Tip 27: Honor volunteers and essential workers in your community
National Volunteer Appreciation week may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean appreciation has to end too! Now more than ever, it’s incredibly important to show each other support, appreciation and unite together as a community.
Oregon Trail School District shared out this post celebrating and thanking their volunteers.
Sending a small thank you like this and noting how many people volunteer for their school helps bring a sense of community in a time of isolation (and fuzzy feelings for volunteers who deserve it!). We love how they included a powerful quote to accompany their message as well.
Gladden house shared this picture collage thanking their Education volunteers.
It’s great they show signs and pictures — it’s nice for others to see faces in this time of isolation. And we love that dog!
Also, if your school has volunteer hour requirements, think about how you can convert those hours in a distance-learning-friendly way. The International School of Monterey is letting parents log volunteer hours for helping their children.
Here are a couple of other ideas on how to thank volunteers and community efforts in these difficult times.
1. Have students write thank you notes, poems, drawings, etc for doctors, nurses, and essential workers. You can deliver these digitally via email and share on social media.
2. Honor those in your community who are on the front lines (whether by profession or volunteering) by creating a tribute — a video, a letter, anything that feels right. Ask students what media form they would like to create and contribute to!
3. Share how people can help. Many people feel powerless and aren’t sure how they can help those who are drastically affected. This guide is a great place to start:
Here’s a real-life example from Feed More, thank you for your dedication! 👏
4. Brainstorm with your students (via videoconferencing platform, of course) what you can do as a classroom, school or district community to support local and national efforts. What projects can you create that will provide students (and staff) with meaningful tasks to help the community? What makes sense for your specific community’s needs? Feel free to share any ideas in the comments below!
K-12 Remote Tips
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We’d love to know what you are doing — what great examples or ideas would you like to share with other schools? Simply comment below or submit your tip via our web form.