For the Media
Contact us: The source of information for and about volunteers and volunteerism
Who we are: The Volunteer Center has been incorporated since 1992, but its roots go back even further as a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program site. We are a 501(c)(3) serving Lewis, Mason and Thurston counties. We have nine staff members including one staffing an office in Shelton to serve Mason County and one staffing an office in Chehalis to serve Lewis County. We also have five volunteer office staff and as many as three Volunteers In Service To America (VISTAs) working in our office as well.
What we do: Our core competencies include: connecting people with opportunities to serve, building capacity for effective local volunteering through volunteer management training and consulting and promotion volunteering as a community value. We also participate in special initiatives to meet community needs. We are members of the Long-Term Recovery Organizations in all three counties as well as a founding member of the Thurston County Asset-Building Coalition. We are also providing programming designed to attract youth and families, skilled Baby Boomers and returning veterans to community engagement.
Volunteer Center Facts:
- The Center’s volunteer-matching database had more than 1,300 registered active volunteers last year, includes more than 650 volunteer opportunities and the Center made more than 3,000 referrals to volunteer opportunities last year.
- The Center recruits and refers volunteers for more than 250 nonprofit and public agencies.
- We are a member of the HandsOn Network which includes 240 Action Centers and is the largest volunteer network in the world.
To contact the Volunteer Center on breaking news outside of business hours call Sara Ballard, Executive Director, at 517-388-1220.
To learn more about volunteering in Washington State and the U.S. visit: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/volunteering/index.asp
For updated news about volunteering and national service:
http://www.nationalservice.gov/Default.asp
For information about the HandsOn Network visit:
http://www.handsonnetwork.org/plug-in/media
