Former Staff as Volunteers

Welcoming former staff back as volunteers is a great way to keep connected and to access individuals who are skilled as well as have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of your operation. I have recently encountered a learning experience when our summer camp welcomed two former heads of departments back for a three week volunteering experience. 

Summer Camp

These volunteers had been involved in our camp for over 5 summer seasons, each rising to lead their respective departments during their time on staff. They came with the desire to give back to our community, intending to take on a large scale but relatively isolated project and to use their free time to help out in the departments that they had once lead. 

Very little was given to them in way of an induction of their volunteer process and they both eagerly jumped in to their former departments excited to begin to contribute. Their presence and understanding created challenges. In one department the volunteer took it upon himself to complete all of the "fun" jobs, depriving the staff who had been working towards these fun jobs the opportunity to participate in them. 

In the second department the volunteer entered in and took on a leadership role, undermining the authority of the pre-existing leader, causing feelings of degradation among the lower ranked staff, and making programmatic changes that created future challenges within the department.

The volunteers were oblivious to the negative feelings that had transpired and were under the perception that they were accomplished thier objective of giving back to the community they love.

The upper level management (who had welcomed their former employees back to the community) were un-aware of the conflict that was brewing within their departments.

After the negative feelings had begun to brew the two departments approached the upper level management and requested a conversation regarding the volunteers. During this meeting all members of the departmens affected by the volunteers as well as the upper management. A closed door meeting was held where everyone was given the opportunity to express their preception of the situation, propose their ideal situation as well as what they viewed as compromises. 

Following this closed door meeting the executive director met with the volunteers to discuss a plan for moving forward. The volunteers both felt quite badly about how things had transpired. One offered to dedicate his full efforts to the project they had originally come to work on and to no longer work in his old department. The other volunteer requested some time to think about this and to have a meeting with the department she was the former head of.

In summary, two former heads of departments returned to volunteer in the departments they used to run and approached the situation with strong personalities and a mindset that they were there to run the department again.

The take away learning from this is to have a conversation with returning staff members about how their are new competent people in their former positions and that their role is to follow the lead of the staff member, that their role is to be an assistant not a leader. Potentially working with current staff to carve out places for the volunteer to lead activities within the parameters set by the current staff

Computer Exploration Lesson Plan

I have been sorting through the boxes of my childhood and came across this lesson plan I must have made in middle school.... This is the typed version of it, trying to cut down on the amount of "things" and thought this could easily be saved and put digital =). I think at one point I probably had created all the material that is referenced here, but that has been lost in time. In general I just think I was a super cute nerdy child =)

Class Size: 4 or 6
Task Time: 30 Minuets
Break Time: 10 Minuets

Day 1
9:00 Take attendance
9:05 Introduce yourself (write on board, say, wear a name tag)
9:10 Students stand up and say their names
9:20 Color pictures from a coloring book
9:30 Break (go potty, get a drink of water)
9:40 Show Materials and answer questions
10:00 Hand out computer book
10:10 Break (same)
10:20 Do first activity
10:40 Quiet goal setting time, students make ribbons for when they meet their goals
11:00 Read story 1
11:10 Break
11:20 Chalk computer parts(students chose of computers)
11:40 Clean up room
11:50 Parents arrive

Day 2
9:00 Color 2 pictures from the book
9:10 do demonstration by showing computer their disassembling and the parts they have colored compare similarities of the pictures colored NOT THE DIFFERENCES
9:30 Break
9:40 Read about disk drive
10:00 do Journal #1
10:15 Give children hard disk to utilize (look at/ disassemble) in room
10:30 Break
10:40 look at different disk drives in pictures
11:05 Discussion kids ask questions and talk in a group
11:15 play "the way things work" in pairs on the computer section
11:50 end game parents arrive

Day 3
9:00 Game #1 Prep
9:30 Break
9:40 Snack
9:50 continue working on game 1
10:30 Break
10:40 keep working on Game 1
11:30 stop work and clean up
11:50 parents come

Day 4

9:00 finish prep on Game #1
9:45 Break
9:55 go into rooms and do journal #2
10:20 make 2 teams and race the clock assembling the 3d disk drive
10:50 go to computer lab and start assembling disk drive
11:20 Break
11:30 Continue activity from 10:50
11:45 Get ready to go
11:50 parents come

