Sage Cares Day of Service for Food Bank of the Rockies and Food for Thought-Denver

Take Away Points Communication Organization Collaboration Meredith Blanchard, Volunteer Engagement Coordinator at Mile High United Way Organization Laura Egan, Development Specialist at Food Bank of the Rockies Collaboration Jeane Larkins, Volunteer Coordinator at Food For Thought-Denver Best Practices

Communication- Before Event Why is this group volunteering? What does this group hope to take away from this day of service? How flexible can groups be and what resources are they working with? How flexible can agencies be with corporate groups? Constant follow-up and check-in’s Reminder to all participants 3-5 days in advance

Communication During Event Color coded to break up the volunteers into groups Colorful balloons corresponding the volunteer areas Agency introduction and thank you at lunch Share phone numbers with all planners

Sage Hospitality Day of Service Schedule for the Day Sage Hospitality Day of Service Date: Tuesday, March 18th Coordinators: Robin Kirtley and Josefina Schnaith from Sage Hospitality; Laura Egan from Food Bank of the Rockies; Jeane Larkins and Bob Bell from Food for Thought, Meredith Blanchard from Mile High United Way Total number of volunteers: 180 8:30am – 9am: Community Day Presentation at Embassy Suites Walter Isenberg, city official and Ed Blair from MHUW will speak 8:45am: MHUW volunteers arrive at FBR Natalie Liff, Cassandra Murray, Breeahna Britt Photobucket film crew arrive at FBR Gretchen Gilliland and Mike Garvey from MHUW to assist group, Meredith to greet group 9am- 9:10am Blue and Red dots load buses 9:10 - 9:20am Yellow, Orange and Green dots load buses 9:30am – 10am: Volunteers will be arriving on multiple buses to Food Bank of the Rockies. Distribution and Food for Thought volunteers should come first if possible Staff from MHUW to greet volunteers off the bus and take them to their stations according to sticker color. Quick tour of where to find bathrooms and water while volunteering and where to put coats and purses. 50 volunteers with Food for Thought (BLUE) – Natalie Liff 35 volunteers in distribution- pulling orders (RED) – Cassie Murray 40 volunteers in CSFP- filling boxes and breaking apart boxes (YELLOW) – Breeahna Britt 15 box builders (interchangeable with CSFP) (ORANGE) - Breeahna Britt 40 volunteers in reclamation- grocery rescue  (GREEN) – Meredith Blanchard  10am – 10:20am Volunteers are at their stations and getting trained by station leads 10:20am Lunch boxes arrive at FBR MHUW staff can help unload lunches 10:20pm – 1:45pm: Volunteers work in their stations 11:45am – 12:15pm: LUNCH Food for Thought and Reclamation Presentation by Food for Thought and FBR in the first 10 minutes 12:15 – 12:45pm: LUNCH CSFP, Distribution, box builders 1:45 – 2pm: wrap up and load buses 2pm: Buses take off from Food Bank of the Rockies 2:30pm: Volunteers arrive back at Embassy Suites

Communication- After Event Thank You’s one day after event To co-workers who made it happen To company contacts who participated in planning To all volunteers Survey Social Media Check to make sure it is something the company wants to advertise

Results for Sage Cares Food for Thought 1200 PowerSacks packed  Each PowerSacks is 8 meals = 9600 meals! Food Bank of the Rockies Total of 144,514 lbs – the equivalent of 112,902 meals In Distribution, 88,510 lbs were pulled in orders. In Reclamation, 14,004 lbs were packed. In USDA/CSFP, 42,000 lbs were packed.

Best Practices Be very clear with volunteers about what they are doing and WHY – Good orientation – includes mission, history Be prepared when the group arrives Try to personalize the task at hand and the end result i.e. set the timer on your cell phone for 3pm. Emphasis how that individual is going to make a difference that day Determine the desired outcome and needs of the partners/volunteers/management group who brought volunteers Make the event fun! Provide music, food/snacks, water, remember to smile and laugh! Find the humor in small moments! Move Quickly Be organized and clear about volunteer jobs and roles Thank your fellow collaborators publicly in front of volunteers Write everything down Precise schedule of the day that includes outline of areas, area leads, tools required in each area Emails Consistent communication through out the planning process to ensure everyone is on the same page Reminder email to all involved parties 3-5 days before the event Follow up thank-you email to volunteers, your coworkers who made it possible and those involved in the planning process Good idea for the follow-up to include a summary of all that was accomplished Social Media Dropbox for photos #hashtags# Appreciation post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

CSR Best Practices (from the agency point of view) Plan ahead – the bigger the group, the more lead time needed Consider implementing a volunteer budget to offset costs to the nonprofit Provide snacks/treats/coffee etc. for your employees while they volunteer Break your group into smaller groups if possible Consider ongoing volunteer opportunities as opposed to large days of service Volunteerism message should come from the top down to encourage participation