Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Award Programme and the Training Workshop held at every volunteer to be excellent leaders, have focussed roles as per the Six Pathways and be committed to taking the Award Programme to as many young people as possible.
It is the main responsibility of an Award Leader to maintain and uphold the philosophies, principles and national policies of the Award. The challenge and overall objective of every Award Leader is to effectively manage the Award within the licensed organisation, encourage young people to participate and to enable every participant to experience a Quality Programme. At the same time, it is imperative that all Award Leaders work together in a team.
Saurabh Saklani from INME Learning Pvt. Ltd. headed a highly effective and enjoyable activity based team-building exercise. The Volunteers were divided into teams and were given the challenge to drop eggs from the fifth floor without breaking them. To complete the exercise, each team was given a piece of construction paper, string, six balloons and sticky tape. Every team enthusiastically took up the challenge to design a crate with the material provided to them, brainstormed with each other and successfully came out of the exercise without a single broken egg. Kudos to INME for organising a fun learning experience!
Every successful organisation has specialised roles set for its personnel. The Award Office is responsible to follow the Six Pathways to ensure an overall development of the Award Programme to become the Programme of Choice for young people. The Six Pathways include quality assurance, developing partnerships, raising the profile, extending the Award, raising support and strengthening the structure. Award Volunteers are active supporters of the many projects ongoing and have different interests of specialisation. The Six Pathways helps bring structure to their roles and the Workshop allowed the Award team to have well-defined role profiles as per their skill sets. The Training and Programme teams will now specialise in Quality Assurance and Extending the Award; and the Alumni and Communications teams are now responsible for Developing Partnerships and Raising the Profile.
This Workshop now allows the Award team to focus on their specialised areas which will strengthen the structure of the Award in India and help raise support. As we look to partnering to grow and expand on existing relationships, building a strong yet easily identifiable Award Brand is crucial. A committed, enthusiastic and specialised Volunteer force will allow us to win hearts everywhere!