Marion, Ind., Corps' volunteer banquet
by Lt. Jason Bigelow
Lt. Jason with his wife, Dana
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Where would we be without the work of our faithful volunteers? No matter where you are in The Salvation Army, you're surely among a group of volunteers who make it possible for us to accomplish "Doing the Most Good." When I first arrived at my appointment in Marion, Ind., I was pleased to find a busy operation that was spreading the gospel and serving our community. However my heart may have skipped a beat when I discovered, with all we had going on, our staff consisted of only two employees! How could this be possible? The answer, I learned, was found in the list of over 500 volunteers.
We have volunteers who lead programs, clean and maintain our building, serve in our food pantry, ring bells at Christmas, assist in the office-the list goes on! Given that our corps has had financial struggles in the past, I was tremendously grateful for the dedicated work of all of these individuals, but the question was-how do I show it?
I learned the corps used to hold small, simple dinners of appreciation, but that one had not been organized for the last several years. From my perspective, these hard working volunteers deserved something special. So I decided we had to treat them to an appreciation dinner with all of the class they deserved.
The dilemma, of course, was how to fit a nice dinner into our already stretched budget. First I prayed, asking God to help me locate the resources we needed to recognize our wonderful, servant-hearted volunteers. Next I focused on finding a location for our dinner; one a bit more comfortable than our corps' gym. I contacted Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in Marion, who we'd established a relationship with earlier, and they were willing to donate the use of one of their finest banquet rooms, at no cost. All I had to do was ask!
Next, I needed an estimate on how much it would cost to provide food for hundreds of volunteers. Because IWU only contracts with their resident caterer, Pioneer College Caterers, they were the only option in using that space. However, after talking with Pioneer, they were willing to offer The Salvation Army a discounted rate! Still, we needed sponsors.
Because we have developed a positive relationship with people in our community, I didn't hesitate to start asking individuals and businesses to sponsor our volunteer recognition dinner. I began with our Advisory Board. The chairman challenged the board members to match his gift of 10 percent of the cost, and a few of them took him up on it. While the response started slowly, by the time we needed it, there were almost enough sponsorships to cover the entire cost of the dinner!
As the location, food and cost were being handled, we began to send invitations, as well as plan the program. I determined our program would include musical numbers from our brass band, children's singing company and solos from our congregation. We made time to deliver certificates of recognition to our volunteers and included speakers from our Advisory Board, Corps Council, staff and, of course, the corps officer-me! Combined with Salvation Army videos, we had enough for a two-hour program.
One of the biggest parts of the process was choosing a theme. We were blessed to have a public relations intern from IWU working with us, and she came up with several ideas. In the end we chose a "puzzle" theme with the idea that each volunteer is an important piece of the puzzle, and our work couldn't be complete without them. We used this as inspiration for our invitations, placemats, signs and decorations.
Our program was a success, and for those who'd like to run a similar event, it's probably more possible than you think! Here are a few "Dos and Don'ts" that I learned and can hopefully help you along the way!
Do recognize and honor your volunteers for their work, and do it in style. They give us their best, and that's what they deserve in return. Without them, we'd never be able to accomplish our mission.
Do ask your divisional headquarters (DHQ) staff for ideas! Many of the ideas and resources came from our supportive DHQ staff, and some staff members even came to the event and helped out.
Do find a creative theme to incorporate throughout your dinner. It gives the appearance of a polished, thoughtful event!
Don't hesitate to ask for help. If you're doing good work in your community, and people know about it, they're happy to give. The key is being well plugged into your community so you know who to ask, and they realize the good you do!
Don't wait until the last minute to plan. Start thinking at least ten months in advance-taking all major upcoming events into consideration-and then plan accordingly.
Don't forget to thank all who sponsored and helped to make the volunteer dinner a success; that way they'll want to help again the next time!
Happy planning! And feel free to contact me at the Marion, Ind., Corps for more information.