Foundation establishes a Volunteer Center Program
The Tucker Community Foundation is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from Volunteer West Virginia to establish a volunteer center in the Potomac Highlands region of West Virginia.
The Volunteer Center will serve as a hub for volunteer opportunities throughout the Foundation’s service area, Barbour, Grant, Mineral, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph and Tucker counties in West Virginia and Garrett County, Maryland. It will actively engage stakeholders (local nonprofits) by expanding their capacity to recruit, manage and support volunteers.
“One of the Foundation’s core values is to be a motivational model for a more productive and sound future through commitment to our community,” said Kelly Stadelman, development director for the Tucker Community Foundation.” By serving as a Volunteer Connector Organization and establishing a Volunteer Center Program, the Tucker Community Foundation can realize this core value by promoting community spirit, building capacity in our community, supporting economic development and strengthening the volunteer infrastructure in the communities we serve.”
The Tucker Community Foundation is one of eight communities across West Virginia to receive Volunteer Generation Funding to boost volunteerism and develop volunteer centers across the state. The $26,419 in grant will support a part-time volunteer coordinator for the hub, the purchase of volunteer management software, provide volunteer training and background checks, help with marketing efforts and develop a volunteer manual.
“The Tucker Community Foundation knows that volunteers are a precious resource and our aim is to connect our communities in person and in action,” Stadelman said. “We will use a volunteer management software to help with recruitment, provide opportunities, track work flow and scheduling and produce reports.”
The center will establish a Volunteer Center Advisory Council and facilitate connections between nonprofit organizations and residents. It will also initiate a pilot VolunTourism program with the Tucker County Convention and Visitors Bureau, serve as a valuable resource for each county’s Office of Emergency Management Directors and emergency responders and work with nonprofits to create virtual volunteer opportunities.
“We are excited about the opportunity to work with nonprofit organizations, the Tucker County Convention and Visitors Bureau and local county’s Office of Emergency Management Directors throughout the eight-county area,” Stadelman said. “We’ve also realized that there are many people who prefer to volunteer without leaving the home.
“The Volunteer Center program will work with the nonprofits to create a listing of virtual volunteer opportunities that can be done from anywhere including blogging, proof reading documents, database entry, providing graphic arts support or assisting a nonprofit putting together a grant proposal.”
Nonprofit organizations will be able to upload their volunteer opportunities to the volunteer management software program. At the same time the volunteers can create their own account and complete an application that contains their skills along with a listing of their skills.
“The volunteer management software will help remind volunteers of their commitment and ask them to check in and out of each volunteer assignment,” Stadelman said. “It will also allow the Volunteer Center to easily communicate with the volunteers and local nonprofits in the communities.”
The Tucker Community Foundation is currently recruiting a Volunteer Coordinator for this project. For more information on the position or the volunteer center email kelly@tuckerfoundation.net or call 304-259-5008.
The grant funding is a part of the Be Kind, #VolunteerWV initiative, a campaign developed by Volunteer West Virginia to dedicate a year of kindness to West Virginia. The campaign’s goal is simple: to spread kindness and volunteerism across the state.
The Tucker Community Foundation manages more than 120 endowed funds providing annual scholarships and grants to nonprofits and charitable causes throughout the eight-county service area. Inspired by the flood of 1985, the mission of the Foundation is to create opportunities for the communities we serve. Visit tuckerfoundation.net to learn more about the Foundation’s programs.
An agency of the Office of Education and the Arts, Volunteer West Virginia is the state’s Commission for National and Community Service. The agency challenges West Virginians to strengthen their communities through service and volunteerism by identifying and mobilizing resources, promoting an ethic of service, and empowering communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life for individuals and families.
