Making the Most of Social Media Through Your Volunteers

We all know that we are in the age of digital media. And whether you’re a Facebook fanatic or miss the $_32good old days of typewriters, social media is a great medium for spreading the word about your organization. So why not take it a step further and have your volunteers help share the love?

Give your registered volunteers the chance to tell their friends and family members about your upcoming event by turning on social media sharing. The “thank you” page your volunteers see after registration isn’t just polite – it’s also powerful.

To get sharing, go to the “Event Detail” page (under Events->Your Events) next to your current event (for help setting up an event, click here). Underneath “Social Plugins” is a radio button that says, “Check here to turn on social sharing tools for your volunteers.” For our Grow and Conquer clients, you can also create a custom Twitter hashtag for each individual event to easily track who has been tweeting about your festivities.

Screen shot 2016-10-28 at 11.52.51 AMWith sharing turned on, the “thank you” page will include links to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest. When a volunteer selects one, it will automatically sync to their own social media accounts and post, “Volunteer with me at {name of event},” followed by a link to your event page. Now everyone they’re connected to on social media will be able to connect to your event. 

You already know how helpful your volunteers are – give them the power to help build your community of dedicated volunteers through just the click of a button. Happy sharing and #happyvolunteering!

 

 

P.S. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more tantalizing tips!

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Reliving History at Living History Farms

 Living History Farms Whether or not you’re a history buff, at some point you’ve probably wondered what it would have been like if you had been born in another time period. But we’re here to tell you that that doesn’t have to be just a daydream. Recreating historical lifestyles is exactly what Living History Farms, an outdoor museum in Iowa, is doing. With live people and lots of land, they’re completely redefining the phrase “history repeats itself.”

Living History Farms’ own history started back in 1970. The 500-acre interactive museum is located in Urbandale, Iowa. Since it’s founding, it has worked to educate, entertain, and connect people of all ages to Midwestern rural life experiences. Using both staff members and volunteers, different time periods are recreated to demonstrate a variety of lived lifestyles from the year 1700 to present day. Within this huge outdoor museum, visitors can view an Ioway Indian Farm from 1700, an 1850 Pioneer Farm, a 1900 Horse-powered farm and a small rural town dated 1875.

“VolunteerLocal has been such a gift.”

In the year 2016, we know how important agriculture is. These recreations of the past are a powerful wayLiving History Farms to enrich public understanding and to engage conversation about the significance of past and present issues in agricultural and rural life. The Living History Farms offer a safe (and not to mention gorgeous) place for individuals, families, and groups from all over the world to view change through time.

For Jan Milroy, Manager of Volunteer Services at Living History Farms, there are a lot of favorite times to enjoy. “I love our historic special events, such as suffrage debates taken from real historical documents between two women. Or our recreation of an 1850 pioneer wedding, including a dance and a special cake! Halloween nights are also a special opportunity for families to trick-or-treat safely, and allows them to view our museum and enjoy our uniqueness.”

“I strongly recommend this to others. I’ll never go back to my old system.”

Living History FarmsBefore switching to VolunteerLocal, Living History Farms was using somewhat prehistoric methods for scheduling volunteers. “I was spending hours upon hours emailing or calling potential volunteers. Often we’d go back and forth and they might end up not getting the slot they wanted,” says Milroy. “Having VolunteerLocal allows potential volunteers to decide on their own, whenever they want and how they would like to participate.”

Don’t miss out on an opportunity to make a change and view changes in time. Sign up now to help with Halloween night!

Photos courtesy of Living History Farms

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