Town Of Kiawah Island
The Arts and Cultural Events Council’s is all volunteers except Ruthie Foster, far left, the events coordinator
The Town of Kiawah Island depends on volunteers for civic service to the community, for the good of the environment and wildlife habitat preservation, for local litter cleanups, for arts and cultural events and so much more. By giving up their time to better the surrounding area, volunteers truly are the heart and soul of the community.
Recognizing all the work that volunteers do for the Town, Kiawah Island Town Council Member Michael Heidingsfelder wanted to make it official by clarifying the responsibilities and requirements for the various volunteers that serve the Town.
“This came out of the retreat in February earlier this year,” Heidingsfelder said.
The Volunteer Guidelines also help to define how volunteers are recruited and selected. “This will help us be more precise on how we want to see this process being done across all the different commissions, committees and boards,” he said. These guidelines, however, do not take away the role of the chair of these different commissions, committees and boards to define their particular detailed rules and mission statements that they will then use for volunteer recruiting or proposing new appointments for the volunteers.
The guidelines, which were also approved by Kiawah Island Town Administrator Stephanie Tillerson, Kiawah Island Town Attorney Joe Wilson and a human resources consultant, are the outcome of a consensus from their collective review.
The document defines a volunteer: “This volunteer policy provides the TOKI’s principles and practices by which we involve volunteers and is therefore relevant to all staff, select volunteers, and Town Council. Volunteers are individuals who undertake activities on behalf of the Town, of their own free choice, unpaid and without financial gains and focused on creating public and community benefit.”
Expectations for the volunteers are defined as:
• To be reliable and honest.
• To uphold the Town’s values and comply with organizational policies.
• To make the most of opportunities given, e.g., for training.
• To contribute positively to the aims of the organization and avoid bringing the organization into disrepute.
• To behave in a reputable manner.
• To respect confidentiality.
• To carry out tasks within agreed guidelines.
The guidelines also state that bi-annually, each commission, board and committee should review their mission statement, rules of procedure and position description.
Volunteers will be required to fill out an application and will undergo an interview with a Town Council member and the chair of the respective commission, committee or board. Once the assessment process is complete, the final decision to appoint the volunteer will be up to Kiawah Island Town Council.
Council Member Bradley Belt asked if a section stating that there is “no requirement to attend” be omitted from the guidelines. He felt that it needs to be removed because, “When volunteers do not attend, it just puts an added burden on the existing members.”
Tillerson clarified that since the volunteers are appointed, they can be terminated by a chair or member of Council at any time. “Removal of a volunteer is written about in the charters for the different commissions, committees and boards,” she explained.
It was unanimously decided to remove this sentence: “There is no enforceable obligation, contractual or otherwise, for the volunteer to attend or to undertake particular tasks or for the organization to provide continuing opportunities for voluntary involvement, provision of training or benefits.” This sentence remained in the guidelines: “However, there is a presumption of mutual support and reliability.”
Heidingsfelder added that it would be up to the chair of the commission, committee or board to define term limits for the volunteer position if applicable.
These guidelines were approved by the Town of Kiawah Island. Tillerson said that the chairs for the different commissions, committees and boards would be responsible for making sure that their volunteers read and had a copy of the guidelines before beginning their position.
