Online Sign Up Blog by VolunteerSpot

Fundraising Tips: Raise More Cash at the Concession Stand

One of the most under utilized sources of fund raising for schools and sports leagues is the concession stand. Large or small, the concession stand can quickly become a ready source for cash, and an enhancement to any school, sporting or outdoor musical event. If you don’t have a facility, start small. Set up a table and sell bottles of water and granola bars! You’ll be surprised how fast your fund raising efforts will add up. Follow these tips for running a successful concession stand at your school or league field!



1. Appoint a Committee Chair or Leader
The person in charge will organize and oversee all concession activities including gathering a team to help recruit volunteers, appointing someone to be in charge of keeping the concession stand well stocked and clean, and keeping track of funds.

2. Gather a sufficient volunteer staff
To make sure you have enough inventory to sell and enough people to help, use VolunteerSpot to schedule volunteers. Volunteers can choose their shifts and items to bring and will received an automatic email to remind them of their commitments.

3.  Proper paperwork
In many cases, a concession stand must have a manager that has attended a Food Safety Workshop recognized by the Health Department. Some municipalities also require permits for selling and preparing food. Check with your city and local health department for details.

4. Adequate and attractive facility
Even if you start with just a folding table, make sure your concession stand looks appealing. Use an attractive tablecloth and ask students to help you decorate the table or concession stand with your team's colors and logo to remind people that they are supporting the team. This also helps parents and community members feel they are part of something special. In return, they are more apt to give back by volunteering or assisting in other activities that benefit the program. This sense of belonging creates a positive environment which makes each sporting event feel special.

5.  Friendly service
Train your volunteers in customer service. A simple “Hello, how can I help you?” and “Thank you” can go a long way in getting repeat customers!

6.  Consistent food and price menu
The most popular snack foods are nachos, popcorn, pickles, candy, gum, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. Colas, sports drinks, hot chocolate, and coffee are also popular. Identify a specialty item that people look forward to and can only get at your concession stand, like specially filled cupcakes from a local bakery. If team play is during prime meal hours, consider selling more substantial options like pizza, sandwiches and hot dogs. Establish and stick with a consistent menu so people know what to expect. Each year, analyze what sold well last season, and make adjustments accordingly.

7) Healthy food options
Offering healthy food options at the concession stand might take a little more work, but since the concession stand often provides the family’s evening meal, and many families have dietary restrictions to consider, offering healthy options is worth the extra effort. Here are some tips for adding healthier options at your school’s concession stand:Deli sandwiches 

• Light mayo for sandwiches
• Granola bars and dried fruit bars
• Baked Lays and Sun-chips
• Dairy free fruit bars or sorbet
• Trail mix
• Veggie pizza

If you don’t already have a concession stand at your school or league playing field, think about starting one! It’s not much work and the payoff can be a life saver for your school’s sports teams or music program. Use VolunteerSpot's fee and easy scheduler to keep track of volunteers!

VolunteerSpotlight: Jill Herring, Book Fair Chairperson, East Side Elementary School

Book Fair School Fundraising Chair

  Book Fairs are a great way to raise money for schools, get parents involved, and get kids excited about reading. Book fairs would not be possible without the support of teachers, parents, the school librarian and a parent coordinator to make sure everything runs smoothly. From ordering and setting up the books to greeting the children when they walk through the door, every detail needs to be figured out  before hand. Today, our VolunteerSpotlight shines on Jill Herring, Book Fair Chairperson, East Side Elementary School, Marietta, GA.

Please tell us a little about yourself and your current role as a volunteer leader with the book fair.

I am the mother of two elementary aged children. I work part time from home and I am very involved at school. I have run the book fair at the school for three years now. It takes a lot of coordination, we usually have about 120 volunteers for the entire week!

How did you get interested in becoming a volunteer leader?

I have always been involved in many ways. I like to run projects, it is just what I do. I also like to know that whatever I spend my time doing, that I am making a difference in some way.

Where else do you volunteer?

