March/April 2019 | Page 25

Membership Issue n Serving as a member of the “welcome team” at your district or local society meeting – a district or local society meeting could be an intimidating atmosphere for some new members. If you’re attending a society meeting, you could volunteer to personally welcome new members, introduce them to other members and facilitate conversation. By helping in this capacity for just one evening, you could make all the difference for a new member in your society. n Responding to a PDA Action Alert – PDA occasionally contacts members via email about important legislative issues impacting dentistry. Using SoftEdge, PDA’s advocacy software, members can send a message to their state representative or senator regarding PDA issues. In just a few minutes, you can make a huge impact for patients and the profession. Sign in to padental.org/advocacy to see PDA’s priorities for the 2019-2020 legislative session. n Contributing or responding to a post on PDA’s new app (to be released soon!) – the app will provide an opportunity for year-round engagement and easy access to valuable practice management information. On the app’s forums, members and dental students will be able to post questions, share advice and discuss important issues. You could volunteer your time to provide guidance to dental students by responding to their posts. This could be something as simple as posting a link to a relevant article or sharing practice management insight. More details about PDA’s app will be available soon. n Sharing a PDA Facebook post on your personal or practice Facebook page – this might seem insignificant or not much like volunteering, but when you share a PDA Facebook post, you’re spending just a few seconds of your time to help PDA spread our message and contribute to the organization’s mission. You could share any of PDA’s posts, from upcoming event information to a fun Flashback Friday post – anything of interest to you or your patients. www.facebook.com/padentalassn. In our fast-paced world with multiple commitments pulling us in different directions, micro-volunteering can be a quick and easy was to contribute. Whether it’s one evening out of your week or a minute of your time on social media, these opportunities require minimal investment and provide a big return. 2018 NEW DENTIST SURVEY Of the survey participants who indicated an interest in micro-volunteer opportunities, approximately 60 percent expressed an interest in more than one opportunity. Following is a breakdown of their interests (participants were able to select more than one): n 47% interested in volunteering at MOM-n-PA n 41% interested in helping with Give Kids a Smile n 22% interested in helping with a district or local event/ conference n 19% interested in helping to plan a new dentist event. With questions about volunteering in any capacity, please contact Andrea Hoover, PDA component and membership coordinator, at ach@padental.org. I enjoy attending PDA student programs to give back to the incoming class. It’s a pleasure in a small amount of time to recruit new members to benefit from organized dentistry, whom in return will make the future of dentistry.” – Joseph Mirtaj, DMD, Sellersville, Pa. 23