Utah Commission on Service and Volunteerism                                                                     December 2016


GIVE THE GIFT OF VOLUNTEERING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

The spirit of giving is alive with the arrival of the holiday season. Give the gift that gives back, the gift of service. To find volunteer opportunities in your community, visit our resources page or create a profile at JustServe.org. 
CONGRATS TO OUR 2017 MLK DAY OF SERVICE GRANT RECIPIENTS

UServeUtah awarded grants to 9 organizations holding service projects that encourage volunteerism and honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Projects are taking place January 13-22 throughout the state, and it's easy get involved! 


2017 Grant Awardees
University of Utah Bennion Center
BYU Center for Service and Learning
Family Support Center of Southwestern Utah
Neighborhood House
Orchestra of Southern Utah
Playworks Utah
Public School Partnership
Utah Philharmonic Orchestra
Weber State University Center for Community Engaged Learning

Photo by: Jeffery D. Allred | Deseret News

AMERICORPS SERVICE STORY: CHRISTMAS DAY AT THE ROAD HOME
By: Celeste Ludlam

Last December, I had the opportunity to serve on Christmas Day and support volunteers who were providing a meal for the residents at my service location. As residents got food and were enjoying their meals, I coordinated with staff to get a list of home-bound residents who may not have been able to make it out of their apartments. We put together some plates of food and goodies and started the rounds to deliver food to these residents. All were very grateful for the meal, especially one gentleman in particular who expressed his gratitude to us and the volunteers providing the food with some very kind and heart-warming words. 

It reminded me of how much I love the service that I am doing and am very glad to be a small contributor to the good that AmeriCorps does. I love being a part of the AmeriCorps team and being able to work with big-hearted volunteers that help us do more than we could do on our own.

Celeste Ludlam is an AmeriCorps Alumna who served with Salt Lake County Most Vulnerable Populations at The Road Home: Palmer Court in 2016. 

Volunteer opportunities with The Road Home can be found here.


FESTIVAL OF THE TREES
 
The UServeUtah staff had fun putting together a pirate-themed display for Intermountain Healthcare's Festival of the Trees fundraiser. The tree sold at auction, with 100% of the proceeds going towards  helping children at Primary Children's Hospital. 



UTAH CONSERVATION CORPS SENDS CREWS TO HELP WITH L OUISIANA FLOOD RECOVERY

The Utah Conservation Corps Americorps Program, based at Utah State University, sent a second crew to Louisiana to help with recovery efforts from recent flooding. A crew of eight UCC AmeriCorps members joined other AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams (A-DRT) in the Baton Rouge area. During the past two months the crews assessed over 200 flooded homes and mucked and gutted five residences in the Baton Rouge area.

More information on UCC can be found at www.usu.edu/ucc .


VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT TRAINING A SUCCESS
 
UServeUtah hosted it's final Volunteer Management Training of the year in Utah County on December 8th and 9th. Over 30 individuals participated in the two-day interactive course, which teaches best practices to recruit, motivate, retain, and manage volunteers. See what some of our attendees had to say about the training:

"The format flowed perfectly. I loved the way the training modules were organized. I wish I had known of a training like this when I first started as coordinator of volunteers."
 
"I had a wonderful time and felt that I got a lot out of my time here. Thank you very much. I will definitely recommend this course to others."

UServeUtah holds several volunteer management trainings a year in counties throughout the state. Stay tuned to our newsletter or visit our website for more training opportunities in 2017.


The Lt. Governor's Volunteer Recognition Certificate program let's you nominate an outstanding volunteer. Submit your nomination here.  

 

Every volunteer has a story, and we want to hear yours! Share your story  here.

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