Debbi and Trish at NYP

"Amazing things are happening here" is <a href="http://nyp.org/" target="_blank">NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's</a> slogan, and amazing things are certainly happening in its <a href="http://nyp.org/volunteer/index.html" target="_blank">Volunteer Services Department</a>. &nbsp;<br /><br />With over 3,000 volunteers working in 5 different locations, few would label the programs at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) program as "small."&nbsp; Yet through an innovative model termed the Volunteer Ladder&copy;, Deborah Cooke, Volunteer Coordinator, and Trisha Choi, Manager of Volunteer Services, have managed to build a sense of community and collective purpose that permeates the halls of one of the most comprehensive university hospitals in the world.<br /><br />Cooke is a program coordinator of volunteer services at NYP.&nbsp; Six years ago, while working with volunteers in an elder care program at the hospital, Cooke saw just how much volunteers impact patients and each other.&nbsp; To help volunteers feel connected, supported, and engaged, Cooke began assigning her more experienced volunteers to assist with the training of newer ones.&nbsp; From the start, the feedback was very positive, and soon the Volunteer Ladder&copy; began to take shape.<br /><br />The Volunteer Ladder&copy; is an innovative training and engagement model for volunteer management.&nbsp; It's similar to a train-the-trainer program where volunteers are given additional responsibilities as they "climb" this ladder.&nbsp; Volunteers are given more responsibility according to their skills and the time they've contributed to the program. &nbsp;<br /><br />At its most basic, people progress from volunteer, to guide, to mentor, to leader.&nbsp; At each level, the volunteers provide training and guidance to those on "lower rungs" of the Volunteer Ladder&copy;, while assuming functions and responsibilities specific to their own positions.&nbsp; This is not necessarily a hierarchical model.&nbsp; Volunteers can move along the spectrum in any number of ways and act in the role on numerous "rungs." &nbsp;<br /><br />As she increased their responsibilities, Cooke realized volunteers can and will do so much more.&nbsp; The Ladder recognizes, develops, and retains volunteers by increasing responsibilities and opportunities.&nbsp; The model contributes to greater efficiency and service delivery to NYP patients and staff.&nbsp; It also offers <a href="http://blogs.volunteermatch.org/engagingvolunteers/2009/11/11/making-room-for-families-in-your-volunteer-program/" target="_blank">flexibility</a> for some of their volunteers. <br /><br />According to surveys that NYP has done, volunteers are now staying longer, doing more, and feeling more valued.&nbsp; Just giving them a title and formalizing their role makes a difference:&nbsp; "The name alone gives what they've been doing validity," says Cooke.&nbsp; "It makes them feel more valued."<br /><br /><strong>Living the Ladder</strong><br /><br />As one of the first to experience the new model, Trisha Choi is a prime example of the success of the Volunteer Ladder&copy;.&nbsp; "I myself have lived the ladder," she said.<br /><br />While working in an administrative role at the hospital, Choi volunteered with a new geriatric program for three years and gave 400 hours of service.&nbsp; During those years, she allowed volunteers to shadow her during shifts, helped with training sessions and attended a conference on geriatrics. &nbsp;<br /><br />When the Volunteer Department received funding for a new oncology volunteer program, Choi was an ideal candidate.&nbsp; As coordinator, she developed a program providing support to cancer patients and met the target of 40 volunteers in the first year. Today, as manager of volunteer services, she leads a corps of 1,200 volunteers in 180 areas. "The Volunteer Ladder&copy; helps me achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in my position; It can be adapted to any organization." The goal is to roll the model out to as many programs across the hospital as they can. <br /><br />Recently, Cooke, Choi and NYP Volunteer Services staff have begun sharing the program with other organizations.&nbsp; This October, for example, they presented a workshop on the model at the national conference for the <a href="http://www.ahvrp.org/" target="_blank">Association for Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals</a>. <br /><br />A big part of the success of the program is how much volunteers appreciate the rich relationships they form with other volunteers &ndash; an opportunity they didn't have before.&nbsp; Cooke says, "When I interview volunteers and tell them about the Volunteer Ladder&copy;, their eyes just light up&hellip; If you give people responsibility they'll go for it.&nbsp; You just have to ask."<br />