Volunteer Path to Satisfaction
Meet the Cogs in the Wheel
Story by Suzanne Riess, Ashby Village Volunteer
As anyone who knows Ashby Village might expect, the volunteer vetting structure is brilliantly conceived and organized and motivated. And ESSENTIAL!
Take the three office corps volunteers who do interviews, reference checks, and complete satisfaction follow ups with all volunteers who come Ashby Village's way. Their model could be replicated productively in any organization with the Ashby Village dynamic of membership underpinned by volunteer-ship.
To go into nuts and bolts about just how it all works is what I set out to do when I was approached by Pat Carvalho, the Operations Director to write a piece for the Village Newsletter about Joyce, Holly and Noni, but I quickly found myself engaged by the backstory of how these three became part of the structure!
Let’s start with Joyce Kawahata who was initially drawn to Ashby Village by the array of programs. She came in to volunteer in the office on Catalina Street in North Berkeley and before shelter-in-place restrictions called for different modalities and a lot of Zoom, Joyce enjoyed her job which was to contact volunteer applicants by phone to set up in-person interviews and to contact their references. Now while working remotely she’s still contacting references for prospective volunteers as they wait for the Shelter in Place to be lifted.
Joyce had me marveling about the varied sources of applicants—college students who might connect through Craig’s list, others through sites like the remarkable nationwide organization Volunteer Match. Many, like me, came to the early location on Durant Avenue, curious about the nascent village movement, and stayed to become volunteers or members.
Before Joyce Kawahata began her work in the AV office two years ago she had enjoyed a twenty-six-year career as a litigation attorney in a small San Francisco firm. When she was offered a chance to take over running that practice she decided in favor of her more recent work as a Japanese document reviewer, where she used her law license and her language skills in a wide variety of cases. Retirement from such interesting careers makes Joyce a lively walking companion, one of the activities she enthusiastically participates in!
Holly Brownscombe’s part of this volunteer structure story is interviews and placements. Listing Holly’s previous and ongoing volunteer activities, recently with the Women’s Cancer Resources Center, but reaching back to pre-school teaching days, and working with unions, human resources and training—she occupied so many niches, I couldn’t write fast enough! As well as caring for aging grandparents and parents, she worked at Contra Costa County’s Office of Education for 20-plus years, followed by San Francisco Head Start, and she still works with Berkeley’s Walden School.
Holly’s Ashby Village interviewing and placement of volunteers meant four to six 20 to 30-minute interviews every other week. She could quickly tell if there would be a fit. As with all of us during Covid, those interviews now happen on Zoom, but Holly’s Village dedication is undiminished. She also checks in with a list of fifteen members, and takes on grocery shopping assignments which she declares are fun! So how do her seven “fixed” feral cats fit in? A well-adjusted pack hangs out in sunny spots on the deck of her downtown Berkeley home. Non-human resources.
Gloria Bayne, a long time friend and fellow volunteer adds, "She has contributed in many forms to Ashby Village -- you can make a list of the numerous ways she has lent her expertise and countless hours." Read their story.
Once those folks begin volunteering, Noni Zukin checks in with them to see how their experience is going so far. Follow-up is essential in working with volunteers, and that means being attentive, and tuned in! Noni misses being in the office, answering the phones, and checking in with people. It is very satisfying work and has created a weird emptiness during this closed-down time.
Noni had retired when she was 65 from a satisfying career as a newborn Intensive Care Unit social worker. Looking for interesting volunteer work she turned to Guide Dogs for the Blind, a guide dog school in San Rafael which, although fine, began to feel too far away—the bridge commute!
Ashby Village is closer to home and also uses Noni’s caring skills. During COVID, she helped make homemade masks to donate to the Women's Daytime Drop-in Center. "She has an endless amount of compassion for others, she is incredible!" Pat says. Noni also notes that AV offered events like the unforgettable live-streamed talk by Atul Gawande whose palliative care mission resonated with the Village audience. While missing the friendly, knowledgeable people she interacted with on Friday afternoons, to hear her talk about her gardening activities she is as busy as ever. Walking, gardening, and more gardening—she treasures these summer days.
“They all have very intricate and important tasks in helping to find the right niche for volunteers when they sign up", says Pat. "Volunteer satisfaction is a crucial component for long term retention. However, it’s not "all work and NO play" … but that's a story for another time!”