Food 4 Kids Waterloo Region provides an essential service for local children experiencing chronic hunger. They deliver nutritious food packages directly to at-risk, vulnerable children when they are not in school and thus need help the most.

Challenge:

Food 4 Kids was facing difficulties in managing its volunteer program, which had become overly complex and lacked organization. Processes were often undocumented and inconsistently followed, leading to delays in responding to volunteer inquiries or, in some cases, no follow-up at all. These challenges were affecting the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission. Executive Director Lorri Detta acknowledged the situation, stating, “We’re only serving half the kids right now. We’re just trying to keep the program running.”

Solution:

I took the volunteer program through a rigorous auditing process to determine weaknesses, procedural inconsistencies and other areas for improvement. I then developed an implementation plan focusing on solving those specific challenges. Three key sections to that plan were as follows. The Executive Director and I worked closely together to select and implement a volunteer management software system to help streamline volunteer onboarding and scheduling. I guided the Volunteer Coordinator in the creation of a comprehensive procedure manual for the program. Finally, I trained and mentored the Volunteer Coordinator, ensuring that strong volunteer engagement practices were developed and followed going forward.

Result:

Food 4 Kids now has over 1,000 volunteers. The volunteer program runs effectively and efficiently. All applications and inquiries are dealt with in accordance with established procedures, creating a consistent and positive experience throughout the program. The new volunteer management system is saving the organisation enough time that they have been able to reassign staff to other priorities. The results have been so successful that Food 4 Kids are considering expanding.