Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community-Wide Day of Service

January 18, 2010 MLK Day

The brisk morning air reminded me that it was early as I made my way to City Hall to volunteer. I entered the building and saw other early risers who were setting up tables, arranging balloons, continental breakfast, volunteer registration tables and shirts for the volunteers that would soon pour through the doors.

The quiet soon disappeared as volunteers began to fill the room and form lines to register for their day of service. Volunteers quickly completed registrations, confirmed their assignments and headed upstairs for breakfast, shirts and instructions for the day.

There were more than 150 volunteers that came through City Hall that day. Young, old, male, female, different faiths, different skin color, but all with a burning desire to do good. There were groups of elementary children, college students, adults, and many who chose to spend their day off from work helping others. Dr. King once posed the question, "What are you doing for others?" and on January 18, 2010 hundreds of area residents answered his question by volunteering.

Some read and played games with children, some spruced up the Douglass Community Association, the Deacons Conference, the NACD, and Residential Opportunities, Inc homes, by cleaning and painting. Others worked to organize supplies stored in the basement of the Ecumenical Senior Center.

Volunteers headed to Girls on the Run offices to do advance preparation for the spring season, and many others shared their skills at the Kalamazoo Public Schools, the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Loaves & Fishes, a Taste of Heaven, and many more nonprofit organizations.

The spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive and well in Kalamazoo that day, and perhaps the greatest thing is that people in greater Kalamazoo demonstrate the spirit of giving back all year long. We're lucky to live in a place where people take care of one another.

'Tis the Giving Season

Among the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers, the constant flow of traffic, the lines at the store, and the seemingly endless list of gifts to buy, I sometimes forget that there are many, many people out there who wish they had THIS type of holiday stress.

Instead, they deal with the stress of figuring out how to provide ANY holiday gifts for their family. The Salvation Army is one of several local agencies that offers a way to give these families a Christmas, and take one more worry off of their plate.

Some Volunteer Center staff and board members volunteered at The Salvation Army Toy Shop this week (above, left to right: Mary Applegren, Linda Lawton, Leigh Schultz, Jennifer Greenman, Chris Sizemore, Amanda Reel, Mary Beth Esquibel, and Ann MacCreery). This job entailed helping clients "shop" for each of the children on their list. Parents and grandparents came through the shop and were able to pick out a variety of gifts organized by age group and gender for easy shopping. Each family received: One piece of clothing per child, one main gift per child, one game and one puzzle per household, one book per child, one stuffed animal per child and two stocking stuffers per child.

Some families were shopping for just one baby and had a quick trip through, others had 5 or 6 or more children in the household and needed that extra time to find gifts that were just right for little ones and teenagers, alike. Volunteers could be seen lugging large "santa sacks" (large trashcan drum liners) throughout the shop and helping the clients get everything on the list, while carrying their selections to allow them to move about and shop freely. Other volunteers hurried around and re-filled tables with toys and other donations from the back.

The Salvation Army Toy Shop experience was very well organized and a great way to participate in the giving season and help these families have a little more joy to share on a holiday that would otherwise see very few or no gifts on Christmas morning.

For more information about The Salvation Army, visit http://www.tsakalamazoo.org/.

For holiday volunteer opportunity listings or on-going jobs, visit our website, http://www.volunteerkalamazoo.org/

Nonprofits, Say Hello to Technology

GiveCamp. Imagine a room filled with many tables, covered in laptops, surrounded by blurry-eyed individuals, and a floor covered with seemingly endless cables going in every direction in an effort to reach the wall outlet. In the corners of the room you might glimpse some sleeping bags and tote bags with sweatshirts for the unbelievably chilly room, or even a programmer trying to get a few minutes of rest. From Friday beginning around 4pm to Sunday around 4:30pm, Grand Rapids GiveCamp, and the people participating, were a force to be reckoned with.

The Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo was privileged to be selected as one of 23 nonprofit organizations to participate in the Grand Rapids GiveCamp. GiveCamp, a weekend-long event where technology professionals ranging from designers, developers and database administrators to marketers and web strategists, donate their time to provide software solutions for non-profit organizations. This event isn’t only for volunteer ‘geeks’ either – a variety of volunteers are needed to make it all come together.

