International Volunteer Manager day, which was celebrated this past week (Tuesday November 5), provides an opportunity to stop and reflect on the amount of work it takes to recruit, induct, train, support and retain volunteers.

Volunteering Central, which works with organisations across the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes District to promote, support and strengthen volunteering, sees International Volunteer Manager Day as a chance to give a shout out to the many volunteer managers who work so hard to ensure volunteers have a great experience.

We often celebrate the amazing contribution volunteers make to our community, and the efforts of these dedicated volunteers would not happen as effectively as they do without passionate volunteer managers to lead them, Volunteering Central’s Gillian White says.

Gillian says Wanaka local Jane Sharman is one of the busiest volunteer managers she knows, and much of her work leading volunteers is done as a volunteer herself.

Jane moved to Wanaka three years ago from Auckland with her two young children and husband Adam. She loves to run, walk and ski, loves heading outdoors, going on bike rides, eating good food, drinking coffee, catching up with friends and helping with community projects. In a nutshell, Jane loves Wanaka and contributes an enormous amount to her community.

One of Jane’s key roles is as Wanaka parkrun event director – which she has done for nearly two years as a volunteer herself. She and her husband Adam set up Wanaka’s parkrun, which takes place every Saturday and offers locals and visitors the opportunity to take part in a timed 5km run or walk with a social coffee at Edgewater afterwards.

“Volunteers are everything. We are here because of volunteers’ passion and parkrun relies on volunteers to make it happen each week. We are all volunteers – promoting the event, rostering volunteers, setting up the course, marshalling, timing, scanning runners, processing results and more,” Jane said.

“We hope that volunteers have plenty of fun, make friendships, enjoy the opportunity to improve their own fitness and enjoy being outside, that they enjoy enabling others to meet their fitness goals, gain a sense of community, learn new skills and gain confidence – all while having a great time.”

Jane has managed volunteers for around 12 years, previously working for The Cancer Council in Australia running events such as Daffodil Day and Pink Ribbon Day. In New Zealand, she has worked for The Cancer Society delivering Wanaka’s first Relay for Life and hosting three Pink Ribbon breakfasts. Jane also works for Warbirds Over Wanaka, has volunteered with The Wanaka Trail Ride, Wanaka Playgroup, and is currently on the board of Montessori Children’s House Wanaka.

Whatever her role, when managing volunteers, Jane works hard to ensure they feel engaged with her and the organisation as a whole.

“I want all volunteers to feel that they have had an excellent experience and that starts with offering a friendly and welcoming environment, regular communication and reminding everyone that events, such as parkrun, only happen because of the volunteers,” she said.

“I’m also keen to acknowledge their input and to ensure they are aware of the difference they are making not only to the organisation but to themselves and the wider community. I see each volunteer as an individual and want to ensure they have the opportunities to try new roles and to keep developing as volunteers. That also helps me out as I can delegate roles to those keen to try something new. Finally, I love to celebrate their passion during National Volunteer Week or International Volunteer Day.”

Volunteering Central realises how hard it is to recruit and retain volunteers, Gillian says. There are so many organisations out there seeking support. Organisations need to ensure they are offering a meaningful and rewarding role and that their volunteers feel valued and motivated to keep turning up week after week or year after year. A huge part of that is ensuring volunteers understand the organisations vision and how they are contributing towards that – no matter how small the role appears.

“With parkrun the most challenging aspect is managing different levels of commitment from volunteers and knowing we’ll have enough volunteers each week,” Jane said. 

“However, it’s a great role and I love seeing how appreciative people are of those sharing their time for the benefit of others. The social aspect is fabulous, we get to meet such a variety of people each week and bring together people of all ages and abilities for a common goal. Every week after parkrun I look around and think to myself – wow, what an awesome bunch of people we have here – it’s a fantastic start to the weekend.”

To find out how Volunteering Central can support your volunteer programme or to chat about volunteering contact them at [email protected] or visit Gillian at Wanaka Community Hub each Wednesday between 9.30 – 1pm. Also check out roles on the Volunteer section of The Wanaka App.

PHOTO: Supplied