From the American Association for Museum Volunteers: COVID-19 and Your Volunteer Program

Hi friends! Sharing the following information from the American Association for Museum Volunteers:

COVID-19 and Your Volunteer Program

Here are some things you can do as a volunteer manager during the COVID-19 pandemic

1. Keep your volunteers informed as your organization makes decisions relating to COVID-19.

• Send information out in multiple formats, email, newsletter, phone calls, volunteer social media, text, etc.
• Share the information your staff has received
• Monitor email outside of business hours to be accessible to concerned volunteers

2. Suspend volunteer activities and encourage social distancing

• Cancel or postpone trainings, meetings, appreciation events or any other volunteer gatherings
• Cancel volunteer shifts or make attendance optional
• Temporarily suspend tracking volunteer attendance requirements or required minimum shifts

3. Help keep volunteers safe

• Update cleaning procedures for high touch areas for volunteers
• Provide access/opportunities for volunteers to frequently wash hands
• Provide hand sanitizer
• Alter riskier volunteer roles (e.g. touch stations) to provide safer options
• Check in with volunteers, particularly those who might be at high risk for severe illness. You can’t catch or spread COVID through a phone call!

Some useful resources: 

- AAM Resource: https://www.aam-us.org/2020/03/05/information-for-the-museum-field-on-the-covid-19-coronavirus/ 

- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html

- List of preparedness documents: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WVNUWjY5GBEOXMAZ7yQsU1PNqGVHw4eA8XPoR5p-3fc/edit?fbclid=IwAR0t20CYnEeR5PqKfeGyHkhnNb5wmKrSmmRRz8WTFYV_HX7cpvR28twlT7w#gid=0

- Sample CoronaVirus for Volunteers Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mGahzL3CmVDu3oMcqpxaM6byshJ3bmLzdWvp-umizjc/edit