At the Heart of Helping...

"At the Heart of Helping..."

July 2016

Dear ,

This t hree-day holiday weekend is the perfect opportunity to plan summer service activities with your family and friends. Browse through the opportunities listed on our website, http://volcenter.org/volunteer/ and then give us a call at (310) 212-5009 .

Our office will be closed Saturday-Monday for the holiday and we will return on Tuesday.

Happy Fourth of July!

Volunteer Opportunity Spotlight:

...At the Heart of Helping Senior Citizens in Torrance

One of our nonprofit partners, South Bay Village has an urgent need for volunteers in Torrance and the nearby surrounding areas. The South Bay Village helps aging senior members remain in their homes so they can enjoy the comfort of their familiar surroundings and community.

Volunteers are needed to serve as drivers to take seniors to doctors appointments and on errands, make check-in phone calls, visit seniors in their home, and do simple household tasks.

Contact Melissa at (310) 212-5009 for more details!

Food For Kids Summer Expansion

...At the Heart of Helping Hungry Children

The shelves in our pantry are looking bare, but for good reason! We are expanding our program so that we can serve an

average of more than 120 families each week. We have partnered with summer school programs in Torrance Unified School District and Compton Unified School District to provide bags of food for their summer school programs. Research shows that summer is really tough on low-income families, especially homeless and foster children, because they have no access to the subsidized meals normally provided by the schools during the year. If you are looking for a summer service activity- please consider a food drive to help us re-stock the shelves in time for the new school year.

For more info about Food for Kids: http://volcenter.org/food-for-kids/

Volunteer. Involvement. Voice. Action. (VIVA)

...At the Heart of Helping Teens Find Meaningful Summer Service

We just finished the orientation for 18 new student participants in our summer VIVA youth leadership development service program. The program is for teens ages 12-18 and runs for twelve weeks. High school members of our Volunteer Center Youth Coalition (VCYC) are trained to serve as leaders for the VIVA program which gives them great experience in facilitation and project management. During the course of the summer, the VIVA students will learn how to identify and research community needs and then plan and implement service projects to address those needs. Its a youth microcosm for the Volunteer Center's mission!

For more information: http://volcenter.org/youth-programs/

Summer Fest - Tickets & Sponsorships On Sale Now!

...At the Heart of Helping Support the Volunteer Center's Programs

Please save the date! On Sunday, August 14, Chef Shafer of The Depot restaurant is hosting a summertime street band bash to help raise much-needed funding for our Volunteer Center. Tickets are $125 and sponsorships range from $1,500 - $10,000. There will be a silent and live auction, so if you have a vintage bottle of wine, a vacation home, or unique item- we'd love to include it! For more information about this event- please contact our new Associate Director, Laura Nelson at (310) 212-5009.

For more information: http://volcenter.org/summerfest/

Why I Support the Volunteer Center

...At the Heart of Giving

"I became a Pantry Partner to support the Food for Kids program because I have never gone to bed hungry... for lack of food in my life. My family and friends have always had food on the dinner table. The thought that there are children in our community who miss meals is heartbreaking. I love that the Volunteer Center gives volunteers a way to personally get involved and make sure these kids don't go hungry."

Janet Payne

Pantry Partner

Former Board President

Longtime Volunteer Center Supporter.

Your Support is Key!

...At the Heart of Generous Giving

We are in the midst of two very important donation efforts and we would love your support. The first is our spring giving campaign which will help us achieve goals such as implementing a new volunteer opportunity online system, expanding the items in our Operation Teddy Bear schoolbags this December, and helping our youth volunteers plant a community garden. The second is an opportunity to help us reach our $1 million dollar endowment goal. $1M was the goals we set for ourselves before we could start using a portion of the earned interest to support our programs each year. Can you help us?

SPRING APPEAL: (Select "Greatest Need")

$13,000 raised toward our $20,000 goal

ENDOWMENT: (Select "Endowment")

$990K raised toward our $1 MILLION goal

From the President/CEO

...At the Heart of a Leadership Transition

Earlier this year I was honored to accept the President/CEO position when De De Hicks retired after 29 years. I quickly fell in love with our mission. Despite the tragedies we hear about in the news, selfless volunteers are the key to building a kindness and compassionate society, starting one neighborhood at a time. The first six months have been a whirlwind of activity. I've been impressed with the dedicated volunteers, generous donors, and board members I've met so far. This newsletter is long overdue, but we're grateful for your patience. You are all truly at the heart of helping and your passion is inspiring!

As embark on a new strategic planning process, I look forward to meeting more of you and I would love to hear your thoughts about the future of volunteer service in our community.