When is National Volunteer Week 2012 and how will you celebrate volunteers this year?

April is National Volunteer Month, and the week of April 15-21 is celebrated as National Volunteer Week. Organizations celebrate National Volunteer Week differently, and over the past few years I’ve been privileged to help some great non-profit organizations plan their volunteer appreciation events. The most important thing to remember when planning your volunteer appreciation event is to make it personal and meaningful to your volunteers.

Here are four ideas that have been a huge hit for National Volunteer Week:

1. Volunteer Appreciation Event. Many organizations host a small reception or luncheon to recognize their volunteers during National Volunteer Week. To make your event successful, use a theme to coordinate your gifts, decorations, and messaging. Visit the Recognition Resource Center to read the case study of a library that celebrated volunteer with an Essential Piece theme luncheon. Read the volunteer appreciation event case study.

Coordinate your National Volunteer Week gifts and events with a theme, like Helping Hand.
 

2. Volunteer Appreciation Awards. When you have all your volunteers together during National Volunteer Week, take advantage of the large audience to recognize their hard work. Present all volunteers with a certificate to thank them for their efforts, and present award trophies to individuals with an outstanding number of service hours. Get ideas for volunteer certificate titles and verses.

3. Mail a Volunteer Thank You Gift. It can be difficult – if not nearly impossible! – to get all your volunteers together at one time, but it’s still vital to recognize their contributions. You can do volunteer appreciation from afar by mailing a thank you card or small gift to your volunteers’ homes. Each year, I work with a local civic theatre on their National Volunteer Week gift which is mailed to 650 volunteers. This year, the theatre is sending volunteers a fun Thanks Sticky Note Booklet. The gift has an appreciation message all over it and can be used by volunteers of all ages!

Choose a practical gift that has an appreciation message for the biggest bang for your buck out of your volunteer appreciation gift.

4. Share Public Volunteer Appreciation. Let the whole world know about your awesome volunteers by shouting their praises! There are lots of free and low cost ways to appreciate volunteers:
- Write a press release about National Volunteer Week and how your organization is celebrating volunteers. 
- Send a letter to the editor about the difference your volunteers make in the community. 
- Mail letters to volunteers’ employers that express how grateful you are that their employee contributes time to your organization. 
- Design a social media campaign on your star volunteers. Each day during National Volunteer Week, spotlight a different volunteer on your blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook timeline.

Sharing the praises of your volunteers publically will let them know how much you appreciate them during National Volunteer Week!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

April is known as a month of appreciation. Because both National Volunteer Week and Administrative Professional's Week are scheduled in April, many organizations host appreciation events or do something special for their people. Volunteers and administrative professionals are crucial to a helping an organization achieve its goals, so it’s important to recognize them for their efforts. Here are six tips for volunteer and admin appreciation you can use this spring.

Express your appreciation for volunteers and administrative professionals this spring!
 

1. Create the right atmosphere for Administrative Professional Appreciation
Decorate the office for Administrative Professional's Week. This small effort can go a long way to make your administrative professionals feel appreciated. Plus, it will draw attention from individuals outside your office and multiply the recognition!

2. Host a Volunteer Appreciation Event
Bring all your volunteers together for a special volunteer appreciation event. Invite the volunteers to gather for a small dessert reception or a lunch. Place a small gift at each place setting as a memento and table decoration.

3. Acknowledge all Office Professionals
All of the professionals in your office contribute to making things work smoothly. Include them in the Administrative Professional's Weekcelebration with a special gift or event during the week.

4. Reward your Volunteers
Thank your volunteers for their valuable contributions with a memorable gift during National Volunteer Week.  You don’t have to spend a lot for your gift to make an impact! Award certificates, thank you notes, and food gifts are popular and affordable gift options. Personally deliver each volunteer appreciation gift to make the appreciation more meaningful.

5. Reduce Stress for Administrative Professionals
Host a stress relief break during Administrative Professional's Week. Ask your staff to share ideas for reducing stress, review deep-breathing techniques, and provide hands-on tools to recharge and refresh. For a truly special treat, provide onsite massages!

6. Have Fun with Games
Games and contests of all kinds are great for relieving stress and building teamwork among your volunteers and administrative professionals. Plan an activity for each day during National Volunteer Week and Administrative Professional's Week. Be sure to award prizes to the winners!