I do a lot of volunteering at the school, but I am also very involved in my community and with the Fragile Kids Foundation.

What is it, specifically, that you need volunteers to do at the book fair?

We need people to help set up and merchandise the books, sales people, and cashiers. We also do a couple of special events where we need people to provide food and drinks. At the end of the book fair, we  need people to help take everything down and get it ready to be shipped back.

What's one piece of advice you have for other volunteers organizers out there?

To inspire and motivate volunteers, I usually try to make sure people are informed about the project. I tell them specifically what they will be doing and who it will help. If they believe in the project then they will get their friends involved, too.

Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

It was brought to our attention by a member of the PTA. I always had to assign a specific person to manage the volunteers, mostly by email. I saw the website and looked at the Demo. I believed that it would cut down on the amount of emails that would need to be sent and, if it worked the way it said it would, then it should be pretty easy. It did work and it was easy! It took me about 30 minutes to set up the whole week's schedule and a little longer to email all of my potential volunteers. After that I only had to answer a few emails from people who had specific questions or from those who wanted to volunteer but the times did not fit into the slots I had laid out. Everyone got their reminders and showed up on time. It all ran so smoothly that I did not need to assign anyone to manage the system. I was so excited about how it worked that I called the Rep at Scholastic (our book fair vendor) and suggested she share this with others in her company and with other Book Fair Chairpeople.

Anything else you would like to add?

I highly recommend that you try VolunteerSpot if you have an event for which you need volunteers. It is quick and easy. I have plans to use the site for our Swim Team volunteers this summer and of course for the Book Fair again next year.

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We salute Jill and all the volunteer heroes out there everyday who help out at school and in the community. 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.

Moms, New Media and Social Responsibility

Join the conversation at the Mom 2.0 Summit

 

We’re thrilled that Mom 2.0 Summit is recognizing the good work of moms as a force to be reckoned with and will be hosting a session exploring Moms, New Media and Social Responsibility.  VolunteerSpot founder, Karen Bantuveris, will be joining a panel of awesome mom change makers -- including Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse , Kim McGrigg of Blogging for Change, and Jen Lemen of Shutter Sisters -- discussing moms (and blogging moms) as social catalysts, online and in the real world.

Please join us in Houston on Feburary 18-20 and join in the conversation!

Can't join us in person? Please track us in Twitter: #Mom2Summit

 

A Special Invitation for PTO & PTA Volunteer Leaders

 

VolunteerSpot understands the challenges you face as a school parent group leader -- running successful fundraisers, getting parents involved, and trying to rally enthusiasm in your group can, at times, be overwhelming.  If you’re looking for some new ideas and ways to help your group kick things up a couple of notches, we’ve found an event that you might want to check out. PTO Today is hosting 8 special Parent Group Expos across the country in 2010. These events are very hands on and a great time saver for PTO and PTA leaders because you can literally see, touch and compare over 100 parent group related products and services all in one location.  
 

What can you do at a PTO Today Expo?

Get Expert Tips on Ways You Can Get More Parents Involved

PTO Today has literally hundreds of free resources that can help you and your group get more parents interested in volunteering and attending your events. The PTO Today staff will be on hand at the Expo to talk to you about their School Family Nights and Parent Education Nights programs. They will also be doing a demo of their free Parent Express Email solution for parent groups.  We'll be at a few of the Expos as well, so come say 'hi' and bring your volunteer coordination questions.

Explore Your Fundraising Options and Decide What Is Right for Your School.

You’ll get a chance to talk to knowledgeable reps from all the leading fundraising companies -- from chocolates to wrapping paper and everything in between. Compare and research the options you think work best for your school and get a jumpstart on future planning decisions.

Have a Fun and Informative Day Out

Like any special event there are giveaways and lots of free samples to be had at the PTO Today Expo as well as the chance to meet and chat with other parent group leaders in your area and swap tips and ideas.  We think it’s an event your whole group would enjoy and for all you do for your school, you deserve a little fun. Make it a day to learn, bond, plan and get rejuvenated for the second half of the year.

