The Central Illinois Volunteer Association meets four times a year to discuss issues that will help volunteer coordinators to recruit, train and retain an active volunteer base.
Have you read our article on volunteer retention?
Sheri Seibold, 4-H Volunteer Development at the U of I Extension Office has some words of wisdom.
Click here to read the article!
Image courtesy of Development Works Photos @ Flickr
Save the date: November program
Friday, November 18th
8:30-10:30 AM
Heartland Community College
Jon Astroth Building
Program Topic:
Working with Volunteers & Clients from Other Cultures
Community Resource:
Carla Rudicil, RSVP
Program presentation by Kerry Urquizo (ESL Coordinator, Heartland Community College) and Pamela Sweetwood (Director of Special Programs, Heartland Community College).
Carla Rudicil of the YWCA’s Retired Services Volunteer Program will offer tips on connecting with, and working with, senior volunteers as our featured Community Resource.
“The Volunteer Experience” from The Volunteer Center
(YouTube video)
Volunteers build a strong community and MCVCA is the place to start if you want to network with other volunteer coordinators working to increase the spirit of volunteerism in Mid-Central Illinois.
The Benefits of Volunteering
From the Corporation for National and Community Service
“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”
- Nelson Mandela
Perhaps the first and biggest benefit people get from volunteering is the satisfaction of incorporating service into their lives and making a difference in their community and country. The intangible benefits alone—such as pride, satisfaction and accomplishment—are worthwhile reasons to serve. In addition, when we share our time and talents, we:
- Solve problems
- Strengthen communities
- Improve lives
- Connect to others
- Transform our own lives
Over the past two decades we have also seen a growing body of research that indicates volunteering provides individual health benefits in addition to social benefits. This research, which is presented by the Corporation in a report titled “The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research,” has established a strong relationship between volunteering and health: those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer. Comparisons of the health benefits of volunteering for different age groups have also shown that older volunteers are the most likely to receive greater benefits from volunteering, whether because they are more likely to face higher incidence of illness or because volunteering provides them with physical and social activity and a sense of purpose at a time when their social roles are changing. Some of these findings also indicate that volunteers who devote a “considerable” amount of time to volunteer activities (about 100 hours per year) are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes.
