by Terri Durham, Office Coordinator, Seeds of Hope
Volunteer: noun, vol·un·teer \ ˌvä-lən-ˈtir / “A person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service.”
Seeds of Hope has been improving lives for 25 years, and volunteers are a huge part of our success. Over the course of a quarter-century, there has never been more than a handful of employees (most part-time) and yet our programs impact thousands of lives each year. This is only made possible with an army of volunteers.
The national value of volunteer time, figured by Independent Sector, is $23.56 an hour (2017). The Independent Sector reports, “… 63 million Americans volunteer about 8 billion hours of their time, talent, and effort to improve people’s lives.” Here, at Seeds of Hope, over 200 volunteers donated a combined 6,168 hours in 2017. That’s a value of approximately $145,318!
Many of our devoted volunteers are part-time residents. They roll up their sleeves and invest in our community while they’re here. The relationships they form with our program participants are genuine. But when they pack up and head out of town, they leave behind an opportunity.
If you are from Arizona, you know the summer months are long and sizzling. Activities around town are at a minimum, simply because it’s too hot to be outdoors. But, Seeds of Hope programming doesn’t take the summer off, and it’s the perfect opportunity for you to try your hand at volunteering.
Whether you have one morning a week to give to our hot lunch program or an afternoon a few days a week to give to our afterschool summer homework and tutoring Power Hour at the MACC, we’ve got a place for you to give volunteering a try. We’ll work with your schedule. You can try it risk-free with no commitment, if you’re on the fence. But experience tells us the feeling you will get when you look beyond yourself at the world around you and begin to make it a better place for someone else is addictive.
Volunteers are the heartbeat of Seeds of Hope. Join our army of community supporters. Give us a call today at 520-836-6335 to learn more about how to become a volunteer this summer.
