DETROIT INSTITUTE OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT OPPORTUNITIES

15415 E Jefferson
Grosse Pointe Park MI 48230
313-824-4710
F: 822-4233
www.eyeson.org

INTRODUCTION

The Institute requires between 600-700 volunteers each year to achieve its mission objectives: education, research and aid to the visually impaired. Those of us with sight who volunteer should understand that our goal is protecting that sight, replacing that sight, or aiding those without perfect sight.

The DIO is blessed with a small staff and a large, loyal volunteer corps, all with a willingness to further the mission of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. More volunteers are always needed. When we are short of volunteers in any area, we burn out those who do offer their help. Please consider an activity that fits your personal needs or goals; tell us how much time you are willing to volunteer. We will work hard to match your offer of help with a need on our end.

Volunteers come in many forms. Some wish to work an hour or two on the day of one of our events; others want to work almost full-time. In fact, we do have at least three gentlemen who volunteer full-time at the Institute. Whether a volunteer puts in three hours in the parking lot on Father's Day, or works 30 hours a week organizing an event, to us they are equally precious--they are angels whose wings lift the Institute--they are truly Friends of Vision.

The biggest single attribute is a willingness to truly understand the mission of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. Our three mission goals of education, research and aid to the visually impaired are fundamental to why we do what we do, why we all work so hard to make these special events a success.

LEADERSHIP

In special event development and production, leadership is always a critical problem. Special events are bone-wearying, exhausting, minutia-laden, and volunteer-driven (vs employee directed). They require leaders with delicacy, compassion, the ability to organize carefully, change plans on the spur-of-the-moment, fill in immediately where glitches in planning or volunteerism fail, and who are willing to accept the fact that a great deal can be accomplished as long as leaders aren't particularly concerned about who gets the credit. We are always looking for leadership talents.

Leadership in corporate life and in volunteer organizations have some similarities, but certain easily apparent differences. At work, the boss may strive for consensus, but ultimately, because employees are paid, orders are given and employees either comply or depart.

In not-for-profit volunteer life people volunteer as long as they're having a pleasant, rewarding, and interesting experience. Each volunteer has a different agenda. But one absolute in the whole volunteer matter is that no volunteer has to do it unless they want to. That means that volunteer leaders not only must organize the management side of the activity, but must learn an entirely a new dynamic in managing people.

Many corporations find it important to have their executives play leadership roles in a charitable activity outside of the workplace.

At the DIO we feel that to lead an event requires:

-At least a year or two of involvement throughout the planning cycle of the event.
-Service in at least one, but preferably more, areas of involvement as an understudy to the current leader.
-The willingness to be involved throughout an entire year of meetings, phone calls, deliberations. Special event management does not take genius, but it does take elbow grease, persistence and the ability to get along with other volunteers, and the willingness to "show up".

At the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology we are always anxious for recommendations about men and women who have the talent and the willingness to accept leadership assignments. Each event, each committee, each activity, needs leadership.

If you feel you have leadership talent, or want to develop or display your leadership abilities-please mark the volunteer sign-up sheet appropriately. We always have critical needs for new leaders.

We need leaders and volunteers for:

-The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology
-Visions to Remember--an antiques show
-Eyes on Design--an automotive design exhibit
-Eyes on Art--a unique art event

DIO

Strategic Planning

On a year-round basis the Institute needs volunteers to assist in strategic planning, the preparation and annual updating of policy and procedure manuals, the careful analysis of event successes, failures, kudos and glitches, into appropriate debriefing books, all sorts of such volunteers are particularly useful.

Clerical Volunteers

Often, during the year, there is an acute need for assistance in clerical matters such as word processing, envelope stuffing, mailing, sorting and filing. Volunteers with office experience in these areas could play a most valuable role.

We are also constantly on the lookout for people who have some experience in computer data entry to refine our address lists, purge duplicates, check spellings, eliminate the names of folks who have moved.

Clerical help at the time of mailings, preparing our newsletters, working within the Institute on secretarial matters are a constantly recurring need.

Telephone Volunteers

Frequently, throughout the year, volunteers are necessary to contact members of the visually impaired support groups to remind them of upcoming meetings, to contact other volunteers relative to needs for each of the special events.

A new category of such volunteers will be made up of persons who will make it their business to call contributors, supporters, underwriters, philanthropic persons and individuals, and say "thank you". These "thank-you" people will be necessary at odd times, either from home or from the DIO throughout the year.

