Student Volunteers Support Summer Reading Program
Since 1984, the New Fairfield Free Public Library has run a Summer Reading Program for children up to 18 years of age in New Fairfield, CT. Through this program, the Library has endevoured to encourage reading during summer vacation so children can maintain the level of reading skills they achieved during the preceding school year.
Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Janet Caiola, Program Coordinator, who uses VolunteerSpot's free online signup sheets to coordinate an annual volunteer program.
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Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs.
Each year, more than 50 student volunteers spend part of their summer to help sign up children for this program and maintain reading logs over the program’s six week duration. For the past two years, we have been using Volunteerspot to schedule our student volunteers, send them e-mail reminders of their shifts, and track their community service hours. (In New Fairfield, students are required to complete 15 community service hours a year for high school).
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
Previously, all volunteers were scheduled by hand, hours tallied by hand, and letters confirming volunteer hours generated individually. Volunteerspot has streamlined this process in so many ways. Now, students can pick their own hours, volunteer hours are easily tallied, and volunteer letters confirming student hours can be generated by simply doing a mail merge. What used to take two staff members a week to achieve, now takes only a few hours.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
Prior to joining the New Fairfield Library, I had used volunteerspot to schedule library volunteers at my children’s elementary school. So, when I started as the Program Coordinator at New Fairfied Library, I knew I was going to use it to schedule our student volunteers.
Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
I have been using Volunteerspot for over 4 years in one capacity or another, and have seen it evolve from a simple scheduling tool, to an invaluable resource. Volunteerspot continues to evolve, adding new features every year. I would encourage anyone using it to reach out with your feedback and suggestions as I have found Volunteerspot staff to be very flexible and responsive. Nothing but praise.
To learn more about the New Fairfield Free Public Library, visit http://www.newfairfieldlibrary.org
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We salute Janet and all the other volunteers out there - YOU make a difference. 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 [email protected].
