Volunteers and Community Partnering

Presented by:Judy Bowen, Program Analyst 3State Unit on Aging676 Church StreetSalem, Oregon 97301(503) 373-1842Judy.bowen@state.or.us

Objectives

Enhance programs utilizing volunteers.

Collaborate and partner with people in your community to make valuable connections.

Conduct a community forum to determine client needs.

Characteristics of Organizations that Effectively Engage Volunteers

1. Lay the Foundation through Mission and Vision

2. Combine Inspiring Leadership with Effective Management

3. Build Understanding and Collaboration

4. Learn, Grow and Change

Those who can, do.  Those who can do more, volunteer.  ~Author Unknown

Who volunteers ?

Benefits of volunteering

Economic benefits: activities undertaken by volunteers that would otherwise have to be funded by the state or by private capital.

Social Benefits: volunteering helps to build more cohesive communities, fostering greater trust between citizens.

Individual Career Benefits: graduates can meet people and gain work experience through volunteering to impress their prospective employers. Volunteering also benefits school students to help qualify for scholarships.

Who volunteers ?

About 61.8 million people, or 26.4 percent of

the population volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2007 and September 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

Volunteering in Oregon

On average, Oregon's 963,000 volunteers dedicated 139.4 million hours of service per year (between 2005 and 2007).

The estimated economic contribution of the volunteer hours served is $2.7 billion annually.

What They Can Contribute?

InformationMoney

Technical AssistanceTime

Volunteering

Who volunteers ?

Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment volunteered at higher rates.

Among employed persons, 28.9 percent

volunteered 2008.

By comparison, 22.3 percent of unemployed persons and 22.2 percent of those not in the labor force volunteered.

Volunteering in Oregon

Persons age 35 to 44 continued to be the most likely to volunteer(31.3 percent), while persons in their early twenties were the least likely (18.6 percent). The only age group with a significant change over the year was 16- to 19-year-olds and that increased.

Volunteering in Oregon

About 43.7 percent of volunteers became involved after being asked to volunteer, most often by someone in the organization.

A slightly smaller proportion, 40.8 percent, became involved on their own initiative where they approached the organization.

Volunteering in Oregon

Where do they volunteer?

Main Volunteer Activity

The main activity volunteers performed for their organization was most frequently fundraising (11.4 percent) and tutoring or teaching (10.1 percent).

Serve America Act

President Obama stated that the Serve America Act, which goes into effect on October 1, 2009, “will help millions of Americans of all ages to volunteer and to direct that service towards meeting our most pressing challenges. It truly will usher in a new era of service.”

“The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor.”

- Hubert Humphrey – 38th Vice President

Quote on volunteerism

WHAT IS A GOAL? … … the end toward which effort is directed

Goal setting for programs

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

-- Margaret Mead

Who volunteers ?

By all means, make sure your goal is high enough.

This is the most important, write down your goals.

Goal Setting

Goal Setting (cont’d)

Develop goals in all areas of life: health, family, community, and business.

Write your goal in the positive instead of the

negative.

Write your goal out in complete detail.

Community Partnering

No one entity can fully support the needs of the elderly. It is essential that families, community, faith-based organizations, government agencies, businesses, and other community groups work together to help seniors remain healthy and to provide the safe and supportive environments they need they need to thrive.

One way to develop a comprehensive approach for helping seniors is to create a community partnership.

Ideally, such a partnership will draw its members from many different backgrounds and sectors of the community. (See attached)

Partnerships

Partnering – cont’d

The aim of the partnership is to work together to assess needs of seniors and develop a coordinated response to these needs.

Working with community partners to improve the lives of seniors offers many advantages.

Working together helps you deliver consistent messages.

Building a community partnership can be challenging.

Try to find the right balance between broad representation and having people who work well together.

Look around in your community to see if partnerships already exist. Consider whether you should join with them or build something new.

Partnerships

Partnering with ethnic groups

Members of your partnership should also represent the different racial, ethnic, and cultural characteristics of your community.

Cultural perspectives shape decisions made ensure initiative’s success

Caregiver Program

Interested Parties

Supporters

Collaborators

Participating

Supporting

Sharing Information

AAA “Family”

Informal

Sector

Private

Sector

Key Individuals

Public

Sector

Voluntary

Sector

Community Partners

The Community Tool Boxhttp://ctb.ku.edu/cn

Mission-Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources

Read a brief description about how to use the CTB and find a related framework for guiding your community work.

Practical step-by-step guidance in specific community-building skills is available in over 300 sections.

Community Tool Box- cont’d

Toolkits outline key tasks, examples, and support for 16 core competencies or skill areas.

Troubleshooting guides identify common challenges in doing this work, reflection questions, and links to supports.

Support for implementing key processes to promote change and improvement, and links to databases for best practices.

Look for a specific topic within the CTB by typing a keyword or phrase into the box.

Learn from others by asking a question of an advisor and linking to other online resources.

Resource- Community Tool Box

Who should be in your group?

See attached documents

Holding a Community Forum

Steps

We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.Sandra Day O’Conner –former Supreme Court Justice

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In every community, there is work to be done.  In every nation, there are wounds to heal.  In

every heart, there is the power to do it.“

Marianne Williamson

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"May you remember that though the roads we take can sometimes be difficult, those are often the ones that lead to the most

beautiful views.“Douglas Pagels

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