Day One: Students know when it’s right

The first day I found a station and wrapped…for 5 1/2 hours. I was surrounded by high school students who were there to fulfill their community hours. Many of these kids were a little lost, so I soon found roles for them.

I turned one into my decorator delegating the big decisions of what colour ribbon and bow. There was great pride in this task. Other helpers were turned into runners bringing supplies and expediting baskets. The kids brought other kids with the request “Miss, can you find a job for my friend?”

As we worked there were great discussions of school/university, phones/technology and eventually the inefficiency of the basket operation. Many of our baskets didn’t look too appealing. Overstuffed or imbalanced, the kids thought they looked bad. After returning a few they brought the issue up to event management and were told the baskets were fine.

So I get these big brown eyes starring up at me saying “this isn’t right.” And I had to agree and say that life isn’t always great, so do what you can and fight for what you think is right. So we fixed the baskets and no one noticed. End of shift, many beautiful baskets later, hugs all around, Facebook pics and a hope to see each other the next day.

Day Two: Cheer-leading for volunteers

Now knowing the operation a bit better and getting no direction other than “there’s lots to do, go find something” from the event staff, I decided to do a little quality assurance and expediting. I added a second layer of quality control (responding to the issues of day one) and ensured there was a consistent supply of baskets to wrap (another problem we had faced). The kids from day one were glad to see me focused on these things and I got big smiles from across the room.

I encouraged the shy boys to be runners and was a creative cheerleader with “that’s beautiful,” “great basket,” and “can you add a little more love to that one.” When some of the kids lost their focus I reminded them of the cause, “imagine that woman in a shelter with not much but the cheer that this basket would bring.” They popped back up and gave it their all. Even the adult volunteers rose to the occasion and I got a high five from one as she left her shift.

What I witnessed

• Volunteers streaming in and no greeter; no one to give them an orientation and a task
• Youth volunteers doing it for the community hours credit but not really understanding the cause and their impact (on the good side many parents worked along with their kids, on the bad side some parents wanted their kids working an 8 hr shift each day just to get through the requirement quickly)
• A disorganized production floor leading to inefficient use of people and donated product
• Lack of matching skill to task; so folks that shouldn’t wrap but could easily expedite, lots of junior volunteers with nothing to do and event staff doing tasks rather than supporting volunteers
• Lack of encouragement for efforts or a reminder of what we were doing – what was the goal? Where were the shelters?
• A lot of good folks, good donations and a good facility

Maybe it’s okay to “stuff envelopes.” Occasionally instead of doing all this strategy work, I should get tactical and be that process champion that gets the most out of a volunteer crew and makes that crew feel like they made the world a better place that day.

What pains me is that some of our top students in this country are unmatched in the mentor programs they are part of. These students have asked for mentors, the programs that they belong to promise a mentor and yet they remain unmatched.

I have seen a few issues:

• The programs are not well publicized or are not well known as opportunities for the target mentor audience
• Programs recycle their own lists of mentors leading to volunteer fatigue and a rather stale list.
• Many potential mentors don’t know what’s involved. They may have a inclination to volunteer but it’s not easy to find a program, get through the process and the expectations are seldom really clear.
• A bad recruitment process or an unfulfilling/unsuccessful mentoring program will cause mentors to drop out.

The good news is that there are some real superstars out there just looking for a little support. There are future leaders, cultural gems, international spirits and the next innovators. It’s inspiring to be among them and rewarding to be able to give back. As in most volunteering, you get back far more than you give.

Inspired to help? Here’s just a couple of places I volunteer that need you:

www.Top20Under20.ca (contact lmah@youth-in-motion.ca)

alumni.utoronto.ca/volunteer/mentorship/

With no real plan, one day I was working and the next day I wasn’t.
No plan exactly, just a rough idea it was time to start living. I wanted to travel and I wanted to give back in thanks for the opportunities I had been blessed with. And so like any other project I began the research of what, how, when, etc. Within a year or two I had a solid plan and had begun putting the pieces in place, even before the plan was clearly articulated.

