Volunteerism
Now Listening to: Facade
Jekkyl & Hyde
I think that my current mood is probably stressed. We had a meeting today in order to get our volunteer program off the ground. The plan was to flesh out the differences between a volunteer and a facilitator. I did my best, and Sandy and Terri both agreed with everything that I had. We now have example forms and some example guidelines for volunteers. We don’t have much for facilitators yet.
I guess the part that’s stressing me is the fact that there’s so much to think about. It’s quite overwhelming. We decide one thing, and then we think about another situation for another type of volunteer and have to discuss that volunteer’s expectations. Then something else comes up. It feels like the thinking is all over the map at this point. There’s so many things to consider that it’s hard to know if everything’s done. I worry about forgetting something, because it could endanger someone or upset someone in the long run.
The current hangup is boundary issues. What kind of relationship does a volunteer have with the youth? What’s permissable? How is it different from the facilitator’s relatively closed relationship? Just how closed must a facilitator be? What are the limits of time that a volunteer must wait to work with a group? Is that different from a facilitator?
There are a million questions, and answering one wrong could cause serious damage. I know that we’ll continue to push forward. All we can do is our best and learn from our mistakes. Anything is better than what we have now, but what if something we forget could have prevented engdangerment of a youth?
There’s always that darker side to the issue. I suppose it’s something that must be overlooked. Nothing is going to be perfect, so letting it bother me won’t help. Simply being aware of the consequences is all I should be as worrying will do no better.
Then there’s school.