I have had the opportunity over the last several months to participate in a training on becoming a Service Enterprise. This training comes through Points of Light which is the largest volunteer-focused organization in the world. The basic idea is that organizations could be much more effective in their missions if they would rethink or re-imagine how volunteers are utilized. While we certainly have hundreds of volunteers who serve at FIRM each year, we do not have a system in place for recruitment, retention, appreciation, tracking, etc. There are large, multi-million dollar non-profit organizations that have used Service Enterprise concepts to grow larger and serve more people than they could ever imagine! I believe that what I have learned during this training will catapult us into a new era of service at FIRM and will expand our ability to best serve the refugee population in Fresno.
We will be going through a process of certification to become a Points of Light certified Service Enterprise. In order to become certified, we have an action plan in place that focuses on 10 key areas. One of the key components of this plan will be hiring a Volunteer Coordinator who will guide us through this process. I anticipate hiring this position in the fall and I hope that it will allow us to fill some holes in our organizational chart and create a vibrant and exciting place to serve in Fresno. We have a long way to go, but I believe we can get there! This will be the key to FIRM’s future growth for the next 20 years of ministry.
This fits perfectly with who we are called to be as an organization and as followers of Christ. Just as Jesus “did not come to be served, but to serve”, FIRM became an organization in order to serve the needs of the refugee community. This is what I intend to continue, but it will require an army of servants for us to get there. I hope that you will join our Service Enterprise and enlist in our army of servants in the future! I will keep you all in the loop as we move forward on this exciting process.
Peace and Love,