Holiday Volunteer Happy Hour

...Bringing together volunteers from all walks of life (and programs!).

Volunteers take time away from the fun to pose for a picture!

Last night we hosted our first ever Holiday Volunteer Happy Hour.  A colleague birthed the idea of hosting a happy hour so that our Center could bring together volunteers and staff from CVNL's programs, partner nonprofits, and other agencies in celebration of service.  Our goals were to chat, network, and share great stories about giving back.  Initially we were expecting 10, maybe 15 people to attend, but then our list of "Eventbrite" attendees grew to over 30 people!

All in all, we were rather shocked at the turnout.  50 people came to our  event over the course of 3 hours.  The event included great pub grub and a raffle with an array of prizes, which helped raise money for the Volunteer Services department.  More importantly, however, we had a chance to recognize our volunteers "by the numbers".  Our volunteers and even our own CVNL staff members were amazed to discover that over the past year:

• The Civic Engagement Leadership Team (CELT), skill-based volunteers supported Marin agencies with pro-bono consulting in the fields of strategic planning, management, human resources, finance and information technology worth a grand total of $93,146. 
• Our 7 devoted BoardMatch Marin (BoMa) coordinators donated over 240 hours and made 21 successful placements on nonprofit boards.
• Our Master Volunteer Program (MVP) matchmakers made 1,036 referrals to our agency partners.
• Through the Flexible Volunteer Program, volunteers logged 5,656 hours at 131 service projects around Marin County. As a result, 6 acres of non-native plants were removed, 2100 bags of food delivered to the community, 5 homes rebuilt or refurbished for low-income families and more than 200 individuals were tutored.
• -And-Every volunteer placed in the community costs us CVNL $22.00. We make this investment because we believe that organized service programs like Flex, CELT, BoardMatch and MVP increases each volunteer’s long-term impact in the community. In 2010 the success of this model was proven; on average our volunteers each contributed $38.00 worth of their time, energy and skills to community. That means for every dollar we invested in volunteer recruitment, the community received $1.72.

This is pretty incredible stuff, and our volunteers themselves are even more incredible.  I met volunteers of all ages, from all walks of life, who renewed my energy and made me realize why my work as an AmeriCorps VISTA is so important.  I know that going into the New Year, I will be ready to devote even more time and effort into our programs, marketing, and the spirit of volunteerism in general.