Volunteers June Fabryka-Martin, Celeste Raffin, Craig Martin, David Hampton and County staff liaison Jessica Morgan with just some of the debris they removed Aug. 19 while cleaning up Rendija Canyon. Courtesy/LACF
LACF News:
The Los Alamos Community Foundation (LACF) is encouraging the community to participate in a Day of Volunteer Service this Saturday, September 23. Organizations offering volunteer opportunities include Family Strengths Network, White Rock Senior Center and Los Alamos County Open Space and Trails.
Since establishing the Volunteer Los Alamos website at volunteerlosalamos.org, LACF says the site has seen results in connecting volunteers with local nonprofits.
“It’s been a great rollout,” said Steve Laurent, LACF Executive Director. “Since establishing the site we’ve had 35 organizations join and more than 150 users sign up. Over 95 volunteer needs have been responded to and we’re seeing an increase in usage every day.”
LACF volunteer Ellyn Felton says the Day of Volunteer Service was created to promote community awareness of the site and to provide organizations an opportunity to gain experience working with this resource.
“We’ve encouraged our nonprofits to post opportunities on the Volunteer Los Alamos website for the day of service,” Felton said.
To participate in the Day of Volunteer Service, Felton says people can find all opportunities listed on the Volunteer Los Alamos website.
“You can go to the site, click on ‘Opportunities’ and view the calendar for September 23. If an opportunity fits your skills, interests and time, it takes just a minute to set up a profile and click to respond to the organization. It’s easy,” Felton said.
By responding to the opportunity, the organization knows you’re committed to help at that time and can contact you directly for additional details, Felton explained.
LACF’s goal is to establish the website as a one-stop location and hub for most volunteer opportunities in the area. A central location helps make volunteering more accessible and can provide visibility to nonprofits that are not well known in the community.
Nonprofit and community service providers are happy to have such a resource. “The Volunteer Los Alamos website has been instrumental for our department by posting opportunities on a platform so potential volunteers can view what is available by the County and other organizations,” said Wendy Parker of Los Alamos County Open Space and Trails. “The hard part for volunteers is how to decide which event to sign up for.”
By promoting a Day of Volunteer Service, Laurent hopes it will encourage users to visit the website and view not only opportunities for this Saturday, but also the long list of ongoing volunteer needs in the community. “What we’re finding through the site is that the majority of volunteer needs are not one-time or date/time specific – they’re ongoing,” Laurent noted. Organizations are more than happy to work with a volunteer’s schedule. Whether it be serving on a board, providing technical or administrative support, or serving as a docent or mentor, the Volunteer Los Alamos website has opportunities to suit everyone who would like to pitch in.
“A good way to find these opportunities on the site is through a keyword search related to your skills or interests,” Laurent said. “Or click the ‘Organizations’ tab to see opportunities listed by organization.”
“Once you create a user profile, you can even ‘favorite’ an organization to receive a notification when they post opportunities and events,” Felton said.
Laurent stressed that the site is used only to connect individuals to organizations they choose to volunteer for. It is not a social site for volunteers to connect with each other. User information is not made public or visible to other users and is subject to a strict privacy policy.
“The purpose of the site is simple and straightforward,” Laurent said. “To connect those who care with the community organizations and causes they care about.”
To explore possibilities for local volunteering, visit volunteerlosalamos.org. The site is hosted by the Los Alamos Community Foundation with the support of the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Community Partnerships Office.