I’m not alone in this approach as many of my peers are enjoying the journey as they redefine their lives. Most are opting for a portfolio life rather than a singularly focused one. Others are not faring so well as they are being turfed out of careers, mourning their past rather than planning their future.

As someone said to me this week, “why didn’t I know these opportunities existed before? I switched focus and now everywhere I look there are exciting roles for me to use my skills but in a non-profit space.”

2 Similar men, 2 very different paths
Both are traditional male executives in their late 50’s (or a bit more), family men, experts with 30 years spent in the same industry mostly with the same company.

But that’s where the similarity ends.

One voluntarily retired and after a bit of searching and talking to a variety of folks, landed a couple of board member roles, now mentors at an incubator and contacted a local university where he started mentoring students and then worked his way to an instructor role which he really enjoys. Amid all this he is reconnecting and spending more time with his kids. He’s learned to Facebook, has a great LinkedIn profile and is busy connecting and learning. His energy is great.

The other is hanging onto his office for dear life but the axe is coming. He has no hobbies or interests outside of his industry. Any referrals or recommendations to connect go untouched as he waits for someone to personally approach him with the right offer. He’s stressed, out of shape, and over weight, and those around him are worried.

Making the transition
To help those who need to get going on their plan , here are some keys to transitioning

• Accept that things will be different
• Research what’s out there until you find things that appeal
• Create a collection of things to do so you can continue exploring and extending your network
• Listen and learn while leveraging what you know
• Reinvigorate yourself by meeting new people and trying something new

What I wanted was for non-profits to reconsider their volunteer models to make best use of Boomer talents. What I have instead is volunteers of all ages adopting my title, calling themselves Strategic Volunteers, and so both identifying those types opportunities and showing what this new breed of volunteerism can do.

So whether you’re a retired executive volunteering CEO level consulting, or a career shifting Gen X-er volunteering corporate marketing experience to green causes, or anywhere in between, adopt the title and show the non-profit world the value of a Strategic Volunteer.

But this time, they’ve teamed up with ad agency TAXI to perfectly capture the power of Facebook with an ask to “Donate your Status.”

Please help us reach our goal of one status for every street kid.

At first glance at the email’s subject line I didn’t get it but one click in and a bounce over to Convenant’s Facebook page and I realized the brilliance. They’ve got an assortment of status lines that are consistent and hard hitting as all Convenant’s messages are. Make one of these your Facebook status to share the message. And then of course, there’s the text “youth” to donate $5 to the cause buying 2 meals for one of these kids.

Kudos to the cause and their agency for a brilliant use of a small but powerful feature of one of today’s biggest social media platforms.

While a few hold on to agency life, probably because they own the agency, and few more manage to maintain their corporate office working client side, the rest seem to disappear. And yet I’ve found an endless need for their experience, creativity and skills in the non profit and volunteer world.

Needed: Good basic marketing for causes, done well and provided by a reliable, talented veteran.

This is a world that relies on communication and generally does it rather poorly. Yes, there are the big brands with big budgets to hire outstanding marketing talent but there are thousands of smaller organizations, projects and movements all needing a solid brand positioning, a messaging hierarchy and some creative expression, let alone a media plan to amplify the message.

So if there are any old marketers out there that are feeling a little unappreciated, please contact me. You are needed desperately.

Whether you are an alumnus or not, I invite you to visit our mentor page and review the programs that we’ve found so far. You’ll find programs organized by college, faculty and a general category. This is just the first step as we continue to uncover the many opportunities to provide a valuable contribution.

http://alumni.utoronto.ca/volunteer/mentorship/

You can be a mentor at any age
There is a great contribution to be made regardless if you just graduated or graduation seems a lifetime ago. Students need help making career decisions, understanding the transition from school to the workplace, deeper insights into industries and roles, they need contacts, and most importantly a good two-way conversation. Some of them may be thinking of starting their own business – for profit or maybe socially oriented. So there are lots of roles to fill and perspectives needed.

