Cheers to Sergio Alcubilla for using VolunteerSpot!
The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit, public interest law firm with offices statewide; Legal Aid helps ensure justice and fairness for all by providing civil legal aid to the most vulnerable in our society.
Please tell us about your organization and your volunteer needs:
In working towards the vision of building a just society; we want to first help make the legal system a little less intimidating by providing easy to understand legal forms and brochures, including online forms that people can use when they go to court. Second, we help people help themselves by providing legal assistance so people can better know their rights and know how to solve their legal problems. Finally, we try to level the playing field by providing legal representation to those that need it the most. Volunteer attorneys and many of the major law firms have adopted a month to volunteer at the self-help center and in 2014, nearly 300 volunteer attorneys have provided their services pro bono.
Explain how you use VolunteerSpot to coordinate these volunteers.
After an attorney completes training, they are sent a link to the VolunteerSpot on-line sign up form. Once there, they can choose an available shift during the month they volunteer. VolunteerSpot works perfectly to send a reminder email to the attorney about their upcoming shift. Finally, the monthly roster can be printed or saved for reporting purposes. We also use VolunteerSpot to send thank you notes to our volunteers after their shifts.
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteers or their leaders out there?
Volunteer time is precious and the service hours that volunteers put in shouldn’t be taken for granted. Show appreciation to your volunteers and how much you value their time as much as possible.
Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?
It was a recommendation from a staff member who used it before. With limited funding to help the public, we needed to find ways to be resourceful in our approach. We’ve used VolunteerSpot for over 3 years now to help manage the number of volunteers that we have. It’s been such a great resource for a non-profit, public interest law firm like ours!
Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization or volunteering?
According to a recent national survey on Access to Justice, Hawaii ranks # 1 in providing help to self-represented litigants and is ranked in the top 5 overall on improving Access to Justice because of the work of volunteer attorneys and our court self-help centers. VolunteerSpot has played an integral role in this program’s success and in helping expand access to justice for those in need.
We salute Sergio and all the other teachers and volunteers making a difference in their communities. Check out how VolunteerSpot’s Volunteer Software can save you time and stress and boost parent involvement in your school. Take a tour today!
