Volunteer Agency in a Bind....

[GM911 0]

Hey guys,

I have a problem that I need some help with....

My volunteer agency is stuck at a dead end. The members are an average age of 65, and there is no sign of new membership. Also, it seems as if nobody cares about what we do anymore. I have been told that since I am young, I "just don't get it", but to me, that is no excuse. I would like to know everyone's views on how I can get new members / increase membership morale. A huge problem in my corps is that simply nobody cares anymore; on call members don't get coverage when they go out of town, nobody shows up for meetings, and our PCRs look like they are written by 8 year olds. Most members act as if "Nobody else cares about the agency, why should I?"

I am 20 years old and have a true passion for this field; I have been in EMS for 3 years now, much less than most of you guys, and I feel that you all may have some tips for me to share with my crew. We need help; what can I do to keep our agency functional (and not have to settle for paid EMT's)????

[RWC130 594]

Admitting you have a staffing problem is the very first step!

A LOT of agencies hide behind that.

Does your agency have a Membership Committee?

Start one! If they have one offer your assistance to help.

I find that some people don't like change. A new member coming around

or one with just a few years might ruffle some feathers in what they call a "comfort zone"

Everyone knows everyone and it's done this way for a reason. haha

I feel your pain!

Most important do you guys do any type of Membership Drive?

If the community does not know you have a problem then no one will come forward.

Offer something to NEW members to keep them interested.

Change does not happen overnight but if you can bring in even 5 or 6 new members

a year that would help. 10 would be great!

Start up a Youth Group within the Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Get the young guys and gals interested in EMS.

Hold an Open House at the Station/Building and invite the public.

Oh, respect the "senior members" that goes a long way!

Keep up the good work.

[helicopper 1,050]

Rob hits a lot of good points and he's definitely right about having to respect the other members regardless of their level of involvement or resistance to change.

You may also want to develop a brochure about your agency that you can give out to prospective members or just the public educating them on who you are and what you do. That can be done in conjunction with the membership drive Rob described.

Call volume is also an issue. If you have really low call volume it's hard to keep energetic members energetic and that provides the older members with the ability to maintain the status quo.

You've got to remember that change comes very slowly and is often resisted. Instead of major, radical changes you should try smaller changes that will eventually get you where you want to be.

Be patient and keep up the good work! We need advocates for change in this business!

[AFS1970 504]

One of the biggest challenges that face any volunteer emergency service that I have found, is that as your area changes, few people even realize you are volunteers. Lets face it, most people will never have to call us, those that do, just want someone to come and fix the problem, be it medical or fire, they really don't care how much if any we are being paid, at least at the time of the call. So making sure that people know you are volunteer is the first step, in my mind.

The second is letting people know what kind of committment is required, and don't over exagerate but also don't under estimate this. I once ran the average of working hours for our membership and found that it was actually less than I would have estimated. I use this in recruiting, when I talk to potential members, but I try to put it in perspective. If say over the course of a year each member give 38 hours, tell people it is less than one work week per year. Too much is said noawdays about how hard it is to be a volunteer and I think we actually scare away potential recruits. Remember to explain that in the beginning there is a larger committment for basic training, but that things even out after that.

[firemoose827 324]

Hello brother, I feel your pain, having been Captain of a squad in very much the same spot as yours is now, and I can shed some light at the end of your very long tunnel...hopefully!!

First and foremost is the older members. You need to first understand its not that they dont care anymore, its the fact that they have been volunteers for a long time now, and most if not all are or have been experiencing burnout, and they have given all they can for now. I bet they were all hoping to be at a stage now where they could just sit back and watch the organization grow with younger blood and just enjoy the benefits of "Seniority". If you ask these members, Im sure thats what they will say, and maybe it will help you understand them and their needs better.

Worst thing you can do with those members is tell them that they "Dont Care Anymore"...thats the farthest from the truth. Praise them as much as you can by saying they have done their jobs and its time for us younger members to step up, form a membership committee like bob mentioned, throw fundraisers/demonstrations where you have hands-on sessions that people can see first hand what its like to do EMS. Let them wrap someone in a KED, or backboard, get a whole bunch of out-dated bandages and let them wrap each other up. Get some literature printed up like flyers and brochures with lots of pictures of the membership at drills, and banquets and such, let people see that there IS fun involved with volunteering, and the feeling of personal satisfaction you will feel. Take these brochures to your local businesses like banks, and restaurants, Im sure they will post them for you.

