How will this opportunity benefit the volunteer?
Understanding volunteer motivations is a vital underpinning of a strong volunteer program. When designing the work that we are asking volunteers to do, providing opportunities for volunteers to meet their own goals as well as those of the agency and those of participants contributes to successful recruitment and retention. Motivations that the Virtual Friendly Visiting Program can tap into include: - To help others and make a difference in the community - To learn new skills or expand existing ones - To share skills, knowledge or experience - To gain experience which may help with paid employment - To improve their own well-being, health and social connection - To bring balance into their lives, have fun and relieve stress - To gain a sense of personal achievement and fulfillment - To be involved with different people and different situations - To support a cause that has impacted them or their families - To feel useful or needed The Program can provide many of these opportunities for volunteers. For example, to acquire or improve specific skills including interpersonal and communication. Studies confirm that people are healthier and happier, both physically and mentally, as a result of their volunteering. Volunteering releases endorphins, a natural chemical in the body that can produces positive feelings of self-worth and self-fulfillment. In addition to providing benefits, the Virtual Visiting Program addresses a significant barrier that potential volunteers face - the lack of time. Visits that are done from a volunteer’s home do not require travel or preparation time, and can be fit into a busy lifestyle even taking place on a lunch hour at work. Visits also are flexible in terms of when and how often they happen, based on agreed upon volunteer and participant needs and schedules.