All Volunteer, All Heart from Binky Patrol

Volunteering gives us an opportunity to break the cycle of negativity and fear. We have the power to change lives! Caitlin Peterson is a legal professional by day, and a Binky Patrol chapter leader in the off-hours. She's been volunteering for ten years - she started when she was 16. Listen to this episode to be inspired to do good and outshine the negative through volunteerism.
 
Links from this episode:
Connect with Catilin:
Her chapter page: https://binkypatrol.org/page.cfm?name=va_peterson
On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-peterson-woolard-44081a67/ 
Learn more about Binky Patrol:
https://binkypatrol.org
Connect with Susan Finch:
On LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/susanmfinch
Funnel Media Group: https://funnelmediagroupllc.com 

How to get more volunteers? It will depend on the opportunities you have. Sometimes you have to be flexible and creative. Binky Patrol is a great organization for younger volunteers because what we do is easy and fun with friends.
In the past, we've gained a lot of volunteers through annual events.  These events can include scouting troops, schools, and service organizations. You'll have to think about what creative idea can you create to allow volunteers of all ages to help. What a great way to build a long-lasting volunteer base that can grow up with your organization. I know we have volunteers that started as children over 20 years ago who find us after they have children to see how they can get involved again because of all of the great memories they have from when they were children. Listen to this 11 minute episode, "How to Get Big Groups of Kid Volunteers."

When Ben Tewes called panicked, he had two months to complete 236 court-ordered community service hours. We quickly calmed him down and assured him, he could do this! We came up with a plan, outlined here - https://binkypatrol.org/article.cfm?id=510. And he took it a step further. His probation officer wanted to be assured that BEN was actually making the blankets. He came up with the idea to set up his phone in timelapse mode and record his work. He won them over, they rooted for him to make his deadline, 236 kids are receiving blankets in Colorado because of him, and I think he's hooked. Hear his story in this episode of All-Volunteer, All Heart from Binky Patrol, "236 Hours - A Community Service Story."

Have you ever known the family was coming over, but because of the weather, and varying ages, you didn't quite know what to do with everyone after the meal? What about when your office and workload are lighter due to the upcoming holidays, end-of-year vacations, and more? A great way to bring these groups of people together is to make blankets. It's a chance to lift some of the annual awkwardness, stay busy for those fidgety people, and change lives. Make blankets. We sometimes forget to talk about the overall mission of Binky Patrol. Binky Patrol makes blankets and gives them away to children and teens in need of comfort. Those invisible kids who need a reminder that they matter, they are not forgotten, and that someone cares about them. We do this through handmade blankets - they can be sewn, quilted, crocheted, knitted, or tied - just so they come from your heart and are washable, they are perfect. Please listen to this 7-minute episode.
This podcast is sponsored by Impact4Good.com Connecting companies, organizations, and communities.What difference will you make today?
Impact 4 Good is the one source for bringing community service to your next event! Exciting and engaging team-building activities are just part of what we offer. Let us identify the best cause/beneficiary to support, manage the donation logistics and bring the spirit of community service to your group. From your initial request through the day of your event, Impact 4 Good handles all the details.

Amy Smart is the founder of Diary of a Quilter. Her newsletter is inspiring, her website is filled with resources. Amy now knows about Binky Patrol. Binky Patrol volunteers have all been introduced to Amy Smart and Diary of a Quilter. This is how it works. 
Susan suggests that you seek out companies, individuals, and influencers in your space that have active social media presence, but who also have newsletters. There is a great opportunity for both them and you to expand your lists and introduce each others' audiences to your respective companies. It's easy to do and doesn't cost anyone money.  Listen to Amy's story and their ideas in this episode of All-Volunteer, All Heart - Connecting Like Hearts to Grow Your Organization.