Change is a big thing for the senior members, and they will fight it all they way. When I first got my EMT-CC card I was Co-Captain of my squad. They didnt have an ALS certificate from DOH, as both Co-Captain and Captain I worked countless hours lobbying these members of the benefits of buying the necessary ALS equipment than applying for the ALS certificate. I got resistance from all fronts and it was getting frustrating. One of the "Life Members" we had at the time actually stood up at a meeting yelling and screaming when I told them the costs of a Lifepack Monitor...He ranted and raved about the costs, and actually pointed at me and said "Why dont you just buy a helicopter and put it on the roof of the building, will that help too?" I sat dumbfounded and said, in an effort to relax him, "Yah, if the membership will go for it."

He didnt like me too much after that. But sadly, a few months later during one of our Town Celebrations we had every year, he had a massive MI, and there was nothing we could do for him, even with the advent of the county EMS Coordinator. Within months of that episode ALL of the squad approved the change. Sadly for us, and most organizations, it takes a big tragedy like ours to make it justifiable for change. Hopefully you will be able to find a peaceful, less tragic way to get your point across, but I figured by sharing my experiences with you you would see you are not alone in your fight brother!

Be patient, respect your senior members and their contributions as much as you can, start a membership committee and start thinking of exciting ways you can promote membership, including banding together with other agencies in your county and making a "County Wide" membership drive. That has happened up here by me and it works well. You all contribute some money, make up banners and flyers and put them up all over the county to advertise the need for volunteers. That could work as well. Seek the council of the senior members, and ask for their input so you keep them in the loop so to speak. Things will change for the better, there are always surges in volunteer membership, you just need to keep patient and keep at it. Than by starting a Recruitment, Recognition, and Retention committee you can find ways to KEEP the membership you get. Let me know if you need any more help, I am always glad to help out wherever and whenever I can.

Moose

[GM911 0]

Thanks everyone.... great, great advice.

I especially like the brochure idea- getting a bunch made up and then putting them in the town's shops sounds like a simple yet effective measure.

As for the youth membership, does anybody know if it is possible to get an EMT-B class added to the high school curriculum? I was thinking something along the lines of offering the class and at the end of the year, the students get both certification (upon passing) and also a school grade.

[pv102 0]

As an answer to your last question it is possible, but Im not really sure how you would go about doing so. I know Mahopac High School has been offering an EMT course for at least 5 years. The brochure's, open houses, membership drives, and youth corps are all good places to start, but if the rest of your department doesn't recognize the need none of these things will work. You cant do it all yourself.

[LTNRFD 266]

If you can't get the senior members to realize that there is a problem and you have exhausted all internal options, try to get help from your primary hospital's medical director. This is a seldom used resource by the local VACs. He/she can help the senior members understand the need for change, for the better. If you need to approach your local government, the medical director can assist you.

[Guest]

I am excited to see that you are trying to make a positive change, that is the biggest step. As you implement some of these ideas remember the EMS/Fire motto "100 years of tradition unimpeded by progress". You will meet a lot of resistance, but don't let it deter you. If not for the efforts of the new, young members, fifteen years from now when all of the "Senior" members retire the agency will die. The most important thing may be this: Once you discover what works shout it from the roof tops so that we can save the rest of these dying agencies as well.

[ex-commish 490]

Hey guys,

I have a problem that I need some help with....

My volunteer agency is stuck at a dead end. The members are an average age of 65, and there is no sign of new membership. Also, it seems as if nobody cares about what we do anymore. I have been told that since I am young, I "just don't get it", but to me, that is no excuse. I would like to know everyone's views on how I can get new members / increase membership morale. A huge problem in my corps is that simply nobody cares anymore; on call members don't get coverage when they go out of town, nobody shows up for meetings, and our PCRs look like they are written by 8 year olds. Most members act as if "Nobody else cares about the agency, why should I?"

I am 20 years old and have a true passion for this field; I have been in EMS for 3 years now, much less than most of you guys, and I feel that you all may have some tips for me to share with my crew. We need help; what can I do to keep our agency functional (and not have to settle for paid EMT's)????

First you need to find out why no one cares. What has happened in the last few years to establish that attitude. Next, look at your leadership. Are they the problem? Do they demand too much?

In order to recruit you need to market your organization. You may need to spend some money on ads or other means of getting the word out there. But you have to fix what ever it is wrong with your organization. Also, hiring some emt's to fill in the voids is not a bad idea and may help you.

Become creative with ideas, regardless what others think. You need too stand for what you think is right even if you stand alone. Don't be initimitated by those who will try to knock any attempt to bring your place up. Good luck !!

[Guest]

Thanks everyone.... great, great advice.

