Volunteer Appreciation

We wouldn’t be anywhere without hundreds of volunteers, who give of their time, talents, and treasure each year to help our athletes succeed.  Here’s how we plan to help you feel the love in 2018!

By the Numbers

It takes a lot of people to make our organization work.  And I mean A LOT of people.  Each one of our events takes about 100-120 people to make sure it is safe, efficient, and organized.  Behind the scenes, we have a dedicated volunteer board of directors, and another 12-20 “administrative” volunteers who help with all kinds of projects.

Add in goody bag stuffings, special events and fundraisers, and we have almost 1,000 people who contribute time to Tri 4 Schools each year.

Attitude of Gratitude

How do you adequately express your gratitude to people who willingly give up their own priorities and tasks to help you achieve a dream and fulfill a mission?  There’s no easy answer, except to say it over and over again in as many ways as possible.

So, first and foremost, I want to say on behalf of our staff and board of directors:

Thank you to everyone who has given even one hour of their time to help Tri 4 Schools.  Non-profits simply can’t run without you, and we wouldn’t have experienced even 10% of the success we’ve had without you.

That said, we’re planning on making 2018 the best year yet for our volunteers.

2018 Updates and Changes

How do you recruit people to give up a Saturday morning?  Here’s what we found works for us:

1. Let them know that what they do matters, and makes a big difference.
2. Give them specific, detailed information, so they understand that their role is important and needed.
3. When at all possible, give them COFFEE and food.

We are so fortunate to have volunteers who come back year after year, and tell their friends, too!  In fact, nearly 20% of our volunteers find out about us through their friends who are currently volunteering.  This requires serious enthusiasm for our mission, so we want to reward the people who are dedicating a significant amount of time each year with whatever we can to keep them happy and energized.

• Committed Food and Coffee. We are working on securing food and beverage donations for all our events so that our volunteers are properly fueled as they head out on the race course for four hours.  When the weather is cold, rainy, and windy, or hot and humid, it’s important to at least be caffeinated and full!
• Personalized Thank Yous. We’ll be having our athletes make thank-you notes in our programs and at packet pick-ups to hand out to volunteers when you check out.  Nothing expresses gratitude like a handmade card from a happy kid!
• Engagement. Did you volunteer for three or more events in 2018? Did you commit some serious hours to a behind-the-scenes project? Well, then we invite you to join us at our Honors Night celebration this fall as our guest.  This is one of our favorite nights of the year, where we reflect on the year’s successes, give out awards, and look forward to the next year. We hope this will drive home the importance of what you’re doing with your hard-earned free time.
• Flexibility. Not everyone can commit to helping for four hours, or a Saturday morning.  We’re making new options available for volunteering to help fit the needs of all interested helpers.  Here are just a few:
  • Morning set-up shifts (5:30-7:30am)
  • Afternoon take-down shifts (11:30am-1:30pm)
  • Goody bag stuffings (can be done any time in the two weeks prior to each race, get a group together!)

We Need You

You are a critical piece of our mission’s success or failure in our community.  We want to hear from you – if you have great ideas or a new way to get a group involved, please reach out and let us know!

Want to get involved in 2018?  Just fill out our handy-dandy contact form, and we’ll be right with you.