How do you get involved in the district?

[willingandable]

How does one go about getting involved with the district?

At Pow Wows and other training sessions I always hear people complain about there not being enough volunteers, but I never hear about how to help. You can't get volunteers if you don't ask and nobody ever asks.

[Gold Winger]

Good question. I was drafted.

 

If I was you, I'd call the District Chair and say, "Hey! I want to help!"

[Lisabob]

And when you do what GW suggests, brace yourself for a FLOOD of requests for help, because that's probably what you'll get. Especially if you are a cub leader, the folks involved in various district pursuits might not know you personally (they tend to be longer-time leaders and most cub leaders are fairly new to the program) and so they haven't gotten around to asking you yet. But once you are "known" to them, believe me, you're likely to feel the love. If you showed up at our district events and said "hey I want to help" I can think of about 6 different hats we'd all be trying to give you to wear. (seriously, if you don't know how to get the ball rolling on this, contact your District Exec.)

[Trevorum]

 

I didn't say "no" fast enough.

 

 

(This message has been edited by Trevorum)

[Bob White]

The method varies from District to District. In general if you do the job you have well then you will be asked to help with something else.

 

Hopefully in your distrct the people who need help are always on the lookout for talent to add to their committee. If they aren't then I don't think I would volunteer to be lead by them. Not everyone knows how to ask for help, and not every gets asked to help.

 

I tend to look for people who show a combination of skills and interest.

[scoutldr]

First of all, I would decide what it is that I'm interested in doing. Otherwise, if you just show up and say "use me", you will get all the jobs that no one else wants :-(

 

Some of the functions of the District are Program (Camporees, etc), Finance (that's one that no one wants!), Training, Camping Promotion, Membership (another tough one), Advancement, and Unit Service (Commissioners). Just about every District can use more Unit Commissioners.

 

If you have specific expertise, or passion for any one area, start there. If you are an OA member, you might also consider becoming an adult advisor to the Chapter or Lodge.

[John-in-KC]

Pretty much what Lisa said...

 

Of course, all it takes is you bringing home the bacon from 1 good FOS presentation, and your professionals will never let you alone again

 

 

[jr56]

After hearing pitch after pitch for district assistance at roundtables every month, I went to the next disctrict committee meeting and offered my services. The rest is history, so to speak.

[evmori]

I made the mistake of making eye contact with our District Commissioner!

[Herms]

Eye contact OR proximity!

 

Is it NO or KNOW?

[AvidSM]

I agree that most districts are always in need of good volunteers. The key word here is "good". If I hear a scouter is looking to help out at the district level, the first things I ask is, "Who is the person? What is their experience? What can they do?

 

Wanting to help is a good thing. Giving specific ways in which you can help is better. If you don't know how the district operates and what it does, join it's committee and attend some meetings. Talk to some of the key volunteers and see what is going on. Find out what you can do to help, then offer your services in a specific way.

 

Don't worry about getting a whole lot of responsibilty dumped on you all at once - that won't happen until they get to know you and see that you can perform as a volunteer.

[willingandable]

Well, I emailed my district executive, which is the only district contact info I have, and expressed my interest in volunteering on a district level. After a week I finally received a short message telling me they'd pass on the information.

I think I know now why the local districts have trouble finding good help. After a while, a person gets tired of holding up their hand and saying, "I'm here and willing to help. Let me know what you want me to do." I'm tired of volunteering and no one let's me help. I shouldn't have to beg to become a volunteer.

[Herms]

Wanna travel? We'll take ya!

[emb021]

"I think I know now why the local districts have trouble finding good help. After a while, a person gets tired of holding up their hand and saying, "I'm here and willing to help. Let me know what you want me to do." I'm tired of volunteering and no one let's me help. I shouldn't have to beg to become a volunteer. "

 

:\ :

 

I've made the same observation, both in-person and on-line several years ago. (I even used the same allusions of raising your hand and volunteering).

 

It seems like you almost have to be a pest of yourself to get accepted as a volunteer, unless you have, somehow, built a 'rep' as a volunteer such that they ask you.

 

 

[Lisabob]

That's too bad that you got a sort of brush off. Keep in mind though, that the DE probably has a lengthy list of fires to tend (or put out!) at any given time, and finding a spot for you might not be the very first thing on his or her list. Most districts have a monthly district committee meeting, as well as a monthly Round Table meeting. These are two likely places where the DE will be in attendance and will hopefully remember to pass your name along to other district volunteers. It might not be a bad idea to go (at least to RT), ask who the district chair is, and introduce yourself. If the district chair isn't in attendance, talk to one of the following folks: district training chair, district commissioner (oversees unit commissioners, and I've never once met one who didn't need more UCs), or district roundtable commissioner (should be running RT). These people ALWAYS need help.