The Better Business Bureau (BBB) since its founding in 1912 has proven that the mass of marketplace problems can be solved fairly through using voluntary self-regulation and consumer education. The BBB system is a private, non-profit organization created to monitor and report marketplace activities to the public licensed by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and governed by their own local Boards of Directors. The BBB in the United States extends across the nation, from the coast of Hawaii, to Alaska, and Puerto Rico.

Their mission is to promote and foster the highest ethical relationship between the public and businesses through consumer and business education, service excellence, and voluntary self-regulation. The Better Business Bureau today is supported by more than three hundred thousand local business members nationwide, dedicated to fostering fair and honest relationships between consumers and businesses, encouraging consumer confidence and contributing to an ethical business environment.

The Better Business Bureaus core services include:

Business Reliability Reports
The business reliability reports allows finding reports and information about a specific company that one may be looking for.

Dispute Resolution
The BBB system makes the results of its different dispute resolution programs publicly obtainable in the confidence that such transparency will help consumers and businesses assess the value of the Bureaus services.

Truth in Advertising
The Better Business Bureau system since its founding in 1912 has made advertising self-regulation a part of their mission. During that time, misleading and fraudulent advertising and the lack of any effective regulation led to BBBs formation, for the purpose of promoting truth in advertising. Until today, review and voluntary correction of local advertising is till a core service offered by the bureau.

Consumer and Business Education
The Better Business Bureau also has a program that promotes consumer and business education through online education forums such as Identity Theft, Understanding Privacy, e-Exporting, GetNetWise, and Online Shopping Tips, all of which greatly helps in the improvement of consumer and business education.

Charity Review
The BBB Wise Giving Alliance gives reports on nationally soliciting charitable organizations that are the subject of donor inquiries. These Alliance reports include an evaluation of the subject charity in connection to the voluntary BBB charity standards. It also offers guidance to donors on making informed giving decisions through their various tips publications, charity evaluations, and publishes quarterly Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide.

The purpose of the Better Business Bureau is not to act as an advocate for businesses or consumers, but to be a mutually trusted intermediary basing neutrality to resolve disputes, facilitate communication, and to provide information on ethical business practices. The bureaus integrity is based on public trust of being a neutral third party that they have held for over eighty years.

Agency Information

â?¢ Young people need to know about your agencyâ??s mission and program.

Use this as an opportunity to educate youth and their families about
your organization and its issues.

- Give them written information to read later on that they can give to their
parents.

- Introduce them to key people in the organization, especially those with
whom they will be interacting.

- Provide a tour of your facility.

Etiquette

Do not assume that students understand appropriate conduct and etiquette in your agency.

Be sure to address the following items with your youth volunteers: (you may even want to print a short informational brochure)

- How do you, other adults in the agency, and the people that you serve like
to be addressed? (Mr., Mrs., Mrs., first names, etc.)

- Appropriate behavior

- Punctuality

- Relations with staff

- What if you are sick?

- In case of emergency

- Organizational Rules regarding:

Confidentiality (what is it and why is it important?)
Appropriate language
Time constraints

*Be sure to explain the reasons and the importance of these rules for students.

- The importance of follow-through and maintaining the agreed commitment.

- If you expect a signed commitment (contract) explain the need at this time

Information on Individuals Being Served

Service learning can bridge gaps between different generation, different ethnic groups, different income levels, and other areas of diversity in our community.

Stereotypes and gaps can widen if young people do not know what to expect or how to interact.

Take time to talk to the students about the clients that you serve.
You will create a better understanding of the needs and opportunities that exist in our community.

Problem Solving

Take time to help students with problem solving.

- Can you discuss some problems that might arise before they occur?

- What problems will students encounter when they are serving?

- Will people be uncomfortable receiving their help?

- Will they encounter opposition?

- Will tasks not go as planned?

- Will the weather interfere?

- Will they run out of supplies?

â?¢ Using case studies from your agencyâ??s experience, can be a good concrete way for the young people to practice problem solving.

Safety and Supervision

Just like the school, a volunteer agency needs to provide:

â?¢ A safe physical environment
â?¢ Adequate supervision
â?¢ Safe adult supervisors.

Consider the following questions:

- How will you assess the need for volunteers and develop volunteer job
descriptions that are appropriate for adolescent volunteers?

- How will you recruit, screen, select and train young volunteers?

- What kind of screening is appropriate for young volunteers?

- What kind of training is required for the positions in which young
volunteers will be placed?

- Who will be responsible for supervising these young volunteers?

- Does your insurance policy cover volunteer service by children and teens?

- What kind of parental permission is necessary for children and adolescents
who volunteer?

â?¢ Even when you work with a group of students, matching for a specific task is needed.

Young people should be assigned to parts of the project that best fit their interest, skills, readiness and needs.