I especially like the brochure idea- getting a bunch made up and then putting them in the town's shops sounds like a simple yet effective measure.

As for the youth membership, does anybody know if it is possible to get an EMT-B class added to the high school curriculum? I was thinking something along the lines of offering the class and at the end of the year, the students get both certification (upon passing) and also a school grade.

you can try to offer incentives for members (existing and new), for example a pension, uniform allowance, health insurance, eye exams. these examples are on the pricey side.

maybe stipends will MAKE members start to care and attract new members

and brochures are GREAT ideas and whether black and white copies or color copies, they still are very cheap yet effective methods to attract the community to your organization.

if you can find the man power, try doing stand-by's for sports games, community days, fairs, carnivals, etc within the district. this increases community awareness and its a great way to strike up conversations with the community members and you can pass out your flyers!

set up health fairs, open houses, community days that you can create to attract people to your HQ. serve them food and refreshments, have activities for their children, have demonstrations. free cpr classes, BP screenings.

if you have a junior corps, go up to the high schools and set up an info table during the schools health fair, or just ask if you can set up a table in a hallway/main enterance area to recruit the young people. for those junior corps members going to college after H.S., create a scholarship for 1 or 2 of them to keep them around! in the scholarship agreement, they must go to school within XX number of miles and XX number of hours/points in order to keep their scholarship active and renewed each year.

just some ideas off the top of my head. good luck!!

[Beekman 5]

you can try to offer incentives for members (existing and new), for example a pension, uniform allowance, health insurance, eye exams. these examples are on the pricey side.

maybe stipends will MAKE members start to care and attract new members

and brochures are GREAT ideas and whether black and white copies or color copies, they still are very cheap yet effective methods to attract the community to your organization.

if you can find the man power, try doing stand-by's for sports games, community days, fairs, carnivals, etc within the district. this increases community awareness and its a great way to strike up conversations with the community members and you can pass out your flyers!

set up health fairs, open houses, community days that you can create to attract people to your HQ. serve them food and refreshments, have activities for their children, have demonstrations. free cpr classes, BP screenings.

if you have a junior corps, go up to the high schools and set up an info table during the schools health fair, or just ask if you can set up a table in a hallway/main enterance area to recruit the young people. for those junior corps members going to college after H.S., create a scholarship for 1 or 2 of them to keep them around! in the scholarship agreement, they must go to school within XX number of miles and XX number of hours/points in order to keep their scholarship active and renewed each year.

just some ideas off the top of my head. good luck!!

I would have to agree with vacguy on incentives. I know of a few departments where membership is given and not earned. These Departments have huge problems with turnout and participation. If you set criteria for members to earn privileges (right to vote, LOSAP, special turnout gear, training trips) they will come around and start working to earn the priviliges. If you just hand everything out, you will get burned. If you don't think they care, try taking away their volunteer license plate and tell them they need to resign. You'll find out real fast how much they really do want to belong.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Next, look at your leadership. Are they the problem? Do they demand too much?

IMO...managers demand too much. Leaders can never demand enough if they are good motivators and effective leaders. There is a huge difference between management and leadership and sometimes that lack of both is the problem.

Unfortunately there are never any quick fixes, you have identify problems and sometimes the best answers come from the Grunts. Senators on the armed services committees..(the smart ones, usually republican) have said to generals several times in response to their answers..."If I were to go and ask a Sergeant that question would he give me the same answer?" And in a management problem solving lecture I was in, one respected lecturer also said that sometimes the best people to ask about improvement in operations and how supervisors are functioning are those who are new to their organization and job function. I have found this useful, particularly in emergency services where you get members who you know are skilled, professional and once you learn they are walking the walk, are useful to get honest feedback in comparison to their prior experiences.

And 9 times out of 10 I would venture to say no in regard to the question of "would a sergeant say the same thing". Make a form that has open ended questions so they have to reply with more than just "yes" or "no" and see what people have to say. Put up a secured box that no one can get to them and don't ask for any names. If you are trustworthy

While some incentives I think will always be good and part of some programs, I think on the volunteer level there should be some limits. Where do you draw the line to where there are things being given that it would just make sense to have staffing. I volunteer where I live and I for one would not favor the adding of things like health insurance for volunteering. I also believe that incentives are generally not the answer either, many have toted having LOSAP as a recruitment/retention program and many have failed to bring members in (except older members who are not and for the most part cannot be interior) nor have they kept members and have a higher percentage of members who do not meet the system requirements to reach the benefit.

