Volunteer Case Study

My response to this scenario is based on my experience with volunteers at the Tyler Texas Corps. At this Corps, volunteers were used in various Corps programs and activities. The Corps relied on the help of these volunteers, however, for all their advantages and benefits there were many challenges and drawbacks. Managing the massive amount of volunteers required much responsibility more than the “Volunteer Coordinator” could handle alone. The challenges with volunteers is that the majority of volunteers are short term or seasonal volunteers. They will volunteer as much as their schedule and life allows them time to participate. Therefore, this proves to be problematics when they want to volunteer in areas that require longevity. In addition, some volunteers come with business or professional backgrounds and think that the Corps could do their programs in a better way, even though the better way may be against …show more content…
Volunteers handle the sorting and distribution of Angel Tree. These volunteers set up the distribution center, sort all the gifts, and then coordinate all activities during distribution. This is especially beneficial to the Corps by helping keep finances down while delivering excellent quality to the Angel Tree program and benefactors. However, in the Red Kettle program volunteers provide both benefits and drawbacks to their use. Some of the benefits are that they provide great representation and image to the Army. They also save the Army money by not having to pay them; therefore, the Army is able to keep the entire donation to the kettle. The drawback to using volunteers is that they are reliable; since their service is free, one must deal with their schedule. For volunteers to be used completely in the Red Kettle program the coordinator must constantly be in communication with volunteers and continue to develop the volunteer