Community Collaborations is the Key to Community Solutions Ohio Senior Corps

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” ---Albert Einstein

Senior Corps volunteering is all about solving community issues: Food Pantries Tax Aide Senior Produce Markets Meals on Wheels Literacy Tutoring Clothing Banks

What are some areas you are considering?

Where do I begin? Identify a gap in service in your community What community partners should be considered? What agencies are already involved in this issue? What resources will be needed?

Small Group Activity – 15 minutes List three issues in your community – gaps in service What local agencies may be involved in addressing each issue/gap in service?

Transportation & Food Distribution Senior Wheels Volunteers use their own vehicle to transport other seniors to medical appointments and on personal errands Commodity Boxes Volunteers distribute food boxes at drive-thru distribution

Establish Community Need & Identify Community Partners Collect & Analyze Data Create a needs statement List Community Partners Meet with them individually Invite them to the table What resources can they provide

Drug Disposal Pouches RSVP volunteers give a 10 minute presentation on how to use the drug disposal pouch properly and why it is so important to purge your medicine cabinet regularly. Surveys are collected by volunteers at the presentation as they distribute the drug disposal pouches Workplan data is from the surveys collected at the presentations

Program Design Determine the purpose of the program Define beneficiaries, what problem will be solved Keep asking, “does this align with the purpose” Design Program Structure Outline target demographics, geographical boundaries, how it all works

Funding/Resources Make a budget. List out all expenses: start-up and ongoing Identify donors: foundations, insurance companies, hospitals, agencies Develop fact & budget templates to quickly drop into grants Develop donation letters, corporate asks Develop list of in-kind contributions

Small Group Activity Step 1: 10 minutes Take one of the community issues discussed earlier and brainstorm on possible ways Senior Corps volunteers could serve: Offer direct service to clients Provide administrative support Transportation to service Recruitment strategies

STEP 2: 10 Minutes Develop a volunteer description and include: Training component Service hours/schedule Requirements How many volunteers may be needed

What Does Success Look Like? Strategy for Senior Corps grants: Align with National Service Performance Measures Set indicators of success Develop evaluation implementation plan What does data collection look like? Develop data collection outline and timeline

Contact Us RSVP Lake County RSVP Washington County Lisa Valentine Director lvalentine@wcgov.org 740-373-3107 Cristen Kane Director Cristen.kane@weschools.org 440-269-3015