Community Service Toolkit

Community Service Event Tool Kit

Download a printable, pdf version of this tool kit here.

TIMELINE	STEPS
5 + Months out	Organize a Chairperson and Committee. Ideally, your committee is in a focused region. Use the contacts of your chairperson and the members that you add to your committee to continue growing your committee. You should have 4-6 volunteers on the committee. Choose your committee members wisely - make sure they have clout with the local community. Make sure they have authority or good contact with lots of people in their organization. Human Resources professionals often have the most contact with people in an organization.
3+ months out	Determine a Venue for the Community service project. This is a regional event, so target a location that is central to all those who are participating. Use your committee members to get ideas on possible locations within the region, such as public parks/playgrounds, zoos or public secondary schools. Determine your target number of volunteers; in many cases this will determine where you do your event. We don't recommend exceeding 75 people in order to keep the number manageable.
3 months out	Finalize Location and Date Contact potential partner organizations and determine which will work best depending on the different venues needs and capabilities. In conjunction with the organization benefiting from the work, determine date and time. It is important to determine date before recruiting volunteers, as they will most likely be asking their employer for time off.
3 months out	Begin Recruiting Volunteers Prepare an easy to read registration form for committee members to use when recruiting volunteers. The form should include the following information: - Name - Company - Street Address - Email Address Each volunteer should fill out this form and return it to the recruiter. This information will be compiled and used at the day of the event registration table. Use committee members to recruit within their individual organizations. Most Human Resources departments will help in gathering volunteers
2 Months Out	Work out Day-of-Details Decide with your committee and venue what time you will start (we recommend 9:30 AM) and how each volunteer is getting there. If there is enough participation from one organization the company may hire a coach to transport individuals to the service site. Determine length of time the work will take. We recommend creating a list of all the tasks that need to be completed at the venue and assigning teams of people to that task (Spray Paint Clean-up, Trash Removal, Painting Team, etc.) Plan on completing each task sooner then you would expect. Total work time should be 2-3 hours. Don't let the volunteers get bored! Have a miscellaneous list of jobs that aren't assigned in case one team finishes before the others. Registration- most volunteers will arrive at the same time, be prepared with at least 5 volunteers to check people in. Lunch Contact a catering company in the area and plan on having food ready by 11:45 AM (if event started at 9:30 AM) Lunch Speakers Determine who will speak at the lunch. It's nice to have someone from the partner organization speak and talk about the impact that volunteers have on their organization.
1 month out	Signs Prepare adequate signage lunch, bathrooms and any other important locations. Talk to your committee Decide if you will be giving the volunteers anything. Usually a T-shirt with the Two Ten logo and participating companies is appropriate. These can be distributed at registration or by representatives in participating companies. Contact Partner Organization Firm up all necessary details, including materials, supplies, proper dress, etc. Volunteers Make sure you have at least 5 volunteers to run the registration table.
1 week before	Volunteer Preparation Determine the final number of volunteers you have Assign them into teams based on the task that you determined with the venue. It's a good idea to mix people into teams of people they may not know or are from different organizations. Program Prepare a brief written program to distribute the day of the event. Prepare registration list Compile all registration forms onto one spreadsheet. This may take some time, but the better prepared you are now the better registration will go.
1 Day Before	Contact Partner Organization Phone the venue 24 hours before the event to be sure they are all set. Go over your schedule for the day and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Event Day	Arrival Time Plan to arrive at the venue 1 hour before registration, as participants are sure to arrive early. During the Event Throughout event, you and the partner organization staff should monitor the individual teams' pace of work. If any of them finish early, be ready to assign additional work. Around 11:00 AM (or approx. 1 hour before lunch) remind them that they have 30 minutes left. Plan on stopping them at 11:30 AM in order to give them time to clean up and get to lunch. Mingling Time Give people adequate time to meet each other. If applicable, be sure food is available as soon as volunteers finish. During Lunch Take photos Photos can be emailed to volunteers afterward and then again when you're looking for participation the next year. Speaker
Packing List for a Community Event	Pens, markers, extra paper - Bring blank paper and black markers with sign holders. With this you can easily create any miscellaneous signs you will need. All registration forms and copies of the compiled registration list. Please contact us to receive information about Two Ten to distribute at the event!