Blogger: Janneke Dobben, Membership Development Assistant
How did you spend your Saturday? Shopping? Gardening? Freezing your socks off in Norwich City Centre with only a bright green marquee saving you from the elements? I'm guessing not the latter. The dismal weather through the winter months is not enough to stave off us hardcore recruiters, and all through December and January we have been battling the cold, snow and rain to bring in those all important memberships.
It's a difficult job, but it's days like my last two recruiting days that make it all worth it. On Saturday, despite the temperature hovering just above zero, people's positivity about nature was inspiring. As we plugged the Big Garden Birdwatch, people were practically queuing up to get forms. There was such a buzz around the stand that it's not surprising we were able to get 13 adult memberships - mainly made up of families excited to have such a brilliant activity to fill the holidays with. A massive success.
Yesterday I was at City College. This is a different type of recruiting. For one, it's warm, so I only need one pair of socks. But it's also a younger crowd, who often look dubiously at the RSPB symbol and the bird book and tentatively wonder what it's all about. I probably enjoy talking to these people the most, seeing their eyes light up when you say the magic words 'It's not just birds, it's all wildlife', or excitedly explain the Sumatra story to them. Everyone I spoke to yesterday properly engaged with what I was saying, furiously nodding their heads and sparking off the stories I was telling. This is the most satisfying part of the job, not only did I gain another 7 members for the RSPB, most of them were thanking me at the end and saying how glad they were that they had walked over.