When you volunteer you have an opportunity to help others, and better yourself. Our chapter leaders are not paid. No one is at Binky Patrol, but they are learning marketable skills. Binky Patrol chapter leaders - Area Coordinators - learn how to lead a group, speak publicly, do PR, coordinate events, do basic accounting and more. We give recommendations to up to 10 people a year who are seeking a job - sometimes for the first time. They have all of these skills they've learned while volunteering. Now they can get a better job. They have confidence, too. Listen to this short episode to be inspired to do more when you volunteer rather than simply showing up.
If you need more ideas on ways to help, visit BinkyPatrol.org and click on the dropdown at the top - Ways to Help

We've invited people and they signed up! That's great. But, they need to be able to easily find you from the parking lot. Sometimes non-profits have events at libraries, community centers, schools, churches. Their campuses can be large and confusing. Having directional signage can help prevent volunteers from being frustrated before they walk in the door. Jordan Castellanos (J.C.) is our guest today from FastSigns in Beaverton, Oregon. We talk about how teaming up with a signage professional can save you money and add to your event success.
Resources: FastSigns Beaverton https://fastsigns.com/beaverton-or 
Get ideas from their social media channels:
https://www.instagram.com/fastsigns46/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/fastsigns.beaverton/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fastsignsbeaverton/ 
Adobe's free banner design tool https://www.adobe.com/express/create/banner/event 
 

We are having two Bink-a-Thons October 8. One in Monroe, Connecticut, and one in Beaverton, Oregon.  A little friendly competition never hurts, right? I really want to win. Jeanne Malgioglio usually wins. But really who wins? The kids who will get the binkies we are all making that day.  This is a fun opportunity to  connect multiple chapters. This is a great idea for other hands-on charities that have multiple locations. We will most likely be broadcasting live that day on Facebook and YouTube. This is a short episode just for fun and a little spunky.  You can sign up for the Beaverton, OR event here. 
A Bink-A-Thon is an event where we gather as many people as possible to make as many blankets as possible within 4 to 6 hours. Blankets can be sewn or tied. We usually have a couple of dozen people on sewing machines, many people helping with pinning, cutting, tying, bagging. There is something for everyone to do. We've been doing these since our first year in 1996 and they end up being more like a reunion for the volunteers who attend every one of them. We've more than 25 here in Oregon since we moved here 17 years ago.

Having events is a great way to expand your audience, donors, volunteers, and build goodwill in the community. Since Binky Patrol is all-volunteer, we rely on partnering with sponsors and hosting organizations that are looking for a fun event to offer their volunteers, employees, members. This episode walks you through some ideas, and a list of what you need to know before you have an event.
If you want to have an event, find partners. For Binky Patrol, we partner with United Way, HandsOn Portland, Comcast, quilt guilds, girl scouts and schools. Local coffee companies like Dutch Bros, sandwich companies like Subway help keep our volunteers fed and energized. You also need a partner to help you at the end of your event. We have our delivery team that will take all of the blankets made that day to deliver them. We have a clean up crew that will take everything to put it away until the next event. You need to plan it from start to finish, before promotions and after thank you notes.

Wil and Liam are back with Susan talking about what the homeless in Portland really need, and it's not tiny houses. They need to kick addictions, get teeth, get an ID, get a ride and sometimes that's all it takes to get them off the streets. Dinner and a Movie has great gift cards you can give instead of having mugs printed with your company name for client gifts. The focus is on helping one person as a time, not unlike Binky Patrol comforting one child at a time. Don't try to solve the issue with one big stroke. You can't. No one can. It takes time with individuals. Throwing money and building tiny houses won't do it. It just tucks them away and lines the pockets of those involved in "solving." Listen to this episode to hear real stories from people helping those on the streets of all ages in this episode of All Volunteer, All Heart from Binky Patrol, "How to REALLY help the homeless in Portland."
60 percent of all of those on the street are there because of drug addiction. They don't want to be restricted by the rules of tiny home communities. They need recovery - now. Most have suffered from neglect or sexual abuse as children. These are the two connecting threads. They have varying levels of education, skills and unique interests that could have them independent if they could break the cycle of addiction. This isn't just adults, this is for teens on the streets too. Help Dinner and a Movie help them.