OUR PROGRAMS

(or, how we carry out our mission)

'FOUNDATION' ACTIVITIES: 1. Connecting, 2. Volunteer Management Training 3. Community Volunteer Recognition

'PROGRAM' ACTIVITIES: 1. Emergency Volunteer/Citizen Corps Program, 2. Youth Volunteer Program, 3. Corporate Volunteer Council, 4. Bus Pass Program

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES: 1. Centralized Opportunity Database, 2. Pool of Professional Volunteers, 4. Volunteer Background Checks.

FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES

CONNECTING - The promotion and support of volunteerism benefits the volunteers, the agencies and the community. Through our website and weekly, extensive publicity of current volunteer needs, we help make the hundreds of volunteer-to-agency connections that occur in our community. Individuals and groups that desire to contribute their time and expertise to worthy causes in our community can call (435-2100) or email (volunteers@volunteerpartners.org) us for ideas on where to volunteer. OR, they can click on "FIND AN OPPORTUNITY" above.

Given our small size and desire to operate efficiently, we must make extensive use of technology. This means our 'PLAN A' is to use our website as much as possible. 'PLAN B' consists of interviewing volunteers to determine their interests and availability. Then, we review the website and other opportunities of which we are aware to make referrals for the volunteer.

By the same token, non-profit agencies can contact us if they need volunteers. OR, they can create an account on our website and post their volunteer needs that way. This website is becoming increasingly active, receiving over 40,000 hits on an annualized basis this year.

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT TRAINING - If agencies can be assisted in their management of volunteers, from recruiting to evaluating them, the agency mission-achievement capacity should be enhanced. This fits our mission to 'promote and support' volunteerism.

Volunteer Partners offers several types of volunteer management training, from an advisory phone call to a two hour 'volunteer management lite' session, to comprehensive instruction including seven, half-day workshops. The topics covered can include: volunteerism in general, trends in volunteerism, recruitment, background checks and screening, orientation, training, supervision, recognition, rewarding, evaluating, etc. For the more involved training, we use the Points of Light Foundation's "Volunteer Management Training Series"; a tested and proven quality training curricula. Take a look at RESOURCES, above for more information.

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION - A fundamental tenent of good volunteer management is Recognition. Volunteer Partners coordinates an annual community-wide volunteer recognition event. At this reception-type occasion, agencies are encouraged to express their appreciation to their volunteers by inviting them and providing information on how their volunteers have helped their agencies and thus, the entire community. This event is held in connection with National Volunteer Week in April every year. Based on an annual survey, volunteers provide almost $25,000,000 in value to our community each year!!!

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER/CITIZEN CORPS PROGRAM - The three 'themes' of this national initiative are: Family Safety, Community Preparedness and Terrorism Awareness. These purposes are accomplished via extensive collaboration (with Emergency Management, Red Cross, Salvation Army and others) and maximum utilization of 'citizen volunteers'.  Check out the national Citizen Corps website.  The Citizen Corps Program includes three primary components:

EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER CENTERS - This project is to provide a system of Emergency Volunteer Centers for people who wish to assist in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. It consists of recruiting, training and maintaining up to 500 volunteers. This is not to necessarily 'directly' assist with disaster recovery but to operate Centers at which 'spontaneous' volunteers will go for assignment to then provide that direct assistance to the community. This project is supported by and coordinated with our local Emergency Management and other 'first responders' such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, law enforcement, etc.

CERT TRAINING - CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. The training includes twenty hours of training in how to take care of your community for 72 hours; the time it may take for first responders to reach you in the event of a major disaster in the community.

PREPAREDNESS EDUCATION AND AWARENESS-  Presentations on the importance and value of preparedness are available from staff and trained volunteers.  They are available for free to schools, service clubs, church groups, neighborhood associations, etc. 

YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM PROJECT - As an affiliate of the Youth Volunteer Corps of America, this program is designed to instill volunteerism in any interested young people.  Participation can help address the 'Go-Po' (Government and Politics) requirement of twenty hours of volunteering to graduate from Lincoln Public Schools.  Also, we collaborate with non-profit agencies' existing youth programming to perform periodic community service projects, AND learn the value to the community of those projects. The program works cooperatively with public and private schools' efforts to involve their students in community service.

Youth who participate in the program named themselves LYV: Lincoln Youth Volunteers.  They are very community-minded, goal-oriented and motivated to benefit their environment; natural and otherwise.  Participation is open to any youth aged 11 to 18.  Give a call and check it out!

We operate a Youth Community Service Program as well, performing intake, assessment, referral and placement for youth referred to us by Juvenile Justice.

CORPORATE VOLUNTEER COUNCIL -  A CVC sets up a structure for business support of employee volunteerism. Research demonstrates that the more business supports volunteerism, the more productive are employees, customers respond with more purchases and, more profit is realized: win-win-win.  The CVC serves to assist EVP's: Employee Volunteer Programs.

The Woods Charitable Fund has provided start-up funding for the local CVC.  We are a member of the Points of Light Foundation 'Partners Program' to encourage the development of CVCs at the national level.  In 2009, The Lincoln Corporate Volunteer Council was awarded the 'Fast Start' award at the HandsOn Network-Corporation for National and Community Service annual conference!  This is a tribute to the excellent companies in Lincoln and Lancaster County that 'get it'; that the promotion and support of workplace volunteerism is GOOD FOR BUSINESS!

RIDE FOR $7.50 (Low-Income Bus Pass Program) - Through an agreement with Star Tran,  Volunteer Partners oversees the nineteen sites at which low-income people can purchase a thirty day pass to ride the city bus system, for just $7.50!  Proof of income status is required. For a listing of the sites, contact us: 435-2100.

POSSIBILITIES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT:

Centralized Opportunity Database.  Currently, several separate volunteer opportunity listings are maintained in our community (UNL, LPS, NWU, etc.) To ‘cover all the bases’, non-profits must contact all of these entities to list their opportunities. To streamline the process for both volunteers and agencies, it makes sense there be one such database and as the community volunteer center, it should be Volunteer Partners.

A Pool of Professional Volunteers.  Most volunteers are ‘mission-related’. This ‘Pool’ is a specialized set of volunteers who have expertise, education and/or experience in business operations.  The concept includes opportunities for the pending or recent graduate (emerging) and seasoned (perhaps retired?) professionals in:  

• Accounting/Finance
• Business Law
• Facility Maintenance/Management
• Human Resources
• Marketing
• Risk Management