we searched for the court officer(s)/department in charge of assigning mandated community service, and I met with them for about half an hour, to explain our program, what kind of work CS workers would be doing, and they added us to the list that their clients (those assigned community service by the court) receive when they're sentenced. word quickly spread through the DUI program that you could serve CS hours, and it wasn't bad work, in a fairly casual environment, and you could learn bike stuff while you were doing it.

there is some additional paperwork involved, since sometimes the court officers will call to check in, and confirm hours. we just got a 3 ring binder, and had CS volunteers sign into that. every CS volunteer had their own sheet, and it lived in that binder. be very clear about "if you don't sign in, we will not have your hours, and cannot verify with the court, should they call to check on you. it's YOUR responsibility to log your hours." and that usually was motivation enough. sometimes, depending on the volunteer, it wasn't necessary to check the book, since we'd get to know the ones who were assigned 100+ hours just because they were in the shop so long...

we've had a few volunteers stick around after their hours were finished, after they became part of the family and wanted to continue.

not to play into the "CS volunteers are criminals and should be treated as such" stereotype, but i think one of the reasons it was so successful is that there was a sense of "this cool opportunity to volunteer at someplace awesome could go away if i don't behave." and the fact that the court officers would check in on specific clients, and we could give them direct feedback about preferring not to have violent or sexual offenders come through the program, and they're usually pretty receptive.
and there's also the providing a positive space with good vibes and support and teaching that can have a tremendous impact on the folks needing some positivity.

more than a few CS volunteers finished their service, and then participated in the EAB program. obviously, hours earned towards CS cannot apply towards an EAB, and vice versa.

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 6:38 AM, Andy Greif <cbcofme@gwi.net> wrote:

Refer to the notes in the attached document.

We have had high school and college students through:

Mandated community service programs

Rotaract and Interact Service Clubs

Youth Employment Programs funded through the Department of Labor and Career Centers

We have attracted adult volunteers through:

1.       AmeriCorps educational award only programs

2.       Our e-newsletter (using Constant Contact)

3.       Local Agency on Aging

4.       Bingo Clubs

5.       Financial Advisors

6.       Service Clubs – Rotary and Masons

Andy Greif, Executive Director

Community Bicycle Center

Shop: 284 Hill Street, Biddeford

Mail: P.O. Box 783, Biddeford, ME 04005

207-282-9700 (shop) 207-229-8199 (cell)

www.communitybike.net

"Providing Opportunities for Youth to Grow"

From: thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org [mailto:thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org] On Behalf Of Patrick VDT
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 4:41 PM
To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
Subject: [TheThinkTank] tactics for recruiting daytime help?

Anyone have any tactics for recruiting daytime help?
-Retired folks
-Students
-Unemployed

Any help would be great. Whats worked and what has not?

P

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