*Brought to you by the Volunteer Engagement Advisory Group*
Team or chapter newsletters are a great way to communicate with your team and make sure that everyone feels informed and included in the team. One great example of a team newsletter is the wonderful newsletter that the Western Pennsylvania Team (WPA) has been publishing, full of current events and news about the team's students, families, and volunteers. The volunteers share that many volunteers, host families, and students contribute to every issue, which is apparent in every fantastic article and story.
The WPA team has been using the content creation tool Canva, which has thousands of free templates and designs. AFS volunteers can join the AFS Volunteers team on Canva, which allows you to access AFS specific templates, logos and brand colors/fonts etc. Click here to access trainings and more information about how AFS volunteers can use Canva. Feel free to reach out to: marketing@afsusa.org for support.
For the 2021 AFS Volunteer Summit with the theme of "Leading Together," WPA volunteer Mike Peschong created the images below as part of the Volunteer Engagement Advisory Group's presentation. You can view the whole presentation here.
In the meantime, you can check out Mike's guide to creating a monthly newsletter as a downloadable pdf here. You can view an example in the January 2022 newsletter, available to view here.
Why publish a team newsletter? The reasons are endless!
- Keep volunteers, hosted students, educators, host families & alums CONNECTED & ENGAGED
- STRENGTHEN the connection between team members as you learn more about each other!
- Alert team members to volunteer opportunities & events!
- EDUCATE team members!
- Learn more about our hosted students & returnees!
- Feature students during the HOSTING season!
Getting Started:
- Decide on a frequency (ex: monthly or quarterly) that best fits your team
- Encourage Committee Chairs to provide a brief update for each issue
- Share content & ideas with other teams in your region & across the country!
- Decide which Canva template you will use
See below for a preview of creating and editing a template in Canva from the WPA team, and access the full PDF here:
You can add free stock photos from Canva:
You can also edit and upload photos from your computer:
Here is a template from the Marketing Team that you could copy and utilize to get started!
Wrapping Up & Taking Action
- Newsletters are a simple way to keep your team connected, engaged & up to date! And they require no in-person contact or effort!
- Customize the newsletter to your Team as the options for content are virtually unlimited
- If you're interested in starting a newsletter for your team, contact the AFS Volunteer Engagement Advisory Group today! We're happy to help you get started, share ideas & examples and collaborate on future material! Plus, you can contact the marketing department at: marketing@afsusa.org for assistance in designing your template, having it use the AFS brand colors, fonts, logo etc.