Day 5
9:00 work on disk drive (if finished pay with extra parts)
10:00 Break
10:10 Clean up (store drive in cabinet)
10:20 Paint ( Put on over head picture #1)
11:00 Break
11:10 Hand out mice parts to be assembled (let kids play with them)
11:44 Clean up
11:55 Parents arrive

Day 6
9:00Hand out picture #2 along with Picture #3 and a part book listing part names and uses
9:10 start assembling mince
10:00 Break
10:10 Do Journal #3
10:30 Break
10:40 Keep working on mice
11:40 Clean up
11:50 parents arrive

Day 7
9:00 pass around live mouse than pass around computer mouse
9:20 Journal #4
9:40 work on mice
10:20 Break
10:30 Bring out items and have students create a mouse oout of them (real or computer)
11:30 time in small room
11:50 parents come

Week 2
* during this week kids will be allowed to work more freely be sure to take pictures
* In each little room put all info needed for each part
     Room 1 - Keyboard and attaching mouse
     Room 2 - Laser
     Room 3 - Electric Motor
     4,5,6 - keep as quiet rooms

Day 8
9:00 give out Pict #4 and following to do list
- in room 1 you will find all info to put together a keyboard (parks in box on desk)
- On Art table you will find paper to pain a keyboard
- on the bored is the journal question #5
9:10 tell them they have 3 days and you will call breaks
10:30 snack and Break
10:50 start work
11:30 break
11:40 Clean up
11:50 parents arrive

Day 9
9:00 start working on list
10:30 Break

10:40 start work

11:30 break

11:40 Clean up

11:50 parents arrive

Day 10

(same as day 9)

Student Supply list

1 folder (no pictures)

1 Box of crayons/ colored pencils

1 box of water colors

5 1 subject notebooks

would like

1 box of crackers

juice boxes

2 liters of juice

klenex

paper cups

paper plates

Returning to the USA

Ian and I have returned to the USA. This return was prompted by an array of factors, all of that could have been overcome, but deep down we were both feeling a little burnt out on Asia. Ian has started school in St.Louis and I am back in Minnesota sorting out what my next move should be. I have joined the un-employed highly educated young adults of America and after 3 weeks of it, I am board, ready for something to take my attention. I read the other day that the national average to find a job after becoming un-employed is 37 weeks, there is no way I can make it that long. I am thinking about taking a job at a summer camp, learning to make canoes and enjoying the great outdoors for the next two months

Victory Liner Customer Service

This is an email conversation between me and customer service at Victory Liner one of the main bus lines that operates in the Philippines. My original email has some exaggeration in the effect of how horribly it effected me and doesn't mention the fact that I live here. I was impressed with their response even though they didn't offer me any freebees.

To Whom it May Concern:

Due to your incorrect bus schedule posted on your website, my trip to the Philippines has been ruined. I traveled here from the U.S. with the intention of traveling to Zambales timing my arrival in Manila to make the Thursday 22:40 STA. CRUZ via CAMILING   as posted on your website schedule. Upon arriving to Victory Liner around 9:40pm on January 27th around 9:30 pm and were informed that the bus does not depart until 4am. This has completely ruined my travel plans for the weekend.

I am part of a fairly wide network of travelers and depending on what action is taken from me sending this email, I plan to effectively spread the word to avoid using your service when it can be avoided and not to trust your website (Which eliminates the usefulness of your website and that is money your organization is wasting by having the website developed and maintained) 

Ian Geiger

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Geiger,

Thank you for bringing up the concern.

I have investigated the incident and found out that indeed bus number 811 was dispatched last night on 22.40 for the trip Sta. Cruz via Camiling.  I also checked if the manifest was fully booked, which could be the reason why the person you talked to said that the next trip was for 4am already.  However, upon checkng the manifest, I saw that the bus was not even fully booked.  There were seats and you should have been accommodated on that trip, sir.