â?¢ Even if community service is mandatory, your agency is not required to involve all young people in service.

Your primary responsibility is to provide quality service to your clients.
If a young person, or even a whole group does not meet specific needs of your organization, you are free to, and should, redirect their energies.

An effective safety management strategy is always composed of the following steps:

1) identify the risks
2) assess the risks
3) decide how to control the risks
4) implement a strategy to avoid, reduce or deal with the risks
5) Review and revise this policy periodically and as needed.

When identifying potential risks, take into account:

â?¢ Age of the young people participating
â?¢ Are there any legal duties imposed on your organization to care for these
young people?
â?¢ Review your premises, location, adult staff and the activity in
which students will participate.
â?¢ Make yourself aware of the potential hazards that student participation
may pose.

4 Tools to Help You Control Risks:

1) Avoidance â?? Choose not to offer a service opportunity that presents too great
a risk.
2) Modification â?? Adjust your policies, plans and procedures to reduce the
chance that harm may occur.
3) Transfer â?? Shift at least the financial aspect of the risk through
contractual agreements and insurance.
4) Retention â?? Accept the risk and prepare for the consequences.

Some service opportunities may be appropriate if they are modified to meet the needs and capabilities of young volunteers.

â?¢ Children may need to have tasks broken down into their individual
components, or into shorter time spans.

â?¢ Children should not be expected to work for periods longer than 60-90
minutes, and should complete their assignments during the daytime.
Adolescents may be able to handle longer periods and later hours of service.

When writing job descriptions:

â?¢ Use language that young volunteers will understand.
â?¢ State exactly what tasks the volunteer will be performing.
â?¢ Who will supervise these volunteers?
â?¢ Are there any tasks, locations or activities that a young volunteer will
not be allowed to participate in?

Agency Contact with School and Parents

Be sure to maintain contact with the Volunteer Center, school and parents.

â?¢ Parents can provide you with helpful information about their youngsterâ??s
abilities, limitations, physical and emotional development.

â?¢ Parents who are made aware of their childrenâ??s activities, and who are
asked to contribute, tend to feel better about the organization at which
their child volunteers.

â?¢ If the student is involved in an activity that has a potential risk,
inform parents and request their permission for their child to
participate in this activity. Make sure that forms/permission slips sent
to parents are clear and precise.

Ice Breaker Activities for use at Trainings for Volunteers

Weâ??re Stuck Together in the Web of Our Community

Needed:

A Ball of Yarn
Ample Space

(Suggestion: Volunteers should be introduced and wear nametags prior to starting this game)

â?¢ All the participants form a circle.
â?¢ Person who starts says, â?? Hi, Iâ??m Sally. I like getting involve in
volunteering with my family because it makes me feel close to my children.
Now Iâ??m connected to George.â??
â?¢ Sally holds on to the end of the yarn and throws the ball of yarn across the
circle to George.
â?¢ George says, â??Hi, Iâ??m George. I like volunteering with my Mom and Dad cause
its fun to do grown-up stuff! Thatâ??s Sally over there. She likes volunteering
because it makes her feel close to her children. Now Iâ??m connected to Jim.â??
â?¢ George takes hold of the end of the piece of yarn and throws the ball of yarn
to Jim.

â?¢ The game continues in a similar fashion until everyone in the circle is hold the end of a piece of yarn. The yarn inside the circle is criss-crossed across the circle like a spider-web.
â?¢ Other phrases that can be used with this game are:

- This is what I have done previously when volunteering.
- This is what I would like to do in upcoming volunteer opportunities.
- I feel I can help make a contribution to my community byâ?¦

Each participant repeats the phrase of the person who played just before. (George repeats Sallyâ??s phrase). With a group of older children or teens, if you would like to make the game a little more difficult, each player can repeat the phrases of all the previous participants.

After everyone in the circle has had a turn, play the game again in reverse, until all of the yarn is all rolled up again into one neat ball back in the hands of the original person (Sally)

After the game is over, talk about how every makes a very special contribution to our community in their own way. We are all connected, and what we do effects and helps all those others who are with us in our community.

Iâ??m a Piece of the Solution in my Community

Needed:

Markers
Poster board
(Scissors)
Ample Space

Prior to the training, the facilitator cuts the poster board pieces. With an older group of children or teens, each family group can cut their own. Make sure to have enough supplies for each group.

You are making puzzle pieces that will fit together at the end of this activity.

Ask each group to draw a picture on their poster board

- What I like about volunteering
- What I would like to do volunteering
- This is my better community and this is how I have helped.

After every group has completed their drawings go around the room and have everyone describe what they have drawn.

Place the pieces of the â??puzzleâ?? together on the floor. Discuss how everyone makes a special contribution to our community. If we were missing even one piece our community would not be â??completeâ?? and such a special place.