 

To learn more about PTO Today’s Parent Group Expos, please visit www.ptotoday.com/events.  We're giving away FREE PASSES to 50 Houston and Minneapolis parent leaders.  Interested?  Please email us at ExpoPasses@VolunteerSpot.com - include your name, school, city and state and we'll register for you and a friend for free.  (While supplies last.)

Hope to see you there!

February 24th - Houston, TX (Conroe)           

March 4th - St Louis, MO (St. Charles)        

March 11th - Marlboro, MA                         

March 23rd - Valley Forge, PA (Oaks)

April 6th - Chicago, IL (Oakbrook Terrace)

April 13th - Minneapolis, MN (Brooklyn Center)

April 26th - Murfreesboro, TN

May 4th - Columbus, OH       

VolunteerSpotlight: Ken David, SOS Volunteer Organizer, Hillsboro, Oregon

The Shelter at Orenco Station, or SOS, provides shelter for the homeless during the cold winter months.  SOS is located in Hillsboro, Oregon at Sonrise Church. It is run cooperatively by the local faith community. Today our VolunteerSpolight shines on Ken David, volunteer organizer for SOS.

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  Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.

We operate a homeless called Shelter at Orenco Station, OS, in Hillsboro, Oregon. We are a collective of nine churches that have come together to help the homeless during the winter months. We started with a single guest on a frigid night last winter and now routinely host 25 guests over a span of 90 days.


 How did you get started as a volunteer leader?

I retired from a large high tech company three years ago. My retirement goal was to give back to the community through volunteering. I wanted to utilize the skills I'd cultivated as an engineer and manager to serve others. I started mentoring and tutoring  'at risk" kids, then our church's Social Justice ministry decided to join two other churches to serve the homeless. As the shelter began operating, it became apparent that my skills could be put to good use organizing the shelter and the volunteers through creating sound processes.


 What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?

Volunteers are the key to any successful venture like ours. The relationship is different than the one that exists in business between managers and employees because volunteers are only vested in the ideals of the organization. A singular bad experience and they will never return. However if they find fulfillment they will serve in ways beyond any expectation. One must always treat volunteers like the precious commodity they are!!!


Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

During our first year of operation, we had three churches working together and we operated about 20 nights. When I served as an overnight host I observed that we were getting too much food some nights, then none the next, so I developed an online spreadsheet that was open to all of our volunteers so they could quickly see opportunities and sign up instantly. It was quite successful, but I had to give each volunteer editing privileges, which sometimes resulted in unintended changes being made. In year two, we evolved to nine churches with over 900 volunteer spots to fill. I decided we needed something more  robust, while preserving  the simplicity of  a  spreadsheet. I found VolunteerSpot through an internet search. I tested it with the other volunteer leaders...and as they say, "the rest is history". So far we have filled about 600 spots and have over 200 active volunteers!


 Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?

Helping the under-served is an amazing experience. I have gained far more than I have given. It is wonderful seeing how every volunteer's unique talents can be put to great use. It is wonderful to see so many lives change through this work.

The dynamic of the "sign up" process fascinates me. From my observation, the "window" to get a volunteer to sign up is very small. Every obstacle put in their way will significantly reduce the odds they will actually sign up. I see a very low hit rate from any volunteer that has to "ping" me through email or a phone call because the sign up process is not clear. The adage, "keep it simple" is very important in volunteer recruiting. So, as much as I'd like to see more features on Volunteer Spot, I think the current product is probably optimal.

To learn more about SOS and how you can help, please visit their website,  www.sos-shelter.org.

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We salute Ken and all the other volunteer leaders out there helping those in need. 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

The High Value of Community-Building Fundraisers

My name is Jim Berigan. My website is called EverybodyHatesFundraising.com. The good folks here at VolunteerSpot have asked me to write an article that gets directly to the heart of my sites mission- which is to demonstrate the inherent superiority of community-style fundraising over so-called product sales, such as cookie dough, wrapping paper, candles, and popcorn.

