Lethbridge Volunteer is working to mobilise volunteers more quickly. The organisation checks out prospective volunteers for about 100 non-profits.
According to executive director Amanda Jensen, it’s a process that can take three to four hours per person.
“If one is interested in volunteering at a couple of places, instead of filling out application forms at each location and going through the process at each, it’s done here at Volunteer Lethbridge and they’re free to serve in far more capacities in the community,” Jensen said.
The Interfaith Food Bank is one of those nonprofit organisations.
Approximately half of the new volunteers at the food bank have been verified by Volunteer Lethbridge in the previous six weeks, according to volunteer coordinator Bill Selles, filling a crucial need.
Any non-profit organisation must rely on volunteer work, and Selles claimed that her group is operated entirely by volunteers. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. ”
“It really is working,” Jensen said.
Since the programme has been running for more than a year, higher echelons are starting to pay attention to it.
Volunteer officials from Alberta are curious in the concept of a centralised screening process and have been monitoring the Lethbridge program’s development.
Graeme Dearden, manager of learning resources at Volunteer Alberta, said that Volunteer Lethbridge “kind of out of the blue came up with a model that works really well on a municipal level to do some of that centralised work and to also create a platform where organisers can learn a little bit more about the volunteers.”
According to Jensen, “this could be a way of bringing this method beyond of Lethbridge.”
And by doing so, helping more people serve their communities sooner..
Lethbridge volunteer programme draws attention from outside sources because “we’re getting what we want”
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