Webinar Highlights:
Laurel Green Teams: Michele Blair, Sustainability Manager, Department of Economic and Community Development, City of Laurel; and Carreen Koubek, Volunteer Coordinator and Special Assistant to the City Administrator, City of Laurel
Laurel Green Teams help make Laurel a greener, more resilient community by volunteering with the City’s sustainability initiatives. The initiative began by developing a clear definition of what sustainability meant to the City. This was developed through focus groups and organized around four key pillars: people, planet, prosperity, and peace. A kickoff event introduced the program to the community inviting participants to choose how they wanted to get involved. Ongoing recruitment takes place through community events such as farmers markets, recycling events, park cleanups, and multiservice activities.
To grow the effort, organizers focused on redesigning volunteer opportunities to align with what people are most interested in doing. Volunteering efforts also rely on strong community partnerships by working closely with city organizations and event hosts, with an emphasis on proactive outreach and engagement. These partnerships provide significant benefits for both volunteers and the community by strengthening local support and creating lasting positive change.
Make + Repair - Transition Howard County and the Community Ecology Institute: Margo Duesterhaus, Transition Howard County Steering Committee Lead and Secretary of the Community Ecology Institute Board of Directors
The initiative is part of an international movement aimed at keeping broken items out of the waste stream by offering free repair services to the community. Initially introduced at Howard County’s GreenFest, the program relies on volunteers known as “fixers,” who bring specialized skills to help repair items.
Recruiting focuses on specific niche skills, using clear and targeted language about what expertise is needed, and encourages current volunteers to act as ambassadors through word-of-mouth outreach. Many fixers initially attend events as participants and later choose to volunteer, reinforcing the importance of starting small and building organically. The program also creates opportunities for learning, connection, and idea-sharing through mentorships and networking.
Emphasis is placed on making the experience fun and community-oriented, and, most importantly, showing appreciation to volunteers through various means including recognition of their collective impact on the community while reinforcing their value to the program.
Montgomery County's Recycling Volunteer Program: Jessica Panicola, Recycling Volunteer Coordinator, Department of Environmental Protection, Montgomery County
The program was established in 1991 to educate the community about reducing waste and moving toward a Zero Waste future. Its focus follows a clear hierarchy: avoid, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, and as a last resort … dispose.
Volunteers play a vital role through both direct outreach (participation at events, labs, and fix-it clinics) and indirect outreach (behind-the-scenes office and administrative work). Volunteer recruitment occurs at waste reduction and recycling programs, volunteer fairs, partnerships with community groups and organizations, social media, and public events around the county.
An important component of volunteer engagement is understanding each individual’s “why” for volunteering, allowing the program to align opportunities with personal motivations. Recognize that their answer may not primarily involve supporting sustainability efforts outright but by engaging in activities that align with their personal interests (i.e., repairing items or helping others), they would be contributing indirectly to those efforts.
To keep the program a success, organizers rely on seven key elements including prioritize accessibility (meet them where they are), foster strong connections (with your volunteers and between the volunteers), communicate consistently (keep them in the loop), create meaningful work (learn what matters), collect data (show the impact of their efforts), show appreciation (recognize their efforts), and most importantly … have fun! Because if you’re not having fun, your volunteers may not be having fun either.
Final takeaway: All three organizations aren’t simply asking people to volunteer; they’re asking what they are most passionate about and how those interests can be leveraged to create meaningful impact in their communities. And that is key to recruiting and retaining engaged, energized volunteers.
*This is a FREE webinar brought to you by Maryland Recycling Network. Have a topic you'd like to share or hear about? Send us an email.
**Not a member? Support the three Rs (Reduction, Reuse and Recycling) in Maryland by joining today!