Leaders of Volunteers,
It's beginning to look a lot like Spring here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm not much of a winter person, and if you've been watching the news the past few month you know that's we've had an historically bad winter out here! As the days get longer, and as the skies clear, I always get a burst of hope and energy that remind me how important it is to find some grace for the me that has only wanted to sit on the couch and eat pasta for the last few months!
I hope that you, too, are finding ways to take care of yourself and find a little grace for the human person that you are. I often talk about how our volunteers are human people - meaning they aren't perfect, and they are each individuals with their own preferences and motivations. But I also want to make sure that you know that you also get to be a human person. The work that we do is complex, and challenging, and sometimes exhausting! What are you doing to take care of you?
Full disclosure - this is a little bit of do as I say, not as I do because I'm taking next week off only because I've maxed out my PTO and it's a "use it or lose it" situation. But, I'm going to try and be more proactive for the rest of 2023 - thinking about giving myself some down time, even if I don't have a fun or fancy trip planned. I'm also continuing to foster kittens this Spring, and volunteering regularly with LasagnaLove to deliver meals to my neighbors. Volunteering helps me recharge my compassion battery.
So as Spring is hopefully also finding its way to you - what are you doing to make sure that you're blooming? Can you use some of that PTO? Find a cause you care about and remember why this work is so important? Would you feel a lot better if you had a lap full of kittens? Remember we can't care for others if we don't take care of ourselves first!
P.S. The Learning Center is still on hiatus, but I am not just sitting around snuggling kittens! I'll be at the Engage for Good Conference in Atlanta May 16-19, at Points of Light in Chicago June 14-16, and at MAVA in St Paul July 19-21. I'd love to connect if you're also going!
Jennifer Bennett, CVA
Director, Education & Training
