AAIWO OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Volunteering your time and Skills

You've got to prime the pump. You must have faith and believe. You've got to give of yourself before you're willing to receive.

- "The Ballard of Desert Pete"

To become an effective volunteer and Board Member

Leadership is about embracing responsibility, but not only when it suits you. You will face some tough challenges. There is usually no right or wrong way to handlle many situations. Hopefully, this writeup here will show you how to recognize the needs of leadership in personal situations, and give you the tools to lead.

In the United States more than any other country, volunteering is essential to maintaining the fabric of the community. Volunteering got its start on the frontier when people had to shoulder burdens cooperatively so the entire community could survive. Every person's efforts are vital to the group as a whole.

Taking the Lead as a Volunteer

What better way to hone leadership than by helping others? You will observe first hand how amazing people can be - when they show up to help out

Volunteer groups depend on their most component, active members - their sparkplugs - to get things done, more than any they depend on those formally identified leaders.

LESSON ONE: Involve other people.

Your friends, new arrivals, new women you meet. Get their name, address, phone number and email.

Leadership is not about who you are, but what you can do - especially if you get it done. You need volunteers.

LESSON TWO:

Getting others to cooperate

Listening actively to the ideas of others

Putting the needs of others above your own

LESSON THREE:

Be well informed about your group: take time to find out more about what AAIWO has done in the past. You can then talk with confidence with your new friends.

Be Smart: Become resourceful, improvise. Get to know your group members.

Be Vocal: Communicate your thoughts in Board meetings as well as in your groups. Your job is to mobilize.

Be determined: Volunteer activity takes third place in most people's lives, behind family and career. It brings a balance your life with new experiences and new friends who are doing things.

Be Urgent: Don't get bogged down by inaction. Volunteer activities needs to pay attention to deadlines as most task driven business activities. As a leader, it is your job to keep people moving towards the goal and half the battle is communication.

Be Prudent: So much of volunteer activity has a touchy-feely, feel good quality. As a leader your responsibilities change. You have to make sure that you know it as well as the people you lead.
Seperation between leaders and followers is vital in getting the job done.

Be Trustworthy: Inspire trust of the people you work with. Don't play favorites and get mired in petty personality clashes.

Everything happens out front, up close and personal, but the end result leaves people oohing and aahing and wondering how you did that. Share your successes with your group.