Opportunity Village has earned the distinction of being voted "Las Vegas’ Best Community Organization!"
Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people in the Southern Nevada community with intellectual disabilities, to enhance their lives and the lives of the families who love them. Opportunity Village is dedicated to helping people with severe intellectual and related disabilities become the very best they can be.
Here are a few of our Fun Facts!
Opportunity Village:
...owns stock in the Empire State Building.
...was the official manufacturer of Elvis’ scarves.
...saves taxpayers more than $33.7 million a year in public services.
...shreds over 12 tons of paper every day.
...clients serve 350,000 meals annually to troops at Nellis Air Force Base.
AND...The Magical Forest at Opportunity Village was named one of HGTV’s “Top Holiday Destinations!”
Today our Volunteer Spotlight shines on HR/Volunteer Coordinator, Sharon Williams, who uses VolunteerSpot's free online signup sheets to coordinate volunteers across the organization.
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Please tell us about your organizationand your volunteer needs.
Opportunity Village was founded in 1954 by a small group of local families seeking to improve the lives of their children with intellectual disabilities. Since then, Opportunity Village has grown to become Nevada’s largest private, not-for-profit community rehabilitation program, serving more than 3,000 people annually through vocational training, community job placement, art & life skill enrichment, advocacy, and social recreation programs. More than just a charity, Opportunity Village operates three employment training center campuses and a Thrift Store.
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
We use volunteers in all areas of our organization: events (Magical Forest, HallOVeen etc.), administrative/clerical assistance, thrift store shifts and working with our OVIPs (persons-served) in the various programs.
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers out there?
Find your passion and volunteer. There are so many wonderful organizations – you will have the best experience volunteering for a cause you believe in.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
I had used Volunteer Spot as a partner with the University of Nevada Las Vegas. They posted my activities for participation by their students and I had admin access which I used to track shifts and manage scheduling.
Anything else you'd like to share with our readers, today?
Through vocational training, community employment, day services, advocacy, arts and social recreation, citizens with severe disabilities are able to find new friends, realize future career paths, seek independence and community integration and unleash creative passions. Opportunity Village relies heavily on people in the community who donate their time to helping serve men and women with intellectual disabilities. You can get involved by volunteering to work hand-in-hand with the people we serve or assisting with one of our events.
To learn more about the Opportunity Village, visit http://www.opportunityvillage.org/
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We salute Sharon 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].
