Volunteering is that thing that most everyone does. Even those of us who don’t engage with nonprofits end up volunteering some of our time to help a loved one, school teacher, or friend. It’s a part of the human nature to lend a hand to those that we care about or a cause that gets our souls fired up. As many of you know, I volunteer a lot in a wide variety of places. I do what I can, when I can, and I love watching how organizers keep up with their volunteers as they work on their projects. At Type A Parent Conference, we were talking about Volunteer Spot which is an online tool to gather and manage volunteers for your project. The idea was born out of the frustration of dealing with long “reply all” emails and online groups that each volunteer must sign up for. Don’t we all get a little sick of having to sign up for things that we may not be committed to on a long term basis?

 Consider the uses of this great tool for teachers. They can manage whom is bringing what to the class party, organize volunteers for class trips, and even track room mothers. PTA/PTO’s can manage their volunteers for each fundraiser, grounds/class cleanup, and teacher appreciation days. What about coaches? They can manage post-game snacks with the parents and parties for championships and a wide variety of post-season celebrations. Girl/Boy Scout troop leaders would also benefit greatly with this tool.

But Volunteer Spot can be used for far more than just school fundraisers, troop events, and sporting activities. Consider those that you know whom are handicapped or temporarily incapacitated. Recently, a dear friend had surgery and was unable to move about freely. Living alone made it difficult for her to take care of herself. So she organized people who would bring meals, sit with her, take her to appointments, help with her laundry, and take care of light cleaning. I had not shared with her the glory of Volunteer Spot and I wish I had. It would have made organizing all of those things much easier on her. And what about our Elders? Our beloved Crone cannot take care of her garden and grounds the way she used to. Many gather to tend to her garden, clear away weeds, and clean up the land to make it more useful in the future. Although the group is small, if it grows than Volunteer Spot would be very beneficial to help people know when and what needs to be taken care of.

So I have given you all these ideas and now you are wondering “But will it cost anything?”. Nope. That’s the glory of it, it’s free. So really, what can it hurt to give it a try? What will you use Volunteer Spot for?

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