Design a memento volunteers will keep for years! Start by gathering individual photos of them. Choose a title for each volunteer, such as Most Reliable, Most Creative, etc. Put the photos and titles, along with articles about memorable events, together yearbook style. Have quality copies made. Present each booklet with a “Volunteers: Touching Lives, Living Spirits” Certificate.

For your recognition lunch or dinner, start with a variety of gifts, including “Volunteers: Exceptional People, Extraordinary Hearts” Organizer Tote Bags and Cell Phone Pouch/Wallets. Wrap and put a number on each item. Tape a number to the bottom of each plate that will be used for the meal. When your volunteers have finished eating, tell them to carefully lift up their plates to see the other side. Have them take turns coming up to the front of the room to pick up their gifts.

Call attention to your volunteers with a rockin’ display. Start by taking close-up pictures of each person and print them out. Next gather magazines about celebrities; in them, find head-to-toe shots of rock stars. Cut out the heads from your volunteers’ photos and the bodies of the singers, then give each of your volunteers a rock star body. Using these images, build a display with the words “Our Volunteers Rock” at the top. Distribute “Volunteers Rock” Pen & Sticky Pad Gift Sets as a thank you.

Start with a Gift Bag for every volunteer. Place a “Volunteers: ExceptionalPeople, Extraordinary Hearts” Sip ‘N’ Go Stainless Steel Tumbler & Straw in each one. Fill Celebration Balloons with helium, then tie them to the handles of the bags. Write volunteers’ names and short appreciation messages on heart shaped paper cutouts; attach a heart cutout to each bag.

Start a tradition of choosing a Volunteer Of The Year. Recognize this individual with a real star through the International Star Registry found at www.starregistry.com, which lets you name stars after people. Unveil the honor at a special presentation. Also, award your Volunteer Of The Year a “Volunteers Are Shining Stars” Star Spinning Key Tag.