Did you inquire at the dispatcher's booth sir?  Or at the ticket booth?  Or with a security guard on duty?  We are thinking, there is a possibility that that person may not have understood what you were saying, perhaps a different intonation or pronounciation.  If this were the case, we would like to pinpoint who this person is as it reflects on the quality of people we have out there.

Mr. Geiger, on behalf of Victory Liner, I would like to apologize for this confusion.  If you have urgent questions, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service desk, English speaking and fully able to answer and understand you.  The number is0917 8425463.

Sincerely yours,

Marivic del Pilar

Marketing Head

Victory Liner

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Marivic, 

         Thank you for your response. I inquired at the ticket booth and with a security guard. Luckily everything worked out well enough. I went ahead and gave Victory Liner another chance and returned at 4am. It still was not as easy as it should have been.. when inquiring about the STA Cruz that the office told me was leaving at 4am they said it wasn't leaving until 6 and I then asked just about everyone in the station until finally a security guard understood that I was trying to get to San Antonio and guided me to the right bus that did indeed leave at 4am (the guard also informed me that a bus for sta cruz did indeed leave at 10:40). Again, thank you for your response and for looking into the manner.

Sincerely,

Ian Geiger

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your reply Mr. Geiger.  I am sorry, I think our frontliners are really having difficulty understanding and conversing in English.  We will move towards improving on this aspect.

Have a nice day!

Marivic del Pilar

Victory Liner

 

Fuzion Smoothie on Katipunan

In my previous entry on Places to visit in Manila I said that the best smoothie I have found yet is a chain called Fuzion. I have seen them at SM North, GreenBelt and GreenHills. I am sure they have more locations than this.

 http://fuzionphils.com/fuzion/news_mediagallery.php

Fuzion Smoothie is still the best smoothie in Manila. They have recently opened a new location on Katipunan Av in Quezon City. The location is great, right across from Anteno University!

They are still working out a few bugs in the system so if you stop by soon expect to find amazing smoothies for peso 99 - 145! but do sit upstairs the blenders are too loud for conversation on the first level, and be prepared, the lids do not fit the cups =)

Lord Stow's Bakery Manila

I was quite excited tonight to discover that Lord Stow's Bakery, a high end bakery from Macau.

Macau Egg Tart

Egg tarts to Macau perfection at 40rs each
Delectable chewy cashew brownies for 145 a box. Made with real chocolate!

Their Tomas Morato location has an inviting aroma and a pleasant seating area.

They have other locations around Manila and should be visited if you are near one.

Check out their web site for more information http://www.lordstow.com/

On a more personal note, our taxi ride home this evening was one of the more adventuresome rides. Our driver did not know the area super well, however knew it well enough to use some side streets. With his side street use we ended up going way past our turn looking for a turn around, after pulling some very indirect turns we headed up the wrong way to the main road and got yelled at by on lookers, while having a slur of cars exiting the main road coming at us as we backed down a curvy exit ramp, Hitting the curb a few times and having to re adjust. 40 pesos more than normal we made it back to our home safely and a bit more familiar with "short cuts" in Manila.

Directions to the Indian Embassy Manila

After my adventure looking for the Indian Embassy in the Philippines, Manila. I thought I would post directions for any lost travelers.

Its not too hard!

You need to take the MRT to them Magallanes station

When you exit the station, exit on the side of the Southgate Mall

Less than a 5 min walk down the street, away from the mall you will find the main gate into Dasmarinas Village. At this point get ready for a real taste of what is to come.

Video immages of all who enter the gate
Sign a log book
sit on a bench and wait for a black van
get in the black van #8
drive around a maze of nice homes
Sign a van log book
get out of the van and go into an office
wait on a bench
go to a counter and pay p150
collect your recepit
get back in the black van
drive around a maze of nice house
listen for your driver to tell you that your at India
go in a gate
sign a log book
go around the side of the building into the first door (unmarked)
Stand around a bit confused
go to Window #1 to get a number
sit if you can find a chair
drink some water because its hot
wait for your number to be called
When your done, if your lucky you can convince the guard to let you walk out of the complex (its only 2 min walking) otherwise you must wait for the black van to come collect you

The address of the Indian embassy, Manila is 2190 Paraiso Street

Good luck and have fun =)