At this particular event, projects ranged from creating websites built from the ground and an idea, utilizing contact management systems, to overhauling an online form and data collection system (the project of the Volunteer Center… a work still in progress). Any 501(c)3 nonprofit organization can apply to participate and events are held around the state – and the country. The goal is to start the project on Friday and have a completed product by Sunday afternoon to present to the group. It takes sheer dedication by all of the volunteers to accomplish such a feat, and most were working around the clock (aided by one of GR GiveCamp sponsors: Red Bull) to get their job done.

Let’s not forget the commitment of the nonprofit organizations as well…
As the ‘technical representative’ for the Volunteer Center, I endured (and yes, endured is the appropriate word) the weekend with over 100 volunteers at the David D. Hunting YMCA in Grand Rapids. As one of the sponsors of the event, the YMCA donated space for all of the volunteers to take over. On Friday I met with our technical team to make sure we were on the same page with our project, and they starting cranking out code. As the weekend wound down, the Red Bull ran low, and the projects ramped up. The Volunteer Center still has a little more work to do to get our projects up and running, but the event was such a great experience, I wholeheartedly recommend nonprofits to apply and volunteers to volunteer for the event. I truly enjoyed learning more about Drupal, Joomla and DotNetNuke (those aren’t just ‘made-up words!), but I know that I have a long way to go and doubt I’ll ever catch up with our technical team.

Thanks everyone for your hard work at GiveCamp!

Photo by Adam Bird Photography

Learn more at http://www.grgivecamp.org/ & http://givecamp.org/

Halloween Volunteering: Scary or Scary fun?

Recently, the KAVA (Kalamazoo Area Volunteer Administrators) decided to “walk the walk, talk the talk” and get out in the community and volunteer. It’s always difficult to find a date that works for everyone, so we choose Halloween. What a great day to choose really…kids want candy, parents want to pass out candy, and the KAVA members went to Ministry with Community to serve lunch. I felt like this might be scary or maybe scary fun. The verdict was out until I walked in the door at MWC.

Alaina Parker (MWC staff) introduced us to Ministry with Community with a tour and description of all the services they provide. And boy do they provide services. They have EVERYTHING their members in transition need: hot showers, laundry facilities, access to phones, access to computers for resumes, and most importantly a hot meal in the middle of a cold October day. You name it- they provide it.

You may share some of the misconceptions I had about any organization serving food- you picture a “soup kitchen” where there is a line and disgruntled people get fed. MWC actually serves EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER at their seat, with food and all the utensils needed. And guess what? They weren’t disgruntled. Members had a positive outlook on their situations, even in a dark time in their life. They knew they were on the right track.

We even saw a few members dressed up for Halloween, which were some wildly entertaining costumes. There were all walks of life in that room and it makes you revaluate what you value. A gut check is what I call it, but in a good way.

I walked out of MWC feeling great about what I did, but also knowing there is so much more I could be doing for our community. It wasn’t scary…volunteering rarely ever is. I know I will be back to volunteer at MWC at some point…having a scary fun time!

That's How We Roll

This week, the staff at the Volunteer Center participated in a Day of Caring project to support another Greater Kalamazoo United Way agency, Ministry with Community.
Specifically, we rolled candles!

Each year, Ministry with Community enlists volunteer help to roll no-drip, beeswax candles for their "Light up a Life" fundraiser. Volunteers go on-site to cut sheets of beeswax, carefully roll the beeswax into attractive candles and box up the candles to be sold in pairs throughout the community.

After our two-hour shift, here were the final candle counts:

Chris: 40 something candles rolled
Ann: 26 candles rolled
Libby: 56 candles rolled
Michelle: 18 candles rolled
Amanda: 12 candles rolled

Clearly, some of us were better at this than others. (I'm just saying, it's harder than it looks.)
BUT, as our very helpful MwC supervisors were sure to point out: it's quality, not quanity that matters when rolling candles. Many thanks to the helpful volunteers and staff at Ministry with Community for guiding us in our candle-rolling efforts. We had a great time!

Here's hoping my small amount of quality candles rolled (and my co-workers' candles too, I guess) find their way into homes this year in support of Ministry with Community.


More information:
The Day of Caring Program matches employers, employees and members of organized labor with projects that allow individuals a behind-the scenes look at GKUW Member Agencies. Day of Caring volunteers make a firsthand difference in the community by working as a team to perform meaningful community-improvement projects at many Greater Kalamazoo United Way Member Agencies. Visit http://www.gkuw.org/ for more information.