This post proudly sponsored by Carnival Savers

10% discount on carnival supplies & prizes: Promo Code=VOLUNTEER

Part 1 of 2: Community Fundraisers Superior to Product Sales

A community-style fundraiser is any event that brings people together to celebrate their organization, to strengthen the bonds of their relationships, and to raise money for their mission. A school carnival, a charity walk-a-thon, a golf outing, a spaghetti dinner, or a silent auction are all examples of this kind of fundraising strategy.

A Chance to Show Off Your True Colors

One of the most attractive qualities of a community-style event is that it is organic in nature. The people inside the actual organization are the ones designing, planning, and running the occasion. Therefore, it reflects the unique personality of the group. No two spaghetti dinners are ever the same, as long as the people putting it on use their creativity, honor the people they serve, and put their organizations best foot forward.

A Missed Opportunity

On the other hand, if a school or a non-profit elects to go with a product sale, whether it be from a catalog or an individual item, like chocolate bars, they are admitting that they lack the creativity, the desire, and the ability to put on a more complicated, but ultimately more rewarding fundraising event.

At the end of a product sale, the only question to ask is, "did they buy or didnt they?" There is no other valuable information to be gleaned. From a community-building event, however, there are all sorts of questions to be asked. In fact, due to the fluid nature of human interaction at a carnival or an auction, entire surveys and questionnaires are created to gather the valuable information. The data collected by a nonprofit after one of these outings is so rich that it can take months to fully digest and act upon.

Putting the People You Serve First

The main defense of the product sale fundraiser is that it is easy on the organization. The company has taken away all of the administrative headaches. For example, the company creates the catalog and publishes all of the fundraising literature. It also manages the inventory, the shipping, and the quality control. All the people in the non-profit have to do is sell, sell, sell.

If proponents of the product sale actually think that selling is easy, they are not communicating with the people they are claiming to serve. Many families have multiple children, most of whom are involved in various organizations, such as sports, church youth groups, and service organizations, like Scouts. All of these groups require their participants to sell stuff to raise money. After a while, a family runs out of friends, relatives, and co-workers to harass for money. Suddenly, selling isn't so easy.

Coping with Troubling Realities

I do understand that there are great pressures on nonprofits to raise money to fund their good work. I know that employees at these organizations are way over-worked and stressed out with the demands of trying to fundraise in a bad economy. I am fully aware of how hard it has become to recruit quality volunteers to carry out large-scale events. And, I have heard many non-profit workers say that they have become full-time fundraisers and are able to devote only a part-time effort to the actual business they were originally hired for.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to any of these challenges. The good news is, however, that if an organization commits to the hard work of putting on these community-building events, it will eventually be rewarded with more money, more friendships, better public relations, and more forward momentum. All this is way better than a $6.95 tub of oatmeal cookie dough, huh?

Coming Soon...

 

In part 2 of this article, I will dig into a few excellent suggestions for community-style fundraisers that have proven to be very successful, including a relatively new event I really like, called Touch-a-Truck.

Stay tuned.

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Jim Berigan publishes the new blog, EverybodyHatesFundraising.com. He is a former elementary school administrator and has worked in the non-profit industry for over 20 years. He has a passion for helping schools and other nonprofits learn how to raise lots of money, but in a way that doesn't frustrate or enrage the very people they are trying to serve. He has recently written a comprehensive eBook called "The 2009-2010 School Carnival Money Making Guide." Please check it out - a portion of the sale of his eBook helps support VolunteerSpot.

How to Help Board Members Get (More) Involved in Fundraising

If you run a small nonprofit, or are part of the fundraising team of a large established nonprofit or school, the kick off of the New Year presents an ideal opportunity for strengthening your Board’s fundraising confidence and capabilities. Guest blogger, Sandy Rees, nonprofit fundraising coach, consultant, and author shares practical ideas for helping Board members become (more) successful fundraisers.

