Since the re-creation of the Volunteer
Center in Frederick County in 1997, first as an internal program
of the United Way and now as an independent nonprofit, Volunteer
Frederick has established itself as the community resource
for service and volunteerism in the County. As evidence:
Thousands of people access our
on-line catalogs of volunteer opportunities at www.volunteerfrederick.org.
More than 2,500 individuals access the site roughly 4,000
times each month. The steady increase in visitors from year
to year indicates that Volunteer Frederick is becoming the
place to go for information about volunteerism.
Volunteer Frederick processed 562
one-on-one volunteer referrals in 2003. Each month,
Volunteer Frederick helps refer or place roughly 50 prospective
volunteers.
Youth service program enrollments
and activities continue to expand. Since 1998, more
than 1,300 youth have participated in programs such as SummerServe,
SummerServe Express, Youth Action Corps (YAC) and Youth
Engaged in Service (YES!), contributing more than 25,000
service hours to more than 40 area nonprofit organizations.
In last three years The BIG
Sweep has mobilized 1,800 volunteers who cleared more than
44 tons of trash and 1,400 tires from more than 100 Frederick
County roads, while raising more than $92,000 for local
nonprofit organizations.
Volunteers with the Retired
and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)help strengthen
agencies addressing public safety, public health, and disaster
response. Volunteer Frederick was one of only10 agencies
nationwide to receive funding for this program created to
specifically strengthen Homeland Security. As of July 2004,
150 RSVP volunteers have served more than 3,000 hours.
The Volunteer Management
Training Workshops have provided agencies and volunteer
coordinators with guidance and networking opportunities
to strengthen volunteer programs locally. In the last
two years 80 representatives from 50 nonprofit agencies
attended 14 workshops, affirming that Volunteer Frederick
is a valued resource for volunteer-related issues.
The Business Volunteer Council
(BVC), comprised of representatives from businesses
in Frederick County, meets monthly to share best practices
for employee volunteer programs and plan collaborative service
projects. In the last three years the BVC has created nearly
250 backpacks for foster children, nearly 100 starter emergency
kits for homebound seniors, and engaged in other service
projects with the Frederick Reading Center and the Department
of Social Services.
The Medical Reserve Corps
(MRC) & Emergency Volunteer Corps. Volunteer
Frederick coordinates the MRC for Frederick County to provide
a ready pool of pre-qualified professionals in the medical,
health and related technician fields. These volunteers will
be called upon to augment first responders for the Health
Department and/or Frederick Memorial Hospital, to assist
the Health Department in pre- or post-event inoculation
or vaccination programs during large scale community health
emergencies. Teams of non-medical volunteers are being registered
to assist with other emergency needs such as transportation,
debris clearing, snow shoveling, flood clean-up, etc.
Volunteer Frederick’s Emergency
Volunteer Mobilization Program is a key component of
Frederick County’s emergency response plans. Volunteer
Frederick has partnered with five area churches who will
potentially serve as Volunteer Mobilization Centers during
and after emergencies. Trained volunteers will staff the
centers to register and deploy spontaneous, unaffiliated
volunteers to meet emergency needs. Volunteer Frederick
will develop a catalog of the emergency needs of community
agencies throughout Frederick County, maintain up-to-date
banks of volunteers willing to be called up during emergencies,
and implement a media and communications plan to facilitate
the mobilization of volunteers.
Click
here to download our 2003-2004 Summary of Programs and
Accomplishments Microsoft Word document
