MHVRP Newsletter • Winter 2018
Message from Our President
Julie Elliott, President
January usually brings a fresh new beginning, cleaning closets, new workouts, new weight loss challenges, becoming a better YOU! This is also an opportunity to RENEW your volunteer program. Take a look at some of your OLD habits, maybe seeing or researching new ways to recruit volunteers. Interview some of your key partners in the hospital, see what kinds of things you can do to help them achieve some of their goals.
Volunteers have so many opportunities to help on patient floors, in the ER, Gift Shops and in long term care facilities. One of the things that we have been doing in our system is collecting data from our volunteers about the number of patients they help, call lights they answer, deliveries they make, beds they help clean and visitors they greet and assist at the information desk. We have collected this information for a year. You would be surprised about how much impact your volunteers have on the day to day activities of the hospital. This information will be part of my annual report to our management team and it will give them a different perspective of how important our volunteers are.
So, as you are beginning a new year, take a look at some of your procedures, freshen them up, try some new things and challenge yourself to look at your volunteer department from a different perspective.
MHVRP Spring Conference | May 16-18, 2018
Gabby Vandermolen, Conference Chair
Set on the shores of Little Traverse Bay in Petoskey Michigan, this year’s MHVRP’s Spring Conference is not to be missed. The breathtaking scenery and indulgent accommodations are not even the top two reasons to attend!
The most important reason to attend is the training that will make an impact your volunteer program. Our featured speaker is Rob Toonkel. He is nationally recognized and has a sterling background in volunteer management. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Rob has seven years of hospital volunteer management experience following roles as Director of Communications, Legislative Assistant, researcher/statistician, and as a 2,000 hour hospital volunteer. He comes highly recommended as an engaging, entertaining and very effective trainer.
Rob’s topic is A is for Always – Educating Volunteers to Maximize Results. This presentation touches on all the bases of educating volunteers, from orientation tactics to customer service techniques to annual education. The method is designed to engage and retain volunteers while maximizing patient satisfaction and volunteer satisfaction.
Your second best reason to join us at the Inn at Bay Harbor is the networking. I never leave an MHVRP gathering without a handful of great new ideas that I’m ready to implement in my own program. The connections you’ll make as you share and grow with your peers are well worth the investment of your time.
Click here → MHVRP Spring Conference Registration to register!
2018-2019 Nominations Now Open!
Shelly Weaver, Advisor
Play a part in strengthening the profession of Volunteer Services Administration by taking the opportunity to participate in the selection of MHVRP leadership.
What about you? The process does not require modesty. If you feel you want to be a part of a dynamic, leadership opportunity and your commendable experience as an administrator of volunteer programs is displayed through practice, then share yourself with MHVRP!
What about colleagues/others within the organization whose leadership is invaluable and demonstrates passion for the profession? Who knows them better than you do? Remember that person you meet through networking? Check out the most current listing of members: MHVRP Membership List.
The deadline for all nominations is Wednesday, March 7. Click here for the MHVRP Nomination Form or send your nominations to Shelly Weaver at Shelly.Weaver@Sparrow.org. We welcome and encourage your recommendations for nominees for these open offices:
President- Elect (1 Open Position)
Serves as the President’s “right hand”
Assumes all duties and responsibilities of the president in the absence or incapacity of the president.
Succeeds the office of president at the expiration of the president’s elected term.
Term: One year as President-Elect, followed by a one-year term as President and a one-year term as Advisor/Chair of Nominations Committee.
Treasurer (1 Open Position)
Receive all funds and deposit them into the MHVRP bank account.
Pay all bills as authorized by the budget.
Maintain a detailed accounting of receipts and expenditures.
Prepare annual budget.
Prepare and file proper paperwork with the IRS.
Term: one year
Secretary (1 Open Position)
Take attendance and record official minutes of all meetings.
Prepare and distribute minutes for board and general membership meetings at least three weeks prior to the meetings.
Archive files and minutes from meetings.
Term: one year
Nominating Committee (3 Open Positions)
Work with the Advisor to manage the annual election process.
Seeks and nominates members of MHVRP for office.
Prepares election slate in accordance with bylaws.
Announce results of the annual election.
Term: one year
Golden Opportunities: Patients, Communities, You!
The theme for this year’s conference leads us to explore the opportunities for change in the delivery of our volunteer services and those who serve with us. This Golden Anniversary, celebrating 50 years of AHVRP, is a milestone to celebrate, and one you will not want to miss!
I am so excited with what the 2018 Annual Conference Planning Committee has in store for this Golden Anniversary. They will continue to offer outstanding educational sessions, keynote speakers, posters session, as well as many opportunities to network with your peers. If you have been to a previous conference, you know they also throw a lot of FUN in as well to round out the conference. At the last conference in Phoenix, I asked members what they enjoy best about AHVRP educational offerings and the opportunity to learn and network with their peers was the resounding answer.
I hope you will plan to attend, and celebrate our new opportunities! Our communities and patients are counting on our hospitals, hospices, long-term care facilities and health care systems to deliver creative programs to support the new way of delivering healthcare. This 50th celebration is about not only AHVRP it is about YOU, the Chief Magic Makers and the Innovators, celebrating those who truly understands why we do what we do. Do not miss the conference everyone will be talking about!
I hope to see YOU in Chicago!
Kristyn Ireland, CAVS
2018 AHVRP President
Manager, Volunteer Services
North Ottawa Community Hospital
Grand Haven, Michigan