Practical Ideas for Increasing your Nonprofit Board’s Knowledge, Confidence and Success in Fundraising

 
One of the basic responsibilities of nonprofit Boards is to ensure adequate resources for their organizations.  That means fundraising.  Unfortunately, many Board members are hesitant to participate in fundraising.  And that can be very frustrating to the director or fundraising staff who is expecting the Board to help champion the cause, accompany them on visits, engage community members and business leaders, and secure donations.

Get the New Year off to a great start by sharing your expertise! Here are some practical ideas for things you can do to increase your Board’s knowledge, confidence and participation in raising money for your organization.


1.    Give them a firm foundation.

Start by educating your Board.  Make sure they know the basics.  Share with them the principles of giving like:

• People give money because they want to.
• People give to change lives.
• People give to support success, not distress.
• People give to make a change for the good.
• People give to people.
• People usually don’t give unless they are asked.

Put extra emphasis on the last two as they are the most important!


2.    Share a simple system.

Show your Board that by learning a few easy techniques, they can have a big impact on ongoing fundraising activities.  Invite them to pick a place to start that seems comfortable, like attending a special event, before they dive into major donor requests.  Remember that just because they are a Board member doesn’t mean they have fundraising experience!

Technique 1: Raise money for the clients, not the organization.  Learn to talk about the organization in terms of its clients and their needs, not the organization’s needs.

Technique 2: Tell the stories.  Learn to tell a story or two about the great things happening at the organization.  Tell about a personal experience.

Technique 3: Speak from your heart. Learn to talk about the organization with all the passion of your heart.  If you believe strongly in this organization, others will too.

3.    Make learning fun and manageable.

Since Board members are busy people, train them in a 15 minute segment at each Board meeting.  You can accomplish a lot of learning in short bursts at each Board meeting. Here are some things you can do:
Have them pair up and share why they said “Yes” to being on the Board.  This helps them tap into their passion for the organization.

• Have them tell each other a story about how the organization is changing lives in the community.
• Have them share their thoughts about fundraising – what they are scared of and what they feel comfortable with.  This helps begin to overcome fear of fundraising.
• Create a crossword puzzle with the words in the puzzle being answers and the clues being about basic facts of your organization.  For example, 1 across might be the number of kids served each year (answer – Fifty).
• Create a game of Jeopardy around organizational facts.
• Have them brainstorm about people in their sphere of influence who they can talk to about your organization or send an appeal letter to.

Over time, this will help ‘bring them along’ and increase their comfort level with fundraising in general.


4.    Give them concrete ideas of ways to get involved.

People respond best to specific requests.  Ask your Board members to take a particular action instead of just “helping with fundraising.”  Ask them to:

• Make their own gift first.  They’ll be much better at asking someone else for money if they have already given themselves.
• Think of people they know. Think about their family, neighbors, people they do business with, and people they have fun with.  They are all great potential donors.
• Talk to people about your organization. Tell at least one person each week about their experiences with the organization.
• Invite the Executive Director to speak to their civic group, church group, or other similar group. By putting the staff in front of a crowd, they are helping spread the word about the organization.

By sharing your knowledge and expertise in fundraising with your Board members, you’ll increase their knowledge and get to know them better.  You’ll learn which ones are comfortable with various parts of fundraising and you’ll be better able to ask them to take on roles in which they will be successful.
   
Remember to encourage your Board members and congratulate them for small successes!  Reward the behavior you want to see more of (both personally and publicly at Board meetings, if possible) and you’ll likely see more of it heading into 2010.

Happy New Year and Happy Fundraising!

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Sandy Rees is a nonprofit fundraising coach, consultant, trainer, and author. She shows small nonprofit organizations how to raise more money, gain more supporters, and strengthen their Boards. Learn more about successful fundraising and get free fundraising tips in her e-zine "Bright Ideas for Fundraising" on her website at GetFullyFunded.com.

