Volunteer in Dallas: Volunteer Center of North Texas Offers 2,500 Opportunities to Give Back
As a resident of the Dallas area you should take pride in living in such a growing city with a solid economy. One powerful way to feel grateful for your current situation is to help others through volunteering. Often times by helping others you develop a stronger sense of self worth and confidence. Earlier this year I was invited to join the board of the Volunteer Center of North Texas and I wanted to inform and educate readers about this great organization.
The Volunteer Center of North Texas is the central hub of volunteering for area nonprofits. Founded in 1971 by four ladies—Helen Boothman, Mitch Jericho, Jan Sanders and Annette Strauss—the Volunteer Center is one of the largest and most active volunteer centers in the country. Its primary purpose is to recruit volunteers, including individuals, corporations and civic and faith-based groups, to serve more than 2,500 nonprofits in North Texas. Volunteers work every day to make a difference in the North Texas community and rely on the VCNT as their source of information.
For more than 41 years, the Volunteer Center has provided volunteers and volunteer-related services to nonprofits through programs such as:
veriFYI, a comprehensive criminal background check; community service restitution, a program that places those sentenced by the courts to volunteer;
Donated Goods, where agency partners are able to shop for pennies on the dollar;
Education and training for nonprofit professionals and many more.
Communities around the country are challenged by deep budget cuts in public education and municipal budgets. While not all of these eliminated positions can be filled by volunteers, some of them can. The Volunteer Center is rising to the occasion! To help fill the gaps, the Volunteer Center manages projects on a regular basis where groups are able to transform a school or agency simply by painting walls, planting some greenery or building benches.
The simple act of volunteering saves nonprofits, corporations and the governmental sector millions of dollars each year. As resources decrease and needs increase, the Volunteer Center helps to “close the gap.†Individual citizens can make a REAL difference by just donating their time and expertise. The Volunteer Center of North Texas connects more than 20,000 volunteers to its member nonprofits annually, fulfilling both the organization’s needs and the individual’s desire to serve.
Volunteers are the social capital of our society because they create a sense of ownership, accountability and camaraderie in our communities. Each project that you attend, each agency you visit, each agency you touch is a direct connection to the person you will become and how you will impact others.
Sign up today for volunteer opportunities in north Texas and help the Volunteer Center as its transforms communities and strengthens nonprofits through volunteerism.