Making the Best Use of Volunteers
To make the best use of volunteers, select a volunteer coordinator who is organized, efficient, and able to work well with and give direction to others. The role of the volunteer coordinator is not to handle volunteer activities directly, but rather to delegate to others management of specific activities, such as bringing food to the family, providing water for the searchers, and coordinating distribution of posters and fliers. Choose someone who is practical, well organized, and skilled in providing leadership.
Keep a running list -- or have someone keep a list for you -- of the things you need as they arise. If you keep your list current, new volunteers will always have a way to get involved, and returning volunteers will know where to go to find out what is needed next.
When someone offers to help, write down the person's name, telephone number, and type of service preferred. When your child is first missing, it is hard to think of what you need now, much less what you will need in the future. If you have no ready answer for someone who asks to help, write down specific information that will enable you to contact that person later with a particular task.
Don't be afraid to ask for what you need. No task is too small or too large. If you need something, the best thing you can do for yourself is to ask. You will be truly amazed by the amount of support you receive. People really do want to help.
Tap into the network of resources that private clubs, businesses, and agencies have available to them. Many local clubs, businesses, and agencies can help in a variety of ways -- by donating items, distributing photographs and fliers, or participating in the search. Make a list of what you need, and see what each group can provide. Here are some of the types of organizations that may be willing to help:
- Rotary clubs and other civic organizations.
- Local posts of Veterans of Foreign Wars.
- Parent-teacher associations.
- Taxicab and bus companies.
- Public and private transportation agencies.
- Colleges and universities.
Be aware that some volunteers may want to become too involved, to get too intimate with the family, or to act beyond their designated responsibility. Some individuals seem to enjoy media attention. They try to shift the focus of attention away from children and onto themselves. If you feel uncomfortable with anyone or anything for any reason, inform your volunteer coordinator or law enforcement contact. Also, don't use unknown volunteers to do personal tasks, such as washing laundry or helping with carpools. Instead, rely on friends or family members for these jobs.
Suggested Volunteer Activities
Volunteers can do many things for you. Let them. In doing so, you allow people to fulfill their desire to help, and you relieve yourself of the burden of trying to do everything yourself, which you cannot. The following activities are particularly well suited for volunteers.
- Participate in the physical search.
- Canvas area businesses for donations of supplies needed for the search effort or for the family's upkeep.
- Design posters or fliers.
- Tack up pictures and posters and hand out fliers.
- Contact nonprofit organizations, community groups, or other agencies in the community for donations or other assistance in producing or distributing posters.
- Keep track of all donated items and write thank-you notes.
- Answer the home telephone 24 hours a day and maintain a telephone log.
- Prepare meals.
- Help with household chores, such as cleaning, doing laundry, watering flowers, mowing the lawn, maintaining the yard, or shoveling the driveway.
- Run errands, such as shopping for groceries or going to the pharmacy.
- Take care of pets.
- Form prayer groups.
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