Volunteer group coordinator and assistant coordinator training
Training 2: getting started and planning the tea parties (5 minute read)
We have hundreds of groups across the country and they all depend on the passion, energy, and organisational skills of our dedicated team of group and assistant coordinators – that’s you! Group coordinators plan the monthly meetups and ensure that they run smoothly so that the older guests in the group are taken out each month. They might share the organising with the assistant coordinators and this helps spread the workload.
As a new group coordinator, you may be taking over from an existing coordinator who is stepping down from a group that is already established, or you may be starting a brand-new group from scratch. This module will walk you through the steps you’ll take to get started and get you ready to plan the first of your tea parties.
Getting started
You’ll be sent a spreadsheet which names the volunteers and guests in your group. You’ll also find other useful contact numbers and addresses, as well as emergency contact details for your guests.
In line with our policies and data protection, you should only share volunteer and guest information with those who need it, when they need it, and emergency contacts should only ever be used in the case of an actual emergency, not for regular communication. We’ll outline this in a little more detail below, under ‘Planning the tea parties’.
Planning the tea parties
Hosting schedule
If your group is already up and running, you should receive a hosting schedule for the rest of the year from the previous coordinator. This will tell you what’s been booked in and what’s outstanding, along with the hosts who haven’t booked in their tea party date(s) just yet.
It’s often nice to send all your hosts an introductory email when you start. Shortly after, you could request an update from the hosts who haven’t booked their tea party date(s) yet and try to get them booked in. You can use this spreadsheet as a template when organising your monthly tea parties, to keep on top of your tea party schedule.
Remember
Keep your tea parties on the same weekend each month, for example every 3rd Sunday. This allows guests and volunteers to easily remember when the tea parties tend to take place. Timings should always stay the same too, from 3pm to 5pm. Some groups start earlier in the winter months, such as 2pm to 4pm, so they can drive their older guests home in daylight, especially in rural areas where there is no street lighting.
It’s always best to start planning the following year’s dates around September or October. Simply send an email out to your hosts with all the dates listed (taking note of any holidays; Easter, Christmas, Mother’s Day, etc.) and ask them to reply to you with confirmation of the dates they can do. Then, just add them into your schedule and once the dates are locked in, send them out to your drivers and guests so they have them for their diaries too.
Process
We’ve outlined a simple process which should help you organise your tea parties each month:
- Email the host two weeks prior to the date they’re hosting.
- Once the host has confirmed they’re able to host, you can send an email to the drivers.
- The drivers coordinate travel arrangements with guests and confirm their attendance with you.
- You confirm final numbers with the host.
Good to know
We always advise, that where possible, the same driver should collect the same guest(s) each month. This helps to build relationships. Each driver should have their guests' address and telephone numbers, so that they can keep in contact and know where they're going.
Be sensitive with the information you share:
- Guest information should only go to the driver collecting that guest.
- Host address should only be shared with the drivers attending the tea party that month.
During and after each event
Each older guest is picked up by a driver who makes sure the guests get safely to and from the party. Our hosts take it in turns to welcome the older guests and drivers into their homes for a few hours.
The groups themselves stay the same every time, so over the weeks, drivers, hosts, and older guests really get to know one another and often become close friends.
Drivers should stay for the duration of the tea party and mingle with guests. Often our guests love the interaction with volunteers just as much as the interaction between other guests – it’s a great opportunity to mix with people of all ages.
As a group coordinator or assistant coordinator, it’s often good to have contact numbers for guests and drivers with you – please follow our GDPR guidelines if you do take any contact details with you to an event.
After each event, it’s always good to acknowledge the effort the host has gone to by sending them a thank you email on behalf of the group.
Good to know
Each group generally consists of 6 to 10 older guests, 3 to 6 drivers and 6 to 12 hosts.
Group coordinators and assistant coordinators also tend to drive for the group and attend the tea parties each month.
Getting to know your group
If your group is already up and running, then attending a tea party or two before you start is always a great way to see how the tea parties work. It is also a good opportunity to get to know the group, and put faces to names, before starting.
If you’re going to be volunteering with a new group, or don’t have the opportunity to attend a tea party before starting, then reaching out to the other volunteers in your group to introduce yourself is a great way to start. You can do this several ways but email / Whatsapp / text seem to be the most popular and these platforms serve as suitable ways to organise tea parties. Whichever communication tool is being used, please do keep data protection always at the forefront of your mind.
Remember
Drivers attend the tea parties each month.
Hosts only attend the tea parties on the day they're hosting.
How we will support you
Contact the Re-engage knowledge team at knowledge@reengage.org.uk if you have a question. We also have a whole list of resources and support available to you on our website, including, FAQs and day to day forms and wording to help you run your group.