Read the rest of March's Recognition at Work Newsletter for more volunteer and administrative professional appreciation ideas!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.

Whether it’s working on home construction for Habitat for Humanity or helping kids read at a local elementary school, volunteers make the difference. Be sure to recognize the contributions and accomplishments of your volunteers this year during National Volunteer Appreciation Week April 10-16.

Our customers have found the use of recognition themes to effectively express appreciation for their volunteers. Some customers host volunteer appreciation events like luncheons and award ceremonies, and others may have more informal gatherings in someone’s home. Regardless of the location or type of recognition, using a recognition theme can make the appreciation more memorable.

Baudville has more than 100 recognition themes in its repertoire, but our customers have clearly made the following 10 their favorite volunteer appreciation themes. Which one will you use for National Volunteer Appreciation Week ?

1. Essential Piece. A classic recognition theme, this theme's sentiment, "can't imagine us without you," will help you to convey the value of each volunteer. 

2. Making a Difference. One of the most popular themes for National Volunteer Appreciation Week,  the inspirational story that accompanies this theme is perfect for recognizing the impact of volunteers.

3. A Helping Hand. We just released **new products** in this favorite theme!

4. Making the Difference. Focus on the impact of your volunteers. Share stories of exceptional volunteer work when you have the entire group together.

5. Thanks For All You Do! Keep your message simple during National Volunteer Appreciation Week and just say thanks!

6. You Are Truly Appreciated. The objective of National Volunteer Appreciation Week is expressing appreciation to your volunteers. This theme keeps your message simple and effective!

7. You Make a World of Difference! I once attended a volunteer appreciation reception with this theme. The volunteers were given globe stress toys, and the tables were decorated in green blue. It was a lot of fun and - obviously - very memorable!

8. Together We Can Make a Difference. Recognize teams of volunteers during National Volunteer Appreciation Week, too. 

9. Imagine Believe Achieve. Inspire your volunteers with this motivational recognition theme. 

10. Volunteers Make the Difference. Volunteers are proud to be volunteers, so recognize their special role in your organization with this Character Pin!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook. 

Volunteers are often the people who make an organization really tick. Ask almost any non-profit, church, school, or professional organization and they’ll agree: volunteers truly do make the difference. That’s why an entire week in April is dedicated to appreciating this group of individuals.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 10-16, 2011. How will you celebrate your volunteers this year? These are some of the most popular ways Baudville customers have recognized their volunteers for past National Volunteer Appreciation Weeks.

1. Create the right atmosphere
In advance of the official National Volunteer Appreciation Week , decorate with balloons and posters that generate excitement for the coming celebrations. Display your decorations at an entrance to communicate with all visitors the importance of your volunteers.

2. Host a party
Everyone loves a party and some recognition. Invite your organization’s director to make a few remarks to the volunteers at a National Volunteer Appreciation Week party. A special catered lunch or dessert reception is a great way to commemorate the celebratory week.

 
Get National Volunteer Appreciation Week gift ideas!

3. Show off your volunteers
Show the organization just how great your volunteers are and give them a glimpse of their impact. During National Volunteer Appreciation Week , share information about the number of volunteer hours worked, longest-standing volunteer, and other positive stories that are possible thanks to volunteers.

4. Reward your volunteers
Thank your volunteers for their valuable contributions with award certificates, Character Pin awards, and special gifts. If you don’t have an event to get all the volunteers together, display the volunteer gifts at your facility. Volunteers will have fun entering the building to pick up their gift. With a special emphasis on gift packaging and presentation, the gifts can serve as part of your National Volunteer Appreciation Week  decorations.

5. Have fun
Games and contests of all kinds are great for relieving stress and building teamwork between volunteers and staff. At Baudville, we’ve often used game ideas from the Minute to Win It game show. The games take about a minute to play and require common household materials. Plan a National Volunteer Appreciation Week activity for all to participate in and be sure to award prizes to the winners!

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Cori is Baudville's in-house Recognitionista (she's officially a Certified Recognition Professional, too)  and a member of the Millennial generation. Get her employee recognition tips and special discounts by liking Baudville on Facebook.