Make It Successful

You’ve got a list of everyone you’re expecting. All of your volunteers are starting to arrive. You are ready with tools, food, water, and the work project is all lined out. You may want name tags, and you definitely want participants to register as they arrive.

All service project participants, including you, should be covered by your partner's insurance.

Set aside some time to get everyone ready for the day. Make sure everyone has a chance to introduce themselves, maybe a round robin. And give a brief introduction about the work project. What will you be doing? Why? What effect will this project have in the long term? How did you come up with the idea? What tools will they be using and what safety issues are associated with those tools? You may want to put the day into an even bigger context, and let all of your volunteers know that this is one of many events going on across the country, led by SCA alumni!

Participants will remember three main things from your project. Was the work fun and rewarding? Was the food good? And was the project safe? You will have the fun and the food planned out in advance, so to make sure you’re covered on safety, it’s a good idea to walk through the Take 5 for Safety Guidelines steps.

1. Stop
2. Think
3. Identify
4. Plan
5. Manage

After everyone is feeling comfortable with the work project and what they’ll be doing, go ahead and roll up your sleeves and get to work! Have fun! That can mean playing ridiculous games that makes everyone feel like a kid again, or talking to people throughout the day.

Use the Post-Event Reporting Form to document what is being accomplished both with photographs and with written descriptions. Quantify the work by recording the number of feet of trail work completed, areas of invasive weeds addressed, etc.

Leave some time at the end of the day to wrap up a little bit, maybe even a full blown closing ceremony. Recognizing the people who helped you out is an important part of the process. Thank everyone for coming, especially any partner groups that helped you in planning. Tell the whole group how much was accomplished, and remind them about why that is significant and important. Ask people what they liked best about the day, and if they are interested in helping out more. Wish them well, and thank them once again.

Wrap Up