We’ve all seen the iPod® give-aways. They know that with a ‘free’ device you’ll keep paying for the downloads and the device cost is rapidly recouped. The iPod® is a carrot (Walt Disney’s term was ‘weenie’ from the old days of the carnival hucksters). Carrot or weenie–it is a device, method, mechanism, reward used to steer and maintain behavior in a desired direction.

Recent and ancient threads here on RyPN have discussed volunteerism and which direction it seems to be headed. Are the ranks gradually going to become flush with retiring “boomers” (now there’s a fun railroad-related term) looking to fill their time, or doomed to die out for lack of recruitment among the young?

Some of the posters have come close to what I think is key to volunteerism–be it with the young guns or the old flatulent ones– and that is the statement that you must give the volunteer a sense of ownership. Perhaps it is the crass, selfish side of humanity, but more exactly it is the ‘what’s in it for me’ attitude that needs to be placated in the volunteer to maintain long-term commitment.

As a heath care practitioner (optometrist) I have donated hundreds of hours using my professional skills in settings ranging from public vision screenings to providing full services at the homeless clinic. With volunteering professional services there is a sense of obligation to return to society in gratitude for the opportunity to practice within the society–but that only lasts until you feel that it is time for someone else to obligatorily volunteer their skills. Sense of obligation is hardly a ‘carrot’.

With projects that are not skills-based (i.e. you got a strong back?) there’s been the call for neighborhood clean-ups, helping a neighbor move, etc. With these, one quickly finds it difficult to justify spending all of their spare time cleaning the neighborhood or carrying boxes out to the U-Haul. The warm/fuzzies too, are a pretty small ‘carrot’.

We need the strong backs to do those general (read “no skill required”) tasks, such as clearing the right-of-way, cleaning, scraping, sanding, sweeping, etc ad nauseam and if the volunteer feels “used” with no chance of getting the carrot, then we are going to be constantly recruiting to replace the drop-outs who were finding ‘nothing in it for themselves’.

Then there is the need for the skilled volunteer (i.e. machinist, mechanic, carpenter, electrician). I would submit that it may be a little easier for them to have a sense of ownership, because their life skill “goes into” the project, but we all have seen instances where they too can feel “used”and walk away. Perhaps a case of the carrot rotting.

This is where volunteerism in railroad preservation could really shine. So the question now turns to “What is your carrot?” That is, what do you offer to ‘reward’ the volunteer for their time, skills, and labor? Do you offer something different to the iPod®-toting Boy Scouts than you do the retired high school teacher? Does or do you vary the carrot for the same volunteer? Is what’s a carrot for some, no carrot for others? What steps do you take to keep the carrot fresh?

What are your thoughts?

sc ‘doc’ lewis

P.S. A ‘boomer’ I am acquainted with is, in my opinion and in the opinion of many of you, a master carrot gardener. He is looking for 6-8 young volunteers for a special project Memorial Day weekend. Short time commitment, training, materials, safety equipment supplied with carrots before, during, and after the project. Registration is required–just to confirm commitment and numbers. Check out the website

http://www.wasatch-rr-contractors.com/specials/BigBoyVol.html