Volunteer Deficit - Any advice?

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Philip Whiteman
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Volunteer Deficit - Any advice?

Post by Philip Whiteman » 09 Dec 2016 13:08

Robin could have written this letter from the Beacon! Anyway, he is requesting any helpful advice we can give to the Cheltenham CCC


Hello there folks,

I thought I would ping you a quick note because I have participated in your club events over a few years and I always get the feeling that the Beacon CC is a great club with a good spirit…and you know certainly how to organise a good event (like the audax series).

I am the Chairman of Cheltenham & County Cycling Club and we have well over 300 members, with anything up to a 100 turning up on a sunny weekend (Saturday &/or Sunday) for our club rides. However, one area we have always struggled with is volunteers. In fact, club records from 1930 even mention it! We have tried all kinds of schemes over the years to improve the volunteer rates (offering small amounts of money for helpers, entry into a prize draw, etc.) but we just seem to be increasingly rewarding the small number who are volunteering rather than increasing our volunteer numbers. Hence, can I humbly ask you for any ideas on what works in your club? Anything that definitely didn’t help?

We would appreciate any thoughts. In the meantime, I am looking forward to seeing the team there in February for Sunrise (fingers crossed for a frost free event!).

Kind regards

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petemarshall
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Post by petemarshall » 09 Dec 2016 18:22

Some useful stuff here
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/go-ridevolunteer
I think BC even run courses on encouraging volunteers.
Beacon is better than many in my experience in that there is a reasonable large pool of regular volunteers and many of them aren't retired😉 but it's a problem for all voluntary organisations. I am afraid the supposed professionalisation(which I am hoping isn't a word) of everything, and the every longer hours people have to work to pay a bank for their house and another bank for their education etc has sadly destroyed much of the long tradition of self organisation in our society.

Tim
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Post by Tim » 10 Dec 2016 09:23

https://www.facebook.com/groups/beaconr ... 539935964/

Some good ideas and debate across in FB land
Please like and follow Beacon Cycling Academy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beacon-C ... 6499863667

Les Ladbury
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Post by Les Ladbury » 10 Dec 2016 11:25

My village in France has a fete day every year. It starts around midday with aperitifs in the village hall followed by a 3 hour lunch. At 15:00 everyone decamps to watch the Course Cycliste.

For the first few years Anne and I tried to help in any way but we were told that everything was organised and the our help wasn't really needed.
One year we loaded the car with bottles of wine and spent the afternoon driving around the course supplying the marshals with refreshment. At the end of the day they were all very happy, indeed some were as happy as newts.
In recent years I have spent the afternoon taking photographs which I get printed and distribute around the village. No payment is involved. I absolutely love it.

That's France

For the last 2 or more years I have been working on a project which involved photography at cyclo-cross events in France and the UK. This involved attending around 150 races.

In France I have, without exception, been treated with absolute courtesy and cooperation.

Not always so in the UK.

I this country I have been sworn at, threated with violence and at events where there are children involved treated as a paedophile.

At one event a guy threated to, in his words, put me in hospital and that I would have to go home in an ambulance.

Having said that I was at an event at Chedworth where everyone was helpful and couldn't have been more pleasant but this, from my experience, has been the exception.

So would I be very keen to stand by the side of the road in the pouring rain, I'll leave that to you to answer.
Les

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George
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Post by George » 10 Dec 2016 15:16

I feel that, generally speaking, Beacon members are very good at volunteering. There are, of course, always some individuals who don't apparently have much sense of responsibility to assist club events. But they are in the minority, I feel.

Having said that, I think things have changed a little in recent years. I believe that that's down to three developments:
- The club has got bigger
- There is greater diversity in the types of cycling that members are involved in
- The club organises more events
When you put those things together, the average member doesn't feel quite the same level of engagement with all the club's promotions: one is relatively unlikely to volunteer to help at an event that's being run by someone one barely knows, in a discipline one doesn't participate in oneself. And most of us feel that there are simply too many events for us to help out at all of them, so we pick and choose.

The only thing I'd advise Cheltenham to do is to try and foster a culture of volunteering by focusing on one or two events and, via whatever communications channels they use, really making a big deal of the importance of everyone mucking in and helping. Then back that up with a really big effort to make the helping fun and rewarding: goody bags for people stuck on windswept corners, a little gathering back at the HQ afterwards, a public vote of thanks for the volunteers at the ceremony for the prize winners, etc. And 'you scratch by back, I'll scratch yours': organiser A always being willing to help organiser B and then gently leaning on B for help when A's event comes around.

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petemarshall
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Post by petemarshall » 21 Dec 2016 09:42

For those that don't realise how special a club the Beacon is take a look at the Beacon Academy Race videos
https://www.facebook.com/BeaconCyclingAcademy/?fref=nf
Not only does Tim get enough helpers to put this sort of thing on, most of the helpers are not parents. In most other clubs its mainly parents who do this type of thing, rather than other club members and even the larger clubs struggle. But Beacon has gone from next to nothing for the kids, to organising successful Go Ride races, having a team of coaches and plenty of volunteers whenever require (could always do with more) in just a couple of years.
All this whilst still organising Audaxs, Time Trials, Races and lots of boozy curry nights.
And, of course, having the coolest jerseys in the Midlands (and I don't mean the black ones) 8)

I think, we should all give ourselves a pat on the back.

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ballintrane
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Post by ballintrane » 21 Dec 2016 11:06

Image

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George
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Post by George » 22 Dec 2016 13:43

petemarshall wrote:For those that don't realise how special a club the Beacon is take a look at the Beacon Academy Race videos
https://www.facebook.com/BeaconCyclingAcademy/?fref=nf
Not only does Tim get enough helpers to put this sort of thing on, most of the helpers are not parents. In most other clubs its mainly parents who do this type of thing, rather than other club members and even the larger clubs struggle. But Beacon has gone from next to nothing for the kids, to organising successful Go Ride races, having a team of coaches and plenty of volunteers whenever require (could always do with more) in just a couple of years.
All this whilst still organising Audaxs, Time Trials, Races and lots of boozy curry nights.
And, of course, having the coolest jerseys in the Midlands (and I don't mean the black ones) 8)

I think, we should all give ourselves a pat on the back.
Hear, hear.

Tim
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Post by Tim » 28 Dec 2016 07:33

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/go-ri ... -in-2017-0

It would be good if a member of the club could attend this in Solihull, there are volunteer workshops and coaching workshops. I can't attend, think Pete is attending the coaching workshops. Could be a member of the committee or any member willing to go and share any ideas back with the committee.
Please like and follow Beacon Cycling Academy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beacon-C ... 6499863667

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