Publication Date: April 2009
Training Volunteers
Planning Your Training
As a rule of thumb, 25 percent of those expected to attend the training will not show up. Plan accordingly.
Facilities should have—
- A meeting room to fit the size of the group.
- Breakout areas for small group work.
- Food and snack preparation and serving area.
Suggested places to train—
- Church halls.
- Nonprofit organizations.
- Local government facilities.
- Chambers of commerce.
- County agricultural extension services.
Food and drink
Providing a mid-session meal can be a significant expense, but offsite meals require more time out of the classroom. Plan to allot approximately 1 to 1¼ hours for lunch if the meal will be offsite. If the program provides lunch onsite, 30 minutes is generally long enough.
If you are going to include an onsite meal, ask volunteers about dietary restrictions at the prescreening interview.
Groups from churches affiliated with your program may be a good source for a donated meal. A Sunday school class or service group is often willing to provide a meal for such occasions.
At a minimum, provide trainees with both hot and cold beverages. Snacks encourage socialization and provide an opportunity to build group cohesion. Because variety is important, offer an array of afternoon snacks (e.g., coffee, soft drinks, decaffeinated beverages, water, fruit, cookies).