VolunteerSpotlight: Carol W. Garzillo, Fork it Over Program Coordinator, Beaverton School District

Parent volunteers in the Beaverton School District  participated for the first time last year in the 5-year-old Metro initiative, Fork It Over! The program encourages food donations to reduce hunger and waste. The district relies on volunteers to pick up leftover cafeteria food that might normally be tossed and delivering them to area pantries four times a week from 42 schools.  Carol Garzillo, one of the volunteer coordinators, said she recently signed up for three routes, or about nine to 10 schools in one day, because there are a lot of needy families in the community who could benefit from ready-to-eat items.

Please tell us a little about yourself and your current role as a volunteer leader.

I have two children ages 13 and 10 and I am involved in their schools as a volunteer.  My volunteer efforts have now expanded to the community and I participate in this project with three other wonderful women.

How did you get interested in becoming a volunteer leader?

 I lost my job last December and was fortunate enough to attend President Obama’s inauguration in January.  It was an amazing experience and I was moved by his plea for people to get involved in their community.  I have always been involved in my children’s schools, but this was a different calling.  I received an email from our district offices to see if I would be able to volunteer to drive food to a pantry on the last day of school before spring break.  It was so easy that I spoke with our contact in the Beaverton School district and suggested we need to do this full time.  It started small last spring and has evolved into a huge volunteer effort.  We collect food from 49 schools and deliver to 4 different food pantries.  It has been an incredibly rewarding project and a simple way to make a difference.

 Where else do you volunteer?

At my children’s schools.  I just finished chairing a cookie dough fundraiser for the PTO at my son’s middle school.  We raised $3,500.  I am also planning the winter party for my daughter’s 5th grade class.  I wish I could expand our Fork It Over program to other school districts in our area because the need is huge right now and the waste is so profound.

 What is it, specifically, that you need volunteers to do?

Our volunteers pick up food that is already boxed up from school cafeterias and deliver to a designated local pantry.  It is really that simple.  We have divided the district into routes and each route has no more than three schools.  The volunteer effort takes no more than an hour and the gas in your car.

How do you inspire others to volunteer?

Most of the communication has been via email.  It has not been that hard as this is a community of people who want to be involved and want to make a difference.  I asked a group of people to ask their friends and so on.  We have advertised in neighborhood newsletters, our PTO newsletters, widespread email distribution from the district office, and we have had two articles written in our local paper which had a huge impact.  Those are simply our means of communication – the inspiration comes from those who listen to their heart and want to make a difference.

 What's one piece of advice you have for other volunteers organizers out there?

If you see a need don’t be afraid, just jump in and go for it.  It will be more rewarding than the effort you will put into it.

Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

It was recommended to me from a friend who attends the same church as I do.  The church ministry was using it to coordinate volunteers.  We reviewed the video segments on how easy it is and we were hooked.  Last spring I was scheduling volunteers for 13 schools and I was doing it manually via email and a spreadsheet.  It was very challenging and took a lot of time.  Once we got everything set up and procedures finalized the rest has been fairly easy.  VolunteerSpot is fantastic to work with and has allowed us to expand the program district wide to 49 schools.  We now manage over 100 volunteers with the calendar.  It has been an amazing tool for us and one that has allowed us to expand the program.  It would not have been possible with out VolunteerSpot. 

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We salute Carol W. Garzillo and all the volunteer heroes out there working for our communities! 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.

A New Year's Appeal to Young Adults and Job Seekers: Volunteer!

Volunteering gets you off your butt and out of the house

Every year, Volunteering makes it into the top ten lists of popular New Year's Resolutions. This year, according to a recent national survey, 59% of Americans plan to volunteer in 2010.  At VolunteerSpot, we're thrilled about this statistic and work hard to help folks keep their commitments - by making it easier for local leaders to coordinate volunteering and easier for volunteers to step up and get on the schedule.

Last year we had the pleasure of meeting Abby Schwarz, the business and jobs contributor for Girls Guide to the Galaxy.  In her humorous post Volunteering Gets you Off your Butt and Out of the House, she made a strong appeal to young adults and job seekers. Keeping New Year's Resolutions is difficult enough, keeping them when you are unemployed or underemployed, even more challenging. 

