Creating and working within
synergistic partnerships
Anna Gail L. Caunca
Gregory Hamluk
WHO ARE WE?
Objectives
• Examine some of the soft skills for working in
synergistic partnerships with youth volunteers,
field unit departments/staff/volunteers, regional
groupings, and NHQ/National Youth Council
• Share best practices of youth volunteer-youth
advisor partnerships
Objectives
• Gain skills to better manage your roles
and time resources
• Develop ideas to create a selfdevelopment plan
Agenda
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•
•
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Self-Awareness & Self-Management
Youth Volunteer Management
Partnership Management
Closing
What are the skills
of a Youth Advisor?
Personal Skill Development
 What are the top 3 areas where you
need to develop your skills?
 What resources do you have available
to you to help you in these areas?
Activity
Leaning In
Debrief
 Is your current relationship with your
Youth volunteers 100% / 100%?
 As a Youth Advisor, what does it take to
really “lean in” to your partners:
– Youth volunteers?
– Other Field Unit Departments?
– Other Chapters, Blood Regions, and
Stations?
Levels of Attention
 Level 1 – Self
 Level 2 – Other
 Level 3 – Global
Activity
 Partner up with someone in the room
who you do not know.
 Spread out so that you have a bit of
room between you and the next pair.
 Decide who will be Person A and who
will be Person B
Debrief
 What did you notice as you were doing
the activity?
 How easy was it to stay focused on the
“other” across from you and not on Self?
 How does this relate to partnering with
– Youth Volunteers
– Other Departments
– Other Chapters, Blood Regions, and Stations
Break
Youth Volunteer Management
Group Activity – 15 minutes
• In small groups, identify what
your youth volunteer needs are:
• What do they need to feel
ownership of their programs?
• What needs do they have to feel
empowered?
• Can you identify categories or
groups for these needs?
Youth Empowerment Model
J. Ungerleider, A. DiBenedetto (1997)
• Emotional Nurturance
• Intellectual Challenge
• Shared Power
Directing vs. Partnering
What’s the difference?
How do we work within
youth partnerships?
How can we foster an
environment for shared
leadership?
Youth Executive Board
• Pre-term and post-term
analysis
• Self-reflection letters
• Being a “senior” youth
leader
Collaborative Strategies
• Develop meeting agendas, objectives,
strategic goals
• Hold a retreat
• Hold each other accountable
• Share information
• Understand your needs and their needs
• Learn to let go!
• Your PDP goals or youth volunteer goals?
Break
Partnership Management
Understanding the goals
and needs
• Organizational level
• Regional Level
• Field Unit / Department
level
Partnership Management
Organizational Level -- Gail's Priorities
• Bring Biomedical Services operations into
compliance with the FDA
• Achieve financial stability
• Increase donations
• Revitalize our brand
• Overhaul IT
• Improve teamwork
Strategies
Case Discussions
1. Increase donations
2. Revitalize our brand
3. Improve teamwork
Increase donations
Strategies in partnering
• Marketing – Facebook, Twitter – Dance-a-thon, Bowling; using
media/technology to stay in touch to promote fundraiser
• Department-to-Department – working with H&S – revenue
generation for the program
• Garage Sale – Donations and proceeds; Youth collected and
staffed; allocated dollars to Youth programs
• Specific Programs where Youth can fundraise for (e.g., Operation
Warm the Homeless, etc.)
• Incorporate event oriented fundraisers with other forms of
fundraising.
Revitalize the Brand - Increase visibility
Youth volunteers as brand champions:
Using Social Media outlets
Getting the story out of what we are
doing and what Youth are doing
Products:
– Make them “cool”
– Flip-flops, t-shirts, items with “youth
appeal”
Youth as internal champions with
other audiences (groups they belong
to already)
Improve Team Work
Improving Team Work
(Interdepartmental)
 Retreat with Youth
Email lists and ways to communicate so that the message
gets to youth members
Courses and Teambuilding – opportunities to work together
Open communication, have an identify for the program, role
clarification, lines of communications open; knowing what other
departments needs are
Working closely with other departments
Youth newsletter (with donation envelope)
Crossmarketing with newsletters and with other
departments
Improve Team Work
Diversifying volunteer pool
 Knowledge of local
community
Representative of larger
community
Leverage their web and
pockets of the communities
that Youth are connected to
Regional / Field Unit Level
Understanding the needs of the region / other departments within
your field unit
Field unit
- Organizational plan
- Field unit strategic plan
Department
- Resources (volunteer), infrastructure (policies)
Program
- Funding, marketing, space/location
Closing
Questions?
Contact Information
Anna Gail L. Caunca – CauncaA@usa.redcross.org
Gregory Hamluk – HamlukG@usa.redcross.org