Friday, October 2, 2009

Volunteering at CHERUBS

"Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; 'twas not given for thee alone. Pass it on. Let it travel down the years. Let it wipe another's tears, til in Heaven the deed appears. Pass it on." - Henry Burton



A letter from Dawn to our volunteers & those who wish to volunteer:


Dear Volunteers & Potential Volunteers,

I would like to say a few things….

First, thank you to Barbara Wagner. She’s been a HUGE help the past few months and honestly, CHERUBS wouldn’t have accomplished half that we have without her. She’s stepped up every single time I’ve asked for help. Every single time. She’s taken over all of Stephanie’s duties and tried to sort through all the unanswered e-mails, etc. This has doubled her volunteer work. Whenever a committee or a volunteer doesn’t get things done that they are supposed to, she steps up and helps me to get the project/service done. We are hoping – praying – that with all the new active volunteers that we can get more things done and off our personal plates… it’s very, very hard to have 3000 people depend on us. We need and appreciate your help!

Barb was a tremendous help at the conference. She helped organize, clean up daily, made the name badges, helped with the reservations, etc. So much that so many didn’t see – she did. Without even asking her, she was already doing things that needed to be done. Without complaining. She lost a lot of time just being able to visit with friends or see San Antonio because she was helping me and making sure that everyone else had what they need so they could enjoy their vacations and the conference. Without her and Karen Myers, there would have been no conference.

When I’m begging for help…. Barb volunteers (even when she’s already swamped herself!), she listens to me vent and she understands the frustrations of begging for help and not getting enough help or when a volunteer disappears for 6 months or a year and then yells at us for not doing whatever they wanted us to do. I’m saying that because it does happen… and she gets yelled at too. A lot of people would quit… I mean, she’s a volunteer too and no one deserves to be yelled at for giving so much of themselves freely to help CDH babies and parents. But she listens to it, apologizes for whatever their complaint is…. when of course it’s not her fault. And it’s not easy to do that or be yelled at… but she does it. For CHERUBS. I get it all the time too so I know how hard it is and I know how strong and dedicated she is. And when she’s not on-line volunteering, she’s running errands trying to find donations for the totebags or holding a bowl-a-thon or on the phone with a parent who needs support, or traveling to meet with parents or attend conferences or she’s making blankets. She does so much for CHERUBS and gets so little appreciation for all her sweat and tears and I just want to say…. thank you, Barb. We all appreciate and love you so much!!!!!!!

Second, I want to say thank to a few volunteers who really stood up and took initiative in the past few months. They didn’t wait to be asked to do something or ask and wait for us to find the time to write out explicit instructions on what they need to do or ask us to send them info instead of finding it on the web site or volunteer software…. they just said “Hey, would it help if I ________” and they did it. And we LOVE when that happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) So thank you to (in no particular order) Shana Kelly, Karla Holt, Karen Myers, Tracy Meats, Sarah Deskins, Darlene Silverman and Kara Hess for really digging in and being team players and making our jobs a bit easier!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s not to discount what ALL of our active volunteers are doing….. we appreciate each of you so much!!!!! Those of you who go out of your way to make sure to post on the forums and respond to blogs and FB posts. Those of you who were so dedicated in voting during the contest. Those of you who stood by us during drama and distanced yourselves from those involved in it to keep yourselves out of the mud and focus on CDH. Those of you who logged in to the software frequently and responded when I or Barb posted and who actively participated in discussions and providing services. You each really want to do all you can to help families affected by CDH….. despite the time or work that it takes. You give your time, hearts and even time away from your families to help others and truly personify the verse "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." You are each such amazing people full of goodness, integrity, kindess, compassion and bring such honor to your cherubs. I am deeply honored to know and work with each of you. On behalf of myself, the rest of the members of CHERUBS and the whole CDH community.... thank you for all that you do!!!!!

Now looking foward to such a bright, promising future for the whole CDH community…. we have a TON to do… so many projects!!!!!!! :) We need HELP!!!!!

We have just recently lost half our volunteers during our revamp of the volunteer system… a few stepped down for various reasons (family issues, still dealing with CDH, no time to volunteer right now, etc) but most just didn’t respond (and those haven’t been active anyway so we expected that). That’s good and bad. Bad that we’ve lost so many volunteers. But good in that those positions are now clear to find active volunteers so that we can provide the services to CDH families. But this means we have a lot of work to do to fill these positions, get everyone trained and the committees and reps rolling so that we can be more productive and help more families!!!!! We can really use your help doing this!!!!

Honestly, I am so excited with this revamp of our volunteer system and so excited about having so many ACTIVE volunteers who want to help!!!!!! And with the new paperwork and new system we know that everyone involved truly wants to help, truly has selfless intentions, has the highest integrity and wants to be part of the world's largest CDH volunteer network. There is so much that we can do together!!!!!

Thank you all so much for all that you do to help us to help families affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Dawn


CHERUBS needs many volunteers.

You can volunteer from home. Some positions take a few hours a month. It does not cost anything to volunteer - just your time, love and dedication to helping CDH families!!!! :)

We need help with the following:

- State & International Representatives (help on a local level)... Read More
- Fundraising Committee
- Research Committee
- Awareness Committee
- Grant Committee
- Conference Committee
- On-Call Committee
- Cards / PMs Committee
- Totebag Committee
- Translation Committee
- Books Committee
- Video Committee
- Angel Ball Committee (NC)
- Golf Tournament Committee (NC)
- Graphics Committee

And much more! You can read more about what each committee does and how to sign up at http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/


5 Easy Steps To Volunteer!

1. Read over the Volunteer Roles to see what each position does.

2. Read over the Volunteer Checklist to see if you're ready to work directly with other CDH parents or in another capacity.

3. E-mail us at volunteer@cdhsupport.org and give us the following information:
  • Your Name
  • Your Address
  • Your Phone Number
  • Your E-mail Address
  • Your Cherub's Name and Date(s)
  • Which volunteer positions would you like to volunteer for?
4. Read, print, sign and mail the following 3 documents back to our home office at CHERUBS, 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA.
5. We'll contact you shortly! Thank you for volunteering to help CHERUBS help families affected by CDH!

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