Tri-City Herald  February 26, 2000 Progress Addition

Volunteer Center organizes Tri-Citians to make a difference

You see a person ringing a bell near a department store at Christmas - you think of the Salvation Army.

Logos depicting an open hand with an emerging rainbow conjure thoughts of the United Way.

Well-respected nonprofit organizations that have grown to be part of the fabric of our society have established a place in the ideology of the American citizen.

What symbol or single activity causes you to think of the Volunteer Center? This is what volunteer centers throughout the nation will be focusing on the next decade.

The Points of Light Foundation merged with the National Volunteer Center in 1991 and promptly focused on the issue of promoting awareness of volunteer centers nationwide.

Since then, the foundation has engaged volunteer centers in a visioning process and has developed marketing strategies in an effort to promote a unifying image for 400 volunteer centers.

While they do vary in structure, budget size and even names, they have four core functions in common -- connect people with opportunities to serve, build the capacity of partner agencies to manage volunteers, promote volunteering and participate in strategic initiatives to mobilize volunteers to address community needs.

The mission of the Volunteer Center of Benton and Franklin  counties is to mobilize people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community problems. What does this look like in practice?

We represent and promote the volunteer needs of 240 community agencies. We recruit and refer community volunteers to nonprofit organizations in need of volunteer support. We coordinate recognition events for community volunteers, cover registered volunteers with accident insurance (in 1999 there were more than 4,000 registered) and provide mileage reimbursement for qualifying senior volunteers. Additionally, we sponsor a professional management group for volunteer coordinators with training and networking opportunities.

Special programs have been implemented by the Volunteer Center as we endeavor to fulfill our mission.

The Legal Aid program provides legal assistance to qualifying low-income individuals using volunteer attorneys and other trained volunteers. Statewide Health Insurance Benefit Advisor program utilizes trained volunteers to assist others with health insurance related questions. A national AmeriCorps/VISTA Volunteer has been awarded to the Volunteer Center and the Reading Foundation as a way of advancing children's literacy.

Youth service and leadership efforts are promoted through a special summer program. In 1999, 34,000 school supplies were collected for local students and over 7,000 warm clothing items were crocheted and knitted by volunteers to be distributed to those in need.

Through the Points of Light Foundation, progress has been made in unifying and expanding the Volunteer Center image nationwide. A logo featuring a scribbled heart has been made available to all volunteer centers wishing to adopt a sing-image approach.

One of the newest marketing strategies has been the establishment of a national hot-line to link individuals with local volunteer centers. When people call 1-800-VOLUNTEER, they can be connected with their nearest participating volunteer center. National public service announcements will help promote this unification project.

Locally, the Volunteer Center is developing RiverFest as the feature activity for people to associate with our organization. This will be the third year that the Volunteer Center has coordinated RiverFest -- a civic event and fund raiser for local nonprofit organizations featuring a 10k, 5k, and on-mile walk/run.

The Volunteer Center is intimately aware of the number of valuable organizations in our community and the limited number of funding sources. Our desire for RiverFest is to provide a service to the local nonprofit agencies we represent in a unified fund-raising effort.

In 1999, 30 local nonprofit organizations earned money from citizens collecting pledges for their participating in one of the RiverFest activities. This year, the RiverFest committee will expand the overall event and add opportunities for agencies to generate funds.

Nonprofit agencies can choose to coordinate an activities that complements the RiverFest festivities and earn money from fees and sponsorships.

The Volunteer Center is experiencing more recognition and community awareness than ever before in its 26 year history in Benton and Franklin  counties. We have see a 14 percent increase in volunteer hours poured into the community over the past four years. Volunteering is a demonstrated and growing value in our community as seen in recent projects like the Playground of Dreams and First Night.

Partnerships, outreach and collaborative efforts to address human service needs using volunteer resources have brought us this far, and it is the banner the Volunteer Center will carry in the new millennium.