As a kick-off to 2010 and New Year's Resolutions - please consider Abby's list of awesome benefits to volunteering:

Volunteering gets you out off of your butt and out of the house - For many of the unemployed, sitting at your computer and desperately looking for jobs gets depressing pretty quickly. Try leaving the house and focusing your energy on something besides CareerBuilder one to two days a week. Volunteering also puts your current situation into perspective.

Volunteering can teach you new skills/offer new work experience - I often hear from applicants who want to try switching careers but don’t have any work experience in their desired field. Volunteer with a group where you can gain hands-on experience and learn from people who are experts in a specific area of work. These are often opportunities you wouldn’t be privy to at your current job because employees are often pigeonholed in their roles.

Volunteering looks good on a resume - From an employer’s perspective who would you rather hire: the person who spends their free time watching “Dancing with the Stars” or the person who participated in a dance marathon to raise money for a local charity? Those who regularly volunteer are perceived as “go-getters” and that gets employers interested in hearing more about the person behind the resume.

Volunteers interview better for “real” jobs - Those who volunteer generally interview better for jobs than those who sit at home and freak out about finding a job. Volunteering gives people a sense of self-worth/purpose and it shows in their overall demeanor during an interview.

Volunteering can lead to full-time employment - At my company, where we heavily encourage volunteerism, we have heard several success stories from applicants who landed a job either directly at the place where they volunteered OR through a connection they met while volunteering. Again, it beats sitting and home and waiting for a recruiter to call you back.

I’m not suggesting that young people quit their current jobs to devote 40-60 hours per week to as many non-profits as possible. My hope is that more young people dedicate five hours per month to a cause close to their heart. Whether it be animals, kids, the environment, or historical buildings, it would be great if more young people dedicated a small amount of time to their community.

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When choosing a volunteer opportunity, consider your passions and interests.  Ask friends who volunteer, do some internet research and contact a few local groups that seem like a “fit” to see where they need help. To find organizations that match your interests, please search on VolunteerSpot using AllforGood's widget - just click here and click 'change settings' in the header of the search tool to add your zip code.

Happy Volunteering, Happy Job Hunting and HAPPY 2010!!

Abby Schwarz is the Business and Jobs contributor for Girls Guide. She is an HR/Recruiting Specialist for a local, woman-owned staffing agency in Clayton, OH by day, and an active volunteer all over St. Louis by night. You can email her at abigail184 [at] gmail [dot]com, and follow her on Twitter.

Resolving to Save Time and Make Volunteering Easier in 2010 - An Invitation to Leaders

THANK YOU to all you volunteer leaders out there who keep us organized at school, who serve on nonprofit boards, who organize charity races and walk-a-thons, who step up at work and and your places of worship to lead service teams, who coach our children in youth sports, who run our Scout troops, who work long hours to support the myriad of nonprofits that bring comfort and much needed services to our communities. You are paid and unpaid and are local heroes all of you!

As you consider New Year's resolutions, please consider committing more time for yourselves and to spend with your friends and families.  At VolunteerSpot, we're dedicated to making volunteering easy.  It's 2010 - resolve to make your volunteer leader job more about leadership and less about time-consuming administrivia. Resolve to give up your clipboard sign up sheet, stop juggling Excel spreadsheets, put an end to late nights, phone tag and reply-all email. 

VolunteerSpot's free and easy-to-use volunteer scheduling software does all the administrative busy-work associated with volunteer coordination.  We cut coordination time by 85% and can save busy volunteer leaders up to two days a month of time spent scheduling help! Set up your activity online in a matter of minutes and invite your volunteers to choose a shift or donate needed supplies. Simple online calendar sign up sheets and automated email reminders leave you time for more meaningful activities - whether it be focusing on productive work, going to the movies with friends, or enjoying family dinners with your kids.

Please give us a try - take a live or video tour here: http://www.VolunteerSpot.com

Thank you for your service to our communities and for all the good you do in this world!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and here's to more time in 2010!