Volunteers in School Canteens
Volunteers are your canteen's most precious resource. With plenty of volunteers plus effective management, the canteen has a good recipe for producing a healthy profit.
In 2004, 6.3 million Australians over the age of 18 years were active volunteers with the most active age group of volunteers being between 35-44 years. Research has determined that volunteering contributes several billions of dollars a year to the Australian economy. The main reasons for volunteering include being of service to the community (47%) and personal satisfaction (43%).
Helping in your school canteen is a wonderful way to meet other parents, gain food handling experience, help†your child's school gain extra funds and of course give your child a thrill to see you in the canteen! Volunteers in the canteen are often Mums, Dads, Nannies, Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents- all working to make Australian School Canteens unique!
Finding Volunteers
When searching for volunteers keep in mind the different social, ethnic and educational backgrounds of your school community. Try to achieve a representative selection of volunteers.
There are many ways to find and approach prospective volunteers. You can
- Approach them personally (in the playground, by letter, or by visiting them at home)
- Place an invitation for volunteers in the school newsletter
- Speak at a parent meeting or speak
- Hand out leaflets, or
- Conduct canteen tours on the first day of school or during orientation week
There are many benefits of volunteering that you can "sell". Volunteers:
- Make new friends
- Improve skills for employment
- Possibly learn new skills
- Help raise funds
- Contribute to the school community
It is also very important to make working in the canteen attractive to volunteers by: - Keeping the workload of each volunteer reasonable
- Making volunteer rosters flexible