Are there problems associated with having such large numbers of teen volunteers?
Yes. The program really began to grow in ’96, when we first partnered with the school district on the Learn and Serve Grant. But we’ve had a large number, 200 or more, for the last couple of years. The larger the program grows, the more we have to rely on individual volunteer coordinators to be in touch with the teens. I can’t know what all 250 students are doing; whereas, in the beginning, one person could know all the teen volunteers and keep up with each one. Our greatest challenge has been to get requests from teams for teens to be placed. So as the program’s grown, our supply of teen volunteers sometimes is greater than our demand for their service! This is why we’ve attempted to be innovative and to brainstorm all the ways we can enhance what we’re offering to patients and families. What are some things that kids can do that we haven’t been thinking about? Part of this challenge may be concerns that still exist for our own staff about teen volunteers. And part of it may be concer
