MORE Volunteer Opportunities with PFLAG Phoenix

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man
can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.
    - Ralph Waldo Emerson  -

Our Non-Discrimination Policy

Our Chapter Board of Directors -- Always Seeking New Interested Individuals!

• Board Members:  We are always seeking new interested, energetic and motivated individuals to join our PFLAG Phoenix Board of Directors!  Our Board of Directors is comprised of key chapter volunteers and representatives from all of our local support locations.  We plan all our chapter activities, manage chapter issues and requests that arise from within our chapter and from the local community, and make decisions about where to spend funds and what projects to take on as a chapter.  Our Board meetings, held every other month on a Saturday morning, are fast-moving, fun, informative, and energizing!  We invite anyone potentially interested in joining our Board and becoming more involved in our chapter to come and try out one of our Board meetings.  We're a friendly bunch, and we always welcome participation by new attendees.

Currently Open Volunteer Positions -- Listed in Our Highest-to-Lower Priority Order

• Volunteer Coordinator:  This individual coordinates most volunteer activities within PFLAG Phoenix and helps us recruit others to fulfill other open volunteer positions.  The Volunteer Coordinator responds to volunteer inquiries our chapter receives via email and our telephone helpline.  The Volunteer Coordinator interviews prospective volunteers and helps to place new volunteers in positions where they have an interest and their talents can be utilized.  It is also helpful if our Volunteer Coordinator is an active participant at at least one of our local support meetings and can participate in our bi-monthly Board of Directors meetings.
   

• Speakers Bureau Coordinator:  This individual coordinates most of our speaking engagements for our PFLAG Phoenix Speakers Bureau.  They respond to initial inquiries from outside entities who are requesting that PFLAG Phoenix come and speak to their organization, and they coordinate with that entity to determine when and where PFLAG speakers can come and speak, and to what specific topics the entity would like us to address in addition to our speakers sharing their personal stories and about PFLAG Phoenix.  Also, this individual assists with a very occasional Speakers Bureau training that we may offer to new volunteer speakers.
   

• Fundraising Coordinator:  This individual seeks out local fundraising opportunities that can benefit our chapter, and presents these opportunities to our Board of Directors.  Upon approval from our Board to proceed, this individual plans out the fundraising event, including contacting/scheduling with outside parties, and coordinates with our Volunteer Coordinator to schedule chapter volunteers to help with the fundraising effort/event.
   

• Open Volunteer Roles at Various Support Meeting Locations:
   

  • Program/Guest Speaker Coordinator (at our Central Phoenix support location only):  This individual works with our Board members to find and recruit interesting and informative guest speakers for our monthly educational segment which precedes our central Phoenix support groups.  We all work together to come up with interesting speakers, and it is the Program Coordinator's responsibility to contact them, invite them to come speak, discuss what will be discussed during their presentation, and then to confirm a support meeting date for the speaker to come.  The Program Coordinator then is responsible for writing a brief announcement about the speaker and what they will speak about.  That announcement is then given to our webmaster who helps publicize the upcoming speaker.  This individual needs to be available to attend most central Phoenix support meetings so they can welcome the guest speaker and introduce them before they speak to our group.
     

  • Support Group Facilitators:    Volunteers in this role will help our lead facilitators facilitate our support group meetings at one or more of our local support locations.  We are seeking additional volunteers to serve as back-up facilitators who can assist existing lead facilitators and fill-in when those facilitators are not available.  If interested, please view our "Procedure for Elevating a Volunteer to "Official" Facilitator Status".
     

  • Meeting Room Set-Up/Put-Away Coordinators:  This individual arrives a little early for our central Phoenix support meetings to do simple meeting room set-up tasks such as getting our PFLAG pamphlets, "lending library", and welcoming A-frame sign out of a storage closet and displaying the items on a table (or tables) in our meeting room (and placing the welcome sign at the entrance), setting up our greeter's table with a sign-in sheet, name tags, and pens, and setting aside a space where refreshments will be placed.  Then, after the meeting, this person stays a few minutes after to pack up and put away all these items.  This person typically has some help from others who arrive early or stay late.
     

  • Hospitality/Refreshments Coordinators:  We are fortunate in that the church where we meet provides us (and sets up) coffee, ice water and cups, and basic materials for any other refreshments that may be brought by attendees (e.g., small plates, napkins, plastic forks).  This volunteer solicits volunteers to bring soft drinks and snacks to help round out our refreshments table -- plus, this is a great way to invite people back to our support meeting for the following month.
     

  • Greeters:  These volunteers may serve one of two important functions at our support meeting:  They may sit at our Greeter's Table to welcome people as they arrive and assist them with signing our sign-in sheet, and then directing them to our other PFLAG materials, "lending library", and refreshments.  Or they may make themselves available to welcome and talk with new attendees after they have signed-in at the Greeter's Table to help put their minds at ease. tell them about how the meeting will be run, and answer any questions the new attendees may have.
     

• Graphic Designer:  We are seeking the occasional services of a professional graphic designer who can assist us with slight logo modifications, advertisements and flyers, and occasional help with new graphic images for our website and other communication tools.  This role requires a very small time commitment as we only use these services occasionally for specific projects.

Currently Filled Volunteer Positions

• Helpline Coordinator:  (This position currently filled.)  This individual coordinates retrieval of voicemail messages left on our PFLAG Phoenix telephone Helpline voicemail system and follow-up calls in response to those voicemail messages.  Because of the sensitive nature of some voicemail messages, it is imperative that we know this volunteer very well (i.e., through current and/or regular past attendance at PFLAG Phoenix support meetings).  Our policy is that this volunteer must be available to check for new voicemail messages at least once per day, and then to return calls in a reasonable timeframe (hopefully by the next day) or consult with other key PFLAG Phoenix volunteers to possibly respond to specific calls if the Helpline Coordinator does not feel qualified to respond.  This role is a great way to help people who truly need PFLAG support, and to help others simply looking for referral information about other services offered in our community.
   

• Helpline "Helpers"   (This position currently filled.):  These individuals report to the Helpline Coordinator and take turns taking responsibility for checking for new voicemail messages and following up with calls in response to those messages.  The same criteria specified for the Helpline Coordinator applies to these volunteer roles.