Come learn how to find a good match, based on the skills you already have to offer and the abilities you want to develop. Find out how to match your goals, limits, and interests with the vision and the realities of an organization. Find out what you need to know before you commit, to ensure a lasting, mutually rewarding experience.
Organizations everywhere are constantly seeking volunteers. They need your time and your effort. Even if you’ve never volunteered in the Leather community before, you already have plenty to offer – your personal strengths and the skills you’ve gained in other parts of your life. It’s up to you to decide where to offer your time, and how you’d like to grow as a leader.
Different organizations and mentors have different strengths and opportunities to offer you, and they each come with their own set of drawbacks. Come learn how to find an organization or mentor that matches your goals, interests, motivation, working style, and limits. Find out how to prioritize your desires in volunteering. - You’ll select a different organization if you’re issue-focused than if you’re fascinated with learning from a particular individual or if your goal is to eventually be president of the group. Gain tips on how to “interview” an organization or mentor, to find out about their vision, the available roles and positions, and the personalities you’ll be working with. Learn how to make sure that organizations recognize and utilize the skills that you have to offer, despite your age or apparent inexperience in Leather.
If you’re just starting out as a leader or if you’re seeking a new organization or mentor to work with, it’s important to find the right match for you, to ensure a lasting, mutually rewarding working relationship.
How you will benefit from this presentation:
Attendees will gain concrete and useful information on how to select an organization or mentor to work with. They will gain strategies to ensure a good match, to prevent frustration and burnout later on. They will develop a better assessment of the abilities they already have to offer, and they will learn how volunteering and mentorship can help them build their skills.
How this presentation will arouse you:
This workshop encourages individuals to become increasingly active leaders in our community. By reminding leaders how valuable their time and skills are and providing them with information to find a good organizational or mentorship match, this presentation will help produce productive, lasting volunteer-organization relationships. We will provide information for new and young individuals on how to find a fulfilling role for themselves as they begin to take on leadership roles in the Leather community.
About the presenters:
Rae Goldman is a board associate with Folsom Street Events, co-curator for Folsom’s 25th anniversary exhibit at the GLBT Historical Society, and volunteer coordinator for IMsL. Rae makes her living as a nonprofit director and experiential educator. She rides with LOBOC and teaches for a variety of kinky organizations.
Levi Halberstadt is a boy from New York who currently lives in Baltimore. He is a Producer of the International Ms Leather Weekend (www.imsl.org) and of Baltimore’s Bootblack Training Weekend, and is the part-time Office Manager for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.