Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The results are in - volunteer hours up in FY08

Last night, I provided City Council a report of volunteer hours for FY08 (Oct. 1, 07 - Sept. 30, 08). The great news is that volunteers shared 43,323 hours of service - an 8% increase from the previous year. We estimate that more than 8,000 people volunteered in some way for the city during this time. Members of City Council had many positive things to say about the volunteer program and expressed their appreciation to the many citizens who contribute to the program's success.

Using the national value of $19.51, this time is worth more than $845,000. While putting a dollar figure to this contribution has become fairly easy, I don't think it reflects the true value of volunteering. The true value is in the ownership volunteers have in the community, the pride they can show by being a part of our city services and activities and the relationships they make along the way.

Over the last few years, Columbia has gone through the Visioning process with hundreds of citizens thinking about the future of our community. In the end, the Vision summary is stated:
Columbia will be a connected, informed and engaged community. I find that encouraging. The very vision that has been created is exactly the same thing that volunteers have been doing for Columbia for years!!

Congratulations to our volunteers on a great year and thank you to the more than 8,000 who made this positive report possible.
Leigh Britt

Monday, November 17, 2008

Fowl Shoot - Sidewalk Assessment - Nov. 15

Saturday, November 15 was a busy morning for volunteers!

Sidewalk Assessment: Twenty-five volunteers braved the cold to come to the GetAbout Columbia office and help with a sidewalk assessment. After a 30 minute review of how to conduct the assessments, volunteers were sent in groups to review sidewalks in an area east of downtown, around Stephens College and into the Benton-Stephens Neighborhood. They got 20 blocks reviewed Saturday morning, in spite of the cold and blustery conditions. (At least it was not snowing or raining!) The information collected will be used to help make decisions on how to improve our sidewalks, with special consideration to those who use wheelchairs.

Kristin Re, a Washington University student who led the project as part of an internship with GetAbout, shared a story about a woman killed by a driver in St. Louis. She used a wheel chair and was forced to ride in the street since there were not adequate sidewalks. This tragedy reminds us of the importance of good, usable sidewalks.

Thanks to the 25 volunteers who made the sidewalk assessment a success! Volunteers included several individuals from the community as well as a group of MU Engineering students who are members of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Fowl Shoot: Just a block away from the sidewalk project, six volunteers were helping with the Fowl Shoot at the Armory Sports Center. The Fowl Shoot, sponsored by Columbia Parks & Recreation, is a free-throw shooting contest with the winner in each age group receiving a coupon for a free turkey. The Columbia Channel has done a wonderful video promoting the event - I invite you to watch it - it's hilarious!

Thanks to the ladies of The Little Sisters of the Gold Rose, Mike McCarrick and Dayton Grover, Jr. for their help with this event. They all helped create memories for the participants at the Fowl Shoot!

Leigh Britt

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Tiger Night of Fun

Halloween night is a fun night for kids and volunteers! For many years, Columbia Parks & Recreation and local businesses have teamed up for the Tiger Night of Fun - a safe alternative to door-to-door trick or treating held at the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. Volunteers play an important role in the success of the event.

More than 50 local civic clubs, businesses, and other organizations, brought a game or activity for kids 6th grade and younger. Pictured here are the staff from the Fun City Youth Academy who brought a ring-toss game.

I enjoy volunteering at the Tiger Night of Fun because it exposes me to current culture. With every new costume, I learned something about what is popular with kids these days. The new one for me were characters from High School Musical. I guess I need to get out more often!

More importantly, it allowed me - and the dozens of other volunteers - to interact with children and their families and create memories.

In the course of two hours, more than 2,700 children and their families entered the fieldhouse and had their night of fun. It was all possible because of the work of hundreds of volunteers. Thank you!!