure from advocates to look into how organisations such as churches, residential homes and schools run by religious groups have dealt with allegations of child abuse.

The following day The Catholic Church in Melbourne upheld a large number of abuse claims dating back to the 1930’s. This story is all too often heard throughout the world, however is no less likely heard about secular youth workers. Bad press about the failings of youth workers both secular and sacred tarnish us all and leave the rest of us to strive for more child safe practices and to raise the bar of our professionalism to ever dizzying heights.

Because of the few bad eggs we have, as my old nana used to say, ‘cut off our nose to spite our face’. We have spent so long trying to separate out the bad eggs that we have lost what is good about each other. I read the results of a survey a few years ago that looked at the differences between secular and Christian youth workers. The results were pretty similar in every category except one… the values base which underpins our practice. Shock horror, it turns out we all want the best for our young people. The only difference is the youth ministers believe in Jesus!!!

The chasm can be bridged!!! It is really not that far. But it will be difficult. All it will take is some building (and a little destruction). Become a youth worker.

So what should the church youth worker do to bridge the gap??? Yes, I said the CHURCH YOUTH WORKER needs to bridge the gap!!! Here are my top 5 tips:

Speak their language. Ask any good mission organisation what it takes to really be able to integrate into a culture and they will say knowing the language. Secular youth workers use very specific language; best practice, theoretical underpinnings and program logic to name a few. You don’t need to know them all, but enough to get through an interagency meeting is quite handy.
Gain an understanding of what they do. I remember sitting in an interagency meeting where the youth ministers were grilling the local council youth worker about getting more funds and resources. The local council youth worker was a programs worker and didn’t have the authority or the means to provide any of these and it just served to destroy any hope for a relationship.
Find out how you can support them. Many secular youth workers would sell their soul for the access that many youth ministers have. Access to schools, access to a weekly group of more than 10 young people or access to other groups of young people e.g. Other church youth groups. Are they running a group on suicide prevention??? What if a dozen of your kids rock up??? Instant credibility.
Invite them to see what you do. Running a group or event??? Why not invite them along. Let them bring a few pamphlets even. Then take them out for a coffee. You may not make a friend, but they won’t be an enemy either. Although, I don’t know too many youth workers who can’t be bought with a good cup of coffee after an event.
Finally, brush up on your youth work skills. If your youth ministry course didn’t cover a lot on adolescent behaviour or youth participation you are not alone (I know mine didn’t). Read a blog (I know a few good ones). Check out the professional development calendars that line the pin board at your local council youth service. Attend a short course or you could do what I did and go and do a 3 year degree. However you do it, get credibility with the secular youth worker in the form of knowledge.

If you follow these 5 easy tips you will build your network exponentially. The two most common grievances a secular youth worker has against youth ministers is that they are unqualified hacks and that they are only doing the work to try and convert the young people. If you can show that you know what you are doing and you are doing it because you genuinely care, you will have gone a long way to beginning a lifelong friendship and supporting your young people.

Aaron Garth is the Director of Operations for Ultimate Youth Worker – an Australian company that provides high quality professional development for youth workers to build and maintain longevity in the field. Aaron has worked as a youth worker in a number of settings including local church, street drug and alcohol outreach, family services, residential care and youth homelessness since 2003. Aaron is a regular speaker at camps, retreats, & youth work training events and is a dedicated volunteer with his local church youth ministry. Aaron is a graduate of RMIT University and an alumnus of their youth work program. He lives in Melbourne, Vic with his wife of 5 years Jennifer & their daughters Hope and Zoe.

Aaron Garth – Cert IV AOD, B.Soc.Sci (Youth Work)

Director of Operations

Ultimate Youth Worker

‘Development for the future’

PH: +61. 430 064 165

M: P.O. Box 3114

Eltham, Vic, 3095

E: aaron@ultimateyouthworker.com.au

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ultimateyouthworker

Twitter: @Ultimate_YW

Blog: http://ultimateyouthworker.blogspot.com.au/

Teaching Respect To Teenagers – Youth Work Session Idea

September 20, 2012 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Young people (and adults!) through the ages have had trouble respecting others. Today’s youth work session idea looks at ways you can approach teaching respect to teenagers and how to help them consider this issue more deeply.

Do & Don’t

One of the first steps in teaching respect to teenagers is to get them to think about people who they do respect and who they don’t.

To do this, divide a sheet of paper down the middle, with “Do Respect” on one side and “Don’t Respect” on the other. They should then think of all the different groups of people they know and place them in one of the two columns. This could either be done together as a group on some flipchart paper or individually on their own sheet of paper.

If they have a hard time thinking of different groups, here are some ideas to prompt them (not all of these may be applicable to your teenagers):

Brothers/sisters
Parents
Friends
Boyfriend/girlfriend
Teachers
Police
Social workers
Neighbors
Youth workers
Sports coach
Pastors
Movie stars
Pop stars
Sport stars

With movie stars, pop stars, etc, have them name specific celebrities, as this will help with the next section.

Why?

