United Way of LaPorte County has teamed with United Way’s in Lake, Porter, and Starke Counties to provide an online volunteer center to match volunteers with local volunteer opportunities in non-profit organizations located across LaPorte County. Volunteer Center Coordinator Paul Reed, 25, sees the need and usefulness of this service in the community. The website nwivolunteer.org allows for volunteers to search for opportunities close to their homes while organizations can use the website to promote their cause and share their need with the greater community.
Organizations can also use the website to request items they need, and they can share opportunities for board of director positions. “Volunteers are invaluable to any organization. Whether they are filing or coordinating grassroots social media efforts their impact on an organization is huge. In fact studies have shown that for every dollar an organization invests in their volunteers, their return on investment amounts in the $4 to $6 range,” Reed said.
Volunteerism is just as beneficial to volunteers. For college students many opportunities can be used for internship credit. People find that volunteering also serves as a great chance to network and add to a resume for anyone currently seeking a job.
Volunteering can also be seen as an excellent way to socialize and it looks fantastic on a college application. “Less than 15% of career opportunities are ever listed. Most positions are filled by word of mouth which makes expanding your current network the key to landing a great position in this economy,” Reed said.
For more information on volunteering or listing your non-profit’s opportunities visit www.nwivolunteer.org or contact Paul Reed at paul@unitedwaylpc.org