Saying thank you
A thank you goes a long, long way, so don’t forget to say thank you to everyone who helps. The more personal the thank you, the more meaningful it will be.
Giving helpers public recognition and a thank you service certificate to take away when they reach a significant milestone (say 10 hours of volunteering etc.) makes them feel appreciated but will also serve as a reminder of the great time they had. You can download and adapt these from southlondonscouts.org.uk/section-rota
When saying thank you, ask people whether they had a good time and what it was they particularly enjoyed. If anyone offers further help, make sure you are enthusiastic and have an answer to give them – for example, details of other camps or activities they could attend.
After the evening, trip, event or activity make sure you keep in touch with everyone who helped out and let them know what is happening in the group or section.
If you have a regular communication for parents anyway, highlight who has recently help out and the different they made and why not add a personalised note for those who have helped out, highlighting anything they would be particularly interested in.
If you hold social events for your leadership team, consider inviting along those parents who were part of the leadership team at your event. This would be a gentle way of getting them gradually more involved and interested in helping out more frequently.
Download and adapt - editable certificates
The certificates below are PowerPoint templates that you can easily fill in and print out.
(click on the image to download).
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