Listen: On Day 32 of 50 in Meet The Need, we meet a program of the Non Profit Center of Milwaukee, the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee. Finding an organization or cause that resonates with you may not be a challenge, but finding a way to make an impact is not always obvious. But, as we've heard throughout Meet The Need, each of these organizations not only makes effective use of volunteers, they're looking for more willing folks to get involved.
This is exactly what the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee does. Through their website stuffed with resources, information, and volunteer opportunities, they match folks hoping to find a meaningful way to donate time with the perfect volunteer opportunity (funny enough -- there is a huge overlap in our Meet The Need organizations and who they work with at the Volunteer Cennter). Bonnie Andrews, Volunteer Center Manager, brings us inside their work:
-With over 1000 different ways to volunteer in a year, you might have a hard time figuring out how to get involved. Bonnie gives some direction on how an individual willing to volunteer can find the right opportunity using the Volunteer Center's resources:
-What does "volunteering" mean? Depending on the organization, volunteer opportunities can take many forms, employing a wide array of expertise:
-An interesting idea Bonnie shared -- something you may not enjoy doing for yourself can be fun if you're doing it to help others. Raking leaves with Interfaith ( learn more about Interfaith, as they were Day 23 of Meet The Need):
-Bonnie shares a personal volunteering experience at the Cathedral Center that made her pause and gave her a richer understanding of what it means to volunteer ( the Cathedral Center also just happened to our first day of Meet The Need this year):
-Many organizations in Milwaukee serving basic and human needs of our community rely upon committed volunteers to make their work possible (she mentions Red Cross and yesterday's Meet The Need organization -- St. Ben's Community Meal):
This year, we ask you to adopt one or two organizations that connect with you. Want to get involved with the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee? Donate, volunteer, or check out their work yourself. And you can start with their website.