Recruiting from Faith Institutions
We had a question about recruiting from churches and other faith institutions posted in the comments to Erich's "welcome" message for this section of the Forums, and I thought it perhaps warranted it's own post...
Many years ago, at the beginning of the "faith-based initiative" movement, the National Mentoring Center put out a newsletter on faith-based mentoring. It included a pretty good list of tips (see page 14). You can download it here:
http://www.nwrel.org/mentoring/pdf/bull12.pdf
The main takeaway from the whole issue seemed to be, at least to me, the need to involve the pastors, rabbis, or whoever the prominent leaders are from these institutions. Without their support, recruitment from an outside organization can be a challenge.
But what are some other tried and true strategies? That newsletter is almost 6 years old, so I'm curious to hear what else programs are doing these days to court faith-based volunteers. So what's working in this area?
(And please remember, if you want to ask a new question on the Forums, create a new post in the appropriate section rather than in a comment to a previous post. That will make the discussions here easier to follow.)
We host information related to volunteer recruitment in the Tutor/Mentor Institute,which is a collection of ideas hosted by the Tutor/Mentor Connection.
We create maps of the Chicago region, showing where poverty and poorly performing schools are located and where volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs are most needed. We overlay on these maps the database of tutor/mentor programs operating in Chicago, and sort this by type of program ( pure mentor, pure tutor, or tutor/mentor) as well as age group served and zip code. Thus, a volunteer or donor can search in any section of the city and suburbs and find contact information, and web links, to any program operating in that area.
We also create a set of asset maps, that show distribution of banks, insurance companies, and faith groups throughout the region.
Using this information, leaders in any faith group can lead actions that draw members of the congregation, to the maps, and to other information we host, so they can build a greater understanding of where tutor/mentor programs are needed, how they differ from each other, and ways they can support the growth of one, or all, of the different programs in the region.
If other cities build a similar directory of programs, they can enlist faith and business leaders to use their own communications to help mobilize volunteers, and donors, thus sharing the responsibility of building and sustaining tutor/mentor programs with the leaders who operate them.
If you know of other communities, or faith leaders, who support such a strategy, please share that information.
There are also some materials on recruitment in faith communities available online from the National Network of Youth Ministries that you may want to check out: http://www.mentoryouth.com/ The downloadable materials include Public Service Announcements (PSAs), e-Cards, recruitment videos and tips.
Kay Logan
Center for Inter-Disciplinary Mentoring Research
Portland State University
kay.logan@pdx.edu