We love to highlight the good works of VolunteerSpot users all over the country. Charity races, fundraising rides and walk-a-thons are typically efficient in getting race participants signed up and in soliciting donations. Until now, coordinating the behind-the-scenes volunteers that make these events successful has been a bit more of a challenge. VolunteerSpot steps up to support local volunteers as they work to orchestrate these exciting and fun community-building fundraisers.
Today our spotlight shines on Lauren Maynard, volunteer coordinator for Venus de Miles, Colorado's first women's-only bike ride in support of Greenhouse Scholars, an organization providing mentorship and scholarship to high-performing, under-resourced students.
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Please tell us a little about yourself and about Venus de Miles.
Venus de Miles was first organized in the Fall of 2007as a fundraiser for Greenhouse Scholars. We've established ourselves as Colorado's first and only women's bike ride. I took over as volunteer coordinator in 2008 and now I’m also running ride operations.
Colorado is the perfect place to have this ride; however, it can be a pretty intimidating biking environment. We offer three different courses (35, 50 and 65 miles) to accommodate varying skill levels. Riding together, in sisterhood, we empower women to feel that they can accomplish a challenging ride in a safe and fun environment.
We added a Dream Team this year, made up of women of all ages who have been successful in the world of cycling and sports. They are a very impressive group of women who are advocating for the ride.We had 650 women participate in the race our first year; our goal is to double that on August 30th.
What are the requirements?
There aren’t any requirements for joining the ride, except for being a woman. We have 2 start times -- 7 a.m. for the 50-65 milers and 8:30 a.m. for the 35 milers. There is also a $79 registration fee; the majority of it goes directly back into our organization supporting the ride
What are your volunteer needs at Venus de Miles?
We need about 150 volunteers to do a variety of different jobs to make the ride successful. In the days before the ride, we use volunteers for stuffing packets and getting them to the right places, as well as for setting up rest stops. On ride day, volunteers help with parking, registration, packet-pickup, and running the rest stations on the road. There are also 45 Course Marshals scattered throughout the course directing people where to turn.
At the end of the ride, we hold a giant festival, which also requires volunteers to run and to clean up. We tapped into a lot of different groups this year to recruit volunteers, such as the Junior League of Denver and roller derby teams.
How did you get interested in nonprofit work?
I just kind of fell into the position. There was a need and it was pretty urgent -- so I thought, ‘Alright, I can figure this out!’ I like providing organization and getting people in the right places.
What’s one piece of advice you have for race volunteers or their leaders out there?
It’s important to empower people with information so they can solve problems on their own — it’s also extremely helpful when dealing with such a large volume of volunteers! My goal for Venus de Miles was to set up a structure for the volunteers. For each group of volunteers, I designated a Volunteer Captain and divided various ride responsibilities among them. I inform the Captains of their responsibilities; any information pertaining to their group they can disseminate to their members. Not only do I make fewer phone calls, Volunteer Captains feel valued that I trust them to handle more problems on their own.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot? How are we working for you?
I realized we weren’t in a position to hire someone to come in to coordinate our volunteers, so I started searching online; when I went to VolunteerSpot it was a perfect fit!. It makes the whole process a lot easier, especially when working with so many volunteers and such a wide variety of roles.VolunteerSpot eliminates the number of emails going back and forth to potential volunteers, which saves everyone time. People can just go to the site and pick what tasks they want to do. I’ve found it very easy to use.
If you are interested in participating in the ride on August 30th, please learn more at www.VenusdeMiles.org.
If you are inspired to make a donation to Greenhouse Scholars, you may do so here: www.GreenhouseScholars.org.
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We salute Lauren Maynard and all the volunteer heroes out there working for a good cause! If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing, and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at VS@volunteerspot.com.
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