Volunteers: our Greatest Resource at the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District

Anthony Richardson

I was honored to be chosen as the first Volunteer Services Program Manager for the District. This is a fascinating new position. Instead of starting a program, there were already hundreds of volunteers and over 30 years of volunteer involvement. It was essential for me to learn every aspect of the program from employees and the volunteers. I started with a program assessment which provided great data. Meeting with each supervisor individually, hosting meetings with groups of volunteers, and formalizing existing practices into policies and procedures allowed a much more collaborative program. After developing the policies, procedures, forms, position descriptions, manuals and effective systems, the program started to grow exponentially while an already high volunteer satisfaction rate continued to climb.

For the first time in District history, 336 volunteers logged in 119,220 hours of service, an equivalent dollar value of over $2.8 million (http://www.independentsector.org) -- a benchmark for years to come. The number of volunteers (excluding episodic, court mandated, scouting, educational community service or nonprofit partnership volunteers) is equal to over three-quarters of the paid staff.

With positive growth and development of the Volunteer Services Program, further developments and enhancements are already in progress for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The District participated in its first national day of service, "Make a Difference Day" with nearly 200 volunteers participating 10 projects. We were also able to

purchase a cloud-based comprehensive volunteer management software system,
expand our volunteer recognition efforts and community engagement activities through
- nationally recognized days of service,
- leadership volunteer opportunities,
- corporate and group sponsorships,
- combined employee and volunteer training opportunities, and
- more opportunities for youth.

This last includes

boxing coaches,
youth leadership at the District boxing club,
volunteer entertainers and a new "Elements of Fun" team at the two water parks,
leadership volunteers at all District sites,
a volunteer and employee led recognition committee and
hundreds of episodic volunteers at National Volunteer Week.

The District continually recognizes volunteers for their significant contributions through consistent recognition. It is through effective volunteer and community engagement that the District accomplishes its mission and attains its vision of becoming the regional leader in improving lives through people, parks, places, and programs.

Volunteers are our greatest natural resource at the Riverside County Park and Open-Space District where "Parks Make Life Better".


Volunteers: our Greatest Resource at the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District Anthony Richardson I was honored to be chosen as the first Volunteer Services Program Manager for the District. This is a fascinating new position. Instead of starting a program, there were already hundreds of volunteers and over 30 years of volunteer involvement. It was essential for me to learn every aspect of the program from employees and the volunteers. I started with a program assessment which provided great data. Meeting with each supervisor individually, hosting meetings with groups of volunteers, and formalizing existing practices into policies and procedures allowed a much more collaborative program. After developing the policies, procedures, forms, position descriptions, manuals and effective systems, the program started to grow exponentially while an already high volunteer satisfaction rate continued to climb. For the first time in District history, 336 volunteers logged in 119,220 hours of service, an equivalent dollar value of over $2.8 million (http://www.independentsector.org) -- a benchmark for years to come. The number of volunteers (excluding episodic, court mandated, scouting, educational community service or nonprofit partnership volunteers) is equal to over three-quarters of the paid staff. With positive growth and development of the Volunteer Services Program, further developments and enhancements are already in progress for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The District participated in its first national day of service, "Make a Difference Day" with nearly 200 volunteers participating 10 projects. We were also able to purchase a cloud-based comprehensive volunteer management software system, expand our volunteer recognition efforts and community engagement activities through nationally recognized days of service, leadership volunteer opportunities, corporate and group sponsorships, combined employee and volunteer training opportunities, and more opportunities for youth. This last includes boxing coaches, youth leadership at the District boxing club, volunteer entertainers and a new "Elements of Fun" team at the two water parks, leadership volunteers at all District sites, a volunteer and employee led recognition committee and hundreds of episodic volunteers at National Volunteer Week. The District continually recognizes volunteers for their significant contributions through consistent recognition. It is through effective volunteer and community engagement that the District accomplishes its mission and attains its vision of becoming the regional leader in improving lives through people, parks, places, and programs. Volunteers are our greatest natural resource at the Riverside County Park and Open-Space District where "Parks Make Life Better".
NAVPLG - Winter Issue