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Volunteer Options
Volunteer Options Please see the attachment at the bottom of the page for volunteer opportunities.
Each membership selects one of the following options:
Option 1: Each membership performs 24 hours of volunteer work in support of the Co-op each YEAR. That averages out to 2 hours a month. Volunteers continue to receive the member discount in the store and pay only the 5% on Buying Club orders.
Option 2: In lieu of performing the volunteer work, members pay annual dues in the amount of $100. Members choosing to pay annual dues receive the member discount in the store and pay only the 5% on Buying Club orders.
Option 3: Members not selecting option 1 or 2 would default to option 3. With option 3, members forfeit their discount for store purchases and will be charged the 10% ordering fee for Buying Club orders. However, anyone selecting option 3 will retain their membership in the Co-op.
The following questions and answers will help answer many your questions prior to the meeting. Additionally, a list of the volunteer opportunities follows. We think you’ll agree that there are plenty of opportunities that can easily be worked into your normal schedule.
Questions and Answers
1. When I joined the Co-op, I specifically inquired as to whether volunteer work would be required. At that time, I was told that there would be no mandatory volunteer work required. What has changed?
The main reason for the change is to obtain the support needed to continue to operate the Co-op and offer the services that the membership has requested. When the Co-op was initially formed as a Buying Club, members were told that volunteering was not required. In 2005, we opened the Store – with member approval – and each year has seen an increase in the number of products offered. In 2006, we closed on the purchase of the Washington Street house – again with member approval – thereby enabling us to begin looking at other sources of income. This year, the Produce Share program – which has been a huge success – was added. With each new service comes the need to have additional volunteers. And, of course, maintaining existing programs requires volunteers. For example, even something as seemingly simple as adding milk and eggs to the grocery store requires more volunteers. The eggs have to be picked up in Yelm, and the milk has to be picked up from the Gypsy Wagon. In order to continue to offer the services the membership wants, we need additional volunteer support.
2. When does the new requirements go into effect?
The new volunteer requirements of 24 hours per YEAR go into effect on January 1, 2008.
3. If I don’t complete the volunteer requirements and don’t want to pay annual dues that I will lose the discount on store purchases and will experience an increase in the charge to order. What am I getting for my membership?
You have complete access to the store and the Buying Club. You are able to purchase natural foods at significant savings over those charged by retail grocery store operations. You receive copies of the newsletter and all informational flyers announcing sales and new services. You maintain your member right to vote on issues. And you retain part ownership of the Co-op. It is also important to remember that a company organized as a cooperative is owned by the members. Therefore, if the Co-op finds itself in the position of distributing funds to the members (say in the form of a dividend on profits or disbursement of profits from the sale of property), these funds are evenly distributed to every member. Therefore, even if a member picks Option 3, keeping the membership in the Co-op is a good idea. Also, a member isn’t locked into their option each year. A member may elect to pay dues one year and then switch to performing the 24 hours/year of volunteer work starting in the second year. It is also important at this time to take a step back and examine the concept behind having a cooperative. As defined by the International Co-operative Alliance, “A cooperative by its very nature is an association of persons who voluntarily join to meet their common needs through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled company. Co-ops are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Co-op members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility, and caring for others.” By adopting a uniform volunteer policy, we are more closely adhering to these values.
4.If I can’t accommodate volunteering in my schedule, will I immediately lose the discounts?
No. There will be a one-year implementation schedule. That way, everyone will have a chance to accrue the 24 hours of volunteer work.
5. What happens if I’ve only worked 20 of the required 24 hours. Will I be able to get a waiver and continue to receive the discounts?
No. However, once you have completed the missing 4 hours, your discounts will be reinstated. Please be aware that the 4 hours worked to complete the previous year’s requirement do not count towards the current year’s volunteer total. In terms of exceptions, anyone may petition the Board of Directors and request an exception for extraordinary circumstances.
