Before I became the director of Chore, I was an intern in the office helping with client intake and matching them with volunteers. As I interned, fulfilling hours for a scholarship, I saw how many people were desperately waiting for help. It didn't feel good to say, "No, I'm sorry. We still haven't found a volunteer." So then I became a volunteer, collecting clients like the clients collect cats.

Sweeping, mopping, cleaning the bathroom- it doesn't exactly send pleasure messages to the receptors in my brain. But I keep doing it because I know these people rely on you. Even in cringe-worthy situations (I already mentioned the cat collection) I kept volunteering. Because I tried to imagine what it was like to have no one- no family, no friends, no support group. And sometimes the clients have no one because they are not easy to get along with. Sometimes. But it doesn't change the fact that they still need help.

 So these are my motivations for volunteering. They are probably the same and probably different from the reasons other people have for volunteering. But what are motivations for NOT volunteering?

 This is a question I ask a lot because our program depends on having a database of volunteers, and a fresh supply trickling in constantly. Chore serves 200+ clients, with new ones coming in every day. 1 Volunteer = 1 Client served. I often compare the volunteer crisis to the shortage of teachers: It's a bucket of sand with a hole in the bottom, but instead of fixing the hole we keep putting more sand in.

 So how do you fix that hole?

I hear lots of reasons why volunteers drop out, or never get started: "I am going to have a baby" "I am just really busy with my house/work right now" "I have family visiting" "My own parents need help right now." All legitimate reasons. But maybe no one feels okay saying, "I just don't enjoy it."

 So that's my goal this month, with a new intern. The idea is to create some recognition events to retain volunteers, and get them better connected to our program. If they feel connected to Chore, they will be more likely to remain as volunteers (there's my student affairs background for you) and go on to help many clients, forging worthwhile relationships.

 Thanks for reading my musings...stay tuned for the results of this experiment.