Volunteer Roles & Descriptions

We're excited that you're interested in volunteering with the Village Network. The information on this page outlines the details of the various roles, as well as our Team Leads. Quickly jump to a section:

Direct Service Volunteers
Village Builders
Team Leads

Direct Service Volunteers - Position Descriptions

Transportation

Volunteer drivers pick up members and drive them to and from many destinations: e.g., grocery stores, the post office, doctors' offices, Village meetings, social, and educational events, etc.

They may also be asked to run other errands, like delivering book donations to the library. Drivers can assist a member to and from their door and help carry groceries into the house, and can pick up or deliver medications without the member being present. To be a volunteer driver you will need to:

Have your own car
Have a valid driver's license
Have a clean driving record
- Volunteers transporting clients in personal vehicles will have their driving records checked
Have valid auto insurance
Be 25 years of age or older

Typically driving assignments are for rides in and around Petaluma/Pengrove area, and as far as Santa Rosa and San Rafael for medically-related destinations. Volunteers assume the cost of gas, though it can be claimed as a donation for tax purposes.

Volunteers transporting clients in personal vehicles will have thei driving records checked. Every three years, the Village runs new driver background checks.

Welcome and Member Engagement Team

This team welcomes and familiarizes new members with the services, volunteer opportunities, and activities we offer and how to access them. This team also reaches out to members who have not attended events, made requests for services, or volunteered.

Call Response Team/Office Support

This is a great way to talk to and/or meet other volunteers and members, and to be at the heart of the Village. A Call Responder works at the intersection between our members, who request services, and our volunteers, who provide most of the services. This role usually requires a 4-hour shift once per week. Tasks include answering the Village phone, checking voicemail and email, initiating service requests, signing members and others up for Village events.

Office support includes managing requests for information, interviewing or calling members and other volunteers, filing, envelope stuffing, collating, data entry and website maintenance. If you have time to spare every week, this may be the job for you. Even if you can't do this weekly, or cannot spare three hours, as much time as you can give will be appreciated.

Social Event Planning and Hospitality Team

The Village sponsors many special events for members and/or volunteers, most of which require a lot of planning and managing. These include help with the planning and producing of our wonderful Village social events such as potlucks, game nights, volunteer appreciation events, etc.

Technical Support Team

Many of our members find it difficult to keep up with ever-changing technology: their printer gets jammed, they need help setting up a wireless connection or a new computer, they just don't know how to use a tablet or smart phone. Volunteers offer help with computer, various electronic equipment, and cell phones issues. The team provides support over the phone, in members’ homes, and through group workshops at our offices. The team also provides training to staff and volunteers in proper use of office technology.

Friendly Visitors

Complete training to be matched with a member and to provide weekly or twice weekly friendly visits. Visitors’ tasks may include:

Building relationships and having conversations
Watching a movie
Working on a puzzle or playing board games
Taking a member on a neighborhood walk or hike
Supporting members with vision difficulties. Volunteers may be asked to read a book or magazine article aloud, or help members read their email or snail mail messages.

Phone Friends

Some of our members appreciate when someone checks in with them on a weekly or even a daily basis. This is a great job for a volunteer who likes to chat on the phone. Special note: This service is designed to provide our members with a friendly connection. It is not a substitute for medical or emergency services.

Yard/Garden Help

If you have garden skills to share, we need volunteers to consult with members on:

Help do light weeding, planting, raking, and small tree and bush pruning
Water gardens and indoor plants when members are on vacation
Offer gardening advice on where plants and flowers will grow bes

Please set a limit of two hours per visit as gardening can be physically challenging. No heavy lifting please.

Resources Team

Research and vet senior services and resources and help expand database.

Handy Persons

Handle minor home repairs. You may be asked to repair a leaky faucet, or get a sliding door back on its tracks or even change a light bulb in a hard to reach location. As a handy person, you assess the member's request either by phone or in person, and then ask the member to buy the necessary supplies or materials. Each job should last less than 4 hours. We never ask you to perform any service that will put your health at risk. No heavy lifting, please, and no working in unsafe environments. Volunteer is responsible for determining if the work that needs to be done is within their skills and experience, as well as, within Village guidelines.

Pet Care

Members occasionally need someone to:

Feed or walk their dogs
Feed or provide lap time for cats
Care for pets while members are recuperating

MedPal

Many members find that their family and friends are too busy to go to medical appointments with them. MedPals, trained by retired medical professionals, assist members in navigating the complexities of the health care system. They can:

Provide transportation to and from medical appointments, door to door in most cases
Help formulate questions for the member to ask the provider
Assist with filling out forms
Take notes during a visit to the doctor
Assist with scheduling follow-up appointments
Stay with a member for a short time after an outpatient surgery

All information is kept strictly confidential to protect the privacy of the member and all notes taken belong to the member. Volunteers do not give medical advice. Volunteer must complete MedPal training.

