Opinions/Suggestions Required!!

Jay · Old Hand

Opinions/Suggestions Required!!

Dawn · Guru

From my own personal experience of being a 'volunteer', I am still learning everyday about GAL and how it works. I think that it would be beneficial to all those who volunteer to know more about GAL prior to becoming a volunteer in order that we are all singing off the same hymn sheet. Someone could volunteer with extreme views which would not necessarily be in keeping with the work of charity.

Perhaps there could be a register of volunteers, who in the first instance would attend a volunteers meeting, where the policies, ethos, goals etc of GAL can be endorsed. I know we have a couple of volunteers who haven't got dogs and they may be interested in the rehoming procedure, as they haven't had the experience of receiving a home check. Perhaps new volunteers could team up with an experienced committee member for their first voluntary attendance at an event.

Having had to 'step out' of GAL for some time, I found it difficult to put names to faces (and still do sometimes), as far as the committee are concerned, I only knew Dave, Glenda and Denise until recently. I think it would also be beneficial if the volunteers wore badges or we had some sort of uniform of GAL sweatshirts/hats with the wording 'volunteer' on it. It means that the volunteers can be easily identified by anyone coming along to the events.

Perhaps prior to an event the volunteers could be given an update on how many dogs we have for rehoming, who they should direct prospect adopters to, be provided with cards, leaflets etc, know exactly who is in charge of the event etc etc.

sorry this is a bit rushed, but must fly, hope this is of some use

Dawn

Suzanne · Guru

i wholeheartedly agree with all of Dawns points - particularily like the ideas of volunteer name badges or t-shirts at events as so many folk cant put names to faces - me included half the time!!

Im very pleased with the new homecheckers pack - makes me feel a lot more confident in doing them - ive only done a few but each one ive come away thinking 'damn - forgot to mention that' etc so i now feel as well armed as i can be now - i also thought the 'do's' & 'dont' sheets to leave for the homecheck families is a great idea & will hopefully prompt more people to do a bit more research prior to adoption...

The transport part of the volunteering isnt an issue in my eyes as we are just dropping off as such. Ill make sure im not daft enought to repeat my last transport job tho & drive a 100 mile round trip straight off night shift....swearving all over the motorway trying to stay awake aint fun....or big, or clever for that matter....

But Jay i do think it would be great to have everyone singing off the same song sheet....so def have volunteer days if you can which should be mandatory regardless of how long you have been volunteering for...

bluesmumanddad · Master

Name badges are a definate must. The only thing I would say about manditory training days is that I would have thought they would take place Glasgow way (and fair enough as thats where most people are) this would be very difficult for us East lothian folk to attend and I don't want to have to stop volunteering because I can't attend training days.

I would appriciate a fact sheet with the top FAQ's and how we should answer them if asked.

Hope this is of some use.

UndercoverElephant · Master

Suggestions for easy to find meeting places when meeting other volenteers transporting dogs would be good, most of us are travelling to places we don't know well, so it would be a help.

Also, the chat room is probably not a good way to do the training, only about 10% of the regular posters have made it on the the chat room, it'd be a shame if people thought they couldn't help as they weren't technowizards.

weeewelamb · Old Hand

I agree that it would be helpful to have some general info about GAL and the way it works, not only to enable us to answer questions at events but any time when someone asks.

A volunteers meeting or meetings would be a great idea to steer people along the right track and clarify any grey areas folk may have. It would also be an opportunity to give new volunteers info regarding the protocol at various fund raising activities and to find out what is involved in carrying out home checks etc. Armed with this info they could then decide where their skills best lie.

Julie

greyluvver · GAL Membership Co-Ordinator

Hi Jason,

I think an informal 'all volunteers get together/question-answer session' with some committee members present would be helpful, rather than 'training course'. Such sessions would also be great for new volunteers or anyone thinking of becoming a volunteer, giving them the opportunity to meet committee members, other volunteers, and gaining info.

