As the virtual 2024 Virginia Volunteerism Summit approaches, we are excited to share Q&As with some of the presenters who will lead workshops during this year's event, so that you can learn more about their work! On the morning of May 15, Kathe Goller will co-lead a Summit workshop with Markita Madden on Community Mapping: A Route to Volunteer Engagement. Community mapping is an essential tool for creating a volunteer structure or volunteer workforce that mirrors your mission and engages volunteers. As part of volunteer engagement, recruitment and succession planning can seem daunting, but with readily available information, volunteer leaders and staff can work step-by-step to create dynamic teams that reflect the communities we serve every day and ensure long-term sustainability in our mission. Continue reading to get to know Kathe Goller, Virginia Executive Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention... 

 

Kathe Goller: Honestly, I was born into it. My father was an officer in the military, so service to something greater than one's self was a core value in our family, and both of my parents were active volunteers with different community organizations as I was growing up.

 

What role does service and volunteerism play in your life currently?
I am fortunate to be able to work full time in a career centered around service and volunteerism, so it plays a major role. Many of the close friends and loved ones I spend my personal time with are people I have met through my own volunteer roles in the community, or through my work in this field.

 

Where do you see exciting innovations taking place in the service and volunteerism sector?  
The most exciting thing I am seeing is an increase in communication between volunteerism professionals through various associations dedicated to the development of our profession. Through increased communication and collaboration between our colleagues, we are learning about new innovations and available tools faster than we ever have before, and this is a wonderful benefit for all of our volunteers.

 

My mantra is "Lead with your mission and work from your heart." It sounds really simple, but I have found that if I stay centered on my mission and my responsibility to be compassionate, then almost any situation or challenge becomes much more manageable.

 

There are so many! But I have recently re-read Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono. I love this concept for decision-making because it requires me to examine many different perspectives, which is definitely a key skill when working with many different individual volunteers and communities.