[NYMedic37 22]

you can try to offer incentives for members (existing and new), for example a pension, uniform allowance, health insurance, eye exams. these examples are on the pricey side.

maybe stipends will MAKE members start to care and attract new members

========= Yea, but he said his agency was VOLUNTEER.....with all of the above "incentives" you are not a volunteer anymore....

[firemoose827 324]

you can try to offer incentives for members (existing and new), for example a pension, uniform allowance, health insurance, eye exams. these examples are on the pricey side.

maybe stipends will MAKE members start to care and attract new members

========= Yea, but he said his agency was VOLUNTEER.....with all of the above "incentives" you are not a volunteer anymore....

I have to agree with you NYMedic. But other "incentives" are out there, you just have to be creative with what you do. Here in my volunteer squad we came up with the " Three "R" Committee", Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition. They are a small group of mixed membership, new and experienced, EMT and attendants, that get together and think of ways to recruit and retain members. We have come up with the point system, 5 points for meetings/drills, 2 points for calls, and 35 points for EMT class. You need 45 points a year to be a member in good standing, and you need to be the Member in good standing to go to ALL special events like the annual trip to Great Adventure in Lake George. Every point over 60 gives you one dollar to be used for EMS gear out of an approved EMS catalogue.

Only the good standing members get new T-shirts each year also, we get 2 new shirts every year.

Just another idea for incentives, and the points are not that hard to get. Most people cringe or run screaming when they see the point system, but so far for us it works. ( Except now, I am not a member in good standing!! I only have 10 points due to work and family obligations! Oh well...)

Good Luck.

[Guest]

========= Yea, but he said his agency was VOLUNTEER.....with all of the above "incentives" you are not a volunteer anymore....

naturally that depend on who you ask...

do you want to ask the rockland county vac that pays in stipends, which equals a cash payment?

vacs that give you a voucher to purchase clothing, boots, hats, sunglasses, LED lights based on how many hours you do per quarter, ½ year, or year??

Maybe the vacs that offer their members HOUSING, in exchange for 25 hours of service a week??

Vacs that care for their underprivileged members (all members are offered the same deal, but it was created for the underprivileged members) and supply them with 1 physical, 1 eye exam and 1 dentist exam annually?

Are these people volunteers, or are they paid employees?? The answer lies within the BOD, officers and members of those corps.

Do these people TRULY want to be called a volunteer?? Or do they want to continue doing ems and get paid enough money to simply fill up your car’s gas tank…for those of you with SUV’s you only get ½ tank! Lol

Personally I could give two BLANKS what a vac does. Volunteers want to continue to volunteer…fine

“volunteers” want to make a few extra bucks…fine (its probably still cheaper than hiring)

paid guys/gals get to join a vac that will give them a few bucks on their off day…FINE!

EITHER WAY as long as the job gets done…only egos will stand in the way and that’s the final point I want to make.

btw, i had another post on here and i thought there were more posts than are showing now? did anyone moderator/administrator delete some posts??

Edited January 15, 2008 by vacguy

[chazEMT 5]

IMO, TWO underlying reasons that volunteers stop volunteering:

1) they CAN'T

2) they WON'T

Reason #1 is, unfortunately, becoming more and more common...with the economy/cost of living/etc, it's increasingly necessary for most of us to devote our time earning a buck, leaving us little time to volunteer. Add in other factors, such as family, health (both MENTAL and PHYSICAL - "all work & no play...") and there's even less time in a day/week/month, etc! There's little we can do to offset this, which leads us into the two (well, THREE) R's...RECRUITMENT, RECOGNITION, RETENTION.

Take in new members, who can take the load off those who are finding less and less time to devote to volunteering.

Keep (and more importantly, MOTIVATE) those who are giving their all.

Recognize where the problems and barriers lie...

Which leads us into the second reason...people stop volunteering because, for whatever reason, they WON'T anymore. Find out WHY...and you'll find the answers to that question will be as varied as the number of members your agency has! You'll hear everything, from dislike of the current officers, distaste for the building/rigs, lack of confidence in skills, "nothing in it for me..." I could go on and on and on...

Point is, there is likely not one (or two, or five) things you can do to make people WANT to volunteer. You may find it necessary to make several changes, implement several new things in order to get an "upswing" in participation. And then find that participation starts to wane again after a short period. Then make new changes, implement new things...another upswing. It isn't easy, motivating people to give thier FREE time away for FREE! But it's not completely impossible, either.

A couple of thoughts that'll torpedo you from the start:

"We tried that once, it didn't work..." Well, it might now...or, maybe, with a few changes...

"I'm not gonna cater to these people...if they don't like it, they can quit!" Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...

