So how does Ohio rank?

Well, the most recent rankings are from 2009. However, it does show that even with the Recession volunteerism was up in our communities. Overall, Ohio is 21st in the country for volunteer work. Other interesting facts include:

• Residents have given 283.8 million hours of service
• They’ve also contributed $5.9 billion of service
• And each volunteer is worth an average of $18.54 and hour

So next time you think you’re not making a difference, just look at the facts. And we all know it doesn’t only take numbers to know the impact you make every time you volunteer!

The event will have a fashion show on behalf of Youniques, an auction and raffle, music by Don Lockhart and of course a delicious selection of food and drink.

Last year’s event raised $2,500 for local programs. We receive funds from the United Way to help our community get more active in volunteering, so we’re very excited to see how much money is raised this year!

If you were unable to get a ticket or cannot attend this year, please consider donating to the United Way of Darke County. Every little bit counts to help some of the fantastic local programs in our community.

And if you did score some tickets to the event, we’ll see you there!

In fact, this year’s theme for Older Americans Month is “Older Americans: Connecting the Community.” There’s a video challenge as well as a video game tournament! Check out the rules and how to enter. Then let us know how you decided to show how older Americans bring together your community or how you did with the Nintendo Wii bowling tournament!

Volunteers who are willing to staff a Volunteer Reception Center during an emergency will help process volunteers from all over to help with direct disaster relief.

If you would like to learn more about the requirements involved for this volunteer opportunity, please e-mail Sherry Baker: sbaker [at] councilonruralservices [dot] org.

via Reuters

Early bird registration has been extended until TOMORROW, April 29, 2011.

To sign up, visit their website.

And to view the various sessions, workshops and networking events, visit their “agenda” page.

Hope to see you there!

We will pass along updates and appreciate continued support.

To learn more about these cuts and others within government agencies:

1. Save Money on Professionals

Use pro-bono volunteers to assist or manage projects in IT, social marketing, website design, accounting, communications, fundraising and other areas. Many nonprofits are already all over this huge money save. What would it be worth to you to have someone who managed your content and website design fro free?

2. Increase Volunteer Retention

Just like employees, keeping the volunteers you have saves time and money down the road. How does your rate of volunteer turnover compare with other agencies? What would keep good volunteers around longer? What do they want?

3. Maximize Efficiency and Focus

The ways volunteers are utilized often happens organically over many years. Perhaps programs that worked 10 years ago with volunteers just don’t work as well today due to differing skills, interests and time commitments of today’s new breed of volunteer. Ramp up programs that work and nix programs that are struggling or not providing a good return on investment.

4.  Increase Individual Giving

Research shows those who know your organization’s work well – and who invest their time with you are much for likely to invest their money as well.    Companies who have employees volunteering also can become engaged with your group’s work.

5.  Increase Foundation Funding

Increasingly, donors are looking to see how well volunteers are utilized in an organization.  Showing dynamic use of volunteers certainly gives a leg up over the competition.  Remember when the foundation community said all board members need to give or get money in order for a grant application to be considered?  Volunteer engagement is the next criteria for which smart donors are using.

6.  Leverage Staff Better

It’s expensive having staff.  Some of what your staff does now might be able to be handled by volunteers.  Staff can then focus on things only staff should be doing.  It’s not about displacing staff with volunteers but rather maximizing how an organization uses a 40 hour a week employee.

7.  Enhance Staff-Volunteer Relations

Reviewing how volunteers and staff feel about each other can help mitigate problems down the road.  It’s a delicate balance between empowering volunteers and allowing staff to make the final decisions.   If you could administer a confidential online survey to volunteers and staff, what would their opinions be of each other?

8.  Maximize Units of Service/Deliverables

There is so much pressure to perform and measure up these days.  If your organization had more leader volunteers who were invested in your cause, a middle management level volunteer could lead direct service volunteers.

9.  Strengthen Community Image

Those volunteering their time with you are bound to talk about your organization.  That can be a good or bad thing – depending on the experience they’ve had.  Having volunteer cheerleaders for your agency provides no better endorsement.

10.  Show That Volunteers Matter

Assessing how your agency engages volunteers sends a strong message to staff, volunteers, the board, funders and the public that service is central to your work.  It’s about building on your successes and tweaking programs to make them the best they can be.

The theme was “Celebrating People in Action.” Following an opening finger painting session, event emcee and host of The Joe Show on Hits 105.5 Joe Laber entertained the crowd with cheers and one-on-one interviews about how each guest “gets HandsOn” by volunteering in his or her community. The meal was catered by The Backyard Bistro, a nonprofit social enterprise in Piqua that raises funds for programs that support local youth and children.