I feel happy about the way in which voluntary tasks have been introduced to us, as initially just over a year ago we became volunteers & started at GAL events, and we have gradually learned about GAL and how it operates, and more recently have been asked to do other tasks. This I felt was a good way to progress.

The forum has certainly helped to shed light on some of the things that the committee & volunteers do, and the ups & downs that are encountered.

I feel some tasks should have a bit of background info provided, as what can appear to be straightforward doesn't always turn out to be so.

Look forward to hearing the outcome

Dave · Enlightened One

thanks for all the comments so far guys...PLEASE...keep em coming!!

Lesley · Guru

GAL background information - such as you gave me for the newspaper - would be helpful to everyone I think.

When I was first considering whether I could home check - I went with Charles and did a home check with him. That was very helpful to me and gave me more confidence that I could do it. I also took Sim and Suzie along as the visiting dogs which was equally helpful - to see how they behaved/coped. That 'apprentice' home check was really useful, and I'm sure anyone considering home checking would benefit if they had the opportunity to go with someone else.

-- Edited by Lesley at 08:58, 2005-08-07

Fiona · Master

I feel I would definitely benefit from some training. I'm at Bothwell every month and lots of people ask me what dogs we have for adoption etc and I really can't answer them, I tend to just give them basic information on the dogs in general and one of the GAL cards. Maybe even if I was given an update each month before I'm due in at Bothwell it would be handy.

I would attend training sessions if they were on and I would like to go with someone on a homecheck just so I can tell prospective new owners what to expect.

I'd be happy with a name badge too and anything else that you think I need. I've kind of come into GAL blind, I knew very little when I started volunteering and with not having a dog, I'm still unsure of a lot of things.

carolineasb · Old Hand

Hi all

I agree with everything that has been said.

I must admit that I felt quite out of my depth at my first Home Check & would have preferred to have gone out with someone else the first time - but I got there anyway & every check is different.

On the point about meetings and the East/West divide - could we not have a Meeting in a kid of central point like Livingston say. I'm sure that there must be Hotels there who would give us a function room for training free gratis (as we're a charity) perhaps on a Sunday after lunch time(a Hotel's quietest time when I used to work for Stakis) if they thought they might get us to pay for coffees or something stronger!! Just a thought anyway.

Caroline

Dave · Enlightened One

once again folks thanks for all the comments so far!! There's a lot of volunteer related stuff that I'll leave for Jason to attend to when he gets back off his holidays!

There's also a lot of questions about GAL and our policies etc..I was thinking about opening up a new part of the forum to cover this off, my idea would be for 3 new topics -

1. 'About GAL' (including general stuff about GAL's history - past and present, the way we operate, our kennels & foster homes, financies etc etc..

2. GAL FAQ's (this would cover lots of different situations and possibly questions our volunteers may be asked at events or simply when out walking thier own hounds)

3. 'ASK GAL' (the first 2 parts mentioned above I'd simply put on and not allow folk to update it, this part of the forum would be a place where you could 'ask GAL' anything you wanted (and expect a quick frank response)

Do folk think these new sections would be helpful??? (If YES then I'd appreciate some ideas for the GAL FAQ section) Please let me know and if I get a positive response I'll go ahead with this..

cheers

Dave

bluesmumanddad · Master

Dave FAQ.......... "can I have a whippet" or " is that dog small or just far away??"

Sorry will put some serious thought in to it and get back to you. The 3 new topics would be a big help.

FAJ · Enlightened One

I think this is a great idea. In fact, that's why I suggested it waaaaaaaaaaay back at the beginning of June but got no reply.... sniff, sob, wail, moan, sigh....

Don't worry, I'll get over it!

Parts 1 and 3 are good too.

Suggestions for the FAQ:

- what to do in the early days
- housetraining
- separation anxiety
- settling my new dog at night
- common health issues
- how to deal with a nervous/anxious dog
- early morning waking

Will add more as I think of them.

Fiona

Dave wrote:
2. GAL FAQ's (this would cover lots of different situations and possibly questions our volunteers may be asked at events or simply when out walking thier own hounds)