You can mentor anywhere
Just because you’re not in Toronto, doesn’t mean you can’t mentor a student. Students come from everywhere to study at UofT and many students are quite used to communications through internet tools. I’ve had many a mentoring session with teams of students via Skype even when we’re in the same town! So don’t let distance get in your way of adding value.

More opps
While you’re on the website, take a look at the other opportunities to volunteer: hosting dinners, community service and participating in regional events.

I thought having a charitable foundation was the domain only of the super rich but not any more. It happens to the be the fastest growing method of giving and I suspect it’s going to skyrocket in popularity as the economy recovers, portfolios go positive and boomers once again focus on their next phase.

So yes, a totally self-directed foundation is still out of reach for many of us but individual or family foundations (sometimes called donor-advised funds) are now a packaged offering available through financial services firms. A similar offering is also available through many foundations. Start it up with $10k-$25k depending on the program.

See examples:
http://www.mackenziefinancial.com/en/pub/products/charitable/index.shtml
http://www.tcf.ca
http://www.canadagives.ca/about_canada_gives

Your name is on the foundation, you can direct where the proceeds go, you may select how the funds are invested and the perk on top of all the good feeling you get is that there’s a big tax deduction that comes with the investment.

Get the kids involved

Some families are using it as a way to involve kids in the giving process. It’s a family fund and the family decides together where proceeds go.

When you’re ready to think about this you’ll know it

When you’ve taken care of yourself, your partner, and your kids, and there will be a time when that happens, if there’s a little extra leftover then maybe it’s time to think about setting up your own foundation. It will add structure to your giving and even leave a legacy that continues to give even when you’re gone.

I’ve been doing formal and informal mentoring for years. Sometimes with a career focus, other times an entrepreneurial focus and the rest are usually helping with self discovery.  I always considered it a duty as I had been helped greatly and so it is my turn to help others.

Mentoring or being a mentor or having a mentor became the popular label 10-15 years ago for a basket of characteristics and offerings that has been around forever.

Listening, being a sounding board, helping to evaluate choices or ideas, sharing experience, offering advice, and opening your connections are just some of things you do as a mentor.

While mentoring is usually a one on one activity, you can mentor a group or team as well. Mentorship programs are present at high schools, universities/colleges, in the workplace and in community groups. These are not necessarily life long responsibilities. They can be as short as one session or as long as you wish. Courtesy of technology they can be long distance by email or Skype or they can be in person over a cup of coffee.

So if you’re looking for something meaningful to do, just Google “mentorship” and your town and see what you find. Or start by contacting the alumni organization at your university or college and see if they have a program that needs your help.

Transitioning is difficult

If you didn’t have a good enough plan then starting from zero is difficult. As much as you may think so now, non-stop golf, lunches, grandkids or catching up on reading will not make you feel fulfilled. It’s kind of like a kid’s dinner of candy – great for the first few minutes but after that you need something nourishing.

I predict that recently retired boomers will be back to work in 8 months if they don’t find enough meaningful activities to fill their days.

The draw of something familiar, something that reaffirms your value is strong. Add money and the draw will be irresistible, especially if you feel it is on your terms. But is that really what you want to do with all your productive days?

A meaningful retirement takes work

You need to figure out what you want to do – what you value. Then you need to reinvent or as I say “realign” yourself. It will probably be a portfolio style life where you focus your energy on a few different areas.

One will be friends and family, one will be leisure and probably travel, one may be work and one may be contributing to your community in some way. Then you have to plan activities in each of these areas to keep the engagement going. Retirement is work – just a different kind. You get out of it what you put into it.

Volunteering is not easy

It’s easier to get a job than give your time away for free. Unfortunately non profits and community groups are not prepared for the mass numbers of Boomers ready to give back. The models for volunteerism are old and are resistant to change.

So at this point your biggest challenge may be in breaking through and finding or defining volunteer roles that leverage your assets and fit the organization.

Be prepared to be a part of building these new models – that may be where some of the most meaning volunteerism will be.