The mission of Ministry with Community: to provide food, daytime shelter and other basic services to central Kalamazoo's homeless, poor, mentally ill and hard-to-serve adults. Through community cooperation, we provide these services in an atmosphere of dignity, hope and unconditional acceptance. Visit http://www.ministrywithcommunity.org/ for more information.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes: First Day Shoe Fund Shoe Distribution

I had been told that the First Day Shoe Fund’s shoe distribution event, held once per year at a local elementary school, was quite the thing to see…controlled chaos. Imagine trying to give more than a thousand growing children a new pair of shoes within the span of three school days. But, Valerie Denghel, director and her volunteer coordinator Ann Gunia, make it work…with lots and lots of volunteer help. I was unsure of what to expect, but the concept of FDSF is simple: provide new shoes to low-income K-2 students attending Kalamazoo Public Schools. A small contribution, that can have a very positive impact on students that go without, far too often.

Shoe fitters, shoe inventory volunteers, greeters, baggers, photographers, board members. It is an event that requires a lot of hands to keep it running smoothly. I volunteered just one day of the distribution, and brought my friend, Samantha along with me. (She’s a teenager on summer vacation…what else is she going to do?)

We took on a couple of different roles at the distribution. She took note of the shoe sizes each child left with (to track inventory), helped them put their new shoes in a labeled bag (can you imagine 25 pairs of kids shoes in unlabeled bags all strewn haphazardly around a summer school classroom? End of day madness! Apparently, this happened one year…) and sent them to wait with their classmates until everyone was done.

I helped with the actual shoe fitting process. I don’t have kids, nor am I often around small children enough to know anything about their clothing/shoe sizes. I felt a tad lost and worried. But, luckily, FDSF partners with a few local shoe stores to help ensure proper fitting. A store manager and employees from a local Payless Shoe store brought along their handy foot measurers (technical term?), and showed me how it was done.

After I measured each child’s foot, I brought them over to the table with the box full of their size and helped them pick out a new pair. Someone smarter than me would probably not allow each child to hunt through the whole box…but I’m such a big softie. For the most part, I tried to steer their selection: Do you like black or white shoes? Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers? Spider Man or Super Man? But sometimes, a kid just wants to see every single shoe in their size…who am I to quash their fashion sense?

It was a very rewarding day, all around. The kids got a brief break from their summer school class and most were so excited about their new shoes, they wanted to wear them home (discouraged by the volunteer fitters, lest the new shoes end up in a mud puddle before they ever make it home). All of the volunteers involved helped remove a small part of the stigma that the new school year can bring for children living in poverty. While many kids hit the mall for a new back-to-school wardrobe with their parents, these kids often don’t even get the basics. They might start school with uncomfortable, ill-fitting, holey, worn out shoes. Thanks to Valerie Denghel and the First Day Shoe Fund, more than 1200 local elementary school children will be on “equal footing” come September 6.

First Day Shoe Fund mission statement: The First Day Shoe Fund provides new shoes to children K-2 in the Kalamazoo Public School system who qualify for free and reduced lunch. We believe that all children should start school on equal footing. http://www.firstdayshoefund.org/

About the Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo

Each year thousands of area residents contact the Volunteer Center to find ways to serve their community. The center maintains and publishes a comprehensive, up-to-date list of nonprofit volunteer needs that local organizations and individuals can easily search to find volunteer opportunities that match their skills and interests. All Kalamazoo County nonprofit and charitable organizations, with 501-c tax identification status, are invited to submit their volunteer opportunities for inclusion in the Center's online listing service.

Additional services available to nonprofits include:

Volunteer Program Assessment
Volunteer Management Best Practices
Volunteer Management Training
Recruitment and Referral Services, and
Technology Solutions for Volunteer Data Management

With an eye toward the future, the Volunteer Center sponsors youth and teen volunteer programs that are designed to introduce young people to volunteerism and community service. Future leaders need to know about the social issues that face communities, and volunteering is a wonderful way to introduce them to the needs of others. The VolunTEENS program offers students between the ages of 13 and 18 the chance to learn about local nonprofit organizations by volunteering in age appropriate positions. The experience allows students to explore future career opportunities, gain required community service credit for college scholarships, and most importantly, learn that they can make a difference in their community by helping others. Participating nonprofit organizations benefit from student involvement in their programs through an increased volunteer workforce, an occasion to hear a fresh perspective about their work, and the opportunity to introduce young people to future potential careers in the nonprofit sector.

The Volunteer Center staff believes that successful nonprofit organizations are empowered by people with the vision to lead, the energy to build, and the determination to succeed.