Large Community Giveback Effort - Part One

In 2007, I was tapped to organize the North American Youth Congress Community Giveback Effort for over 1,000 individuals in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Whoa! What a HUGE effort!

The difference that was made as a result of the organization of this event, was well worth all the effort I put into planning it.

I am going to attempt to show you how you too can organize a giveback opportunity of this magnitude relatively seamlessly.

This will be a series of blogs - so check back often for... the rest of the story.

1. Determine the area in which you wish to make a difference.

2. Contact the local non-profits in that area to determine the need. Do not waste your time talking to part-time staff members or volunteers at these organizations. Go right to the top - the Executive Director or President/CEO will know more about the need and can make the final call as to how many volunteers they could use and what work will need to be accomplished while your group is there.

3. Remember, DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS - you must have them ALL before organizing the sign-up process for your volunteers.

4. We created a website so that individuals who came to this event from all around North America could get involved.

5. We set a deadline on registration.

6. We encouraged all attendees to participate, free of charge.

7. We had over 15,000 students and adult volunteers in attendance at NAYC in Charlotte and close to 1,500 served during our giveback opportunity called Project 22:39. (Project 22:39 was named with Matthew 22:39 in mind, "Love your neighbor as yourself.")

8. Define your goals so that everyone can take part in the "win".

9. Our goal was to provide giveback opportunities in Charlotte, NC for 2-3 hours on one day during a huge youth conference. Believe it or not, it was doable. (even when I thought it wasn't.)

10. I found that Parks and Recs were able to fill close to 1,000 volunteer positions during our Project 22:39 efforts. I recommend working with Parks and Recs for any type of giveback opportunity where you expect a large number of individuals to participate.

11. I had 5 students at the local homeless shelter, 20 volunteers at a Crisis Control Minisries Store, 25 individuals at the local Food Bank - but when you are talking numbers of partipants over 1,000 - you need a larger opportunity like parks and recs to put your volunteers to work!

I will write more on this later. Stay tuned...

Red Cross Blood Drive Video

I am adding this video to this site so that you can see how the room we used, was laid out and you can also catch a glimpse of our decorating.

Planning A Blood Drive with the Red Cross

Click here to find out more about the Red Cross in your area.

1. Call your Red Cross representative to ask about a date for your blood drive. (It usually takes 6-8 weeks to plan a successful blood drive.)
   
   
2. Our goal was for 30 individuals to give one pint each.
   
   
3. Once your date is confirmed, start filling in the time slots that your representative will give you. We were given time slots from 9 AM until 1:15 PM. (two to three donors should be signed up every fifteen minutes)
   
   
4. I had over fifty individuals sign up. Thirty-eight of them showed up. Thirty-one of our perspective donors could actually give. It's better to overshoot your goal - in order to meet/exceed the Red Cross' expectations.
   
   
5. While you are filling in the sign-up sheet, it's time to get to work on organizing the refreshments.
   
   
6. I was able to secure five dozen fresh bagels from Brueggers, twelve dozen doughnuts and forty cups of coffee from Krispy Kreme, totally free of charge. I have request letters that I can send your way as a template if you are interested in using what I have created. Email me at chrisponjican@hotmail.com to request my community donation template letter.
   
   
7. I also received a $25 gift card from Walmart, a $20 gift card from Food Lion and a $10 gift card from Lowes Food. Again, I can send my community donation template letter your way if you want your event to cost you absolutely nothing.
   
   
8. It is important to provide plenty of sweets to help your donors recover quickly from giving a pint of their blood.
   
   
9. Remember the diabetics! Orange juice and sugar free blueberry muffins are two great choices to have on hand for those who should not eat doughnuts.
   
   
10. We had our Blood Drive on Valentine's Day - so we purchased heart helium balloons and heart stickers for the kids who came with their parents.
    
    
11. Donors appreciate it when you are accommodating to their children. While the parents gave, our volunteer team directed the children to the refreshment table, where they ate and played with balloons.
    
    
12. As individuals sign up, an email should be sent to the perspective donors confirming the time in which they have committed to donate. This email should include the location of the blood drive with the address, the organizer's cell phone number and a link to the Red Cross' Tips for Successful Giving document. It would not hurt to call your donors the night before the drive to ensure their participation. I can send to you a copy of the email I used for my blood drive that you can use as a template for your drive. Email me.
    
    
13. Once you have your donors... it's time to organize a volunteer team. We had a team of twelve individuals. Here is the breakdown:

We had a GREET Team. Two individuals were placed at the registration table to handle sign-ins, to check photo i.d., to give stickers to children, etc.

We had a FLOAT Team. These individuals were responsible for serving the donors a soda or something sweet, as they came to the end of giving blood. These volunteers also assisted the donors to the refreshment table and took additional drink orders at that time. We had all of the refreshments on the table and replaced plates, napkins, etc. as each donor was well enough to go on about their day.

We had one volunteer who assisted us from the medical field. He stood near the refreshment table at all times to check for signs of those who may be prone to faint. He also looked out for those who may still have bleeding at the needle injection site.

Finally, we had a REPLENISH Team. These individuals took their orders from the FLOAT Team. They were in the kitchen, pouring drinks and replenishing the refreshment table.

I have job descriptions for each of these teams that I can send your way if you are interested in seeing a more detailed breakdown of responsibilities for the volunteers during the Blood Drive.

Overall our event was a great success.

Happy planning!