On March 13, Great Kids Farm had its first official volunteer orientation and training. As the Farm’s Volunteer Maryland Coordinator (I will explain the title shortly), I am quite proud to have put together a successful training event that attracted nearly 30 attendees, many of whom were brand new to the Farm. This was my first time organizing and executing an event of this kind. I received a tremendous amount of support from the staff, who put a lot of time and effort into making sure the event was interesting, comprehensive, and enjoyable for everyone involved.
As a Volunteer Maryland Coordinator, I was placed at Great Kids Farm as an 11-month AmeriCorps service position funded through Friends of Great Kids Farm. Through Volunteer Maryland, I receive monthly training and have the chance to integrate direct service (at the Farm and at other organizations) into my work hours. In planning for the volunteer orientation and training, I used techniques and formats provided by Volunteer Maryland to address different learning styles and present information in an interactive and engaging manner.
To start the day, volunteers learned the history of the Farm, as well as about the programs and services we provide. The overview was rounded out with two great tours: one led by Chrissa Carlson, Friends' Executive Director, and the other led by Beth Mathie, the Farm Educator. Even veteran volunteers said they learned new information about the campus and programs! Volunteers then rotated through 20-minute breakout sessions to learn about the three different categories of volunteer service: education, landscape, and culinary. During these sessions, lead staff members described the particulars of volunteer service in these roles, and how volunteers fit in to the program. We rounded out the morning with lunch from one of our partner restaurant, Atwater’s.
Because Great Kids Farm’s instructional staff is only three members strong, volunteers are critical to the Farm’s programs. Friends of Great Kids Farm has invested in my position because volunteers are some of the most important ‘friends’ the Farm can have! In the few weeks since the training, new volunteers have already started signing up for volunteer shifts and are eager to get started. Piloting this volunteer training is a big step in building the capacity of the volunteer program, and I anticipate holding another session in late summer to prepare for the busy fall programming season. Although my service year ends in August, I’ll leave behind a template for semi-annual volunteer training sessions, encouraging continued investments in the volunteer program with regular learning and fellowship, so they can continue to help the Farm enrich students’ lives.