The
other day I was reading another quilty friend's blog post. She loyally posts on
a daily basis. I don't know how she does it. I have great intentions but get
side tracked; busy doing other things, and then days may go by. Not her. She is
committed to her daily post! She is committed.
Her
topic was VOLUNTEERS, big letters. It made me think of the unlimited hours
people offer to make things better and inspired me to comment on the word here.
Most of us go thru life without much thought how things are done around us, but
volunteers are everywhere. Events and functions of all kinds wouldn't happen
without the generous amount of time and effort of its volunteers. If you
volunteer at your church, schools, blood banks, etc. even the tiniest amount of
time, you know what I mean. And volunteering happens beyond the demands of our
very busy lives.
Case
in point.....our Big Red Quilters Guild. Now I will step up on the soap box for
a moment. Her post caused me to reflect on some of the countless hours people
give to get this guild going and running thus far. Hopefully it will inspire
you to think of even the tiniest way you might share your talents and time to
improve our guild. Volunteering is vital. Things don't miraculously get done
with someone stepping forward. I can't list everything that "gets
done" in our guild but here are a few things that come to mind.
Fasten your seat belts:
Working
with a quilt shop for an exploratory guild meeting
Hours/weeks
meeting to organize the start up
Research
meeting locations
Budget
setting
Setting
up bank accounts
Establishing
non-profit status
Deliver
guild related handouts/forms thru-out west Michigan
Stepping
up for board positions
Organize,
set up and clean up event refreshments
Work
with suppliers ordering, pickup and delivering name tags
Soliciting
prizes from local shops
Take
photographs for historical records
Record
countless hours of minutes for each meeting and event
Checking
members in at each meeting
Create and maintain new website
Lead
programs
Greet and welcome guests
Research
and contract all guild speakers
Create
and maintain bee lists
Research
and organize charity project efforts
Hold
up "show and tell" quilts
Organizing
special challenges (create guidelines, forms, contracting judges etc)
Create
and maintain a Facebook page
Work
with news media advertising the guild and events
Travel
to/research retreat locations and facilities
Watching
forecast during bad weather for safe meetings
Organize
transportation, meals and rooms for speakers
Organize
numerous tasks for a workshop
Room
set up and tears down before each event
Step
up and lead countless tasks
Create
and maintain a guild blog to communicate to members
Research,
negotiate, contact and organize tasks for special events like bus trips
Organize
sew-ins - getting doors unlocked, table set up and turning up the heat
Covering
someone's duties if they are absent
Coordinate
events with Beechwood church (approvals, support staff, etc.)
Create
and maintain countless forms
Coordinate
garage sales.... collecting, pricing, set up, tear down/clean up
Maintain
guild records
Process
new members
Maintain
accounting functions and work within budgets
Create
and maintain accurate member lists
And have fun building new friendships!
Helping
with guild activities connects us and builds friendships with other quilters.
How fun is that!?!! But this is only a few things that go on behind the scenes.
It’s just a snippet of the many things needed to make YOUR guild work. More is
needed and encouraged to make it work effortlessly. Remember, this guild
belongs to all of us. So how are you able to help? Maybe you'd be willing to
replace outgoing secretary and treasurer positions this fall? Or somewhere
else? Think about it. Lots of hands make light work!
Thank
you,
Barb
Schippa,
(One
of many Volunteers) Big Red Quilters Guild Secretary