6. Our family has four members. Does that mean we have to each work 24 hours per year?
No. Each membership is being asked to contribute 24 hours of volunteer labor during a one-year period. How you meet the commitment is up to you, but all work performed by any family member counts towards the requirement.
7. How much flexibility is there in terms of scheduling?
It’s almost endless. If you want to work 24 hours in one month and get the commitment over with in January, that’s fine. If you want to wait until December and get it all done then, that’s fine. If the summer time is better for working, there are options for that. Additionally, there are a number of jobs that can be done at home as opposed to having to come into the Store thereby allowing you the flexibility to perform the volunteer work at your convenience.
8. Will I have someone who will serve as a “manager” and oversee my work?
As you look at the list of volunteer opportunities, please notice that the jobs are clustered into teams. Once you pick out a team, the team captain and/or the Volunteer Coordinatore will contact you. The Team Captain is responsible for setting schedules, clearly defining the jobs, etc.
9. What if there are 4 family members in our one membership and they each want different teams?
As long as the volunteer hours are tracked to the membership number, that isn’t a problem.
10. Are there any alternatives for people who simply can’t volunteer but don’t want to lose the discount benefits?
As mentioned above, the Board of Directors can be petitioned to grant a waiver under extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise, a member may pay a fee of $100 annually (Option 2) to be able to still receive the discounts without providing volunteer support. That decision is, of course, up to each person and would depend upon the amount purchased each year at the store and through the Buying Club to determine if continuing to be eligible for the discounts warrants paying the $100 fee.
11. What if I work beyond my 24 hour commitment. May I give my excess hours to another member?
No, in order to be fair, each membership must decide which option they select.
12. Who determines if I do or don’t receive the member discount?
All volunteer hours are currently tracked in a volunteer book. We will be enhancing the paper system to include a column to allow for year-to-date volunteer hours. Additionally, an Access database is going to be created (hopefully by a volunteer!) that will allow for automated reporting. Beginning in 2009, the cashiers and the buying club volunteers will be provided with an updated list each week that will provide a list of members who chose Option 3 and are no longer eligible for the discounts.
13. If I complete my volunteer commitment, will I then be eligible for the 13% volunteer discount?
Possibly. The requirement to work 12 hours a MONTH will remain in order to be eligible for the 13% volunteer discount. If you choose to work 12 hours or more in a single month, you will be eligible for the 13% volunteer discount the next month.
14. What happens if 50 people want to perform one job and no one wants to fill some other job?
Each person on a membership is going to be asked to supply their top three team picks. Once we’ve received the forms, team assignments will be made. Hopefully everyone will get assigned to their first choice. But we do make the commitment to assign everyone to one of their top three. If we have teams for which no one volunteers, we will consider that to be a sign that the service is not wanted and it will probably be discontinued.
15. What happens if I’m scheduled to work and can’t – emergencies do happen! Who will I call to tell them I won’t be available?
Each team will have an approach to handle missed schedules. For instance, a team may have someone who wants to be on-call and will work when others can’t rather than having a set schedule. And, depending on the job, it may not be an issue. For instance, updating a database at home allows a lot of flexibility whereas serving as a cashier at the store requires that someone be there!
16. Do other co-ops require their members to work?
Absolutely. The very nature of organizing as a co-op is that the services offered are requested and supported by the membership. Most food co-ops start out small like ours. Some grow to be sufficiently large that they hire significant numbers of staff, some have a combination of staff and volunteers, and some continue to be all volunteer. For the MCC, relying upon members to volunteer has worked reasonably well up until this time. We are now at a point where we either need to have more of a commitment of the membership or else determine if some services need to be discontinued. This is not a financial decision – it is solely related to not having enough bodies to get all of the work done!
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Team Job DescriptionsRevised1_3_2008.pdf (Adobe Portable Document Format - 159k)
posted by Tahoma07 Apr 7 2008, 7:58 PM EDT
Team Job Descriptions pdf Format
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