Checking In, Not Checking Out
This webinar series featured discussions about burnout and what food pantry directors, staff, and volunteers can do to recognize it, address it, and prevent it…in themselves and others!
This free series also featured facilitated discussions for food pantry and food bank volunteers and staff to talk about the challenges and opportunities of providing hunger relief during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Series Agenda (including recordings and additional materials)
Tuesday, October 6: Carrie Collier (New Chapter Coaching): Understanding & Identifying Burnout (Slides and Recording)
The term “burnout” seems to be everywhere, but what does it really mean? What does it look like when someone is experiencing burnout versus “just” stress? And how do we know if we are experiencing true work-related burnout or simply pandemic-related burnout? Join this session to learn more about burnout, how to recognize it in yourself and others, and why it’s especially important for those in helping professions to understand and identify burnout.
Suggested activity: The Nonprofit Burnout Assessment (The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit)
Suggested reading: Updating the Nonprofit Work Ethic (Stanford Social Innovation Review) and Societal pandemic burnout: A COVID legacy (Wiley Public Health Emergency Collection)
Tuesday, October 13: Bill McKelvey (MU:) Facilitated discussion about changes, struggles, opportunities, or silver linings related to your food pantry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Guiding questions: What has been the biggest struggle of running a food pantry during the Covid-19 pandemic? What has worked well during the transition? What hasn’t? What are your concerns for the future?
Tuesday, October 20: Carrie Collier (New Chapter Coaching): Addressing Burnout (Slides and Recording)
When burnout occurs (and yes, it’s “when”, not “if” in our current sustained levels of pandemic-related stress and ambiguity, especially in helping-related professions), what can be done? Join this session to learn more about the three different dimensions of burnout and how each can be addressed, as well as the importance of engaging both individual and organizational strategies to address burnout in employees.
Suggested activities: Self-Care Activity Assessment and Self-Care Checklist (The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit)
Suggested reading: Resilience is About How You Recharge, Not How You Endure (Harvard Business Review) and Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, with audio clip)
Tuesday, October 27: Bill McKelvey (MU:) Facilitated discussion about changes, struggles, opportunities, or silver linings related to your food pantry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Guiding questions: What are some solutions, work-arounds, or other ideas to address issues related to volunteers, getting ready for winter, and fundraising?
Thursday, November 5 (Note slight schedule change): Carrie Collier (New Chapter Coaching): Preventing Burnout (Slides and Recording)
What can we do to help prevent burnout in employees, and in ourselves? It’s more than just saying we need to do more self-care activities. While self-care is important, it’s not enough – organizational culture needs to promote and support the wellbeing of employees. Join this session to learn how your organization can engage, support, and build resilience in employees to help them thrive, even in the most stressful of times.
Suggested reading and watching: What Does Resiliency Really Mean for Nonprofit Leaders and Their Organizations (Beth’s Blog), Burnout from and Organizational Perspective (Stanford Social Innovation Review), and We Need All the Psychological Fortitude We Can Get (Dr. Rheeda Walker)
Tuesday, November 10: Bill McKelvey (MU:) Facilitated discussion about changes, struggles, opportunities, or silver linings related to your food pantry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Guiding questions: What is something you can do in the short-term to address burnout in yourself or your organization? What is something you can do short-term to address any of the organizational challenges you may be facing related to volunteers, fundraising, dealing with winter, or other issues?
For more information, please contact Bill McKelvey at McKelveyWA@missouri.edu.
Funding for this project is provided in part by the Missouri Foundation for Health. The Missouri Foundation for Health is a philanthropic organization whose vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.