Kars for Kids Offers Six ways to Motivate Volunteers

Many people may think that volunteering isn’t something done all that often, so why waste your summer vacation doing so? However, many non-profit organizations actually find that volunteering spikes during the summer months. But if you think about it, it makes some sense. Families are taking vacation; children are on summer break... There’s ample free time to spend at least a few hours volunteering.

But then comes the age old question; why should I volunteer if I’m not getting paid? Many organizations face this question on a daily basis and it presents the issue, how do we keep our volunteers coming, and more so, how do we keep them motivated and engaged? Kars for Kids, a national car donation charity, has come up with some clever tips for all the non-profits out there to help them keep their volunteers excited about helping and encourage their helpers and others to continue to come.

Some tips from Kars4Kids include:

• ·         Making your volunteers feel needed and appreciated
• ·         Asking volunteers to help in specific, actionable ways
• ·         Inspiring your volunteers with the cause, not the organization
• ·         Staying connected, and make sure your communication channels go both ways
• ·         Developing a community of volunteers
• ·         Showing your volunteers how they made a difference

There it is: Six ways to motivate and encourage your volunteers so that next time you’re searching for some to come out and help, you can show proclaim that you know how to treat your volunteers and how to make the experience an exciting one and meaningful one.

Cars for Kids supports Go Green

Americans are not known for their strict commitment to environmental responsibility. Each year, about 250 million tons of garbage is thrown away in the US, roughly equal to four pounds per person, per day. Concerns of ballooning landfills have prompted cities like San Francisco to aim for a zero waste goal. Local and national organizations have been enthusiastic supporters.

 In 2009, prompted by public support and organizations like Kars for Kids, who have been a major player in the city’s car recycling scene for years, San Francisco became the first city in the country to require that residents and businesses separate their trash from compostable goods, which has led to an astonishing 80% reduction in the amount of garbage headed to the landfill. 

The reduction in garbage has in part been propelled by massive contributions from Kars4Kids, the leading national car donation charity for over a decade. Since 2005 alone, the charity has saved 160,000 barrels of oil, recycled 22,000 tons of steel and 1,600 tons of non-ferrous metal in the San Francisco area. The metal alone would produce 448 million toy cars, which, if lined up, would stretch across the United States 113 times.