CLO’s BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- Carynne Arnold (Kingston)
- Debra Barrett (Toronto)
- Chris Benninger (Chatham)
- Linda Conley (Picton)
- Elizabeth Debergh (Wellington County)
- Barb Duguay (Fort Frances)
- Susan Hughes (Haileybury)
- Barbara McFater (Toronto)
- Bert Providence (Toronto)
- Cheryl Reid (Toronto)
- Marsha Roadhouse (Belleville)
- Lynne Zuliani (Wawa)
CLO’s STAFF
- Joan Beaudry (Administrative Assistant)
- Robyn Cook-Ritchie (Project Staff)
- Jette Cosburn (Co-Executive Director)
- Karen Farrar (Project Staff)
- Joanne Kaattari (Co-Executive Director)
- Sheila Marshall (Project Staff)
- Vicki Trottier (Project Staff)
APRIL NEWSLETTER
Research/Writing/Desktop Publishing: Joanne Kaattari
Thank you to our members for their support!
This newsletter was funded with membership fees.
Volunteer Recognition
Volunteers are an important part of community literacy agencies. They serve as tutors, volunteer board members, and they help us with the administrative, technical and other key tasks in our literacy centres. They are a very valued asset.
National Volunteer Week (NVW) provides an excellent opportunity for volunteer recognition. This year, NVW is being held from April 19 to 25, 2009.
Volunteer Canada’s website is chock full of resources to help with volunteer recognition. Their site includes information on event planning, promotions, media relations, templates, a campaign kit and a “marketplace” where volunteer recognition items can be purchased. Check it out at: www.nvw-sab.ca/
Volunteer recognition is all about noticing people's efforts and letting them know about it in ways that are meaningful to them. For people who volunteered primarily because of their deep concern for literacy, having students write them a note of thanks would be meaningful. For those who volunteered to gain employment experience, a letter of recommendation from the ED might be the recognition they are looking for!
Volunteer recognition can come in a variety of formal and informal ways. According to CLO's 2005 volunteer survey, here are some of the ways that volunteer contributions are recognized by Ontario's literacy agencies:
- 83% recognize their commitment in informal ways
- 75% of agencies host events to recognize volunteers
- 62% offer occasional rewards or incentives
CLO’s survey also revealed that most literacy volunteers preferred informal recognition to formal. When literacy volunteers were asked how they would like to be recognized, here is what they said:
- 58% of volunteers like informal recognition
- 24% like formal recognition events
- 22% like occasional rewards or incentives
- 7% like public recognition