Short-term and easy volunteer tasks encourage people to try voluntary service

Many are interested in voluntary service for the Red Cross, but the threshold for getting involved or committing to the activities can be high. The desire to help or make an impact may be strong, but things, such as a busy situation in life, do not permit committing to long-term activities.

Some may be primarily interested in one-time but recurring tasks, or they may be keen to get to know the activities and other volunteers first before committing for a longer period of time. Young people in particular want short-term volunteer tasks or ones that are easy to try out. According to a Citizen Forum study, such tasks would make it easier for everyone interested to participate in the activities.

Short-term or easy-to-try volunteer tasks help to introduce the Red Cross and its volunteers to people. Those interested in short-term volunteering can also bring relief during busy times of operations, such as when organising events. Even people who only occasionally participate in short-term tasks and are familiar with the Red Cross are valuable assets and can also be helpful in crisis and emergency situations.  

What kinds of tasks are easy to get involved in?

There are different types of short-term or low-threshold volunteer tasks, and there is no one correct way to define them. Above all, it is about finding a perspective on the kinds of tasks in which short-term volunteers would be the most helpful to the aid recipients and organisational branches.

You can identify suitable volunteer tasks based on these tips and questions, for example:

• Consider the tasks that already exist in your branch or district. What task is one that can be taught quickly on site, either alone or together with someone else?
• Do your activities involve tasks that are suitable for everyone, including beginners? Or tasks that someone new to the operations can complete with a more experienced volunteer or a friend?
• Do your activities involve tasks that are not necessarily considered to be voluntary tasks but in which help is needed? Such tasks include arranging catering at meetings, cleaning and organising, or acting as a driver, for example.
• Organising events can take a great deal of effort and require help. Could those interested in volunteering come and be introduced to the activities by, for example, filming an event, setting up tents, organising the programme, assisting with catering or serving as vendors?
• Talk to other volunteers. By talking to other volunteers of the branch, you can identify tasks in which help is needed and which you can come and try out.
• Dividing tasks ensures that no one is left with too much responsibility. A clearly defined and instructed task, such as handling the catering or preparing a sales stand, is more concrete than a general request to “come to help” and is easier to take on. When tasks are divided, even busy people can more easily come and get acquainted with the activities.
• Could existing activities be changed so that they can be tried out for a short period of time? If the activities lend themselves to it, those interested in voluntary service can be invited to try them out for a couple of months, for example. This lowers the threshold for getting acquainted with the activities and volunteering. It may well be that the people coming in to try things out get excited and remain involved in the activities!    
• Are there joint activities for which your branch could act as a convener or enabler? For example, could you organise an excursion to donate blood or collect donations for Kontti or the Red Cross flea market? The Hunger Day collection is another good example of this type of activity. 

Once a potential volunteer has come to get acquainted with the activities or try out a task, you can ask them if they are interested in joining regular activities and refer them to training, for example. You can also tell potential volunteers more about the activities and the Red Cross during the event. Volunteers are instructed to create a profile in the Oma Punainen Risti system, even when they are only interested in one-time tasks.

If a volunteer becomes interested in participating in the activities more regularly after the trial, it is important to ensure that they are contacted to consider how they can best take part in the activities. As such, it is a good idea to take care of the information flow within the branch and ensure that potential volunteers create a profile on Oma Punainen Risti.  

What if you cannot find suitable activities?

It is not always possible to find forms of voluntary service within your own branch that would be easy to simply try out. In this case, it may be a good idea to consider options such as suggesting online volunteering or directing volunteers to a neighbouring branch if activities that interest them are available there. Every new volunteer can be a valuable asset to the Red Cross and the aid recipients.

It is also worth encouraging volunteers to create a profile on the Oma Punainen Risti website, where they can browse volunteer activities, register for interesting courses and tasks, complete the Welcome to the Red Cross online course, and subscribe to the Tässä ja Nyt newsletter for volunteers. The site can also be used to register to help if needed.

Contacting all potential volunteers, welcoming them and, if necessary, forwarding them elsewhere helps to ensure that the volunteers feel accepted in the activities. This way, they will remember us and contact us if their life situation allows for a longer-term commitment after their studies end, for example. One-time participants can also be invited to activities and events. 

How to communicate about low-threshold voluntary service opportunities to those interested in volunteering

• Explain the basics of the task as concretely as possible: what do you want the volunteer to do? How long will the task take?  Who is suitable for the task, and is it possible to come and try it out with a friend?  Who can be contacted on the matter
• Trust and demand trust: state in your messages what participation requires.
• There is no need to be afraid of communication, and it does not require “magic tricks”: simply a cheerful image and informative text can suffice.
• It is worth finding a marketing method that suits you. It could be, for example, a school visit or TikTok video, depending on your branch’s situation and resources.
• Direct those interested in volunteering to join, for example, Oma Punainen Risti or an email or other message list, through which they will receive up-to-date information about events and ways to help. Also make sure that you remember to share all the opportunities to help regularly!
• Visual materials can be easily produced by using tools such as Canva. 

Text: 
Sara Nurmilaukas, Communications Specialist
Christina Piirainen, Turku branch volunteer