As a Volunteer Coordinator you regularly monitor the placement and service hours of your volunteers, the receipt of donations and success of fundraising efforts, and the activities that your volunteer programs engage in. Volunteer Coordinators have been documenting the inputs, activities and outputs of their programs for many years now.

Inputs are those things that are put into your program. They are things like staff, staff time, money, equipment, supplies, volunteers and volunteer time. The contribution of resources by your partners may also be considered an input. Inputs also include constraints on the program, such as laws, regulations and requirements for funding.

Activities are those things that the Volunteer Program does to fulfill its mission. Examples of Volunteer Program activities might be:

â?¢ Referral of volunteers to non-profit agencies
â?¢ Training of area Volunteer Managers in professional Volunteer Management
techniques.
â?¢ Sponsoring projects that impact of the critical social needs of the community.

Outputs are the products of the programâ??s activities. It is what the program has accomplished.

â?¢ What actually got accomplished?
â?¢ How many hours did the volunteers serve?
â?¢ What was the contribution of the partners?
â?¢ How many people were reached, tutored, mentored, # of kits made, etc.

In the past, Volunteer Programs, like many other human service organizations, did not track what happened to the volunteers that were referred after the placement. We might know how many hours a volunteer has spent at his volunteer activity, but we do not know how this volunteer activity has changed or helped the agency in which he was placed. How has this volunteer service benefited the volunteer? This is where the measurement of outcomes comes in.

Outcomes are the changes or benefits that have happened to the agencies in which you have placed your volunteers, benefits to the community, and to the volunteers themselves. How have the populations, which you have served, changed their behaviors, skills, knowledge, attitudes, values or conditions? It is the impact you have had on your community.

For example: A neighborhood clean-up campaign

Outputs - These are your Accomplishments

# of organizational meetings
# of participants
# of volunteer hours served
# of blocks cleaned

Outcomes- This is the Impact that you have achieved through your project.

As a result of the neighborhood cleanup campaign 90% of community residents surveyed reported reduced exposure to safety hazards in the neighborhood and an increase in community pride.

When writing outcome measures be sure to:

â?¢ Use measurements when determining your outcomes
â?¢ Use measurements and standards that are straightforward and easy to understand
â?¢ Be specific- avoid general statements

Outcome measures clearly state how your program has made an impact and benefited your community. But what are some other ways that we can use this clear and focused information?

â?¢ Recruit and train talented staff.
â?¢ Enlist and motivate volunteers
â?¢ Engage collaborators
â?¢ Retain or increase funding
â?¢ Demonstrate innovative efforts
â?¢ Gain favorable public recognition

Outcome measures can also help your Volunteer Program to improve its programs and services by:

â?¢ Identifying staff and volunteer training needs
â?¢ Develop and justify budgets
â?¢ Prepare long-range plans
â?¢ Focus Board memberâ??s attention on programmatic issues.

The demonstration of program impacts has become increasing crucial in the quest to prove Volunteer Program effectiveness. Federal programs as well as many private funders require human service agencies to measure and report on their outcomes.

Good Luck! You will find with a little practice and patience, the Outcome measures described here will be a useful addition to your Volunteer Program.

Some organizations think that training older volunteers is not good management because of the belief that:

â?¢ Younger volunteers may be quicker to grasp new concepts.

â?¢ Younger volunteers are more willing to apply new methods or techniques.

â?¢ Older volunteers will not be with the organization for a long time.

â?¢ Older volunteers have poor memories and experience declining intellectual
abilities as they age.

â?¢ Older volunteers are resistant to new learning.

â?¢ Belief that older volunteers are â??set in their waysâ??.

All of these assumptions are discriminatory as well as false!

What Are The Characteristics of Older Learners?

â?¢ A tendency to regard any type of testing as threatening.

â?¢ A reluctance (especially among older men) to be involved in activities that
are embarrassing or threatening to their self-image.

â?¢ An apprehensiveness over repeating rote learning and evaluation procedures
that many older volunteers associate with schooling.

â?¢ Many newer educational methods such as team learning, games, and small group
training exercises may seem strange or even threatening to some older
volunteers.

â?¢ A low tolerance for training exercises and activities that seem remote from
the purpose at hand.

â?¢ Stress and insecurity when challenging or confrontational training techniques
are used.

â?¢ Performance is depressed when the material is difficult or complex.
This anxiety disappears once the material has been learned.

â?¢ Being out of practice in learning situations may lead to low initial
performance, until the person gets back into the swing of things.

Creating a Successful Training for Older Volunteers:

1. An adjustment period may be necessary.

2. Self-paced learning seems to work best with older volunteers.

3. Adjust methods and pace when unlearning and relearning is required.

4. Training materials should be relevant and related to the job.

5. Testing and evaluation stresses older volunteers.

6. Participative teaching techniques that accent the learnerâ??s previous
accomplishments and experience,produce high performance.