Thank You Volunteers!
Celebrate National Volunteer Week

Communities Unite to 
“Celebrate Volunteers in Action,”
While Local Volunteer Organizations Unite
to “Sow the Seeds of Volunteerism”

National Volunteer Week (April 18 to 25), honors those who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in communities like the Chattanooga area. This year’s national theme, “Celebrating People in Action,” is also about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to help their communities by putting themselves at the center of social change.

Sponsored by Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network, National Volunteer Week (NVW) was established in 1974 by former President Richard Nixon and has grown each year. Every president since has signed a proclamation promoting this week. With the Serve America Act recently passed by Congress and sent to President Obama for his signature, 2009 promises to be an even more energizing and inspiring year for volunteers.

Locally, NVW is sponsored by United Way’s Volunteer Center, DOVIA (Directors of Volunteers in Agencies) and the Corporate Volunteer Council (an advisory committee to the United Way). Together with other area nonprofits, they’re orchestrating several events to focus attention on thanking local volunteers who have worked to advance the common good and make lasting social changes in this community. Area volunteers will be celebrated for accomplishing extraordinary feats – such as community revitalization, conservation and education – through service. The Chattanooga Area NVW theme is “Volunteer United: Sowing the Seeds of Volunteerism.” To see a list of celebration events or learn more about getting involved, go to www.LiveUnitedChattanooga.org and click on “News & Events” at the top.

Two of these celebration events are the Annual Volunteer Awards Banquet and Volunteer Appreciation Night at AT&T Stadium.

The Annual Volunteer Awards Banquet will be on Tuesday, April 21, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Unum Atrium and tickets are still available. Jack Kruesi will be the event’s key note speaker and will host an entertaining evening featuring the Bramble Roses. United Way's Volunteer Center, DOVIA, and the Corporate Volunteer Council will thank volunteers from nonprofit agencies around the region and hand out service awards to volunteers who were exemplary in how they gave of themselves to the community. Volunteer of the Year Awards will be given in the following six areas: Youth, Community, Education, Environment, Health and Corporate. In all, 29 individuals and 3 corporations were nominated for these 2008 awards. The Banquet is sponsored by ACE Hardware and Unum. 

United Way's Volunteer Center, DOVIA and the Corporate Volunteer Council are also holding a special baseball outing at the Lookouts for 485 local supporters on Saturday, April 18, as another way of thanking these hard-working volunteers.

With literally thousands of volunteer projects and special events scheduled nationwide throughout the week, local community volunteers can join thousands of individuals all across the country and get involved. If you are interested in joining this movement by becoming a community volunteer, call Windy Brooks at the Volunteer Center at 423.752.0316. You can also volunteer by visiting us online at www.LiveUnitedChattanooga.org and click on “Volunteer.”

During 2008, United Way’s Volunteer Center had more than 1,440 volunteers who donated 43,570 hours at a value of $20.25 per hour. That's a contribution of a little more than $882,292.50 through just United Way’s Volunteer Center alone. Chattanooga as a whole had a huge number of volunteers and volunteer hours when all the 2008 volunteer numbers from its nonprofit organizations, civic programs and religious organizations were added together. Recent research from the Corporation for National and Community Service uncovered these local trends and numbers for the greater Chattanooga area: 

Chattanooga Volunteering Trends:

• Chattanooga has an average annual volunteer rate of 29.6%, with 125,000 volunteers serving 19.1 million hours per year.
• By donating time to serve, Chattanooga's volunteers make an estimated annual economic contribution of $373 million.
• Volunteer Rate Ranking: 38th of the 75 mid-size cities surveyed
• Average Volunteer Rate: 29.6%
• Volunteer Hours Ranking: 17th of the 75 mid-size cities surveyed
• Average Volunteer Hours per Resident: 45.2 hours (9 hours above national average)

Top Three Places for Chattanooga Area Volunteers to Serve

• Religious Organizations: 42.8% (3% above national average; 3% below state average)
• Educational or Youth Service Organizations: 30.8% (4% above national average; 10% above state average)
•  Social Service Organizations: 12.7% (1% below state & national average)

Top Four Volunteer Activities in Chattanooga

• Tutor or teach: 28.3% (8% above national average; 4% above state average)
• Fundraise or sell items to save money: 28.1% (1% above national average; 8% above state average)
• Collect, prepare, distribute, or serve food: 19.2% (5% below national & state average)
• Mentor Youth: 18.4% (1% above national average; this activity doesn’t rank in Tennessee)

The Volunteer Center is a vital United Way program that locates volunteer opportunities and recruits people to contribute their time to create real impact and lasting change in their communities. United Way's Volunteer Center promotes volunteerism throughout the community by helping organizations recruit volunteers and create the best opportunities for youth, busy working adults and seniors; connecting individuals, groups and corporations to customized volunteer opportunities that fit their interests; and publicly recognizing volunteer impact in our community. Call United Way at 423-752-0316 for more information on how to become involved in the community, or visit our web site at www.LiveUnitedChattanooga.org.