Author: Deborah Castellanos
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Changing a Tradition Carefully
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’98, watching a local summer fair slowly turn into a funeral procession. The same three stalls, the same lukewarm tea, and the same tired faces every single year. People weren’t… Continue reading
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A Volunteer Agreement That Is Not a Contract
I once sat in a drafty church hall, watching a lovely group of neighbors fall apart because nobody had bothered to clarify who was actually responsible for the community garden keys. They weren’t being difficult; they just hadn’t agreed on… Continue reading
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Depositing Something in a Museum
People often think that figuring out how to work with a museum requires a massive grant, a team of academics, or at the very least, a very expensive suit. I spent thirty-one years in local government, and if there is… Continue reading
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Where the Awkward Things Go
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’94, staring at a mountain of discarded wooden pallets and rusted garden tools that a local contractor had just dumped by the allotments. The official council guidance was a thick,… Continue reading
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Volunteer Data and the Rules About It
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’98, staring at a stack of handwritten sign-up sheets for a local garden project, feeling a sudden, sharp knot in my stomach. It wasn’t the tea being cold; it was… Continue reading
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Lone Working for Volunteers
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, staring at a thirty-page health and safety manual that was thicker than my old parish records. It was filled with enough jargon to make your head spin, all suggesting… Continue reading
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Building the Evidence Before You Ask for Money
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, watching a professional consultant charge a local group three thousand pounds just to hand them a glossy binder full of jargon. They called it a “comprehensive demographic impact study,”… Continue reading
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Reviewing a Volunteer Programme Honestly
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, watching a perfectly good neighborhood cleanup project fall apart because the organizer had spent three months designing fancy brochures instead of actually talking to the people on the street.… Continue reading
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Growing an Event Without Breaking It
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall in 2004, surrounded by half-empty tea mugs and a pile of disorganized receipts, trying to figure out why our summer fair felt like it was falling apart. Everyone kept talking about “strategic… Continue reading
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Closing a Road for a Street Party
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, watching a group of well-meaning volunteers spiral into a complete meltdown because they’d spent three months debating the colour of the bunting instead of actually doing anything. They thought… Continue reading
