Designing Volunteer Programs Retaining Students: Lessons from Project MERCI

In today’s environment, where students often view volunteering as a checklist item to fulfill school requirements rather than a source of genuine growth, nonprofits face a significant challenge. Programs that depend on student volunteers can quickly lose momentum if they don’t appeal to young people’s schedules, interests, and sense of purpose.

For nonprofit organizations to thrive, it’s not enough to think only about the beneficiaries (seniors, children, or other groups). They must also design programs that make volunteering sustainable, enjoyable, and rewarding for the students who power them. When both sides benefit, the program becomes long-lasting and impactful.

At Project MERCI — which engages seniors from activity centres through youth-led programs — we’ve experimented, refined, and learned over the years. Here’s a structured guide based on our experience to help other nonprofits design volunteer programs that students actually want to stick with.

Step 1: Balance Duration and Frequency

One of the most critical considerations is how long each session should be and how often it should occur.

• Too long → Students may feel drained or unwilling to return.

• Too frequent → Students may hesitate to commit, or burn out after a few months.

• Too short/infrequent → Beneficiaries (e.g., seniors) won’t gain enough value, and rapport won’t build.

🔑 Guideline: Start with something sustainable for both sides.

• For seniors, we found that 75 minutes once a month was ideal.

• For students, this felt light enough to commit to but substantial enough to feel meaningful.

• Tip: Stick to consistency (e.g., every third Saturday of the month), so volunteers can plan ahead easily.

Step 2: Anchor with Long-Term Rituals

Rapport doesn’t come instantly. Seniors and youths often need time to feel comfortable. To speed this up, we designed recurring elements that create familiarity.

At MERCI, our most successful ritual is a song-learning segment where seniors sing and move along to 《听我说谢谢你》. We repeat this every session. Over time, seniors memorized the moves, eagerly anticipated the activity, and ended every session on a high note.

🔑 Guideline:

• Create a signature ritual that repeats every session.

• Ensure it’s simple, meaningful, and fun (songs, cheers, or even a closing reflection).

• This provides continuity, builds anticipation, and makes each session feel part of a larger journey.

Step 3: Categorize Activities by Control Level

The toughest part of program planning is keeping activities engaging yet flexible. Some games are easy to adjust in real-time, while others aren’t. Through trial and error, we’ve developed a simple framework:

• Easy Games – High control, adjustable anytime, short (5–15 min).

• Examples: Charades, Song Guessing.

• Medium Games – Somewhat fixed outcome, harder to adjust, 5–30 min.

• Examples: Origami, Help Me Draw, Matching Cards.

• Tough Activities – Require high skills, little room for improvisation, 15–50 min.

• Example: Painting.

🔑 Guideline:

• Plan for 60 minutes of activity (excluding rituals).

• Mix according to your goal: e.g., 3 easy games, or 2 easy + 1 medium, or 1 tough + 2 easy backups.

• Always place tough activities first. If they overrun, cut short or drop backups. If they finish early, easy games fill the gap.

This approach ensures sessions end on time, which matters a lot for students balancing tight schedules.

Step 4: Consider Volunteer Experience, Not Just Beneficiaries

Many nonprofits focus solely on beneficiaries — which is important — but ignore whether volunteers actually enjoy the experience. If volunteers find sessions stressful, repetitive, or disorganized, they won’t return.

At MERCI, we always ask ourselves: Did volunteers feel purposeful, connected, and productive? That’s why our sessions are highly structured, with clear roles and smooth pacing, so students leave feeling that their time mattered.

🔑 Guideline:

• Assign volunteers roles (facilitator, buddy, station master).

• Keep them informed with clear pre-event briefings.

• Reflect post-event with short debriefs, so they feel their input is valued.

Step 5: Design for Retention, Not Just Recruitment

The long-term success of a program is not how many volunteers you recruit, but how many stay.

At MERCI, many of our committee members today began as volunteers. Because they enjoyed the program and felt invested, they naturally wanted to take on bigger responsibilities.

🔑 Guideline:

• Focus less on “clocking hours” and more on building community among volunteers.

• Create leadership pipelines (e.g., volunteers → team leads → committee roles).

• Celebrate small wins (thank-you notes, shoutouts, bonding lunches).

Final Thoughts

Designing a volunteer program isn’t just about what beneficiaries need — it’s about balancing their needs with what appeals to students. For nonprofits looking to emulate this, the steps are simple:

• Balance frequency and duration to make sessions sustainable.

• Anchor with rituals that provide long-term continuity.

• Classify activities by level of control for smooth pacing.

• Value volunteer experience as much as beneficiary outcomes.

• Design for retention so today’s volunteers become tomorrow’s leaders.

At Project MERCI, this approach has allowed us to create an intergenerational program that seniors look forward to every month, while also nurturing a strong pipeline of youth leaders passionate about community service.

The takeaway? If you want students to keep volunteering, design programs that give them joy, purpose, and structure — not just hours.