Community Relations

If the community believes their volunteer service provides excellent care, the community will support the service. The opposite is also true. If every six months the local paper runs the headline "Volunteers Desperately Needed" or "Local Service Scrambles to Survive," what message is being sent to the community? If it is true that no one climbs on board a sinking ship, then the same is true on land. This message influences the recruiting of new members, financial support, and the patient's confidence in the service's abilities during an emergency. As others have said "Image is everything". 

What is needed is for the reader of the local paper to regularly read "Volunteer of the Month" or "Local Volunteer Completes EMT Program." Placing positive memories in people's minds about the service yields positive community support. Services also need to access local radio or even television, for an increasing number of communities have local cable networks. Developing a working relationship with the media is key. This is best accomplished by identifying a single public information officer and allowing that person to work with the media.

There are other ways in which the community measures the volunteer service. Perhaps your own members send the strongest messages. Wearing jackets with service insignias into nightclubs or bars and wearing dirty jeans on calls does not send the correct message. While wearing jackets with insignia around town is reasonable, it is not if alcohol is to be the main course for the evening. Being properly dressed for emergency calls is sometimes not possible for volunteers answering alarms. However, the availability of jackets, coveralls, and hand-cleaning agents in the ambulance is important.

In addition to how the volunteer appears, what message does the ambulance and headquarters send? The appearance and odor of the interior of the vehicle and its equipment, and the cleanliness of the exterior of the ambulance sends a message about the professionalism of the staff. The manner by which emergency personnel drive and perform at the scene, and the appearance of their base sends yet another barrage of messages to the community and the patient. While activities at the scene of an emergency may not be in control, emergency personnel are expected to be in control of themselves and the service. The public can sense immediately when providers are not in control.

Many services could benefit from sending "ambassadors" to other community organizations. Church, civic, business, and retired citizen groups are common to most communities and provide an excellent opportunity for volunteer ambulance services to "preach their gospel." Allowing these groups to hear it directly from the service versus their neighbor's cousin is valuable. Again, the message should not be a doom-and-gloom sermon, but a positive, honest, and sincere message. These organizations can be an excellent source of volunteers. Other local emergency service agencies are another section of the community that requires attention in order to build good community relations. These people can be strong ambassadors for the service. Another, often overlooked, segment of the community that services should transmit a message to is the schools. The use of puppets and robots for young children and straight-talk to high-school students can be very powerful. While dealing with education systems can be challenging, the rewards can be substantial. Some EMS services have even convinced school boards to require all capable high school graduates to be CPR certified. Many successful volunteer services have Explorer posts for high school aged students. A good share of these younger volunteers continue on to become excellent adult members. You cannot expect these young people to come to you!

Gaining the support of local politicians, municipal managers/leaders is also important. Many volunteer services receive direct line item support and/or some in-kind support; i.e. fuel, facility, vehicle maintenance, tax breaks, workers compensation coverage, billing assistance, etc. Perhaps support can be initiated or support levels increased. While few communities are increasing their line items, maintaining support levels often requires lobbying on the service's part.

One last community sector that needs to be addressed is business. A big check is what comes to most peoples' minds when a business is approached to support a volunteer service. However, businesses may have even more valuable resources to the organization than cash. These resources may be release time for volunteers to answer calls, modest wage increases for volunteers, manufactured products, used tools/equipment, employee newsletter access, computer access, equipment/vehicle service, gift certificates, retired employee mailing lists for recruiting possibilities, financial/managerial/accounting/legal/administrative expertise, facility space for fund-raising events, etc. The list is limited only by one's imagination.

The preceding strategies for securing and maintaining community support are important for volunteer services to study, pilot, implement, and evaluate. The value of having the community solidly behind its volunteer service results in a strong bonding and "ownership". This results in a positive image 
for the service, increased pride, and numbers of volunteers, and a stable financial status. Without community support, a volunteer service will not thrive and may not even survive.