PROJECT HEALTHY AT HOME COMMUNITY EVENT 2015 Saturday September 26, 2015

Welcome!!! We are excited you’re here! We are expecting close to 1,000 community members to attend Project Healthy at Home’s 1 st Annual Community Event on September 26 th ! Your efforts and involvement are crucial to our success. We appreciate each and every one of you!

The Event Venue  The Community Event will be held at the beautiful Hagerstown Fairgrounds Park.  We have reserved the park’s 4 pavilions for the event and expect vendors and community partners to set up informational tables along the pathways throughout the park.  The event will be held rain or shine (Let’s hope for sunshine!)

Hagerstown Fairgrounds Park

So, let’s get to business…  Project Healthy at Home, who are we?  Our program’s mission is to assist homeless people aged 65 and over to obtain permanent housing situations, and to support these clients so that they may live healthy and meaningful lives.  We assist clients with obtaining appropriate housing, provide transportation and support services as they transition in to new living environments, and provide support and referral services for health maintenance needs.

 Why the Community Event?  We want to raise community awareness about the program and its services.  We want to interface with representatives from other helping community organizations.  We want to provide potential clients with information about how we can help.

We need help to reach our goals! Volunteer teams will play an integral role in the success of the Project Healthy at Home Community Event.

Why Use Volunteers?  Volunteers will provide support to us (the staff of the program), and help to alleviate some of the workload involved in coordinating the community event. (Connors, 2012)  Volunteers are community members. Not only will their efforts help Project Healthy at Home, but their volunteerism contributes to the betterment of their community and provides them opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment. (Stebbins, 2009)

…..Continued  Volunteers will help us represent our program to the partnering community agencies in attendance. There is strength in numbers! ** Volunteers will help our program interface with more agencies, thereby increasing the likelihood for partnerships and professional relationships. (Macneela, 2008)  By involving a volunteer resource in this fun community event, we can increase the interest among volunteers to become involved with our program. More help to do good work is ALWAYS welcomed at Project Healthy at Home!

Our Community Event provides countless opportunities to improve our program and its presence in our community. We can only go up from here! How exciting!

The Volunteer’s Role at the Event  Volunteer teams ( 4 teams of 2 volunteers) will direct patrons to the informational tables set up throughout the park.  Volunteer teams ( 2 teams of 2 volunteers) will be stationed inside the Project Healthy at Home tent with staff members to answer questions and provide program information.  A Volunteer team (1 team of 6 volunteers) will manage the technical/ audio/visual set up of the Project Healthy at Home informational video.

….. There’s more!  Volunteer teams ( 3 teams of 4 volunteers) will assist with patron parking.  Volunteer teams ( 3 teams of 2 volunteers) will sell raffle tickets for donated door prizes.  Volunteer teams ( 3 teams of 2 volunteers) will ensure the needs are met of the partnering agencies with informational tables.

If you’ve been counting… That’s 42 volunteers! What an incredible opportunity we have to include so many people in our vision for Project Healthy at Home!

Using Their Skills to Our Advantage  Our volunteer resource will be rich in abilities. Our seasoned volunteers and those most familiar with the program will be stationed inside the Project Healthy at Home tent.  Our tech-savvy volunteers will provide support and set up of the informational video and audio/visual equipment.  Our young/ temporary volunteers will assist with parking and assist in navigating patrons throughout the event.

 Volunteers with previous raffle ticket experience/ finance experience will sell the raffle tickets and take patron donations.  Older generation volunteers will be assigned to partnering agencies to interface and ensure needs are met. This will certainly be a coordinated effort!

Aligning Our Teams  It is especially important that ALL of our volunteers feel like a welcomed part of the Project Healthy at Home team.  We must be diligent to communicate our program’s mission and vision so that we can align our activities for the greater good.  Adequate training PRIOR to the date of the event is imperative to our success!

Day of Training  All of our participating staff and volunteers will be required to attend a day of training on Saturday September 19 th, one week before the Community Event.  This training day will allow us the opportunity to define our expectations of volunteers, ensure they understand their role and duties, educate volunteers about our mission, vision, and work, and provide us an opportunity to review liability guidelines and event policies.

You (my awesome staff) will play an integral role in this training day. By investing in, and engaging with these volunteers you communicate your commitment to our event’s success.  Teach them what you know.  Show them how to be successful.  Communicate our program’s needs.  Make them feel appreciated!  ***Where possible, Event teams will be comprised of both program staff and volunteers. Mixed teams are important. Get to know one another!

I’ll bring donuts and coffee to our training day! Who can say ‘no’ to that?!

A Few Important Points  While there are minimal risks involved in hosting our Project Healthy at Home Community Event, all volunteers and staff must sign a liability waiver prior to the event.  This waiver will release Project Healthy at Home from liability associated with injury or loss of event volunteers and staff.  This waiver will also release Project Healthy at Home from liability associated with the volunteers’ participation with the event and explains the volunteer attends the event willingly.  Volunteers will use their personal transportation to attend the event.

To Help Address A Few Risks  All volunteers and participating staff will be provided an event/ venue map, emergency contact information, and a ‘walkie-talkie’ radio.  No volunteer will be asked to perform a volunteer activity alone. All volunteers/staff will have a ‘buddy’ for the day.  Project Healthy at Home assumes the risks of renting audio/visual equipment for the presentation of an informational video. The equipment must be handled with care.  The money received from raffle ticket sales and donations will be returned to me at the top of the hour, every hour of the event to be counted and secured.

Let’s just have fun, collaborate, and raise awareness about our program and the ways we are going to help our clients and build a better community!

After the Event  At the end of the Community Event, we will hold a volunteer/staff debriefing meeting to discuss the day’s events.  We want to ensure there is impact and accountability throughout our event and activities.  We will celebrate the day’s success together. There could be no event without everyone’s help. Thank you!

Measuring Success How will we know if the event was a success?  We will ask patrons and partnering agencies to fill out a survey about the event and ask them to give suggestions for improvements. (Accountability Evaluation)  We will seek feedback from volunteers/staff regarding challenges and perceived successes of involvement. (Accountability Evaluation)  We will monitor and evaluate new client intakes and client referrals to determine an increase following the event. (Impact Evaluation)

Project Healthy at Home was founded in love for people and the desire to change lives. With a volunteer resource, our 1 st Annual Community Event will be successful and more people will become familiar with our mission and program goals. Thank you ALL for aligning with our vision and supporting Project Healthy at Home!

References Connors, T. (2012). The Volunteer Management Handbook 2 nd Ed. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons. MacNeela, P. (2008). The Give and Take of Volunteering: Motives, Benefits, and Personal Connections among Irish Volunteers. Voluntas: International Journal Of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations, 19 (2), Stebbins, R. (2009). Would You Volunteer?. Society, 46 (2),