Count 'em!

The transfer of skills and knowledge continues at the local youth council…Today we held an open house, inviting all youth in town to come see what we are up to, and what we are all about. The open house idea is not a new one, in terms of volunteer recruitment, at our organization. But the fact that we got it right today is a big accomplishment for the new leadership team. Last fall, we did okay in recruitment. In the spring, we pretty much failed, bringing in only one new face to the open house. Today’s record total (at least in my service, with this generation of youth leaders)—19 potential new volunteers in our town. Woot!

To get that many new people to our center and that many shoes at our doorstep, we stepped up our advertising scheme a bit. Two days ago, I met the vice-president of the youth council and went to her old elementary/middle-school and spoke with students in three classes. Our excellent turn-out means that a full third of the students we spoke to were convinced to come today.

Of course, everyone already knows that coming to the center means making new friends and having fun…here’s a clip from a trust-building exercise that turned into an abdominal workout for those who couldn’t stop laughing.

And the other reasons youth gave for coming to our open house: to learn public speaking, to use my free-time effectively, to learn about youth development, to work as a volunteer.

YIKES! I think they are going to like it here…