Website Development Volunteers

Thanks to Drew Brophy, the Institute's website is up, running and healthy. The only ongoing volunteer efforts relate to watch dogging the site for outdated information, coordination of materials from the Institute which should be developed for website use, and the development of new opportunities which could be developed for the DIO website.

Public Relations Emissaries

The reason for window cards and event posters is twofold: first, to advertise the event; and secondly, to sell to folks who collect the posters from year to year, and corporations which frame them. (Collectors buy them over the Internet as collectible art pieces.)

An organized public relations effort to distribute them (and return to remove them after the event) to area restaurants in southeast Michigan-bars, stores, corporation bulletin boards-is a real need. Volunteers willing to undertake and organize that sort of distribution network are not in hand, and truly needed.

Underwriting and Program Ad Sales

Each of the volunteer events produces a program and depends for financial success on underwriting. We constantly seek persons willing to call on merchants to help sell advertisements in the programs of Eyes on Design, the car show, Visions to Remember, the antiques show, and Eyes on Art, our unique art event. Persons with such experience, or willing to learn, are priceless jewels and will be welcomed to the Institute's efforts with open arms and all the help we can give them to be successful in this effort.

Properties Management

The DIO has increasing amounts of "stuff" which it must store, repair after each event, paint when shabby, inventory appropriately, replace when necessary, and wrestle from place to place for each event.

Examples of such stored materials are:

-Visions to Remember: The 4x7 foot panels necessary to create the exhibit booths for our highly successful antiques show must be moved, repaired and stored.
-Eyes on Design: Materials consisting of everything from cash boxes to license plate holders for the exhibit automobiles must be delivered precisely on time to make the car show happen. The signage, concession equipment and materials necessary for the car show are all stored from year to year.
-Repair Volunteers: These folks, often handy with their hands and tools, repair the many properties necessary for Eyes on Design car show, Visions to Remember antiques show, and other properties of the DIO. These properties are housed and kept in repair in our warehouse storage area. The work goes on from time to time all during the year.
-Inventory Control: These volunteers work with the repair volunteers and the warehouse management volunteers in order to be certain that we have on hand the necessary materials to mount each of the special events.
-Warehouse Management Volunteers: These volunteers prepare the properties necessary for each of the events so that when the trucks arrive in preparation for the event, all is in readiness as to destination and timing of properties necessary to manage the event or sub-event within the major event. Our properties manager needs a supporting team to store, repair, inventory--would be a gift from heaven.
-Logistics: During the course of the year a logistic team is necessary for each of the major events. During the year, different fundraising events require transport of materials from the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, and from our event materials warehouse space, to the venue site.

Visions to Remember antiques show is always held at the Ford House.

Events related to the car show, that is, Eve of the Eyes on Friday night, Vision Honored Banquet on Saturday, always change their location from year to year. The Eyes on Design brunch ("Private Eyes") and the automotive exhibit itself, both events held on Father's Day, also always take place at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House. The logistics team begins work in the weeks immediately preceding each of the events to plan transport of the essential materials to the site.

Communications

-PR: There is a team headed up by a PR leader for each event (Visions to Remember, Eyes on Design, Eyes on Art, etc). All work in close communication with Michael Smith, our public relations consultant. We have constant need for communications savvy volunteers who help get our message out to the press, to radio and television stations, to help handle the press preview events. Having new volunteers join each of the PR teams would certainly help the leaders immensely.

-Window Card Distribution: Each year we create business window cards and posters. Distribution of these cards and posters is the least expensive way for us to create a buzz about our events. Local restaurants and business places are generally friendly and receptive, but it's a time-intensive task going up and down the business thoroughfares of Grosse Pointe, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, etc. The job requires a persuasive manner, a car, and some time in the two- to four-weeks prior to the event. (We also try to return to remove them after the event.)

-Signage: Each event, but most especially Eyes on Design, has signage needs. We are anxious to find some corporation or sign company which would come to the party each year (we're certainly willing to include their name discreetly at the foot of each sign) to create event signage. We do have graphic design architecture in place. We also have a great number of signs from the past whose materials could be used from year to year, and we do have computer generated lists of signage requirements from year to year. What we need, rather desperately, is a leader and volunteer team which would make signage its primary business. Folks judge the show by the "look" of the show. We have a great look when it comes to the automobile exhibit and the Ford House property itself. But in some years our signage has not matched the high quality of these other factors in the total look of the event.

-Photographers: Although we do have professional photographers at every event, we are constantly pleased with images which volunteer photographers make available to us. Often they catch VIP's, interesting people in the crowd, fun shots of children, automobiles, etc. Our video and photography teams always look to amateur photographer volunteers for additional strength and support.