WHIO Reporter Steve Baker was honored with the Voice for Volunteering award, bestowed on a member of the media who promotes the importance of volunteering regionally. President’s Volunteer Service Awards were presented to 10 HandsOn West Central Ohio volunteers serving through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program who shared more than 500 hours of service with their community during 2010. Four Volunteer of the Year recipients were announced as well from a list of 25 nominees in Darke, Logan, Miami and Shelby Counties. A record number of 806,000 votes were cast via www.hits1055.com for the nominees, literally crashing the website’s polls. Additional awards were presented to outstanding Agency Partners of the Year, Corporate Good Citizens and RSVP Volunteers of the Year.

Award recipients included:

Voice for Volunteering

Agency Partner of the Year

• Champaign County – St. Paris Nutrition Site
• Darke County – State of the Heart Hospice
• Logan County – Green Hills Retirement Community
• Miami County - Habitat for Humanity of Miami County
• Shelby County – Shelby County CASA/GAL

Corporate Good Citizen

• Champaign County - The Styling Company
• Darke County - Versailles Elementary School
• Logan County – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• Miami County - PBM Covington
• Shelby County - Emerson Climate Technologies

RSVP Volunteer of the Year

• Champaign County - Sonja Goodman (HandsOn West Central Ohio through RSVP, Johnny Appleseed Museum)
• Darke County - Janet Wallischeck (HandsOn West Central Ohio through RSVP, Darke County Chamber of Commerce)
• Logan County - Mary Williston (HandsOn West Central Ohio through RSVP, Logan County CASA/GAL, Logan County Family Court, Pajama Program)
• Miami County - Kay Kaebnick (HandsOn West Central Ohio through RSVP, Miami County CASA/GAL)
• Shelby County - Rose Swiger (HandsOn West Central Ohio through RSVP, Wilson Memorial Hospital, Shelby County United Way)

Volunteer of the Year

• Darke County - Pete Trocano (HandsOn West Central Ohio through RSVP, Darke County Solid Waste District)
• Logan County - Mike McClintick (Discovery Riders)
• Miami County - Kay Quinton (Girl Scouts of Western Ohio)
• Shelby County - Mike Rose (God’s Grocery Giveaway)

Sponsors of the event included Emerson Climate Technologies, A Learning Place, Wayne Health Care, Mary Rutan Hospital, Second National Bank and Unity National Bank. Centerpieces and decorations were created by the Landscape Management students from Upper Valley Joint Vocational School, students in the Learning Depot classroom of Kids Learning Place, and Girl Scout Troop 31740 of the Triad Area.

To see photos from the event, check out the Facebook page!

There are many benefits to both you and the organization, including:

It helps the nonprofit organize its volunteers.

Maybe some smaller organizations will want a general volunteer. But when a nonprofit has several departments, it’s time to get specific. Organizations should know where they need the most help. But if they thought about what they need, they’ll be able to find volunteers to suit that specific need.

The volunteer is never confused about what they’re supposed to do.

This allows you to show up at the organization and immediately get to work. There’s no need to find work for you to do, you already have your specific duties. You will know exactly how and where to focus your work.

Volunteers always know who their managers are.

Along with a title you can also have a specific manager. There would be no need to have a different manager each day or three different managers throughout the day. One title, one role, one “boss.”

It gives volunteers a sense of pride.

When a volunteer does a good job with a good organization, it’s okay to brag. Having a title to specify the volunteer’s job and/or department in the organization increases this pride. And when you have an identifier, such as a name tag, you’ll be able to get the word out to the public about the work you do as a volunteer. Then, perhaps they’ll be interested in volunteering, too!

In general, it doesn’t just add another word to the volunteer job description. It shows the great work you do and how important it is to the nonprofit. Your skills will be put to the best possible use and it’ll be even more fun and rewarding than before!

So if you want to focus your volunteer work, consider asking your volunteer manager to give you a specific title. They will probably be happy to oblige!

However, it’s important to set limits. Having too much responsibility can cause unnecessary stress and can make volunteering more difficult. There are a few ways to avoid becoming mentally exhausted:

• Only volunteer according to your schedule
• Learn how to say “no”
• Keep a positive attitude
• Do your volunteer work to the best of your abilities
• Be mindful of your physical and mental health

The most important thing about volunteer work is enjoying what you do. The best way to keep that up is to pace yourself, do tasks that are challenging but not beyond your abilities, and maintaining communication with your volunteer coordinator.

There’s nothing wrong with being a terrific volunteer! Just make sure you have fun doing it, too.