For a smaller community organization trying to pull off a bigger project, getting enough people to come out and get their hands dirty can be a challenge.
Maybe it’s a neighborhood playground clean up or serving a hot holiday meal to local seniors. Whatever the service, volunteering network Chicago Cares works to pair those who want to help with groups that need it. And throughout April — National Volunteer Month — Chicago Cares is making a special push to enlist new volunteers and volunteer leaders for big upcoming events like its June 23 Serve-A-Thon and smaller partner initiatives.
“Front to back end, Chicago Cares helps plan and curate these volunteer experiences knowing that a big part of it is not just getting that task done, it’s also about the relationships that are built while you’re doing that volunteering,” CEO Jenné Myers said.
The group works with about 20,000 volunteers a year coordinating work with about 300 nonprofits, Myers said. In addition to linking individual volunteers with causes or organizations they’re passionate about (which their recent merger with volunteer matching tech platform WomenonCall will likely help with), Chicago Cares facilitates group volunteering opportunities for companies and works with community groups to build up their volunteering capacity. For Earth Day this year, for example, the network will be providing additional resources to neighborhood development group Urban Juncture for a renovation project at the Bronzeville Community Garden. Several volunteering slots are still open.
While most volunteering opportunities through Chicago Cares are with the group’s hundreds of affiliate partners (the organization helps coordinate nearly 200 events a month), they’re also always looking for strong leaders to help spearhead these events and serve as the liaison between the volunteers and the partner group. These roles can vary between weekly responsibilities and a one-time project, Myers said. Additional information about being a volunteer leader is available at chicagocares.org.
The group’s approach, Myers said, not only offers up some much-needed back-up for other nonprofits, but it often lights a more permanent passion for service in volunteers, which is a win for groups in need.
“There are so many wonderful domino effects that happen when somebody volunteers with a community. They learn so much about themselves, they learn about others, they make these connections with people in way they wouldn’t normally,” Myers said. “It’s incredible for them and it’s incredible for the organization because no matter what your mission is, by inviting people into that mission to peek behind the curtains and help with that mission, you’re able to entice them in a way that you wouldn’t be able to with just a brochure.”
Gwendolyn Purdom is a RedEye freelancer.
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