Engaging Volunteers Through VISTA Service

Greetings from the field! My name is Chelsea Martin and I am about nine months into my year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC). My VISTA service has been spent supporting the Volunteer Michigan initiative that actively works to increase volunteerism across the state of Michigan by focusing on National Days of Service, volunteer management technology, and strategic youth engagement.

Why I Chose to Serve:
I have always had an interest in civic engagement and community involvement and felt this was an opportunity to walk the talk. I learned about the AmeriCorps*VISTA opportunity while I was finishing up my undergraduate degrees at Eastern Michigan University and thought it would give me the chance to explore the nonprofit world while giving back to my community.

How I Support Volunteerism in Michigan:
One of the HUGE projects currently being launched in the volunteer management world is a new technology called HandsOn Connect. HandsOn Connect is an amazing technology that allows volunteer connector organizations, like volunteer centers, to work with local nonprofits to post volunteer opportunities and track who and how people are getting engaged. The new system helps volunteer centers create visually appealing websites for returning and prospective volunteers to visit and search for opportunities to serve based on zip code or city name. My role with HandsOn Connect has been to support seven communities across the state in their individual launch process. It has been great to see several of their sites “Go Live” and all the potential the new technology is creating for their organization and their communities.

In addition to HandsOn Connect, I help with National Days of Service like the September 11 National Day of Service & Remembrance and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service. For MLK Day in 2011, the MCSC and our partners distributed $15,000 in mini-grants to support more than 70 local projects. I supported those local sites by offering tools and resources to make their projects more successful. I’m currently in the planning stages of the 2012 MLK Day and hope the projects get stronger and engage more volunteers as a result of the past years efforts!

As the last months of my service start flying by, I’m taking a step back and thinking about how to enable all of Michigan’s citizens to gain access to volunteer opportunities. HandsOn Connect is a wonderful system that will allow those with internet access to find ways to volunteer, but not everyone has the internet or a computer. As a result, there need to be additional engagement strategies that don’t include “new” technologies to reach potential volunteers.

Volunteerism has wonderful benefits to both the served and the serving. It can be great job experience, help fill holes in a resume, build new skills, and much more! Those benefits can lead individuals to getting a first job out of college, re-employment, or better employment. As everyone in Michigan knows, that is the direction more people need to be headed in and access to volunteer opportunities can help them get there.

My experience has an AmeriCorps*VISTA has truly been one-of-a-kind and given me the chance to see volunteer service from a whole new vantage point.

For more information about HandsOn Connect visit http://www.handsonnetwork.org/actioncenters/handsonconnect and check out the demo video!