Time to be Thankful

By Jamie Schriner-Hooper
Organization Specialist
Michigan Main Street Center
Michigan State Housing Development Authority

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving and the holiday season is only a week away. It seems that as I get older, time seems to pass quicker every year. Which means, the hours in a day are even more precious than what they were before and, I seem to find myself being spread relatively thin. I’m a firm believer that this is the case with most people today. So, when you find a good volunteer, it is important to let them know that you are thankful for their dedication and hard work. With Main Street being volunteer-driven, it is vital that volunteers are thanked on a regular basis – and not just from the Main Street manager. Of course the Main Street manager is thankful for the volunteers; they reduce the number of hours the manager has to put in ever day. However, it is important that the thanks come from more than just one mouth.

Generally, volunteers should be thanked in three ways: personally, publicly and in a written format. Of the three, personally is the easiest. It certainly doesn’t take much time or effort to walk up to someone on and simply say “thank you for taking the time to help.” Despite this, I’m amazed at how often people forget this simple task and how many volunteers are lost because they don’t feel their time and efforts are appreciated. Be sure to not just say thank you when they arrive and when they leave, but while a volunteer is in the midst of volunteering. Often, when someone is arriving or departing, they are in the midst of some confusion. Be sure to say thank you at a time when it will be remembered and not just expected.

Second, recognize people in writing. A simple, hand-written, thank you note goes a long way. You don’t need to do this for every person every time they volunteer, but this should be done at least once a year and especially when a volunteer takes on a particularly trying task. Another simple way to recognize a large group of volunteers in a written format is to utilize technology and do a group email thank you. Many programs will even take your database and personalize the blanket email with an individual’s name. This is often best done after a large festival or clean-up event when a large group of people are volunteering for a relatively short period of time. However, don’t forget to include that hand-written thank you at some point. This is also a great way to promote the program as many people save those thank you notes, pinning them to bulletin boards or sticking them to the fridge.

Finally, be sure to say thank you in a public manner. This helps to achieve a number of things, including showing that your Main Street program has a diverse pool of volunteers, the sheer number of volunteers required to man a Main Street program, as well as making your volunteers feel special and needed. You can publically say thank you in a variety of ways, the most common being an annual volunteer dinner or awards ceremony. Choose the volunteer who went above and beyond and name them the “volunteer of the year” or choose a more committee-oriented path like “design committee member of the year.” You could also go another route and make the awards more specific like “most likely to be seen planting a flower” or “most likely to be seen supporting the local bakery.” Another simple public recognition method is an article in your Main Street newsletter or on the website. The point is, let a large group of people know that you appreciate your volunteers.

Last but not least, don’t forget to say thanks to your Main Street manager and their family, as the Main Street manager is typically the programs biggest volunteer. You can generally find them working evenings, weekends and holidays to make the Main Street district a wonderful destination.

So, in this season of reflection, thank you for all that you do to make Michigan Main Street communities a better place!