Home Safety Checks

The team member reviews and notes areas where accidents are likely to occur, checks for physical hazards, reviews elements of fire safety, encourages safety awareness and practice, and offer suggestions for improving the safety and usability of areas of the home. Most people who do this are retired occupational therapists.

Home Organizing Support

Some of our members have lived in their homes for years and might need assistance with small sorting projects in the home, closet or garage; outside eyes and can be invaluable. We will do our best to pair you with a person who's right for you.

Village Builders - Position Descriptions

Program Team

Monthly events on special topics of interest to older adults are open to the wider community and also provide outreach for recruiting members and volunteers. Team members plan and schedule the events, recruit speakers, arrange for set-up and greeting of guests, and can work with Zoom hosts.

Interest Group Leader

Interest Group Leaders offer their particular skills and expertise to lead a weekly, monthly, or limited series of classes. If you have a specialty and an interest in presenting a single program, or facilitating an ongoing group, applicable to older adults, let the volunteer manager know.

Newsletter Team

These volunteers help write, edit, or design the monthly newsletter.

Village Ambassador Team

This is a great opportunity for a volunteer who is comfortable with public speaking and/or is involved or wishes to get involved with the Petaluma/Penngrove community at large.

These volunteers use their knowledge of the Village to represent the Village Network at “Get to Know the Village” information meetings. They also make presentations to local community organizations, serve on panels, and as guest speakers with other nonprofit organizations. Also volunteers can focus on being a liaison to communities of faith and other service organizations for older adults.

“Get to Know the Village” are informational events held in a local community space [at the Village office or online via Zoom], and are meant to introduce potential members or volunteers to the Village. Village Ambassadors also present at Living Room Chats hosted by members or volunteers in their homes.

Marketing

We need volunteers who can help us create visually appealing materials online and on the page. Volunteers help with:

Photography/Videography
Layout/Graphics
Basic HTML
Placing event information with local organizations
Facebook and other social media platforms
Distribute brochures and printed materials
Write and submit press releases

Organization Development

Help with strategic planning, developing policies and procedures.

Fundraising & Development

With membership dues accounting for only a portion of the revenue required to run a sustainable Village, volunteers are needed to help with donor cultivation and stewardship, grant research and writing, the pursuit of business sponsorship, and the development of income opportunities. If you have related skills or experience, and have connections with individuals or corporations that might be interested in providing support, please let us know.

Finance Team

Support the Board of Directors with development of budgets, setting financial policies for the Village, providing financial oversight of financial transactions; as needed, support and interface with bookkeeper, assist with making deposits, researching financial related questions and follow-up with dues and donations.

Board of Directors

Consider a term on the Village Board of Directors especially if you have leadership, marketing, organization and/or financial experience.

Team Leads - Position Descriptions

While each role is different, they do share a few universal responsibilities, including:

Lead the planning and organization of the team
Build and mentor a team of valued volunteers; recognize team accomplishments and individual contributions
Suggest need training to support the work of the team
Recommend improved policies and procedures to streamline and enhance team operations in concert with Village values
Mentor a possible team lead replacement
Maintain a budget or submit budgets requests
Good communicator
Well organized

Ambassador

Work with the Executive Director (ED) in setting agenda and leading monthly team meetings
Train Village Ambassadors to give presentations on the Village to community groups
Working with the ED create and update PowerPoint presentation on the Village
Research and maintain a list of community organizations appropriate for giving presentations, sending items for their newsletters, etc., and maintain contact with them
Work with ED in designing and updating rack cards; coordinate distribution in the community by Village Ambassadors
Reach out to the member relations manager regarding anyone interested in membership

Qualifications

Excellent speaking skills and ability to train others
Marketing expertise
Knowledge of Village programs and services in order to respond to questions
Strong community connections, or interest in developing
Attuned to the interests and needs of older adults in our community
Able to organize and coordinate the work of team members
Capacity to inspire others to join the Village as members or volunteers

Fund Development

Lead the planning and organization of all Village fund development efforts – including mid-year and year-end appeals and the expansion of business partnerships, stock and Future Fund donations, and legacy giving
Work with Executive Director to incorporate fundraising opportunities into the Village’s public programs
Work with the ED to report to the Board the progress and results of fund development efforts and to engage Board in those efforts

Qualifications

Experience with fundraising for non-profit organizations from individuals, foundations and businesses
Serving as a current member of the Village Board, co-leading the team with a Board Member, or working with Board Member who serves on the team to provide oversight.

