PASSING THE TORCH TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF VOLUNTEERS

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Sherrill Isenhower. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Sherrill Isenhower has a long history of volunteering. With around 30 years of volunteering and leading other volunteers, she has consistently done her job to the best of her ability. When she was hired to build and establish a volunteer program from the ground up, she wanted to make sure she was going to do it right. She worked hard to prepare to earn her Certified in Volunteer Administration credential, and in the process, learned about the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE), an organization that serves to enhance and sustain the spirit of volunteering by fostering collaboration and networking, promoting professional development and providing advocacy for leaders in community engagement.

In the fall of 2023, she participated in the AL!VE CVA Study Group. Blown away by the experience, Sherrill felt she greatly benefited from the encouragement and expertise of the facilitators, presenters and fellow participants. Once her CVA was complete, the lead facilitators asked for volunteers to continue the work. Sherrill was happy to pay it forward and continue their tremendous example of helping others. Since January of 2024, Sherrill has served as one of three co-facilitators of the group, providing a backbone of encouragement and structure for volunteer engagement professionals preparing to take the CVA exam. Whether she’s hosting study sessions or recruiting presenters from various fields to provide broad perspectives for current students, Sherrill feels like she learns from everyone involved in each session, whether they’re a participant, co-facilitator or presenter.

Going forward, Sherrill wants to keep helping to facilitate the AL!VE CVA study group for as long as she can, advocating for the skills and competencies of other volunteer engagement professionals. Her example is a powerful one; She is utterly committed to inspiring future generations of volunteers, and it’s our responsibility to take hold of that torch and continue the mission.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

In 2022, I was hired to build and establish a volunteer program from the ground up in El Paso County, Texas. Getting to do that was a great honor, and I wanted to ensure that I was following the best practices and creating the best framework for success. I studied for my Certified in Volunteer Administration credential, and in doing so, I learned about the Association for Leaders and Volunteer Engagement study group. Those facilitators were amazing. The presenters and the fellow volunteer professionals were all an incredible resource. After earning my CVA, I had the opportunity to volunteer as a facilitator for future study groups, and I raised my hand, jumped on board and said I was happy to continue supporting this group that’s helped me so much and to advocate for the core competencies of volunteer engagement.

What inspires you to volunteer?

Whenever I do that, I learn more than I expect. It seems like you’re giving away your time, but I feel like I get so much more back from my community. I move around a lot because of our family, and it’s a great way to get involved and to find out what’s important to the people around me, and to feel like I’m part of the neighborhood.

Tell us about your volunteer role with AL!VE.

So I am co-facilitating the study group. We have a study group twice a year, and it’s for those who are earning their Certification in Volunteer Administration. Some of those leaders are paid professionals, and some of them are volunteers in that role as well. But what we want to do is ensure that they are providing the best possible leadership for the volunteers that they are supervising and the programs that they’re running. I help with the Zoom calls, creating the slide decks, answering questions and recruiting presenters, as well as recording the data, sending out surveys, sending out emails of support and connecting people to the resources to help them be the most successful they can be.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

It’s incredibly rewarding for me when those in our study group recognize the skills that they already possess, and then when they share their expertise and knowledge with others. I’ve found that they are thrilled to share any good tips that they have, and they’re an incredibly caring group. They’re often so focused on their own volunteers and their organization’s missions that they rarely pause to consider the value of their own work, and this is a chance to celebrate them and to build confident volunteer leaders. In doing so, that directly translates to supporting volunteer engagement. It’s also neat because we have people from across the US. We’ve also had participants from around the world, and it’s just pure magic when they encourage one another and validate the connection between the success of their organization’s mission and the expertise that they share as a volunteer leader.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

With each study group cohort, I learn more from them, and I strengthen my own volunteer engagement skills. They present new ways to recruit, retain and celebrate volunteers, and I discover innovative ways to engage volunteers from different backgrounds and generations. As I mentioned, we have people from around the world. In this last cohort, we had someone from the Netherlands and someone from Canada. We’ve had some from Australia. It’s validating to hear that we run into some of the same issues, but we find creative ways to solve them.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

I think it’s important for everyone to realize that they have a voice, and that sharing their voice with others is a great way to learn, grow and strengthen the issues important to them. Giving voice to your cause helps amplify your cause, and it also shapes your community and helps you build the bridges and the bonds so that you feel a greater connection to the people around you.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

The easiest way is just to step up, sign up and jump right in. The glorious thing about volunteering is that the volunteer leaders will train you. They’ll guide you, they’ll support you. They’re so excited to have you on board that really, you just have to show up and they’ll take care of the rest.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

You can continue to grow even when you think you know what you’re doing. There’s always a new way to try something out. People are fascinating, and it’s a pleasure to get to know them and to learn how they tick and how they support one another.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Sherrill? Find local volunteer opportunities.