Now that they have a list of people who they do or don’t respect, the next step is to find out reasons why they feel that way about each group / person. Encourage them to be as specific as they can – instead of a reason being “Because they’re stupid”, have the teens elaborate on reasons why they think the group / person is stupid.

This can give you far more insight into why the young person may have such a hard time showing respect to certain people. For example, you may find out that the reason a young person hates the police so much is because they arrested their father for physically abusing them.

As this section could lead to personal and sensitive information being involved, it might be worth getting the youth to write their reasons down individually, so that it’s only you that will see their answers.

Who?

The next part of teaching respect is to reverse the situation. Ask them to list people who show them respect. You could in theory have them list people who don’t show them respect, but by focusing on people that respect them will help this part of the session remain positive, particularly as the first couple of steps could have been challenging for the teenagers.

As this is a more positive section, it should be OK doing this as a group rather than individually.

How?

Now that they have a list of people who show them respect, ask them for examples of how these people show them respect. Again, ask for specific examples – instead of “Because they’re nice to me”, try to have them explain exactly what it is that’s showed them respect. This could be their tone of voice, smiling at them, that they praise them when they work hard, etc.

Benefits

The next step when teaching respect to teenagers is to explore the benefits from both sides. What are the benefits when somebody respects them and what are the benefits when they respect others? For example:

When someone respects me…..

When my Dad respects me, it makes me happy
When a teacher respects me, it makes me work harder
When the police respect me, I don’t want to insult them
When my boyfriend respects me, it makes me love him more
When my sister respects me, it makes me want to play with her more

When I respect someone else…..

When I respect my teacher, I won’t get a detention
When I respect my sports coach, it might make him more likely to pick me for the team
When I respect my Mom, she won’t shout at me
When I respect my girlfriend, our relationship will get stronger
When I respect the police, I won’t get arrested for being mouthy

This activity could be done by giving each young person a pen and some post-it notes to write down their thoughts. These could then be stuck on the flipchart next to each person / group if you’ve been using a flipchart.

Positive Actions

The previous activity will hopefully have helped your teenagers to start internalizing some of the benefits of showing respect. This step will help them internalize ways that they can do this.

Provide each young person with some post-it notes and a pen (if they don’t have them from the previous activity). Get them to write down three ways that they could show respect to each person / group that was listed in the first activity, regardless of which column they were listed in.

On the flipchart, write each person / group on a separate sheet. Once the youth have come up with three ways to show respect to each person, have them stick the post-it notes around their name on the flipchart. Read out all the different options as you go along, so that your teenagers are teaching each other how to respect.

If they have a hard time coming up with ideas, explain that they could show respect through things they say or do, or maybe even things they don’t say or do.

Challenge

Finally, set them a challenge – to intentionally show respect to every person /group listed over the course of the next week (or until the next time your group is due to meet).

At your next meeting, get the youth to report back on how it went by asking some questions. These could include:

Who was it hardest to show respect to?
How did you show respect?
How did they react?
How did you benefit by showing them respect?
How did your relationship improve?

Try to focus on the positive as much as possible and celebrate their achievements, as this will encourage them to continue showing respect.

Question: What other tips do you have for teaching respect to teenagers? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

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How To Deal With Parents As A Youth Worker

September 19, 2012 By Stephen Pepper Leave a Comment

Dealing with parents in youth work — Unfortunately, dealing with parents in youth work isn’t always picture perfect

As a youth worker, it’s important that we also work with parents. There can be times though that it’s hard to deal with parents for one reason or another.

This week’s Best Of Youth Workin’ It looks back at a series of posts where we gave advice on how to deal with different types of parents:

1. Parents who are unsupportive of your youth work – Some parents may have a problem with the fact that you’re working with their youth. If you’re a social worker, it could be that they see this as an indictment on their parenting skills. If you’re a youth pastor, a young person’s parents may not believe in God and so be concerned that you’re brainwashing their child. Other times, it could simply be that they don’t know enough about the work you’re doing with, so better communication could help solve this problem.

This first post therefore gives four tips on how to deal with this type of unsupportive parent.

2. Parents who are unsupportive of their children – It can be tough seeing parents who don’t support their child. There can be many different reasons why parents act this way, some of them similar to the reasons given above as to why some parents aren’t supportive of your youth work.

This post offers three ways that you can try to encourage parents to be more supportive of their children.

3. Parents who want to be over-involved in your youth work – These parents can be the complete opposite of unsupportive – they want to be involved in every aspect of your youth work. This could be because they want to keep an eye on their child, they’re worried about being unsupportive or perhaps their parents were over-involved in a similar way, so don’t know any different.

This post has a number of “dos and don’ts”, along with five ways that you can help manage their involvement to keep it at an appropriate level.

4. Parents who are aggressive – Aggressive parents can be an especially tough situation to deal with. This post lets you know how to use ICE to keep things cool.

Question: Are there any other types of challenging parents you have to deal with in your youth work? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll try to provide some advice in future posts on how to deal with that type of situation.

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