Basic HTML Version
summer
2012
maskmatters.org
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required. “It is eye opening to see
how many organizations in your
own backyard need help,” adds Jack.
For charitable organizations,
The Volunteer Family database
offers a way to recruit volunteers for
general and specific needs that are
vital to their mission. Particularly
in the current economic climate
of reduced funding and donations,
many hands are needed to ensure an
organization’s survival, and family
volunteers are greatly appreciated for
their enthusiasm and their effort. It is
a win-win situation for all involved.
Not limited to children and
their families, the site is also utilized
by scout troops looking for badge
projects, businesses seeking group
volunteering opportunities and
schools seeking service-learning projects. “That’s the beauty of the database,”
says Jack. “Connecting people to projects and seeing the benefit to everyone.”
Looking back, Jack is amazed at how quickly The Volunteer Family
has grown from a simple idea and small non-profit to an organization
with a national presence affecting lives throughout the United States. It’s
heartwarming, she says, especially since the organization has exceeded her
expectations. “I’m rewarded every day, and I love to get feedback from our
volunteers.The thing I hear over and over again is from kids who say that
they never understood what their community needed before and they never
knew they could make a difference. It’s empowering and energizing.”
How You Can Help
The Volunteer Family has volunteer
opportunities for individuals, groups and
families for organizations all over the country.
To find a project you and your family can
participate in, visit thevolunteerfamily.org.
✪
{
DID YOU KNOW?
}
Women volunteer at a higher rate than men across all age groups, educational levels and other major demographic characteristics.
“Volunteering
together as
a family can
provide all
types of positive
outcomes.”
s
Heather Jack, founder of The
Volunteer Family.
PhotograPhy
St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance; Valley of the Sun United Way; The Volunteer Family
value the lessons of compassion and empathy that
are inherent when participating in community
service. Volunteering together as a family can
provide all types of positive outcomes.”
Indeed, more than 20,000 volunteers have
participated in more than 30,000 national volunteer
projects in 43 states since the organization’s inception.
Projects range from assisting with charity golf
tournaments, building perches for a burrowing
owl release, cleaning up local streets, helping stock
food banks, spending time with rescued animals,
reading to toddlers and general computer work to
crafting with seniors, mentoring students, sewing
quilts for domestic abuse shelters or working on
special events.The choices are many and varied.
Easy to use and free of charge,The Volunteer
Family database quickly matches a volunteer’s location
to a myriad of community service choices. Each
volunteer request clearly lists a description of the
organization’s needs, age groups desired and the skills
78
maskmatters.org
summer
2012
community
solutions
empower
The
Volunteer
Family
story // suzanne Pickett martinson
W
hat started as one mother’s desire
to find volunteer projects she could
experience with her daughter has
become a go-to database filled with a wide
range of community service opportunities for
families throughout the United States.
After leaving the corporate world in 2002 to
spend time with her newborn daughter, Heather
Jack missed volunteering her time to charitable
organizations that had been a big part of her pre-child
days. She found it difficult and time consuming to
find opportunities in her community, and eventually
saw the need for a way to match volunteers with
organizations. A year later, Jack founded The Volunteer
Family to help others find meaningful experiences
for and with their families through volunteering.
“A lot of kids want to give back but don’t
know how and don’t know where,” says Jack, who
lives outside of Boston with her husband, 9-year-
old daughter and 6-year-old son. “And parents