"If no one else is gonna try, why should I??" BE the one setting the tone...then get a couple others to share your initiative...try to set the example, spread your attitude!

Best of luck, sorry for the rambling (as usual.)

[Guest]

http://www.1rbn.com/webpages/news/displayn...f4-b183a4a6d695

Yes, the above link is to a column that I wrote after doing a lot of research.

Many of the ambulance corps are finding it difficult to recruit AND RETAIN new and yonger members - unfortunately volunteerism is not just altruism anymore. People are looking for "What can I get out of this?" According toi the Dept of Labor, incentives and some reasonable reimbursements (clothing allowances, uniform cleaning, etc) still qualify as volunteer.

One of the bigger problems is financial, cost of living influencing where people live and the amount of time they have to give "voluntarily" - so incentives can help especially when you have local government helping with property and other tax incentives.

My corps has had a lot of its younger members (while still continuing to volunteer) use their EMT training towards paid employment - or as an introduction to higher medical training including paramedic and nursing. Emphasizing this life experience is a draw to some newer members.

We have also had our biggest recruitment effort from the Youth Squad - we have had more youth members come from the ranks of Junior to Senior than any other source of members in recent years.

Good luck.

[Guest ab2se]

[quote name='cce613' date='Jan 25 2008, 03:13 AM' post='120029

We have also had our biggest recruitment effort from the Youth Squad - we have had more youth members come from the ranks of Junior to Senior than any other source of members in recent years.

.

I have to agree. We are a FD based ambulance service and a few years ago the Fire Company started an Explorer Post. All our new EMS members have come in through the Post or from our Jr. FD members. In the last 6 months we have had 1 member get his EMT, 1 member just tested out and is awating his results, 3 more members start EMT and 4 members start CFR.

I believe that if you get them started when they are young, and they have positive experiences, they will continue to do this for a long time. Even if they don't stay in our town they will be involved where they settle. They may stay as a volunteer or become a career member but they will be involved in Fire /EMS.

Edited January 25, 2008 by ab2se

[MFVFD179 0]

One idea that came to mind that my fire department does is hosting the blood drive. There are flyers sent out to every house in the district and we have a sign that says 'American Red Cross Blood Drive' (or what ever company is running it) and the date. They are set up inside and we put our trucks outside. This may help bring more awareness to the department and may make it easier to recruit. Put a statement in the flyer with the Red Cross for the event stating you need volunteers and when people come down to give blood, give them a tour of the department and show them what you guys do. The trucks outside also show the passerby's that the department is active and the trucks don't just sit in the bays and get dusty.

[helicopper 1,050]

naturally that depend on who you ask...

do you want to ask the rockland county vac that pays in stipends, which equals a cash payment?

vacs that give you a voucher to purchase clothing, boots, hats, sunglasses, LED lights based on how many hours you do per quarter, ½ year, or year??

Maybe the vacs that offer their members HOUSING, in exchange for 25 hours of service a week??

Vacs that care for their underprivileged members (all members are offered the same deal, but it was created for the underprivileged members) and supply them with 1 physical, 1 eye exam and 1 dentist exam annually?

Are these people volunteers, or are they paid employees?? The answer lies within the BOD, officers and members of those corps.

Do these people TRULY want to be called a volunteer?? Or do they want to continue doing ems and get paid enough money to simply fill up your car’s gas tank…for those of you with SUV’s you only get ½ tank! Lol

Personally I could give two BLANKS what a vac does. Volunteers want to continue to volunteer…fine

“volunteers” want to make a few extra bucks…fine (its probably still cheaper than hiring)

paid guys/gals get to join a vac that will give them a few bucks on their off day…FINE!

EITHER WAY as long as the job gets done…only egos will stand in the way and that’s the final point I want to make.

btw, i had another post on here and i thought there were more posts than are showing now? did anyone moderator/administrator delete some posts??

I think that the IRS, Department of Labor, OSHA, and a few other acronym agencies have an opinion on this as well. An agency can't just say that we're giving our members a stipend ($$$$) and not expect the IRS to have an opinion on it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the opinion has been if you're receiving compensation (vague enough to include all that you describe above) you're being PAID and that is taxable income.

For all these agencies that tout being volunteer but provide all these "incentives", it's simply hypocritical. You're paying people in one way or another to perform a service. That's not volunteer!

In most cases these solutions are just bandaids and really don't solve the underlying problem of not having enough volunteers. At some point, the root cause has to be addressed and that, as so many have already indicated in this and other threads, is that most people don't have time to train and volunteer anymore.