Hospitality

Organize potlucks or other social events
Schedule team planning meeting re: location, theme, menu and décor for annual and occasional special events
Budget time and allotted money for special events

Qualifications

Works well with others, and is able to delegate tasks to others
Able to meet timeline and budget requirements
Skilled at providing food, beverage, and décor on a limited budget

Interest Group

Be knowledgeable about all the interest groups provided, and about each group facilitator
Conduct a team meeting 2x year to refine procedures around convening, problem solving, tracking attendance
Work with new interest group leaders to develop new groups

Qualifications

Team-building, leadership and engagement skills
Ability to work with staff on promoting and building attendance in these groups

Member Interview

Attend all GTKV info meetings and assign those interested in learning more about membership to team members to contact and follow up
Assign inquiries received by the office to team members to contact and follow up
Enter all info into Helpful Village prospect list so staff can track and follow up if needed
Train team members and evaluate effectiveness

Qualifications

Excellent active listening skills, and a warm, empathic conversation style
Knowledge of Village services and criteria for membership
Ability to coordinate others’ work and follow up
Ability to use Helpful Village database

MPP - Scholarship Program

Effectively communicate with public and private groups who may be sources for new scholarship recipients
Maintain MPP communication with ED and Board of Directors re status of MPP
Interview possible MPP candidates. For those candidates who express interest in joining the Village, perform a means test (income and expense data) to determine eligibility
After positive means test has been verified by Treasurer, hand off to Member Interview Team Lead to schedule interview

Qualifications

Ability to review and verify means-test data

Newsletter

Set and lead quarterly Newsletter Team meetings: discuss content, procedures and new ideas
Remind contributors of approaching deadlines for submissions
Compile all program descriptions and articles written for monthly newsletter and decide what to include
Send to newsletter editor for final edit and to format expert for formatting
Send finished version to office staff to complete MailChimp distribution

Qualifications

Excellent writing skills
Attuned to needs of members, volunteers, donors, etc. in deciding content
Able to organize and coordinate the work of team members
Capacity to inspire others to contribute and work together

Program

Prepare semi-annual list of potential programs 3-6 months in advance based on research, attendee suggestions, community outreach, and presenter offers
Determine team-member organizer(s) for each approved program, and provide support and oversight from inception to conclusion

Qualifications

Project management, team-building, and community outreach skills
Enthusiasm for educational and cultural experiences for older adults
An eye towards marketing, partnership-building, and fundraising opportunities (our programs promote our brand)

Special Events

Schedule team planning meeting re: location, theme, menu and décor for annual and occasional special events
Budget time and allotted money for special events

Qualifications

Works well with others, and is able to delegate tasks to others
Able to meet timeline and budget requirements
Skilled at providing food, beverage, and décor on a limited budget
Previous event planning experience helpful

Call Responder

Host bi-monthly team meetings
Communicate changes to call responder job descriptions
Coordinate trainings with other CR team meetings
Manage CR schedule
Respond to individual membership/volunteer issues
Recruit new call responders

Qualifications

Tech skills
Planning and strategizing
Able to be sensitive to the needs of the team
Understand the needs of the org in order to respond appropriately to individual member needs

Driver

Training and recruitment of new drivers
Scheduling regular meetings and trainings
Pair dedicated drivers for members with a specific ride need
Collecting expired insurance declaration and expired CDLs and assign a vol lead to collect info and update the Village database
Touching base with inactive drivers
Following up on poor service evaluations

Qualifications

Tech skills
Planning and strategizing
Able to be sensitive to the needs of the team
Understand the needs of the org in order to respond appropriately to individual member needs

Friendly Visitor

Attend monthly leader meeting
Follow up on a monthly basis with team of caller visitors
Report findings in HV
Have an overall knowledge of members and vols to better pair visitors with members
Gather and report Vol hours to vol tracker

Qualifications

Strong emotional intelligence
Tech skills
Planning and strategizing
Understand the needs of the org in order to respond appropriately to individual member needs

Handy Person / Personal Organizing

Know the skills and abilities of various team members. Understand the scope of maintenance and repairs the Village can provide.
Understand the limited scope of support a personal organizer can provide
Coordinate with office staff on various service requests

Qualifications

Well organized
Good communicator
Tech skills
Planning and strategizing
Able to be sensitive to the needs of the team

Welcome Member

Assign welcome team member to make new member welcome calls
Ensure team members have the report form, and report back to the Vol
Manager so reports can be uploaded into HV
Keep track of members and callers

Qualifications

Tech skills
Planning and strategizing
Able to be sensitive to the needs of the team
Understand the needs of the org in order to respond appropriately to individual member needs

Tech

Host regular meetings
Problem solve member needs
Plan workshops
Support staff as necessary

Qualifications

Tech skills
Planning and strategizing
Able to be sensitive to the needs of the team
Understand the needs of the org in order to respond appropriately to individual member needs

If you would like to learn more, join us at our next “Get To Know The Village” meeting—found on the home page—or contact Carol Appel, Member Relations and Volunteer Manager, at (707)776-6055 or info@VillageNetworkofPetaluma.org.