In June, Tammie Tippie joined ShareNet staff as volunteer coordinator. ShareNet has about 40 active volunteers as well as a list of temporarily inactive who are seasonal or snowbirds or whose scheduling fluctuates for another reason.
Tippie comes to us with deep experience with volunteers and full of ideas on how to make that function work better for ShareNet.
Most recently Tippie was programs communication manager at BARN (Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network), a makerspace with lots of volunteers. She has called North Kitsap home for 27 years and has been involved with local efforts such as Kingston Parade and Tiny Town, Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater and Battle Point Astronomical Association.
“Through my roles as a volunteer coordinator and event organizer, I have developed expertise in recruiting, training and managing volunteers. I understand the importance of providing a positive and engaging experience for volunteers, as well as the significance of effectively communicating expectations and responsibilities. My experience in this area has allowed me to cultivate a collaborative and motivated volunteer community,” she said.
When asked why she wanted to become part of ShareNet, Tippie said, “ShareNet addresses a fundamental need and serves as a hub where community members, volunteers and organizations come together to combat food insecurity collectively. This collaboration strengthens the social fabric, promotes empathy and encourages neighbors to support one another. I wanted to be a part of that.”
Tippie hasn’t wasted any time implementing a thorough game plan to optimize the volunteer experience at ShareNet and recruit volunteers for chronically understaffed positions for drivers and for Mobile Food Pantry, our pilot project that had its first six-week installment last October but has not had the volunteers necessary to staff its second installment.
She has improved the volunteer interface on our website ShareNet – ShareNet Food Bank, and has plans to host information sessions in the community detailing volunteer opportunities and target outreach to networks likely to yield results, including email campaigns highlighting particular volunteer opportunities.
She’s also already made quite a few procedural changes to make volunteering with ShareNet run more smoothly. Recruiting and onboarding volunteers, introducing them to the site, arranging their training and managing their scheduling are just some of the tasks Tippie will be handling.
ShareNet’s new volunteer coordinator may be reached at 360-297-2266 ext. 3 or volunteer@sharenetfoodbank.org
Mark Ince writes a monthly column for this newspaper. He is executive director of ShareNet Food Bank. (director@sharenetfoodbank.org or 360-297-2266 x 4.)
