Friday, September 3, 2010

Our Work United Way works to advance the common good by providing opportunities for a better life for all. We focus on the building blocks for a successful life: education, income and health. United Way helps to ensure academic success for children, financial stability for lower-income families, and a safety net of health and human services for everyone.

What is Day of Caring? Hands-on volunteer event that started in 1992 with just 430 volunteers In 2009: –5,525 volunteers –65 workplaces –160 organizations in our 40 town area –An investment of more than $800,000 worth of volunteer time in the community

United Way Day of Caring First day of our 2010 United Way Community Campaign United Way Day of Caring is part of our call to action—Give, Advocate, Volunteer—to get people involved in education, income and health activities Gives volunteers the opportunity to learn about how the work we do improves people’s lives, how important it is to be involved in changing community conditions

United Way Day of Caring United Way Day of Caring XIX will be tied into our education interest area: ensuring success for children

Your role in United Way Day of Caring Advocate for Day of Caring and for the United Way Community Campaign within your workplace Assist volunteers in their project selection and their communication with the agency Be a trouble-shooter Be a cheerleader

How do you choose who gets to participate? Talk with managers Provide as a leadership opportunity Special department each year Everyone goes!

When choosing your project, consider the following: Multiple projects have been submitted to date More projects will be added over the next few weeks Your access to the project listing on Volunteer Solutions will continue for weeks to come Be realistic in your project selections and the number of spots you select per project. There are both half day and full day projects listed on the website.

Projects are: Active and passive Indoors and outdoors Full-day and half-day Located across our 40-town region Projects include: Painting Clean-ups Interacting with clients Serving food Landscaping Office administrative work Skill-based work

United Way Day of Caring If participating on a day other than September 3 rd, you will not find your projects on the website. Please notify Libby of the date if you have not already. I will work with you to select projects for your volunteers. Reaching Sponsors: remember you can select only 250 spots prior to all other sponsors. More spots may be selected after August 2, 2010.

Important Dates to Remember July 19 July 22 July 27 Reaching level sponsors begin project selection Helping level sponsors begin project selection Supporting level sponsors begin project selection August- September Site visits with organizations and workplaces August 2All companies able to select projects August 3 Reaching Sponsor companies able to select additional projects August Distribution of t-shirts and lawn signs at United Way September 319 th Annual United Way Day of Caring!!

Lessons Learned or How to have a great Day of Caring experience

Communication is Key! Go to the Volunteer Solutions website often for all the info you need about your volunteer project Make contact with your agency coordinator early Do a site visit Review supplies, share cell phone numbers, and plans for lunch Review how many actual volunteers will be attending

United Way Day of Caring Be sure to have enough tools Be aware of poison ivy !

United Way Day of Caring Be prepared for ups and downs in volunteer activity levels Review inclement weather plans!

United Way Day of Caring Expect people with cameras

United Way Day of Caring Wear your shirts and use your signs

Risk Management Evaluate your project; acknowledge and identify potential risk for your employees; eliminate risk when possible Communicate with volunteers about risks involved and determine volunteers' qualifications Orient and train all volunteers before each activity Ensure the agency collects signatures on the Volunteer Release Forms before volunteers begin work

Lessons Learned Any lessons learned that you would like to share?

Project selection begins You will receive a link at 8 a.m. on the day your project selection begins Reaching sponsors: July 19 th Helping sponsors: July 22 nd Supporting sponsors: July 27 th All companies: August 2 nd Click on the link to be brought to the project selection website on Volunteer Solutions

Searching and sorting projects Read the information provided. At the bottom of the page begins the list of submitted projects. Notice that you can search within the list of projects by: ~Keyword ~Number of volunteers ~Zip code You may also sort the projects by: ~Project title~Agency ~Date/time ~Current participants ~Participants still needed

To learn more about a project, click on the project title

Once you find a project that you like, click Register.

The next screen will ask you to Please Log In. If you are a user of Volunteer Solutions, simply enter your username and password. If you are not a current user of Volunteer Solutions, choose the “I do not have an account and would like to register” option. Logging In to Volunteer Solutions

If you can’t remember your login name or password, contact Angela Marchio at or She is in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and If you can’t reach Angela, please call or Libby at or Password problems

The next screen will ask you how many volunteer spots you would like to claim for this project. Please take only the number of spots you know you currently need. NEW!! Deadline for returning unused spots is Friday, August 20, 2010.

If choosing one spot: Because you are a registered user of Volunteer Solutions, the system recognizes your information and will ask for your workplace name. HINT: If the spot you are selecting is for a person other than yourself, do not worry about your name being the name that is entered. We know you are selecting projects for multiple people. The next screen will thank you for registering, and your project selection is complete. At this point, the screens may differ depending on if you are choosing one or more volunteer spots.

If choosing two or more spots: You will be asked to create a group name to identify your group, provide your workplace name, and provide the names of those registering with your group. Notice that the only information required is the name of the group leader (person in Participant 1 location) and his/her phone number or address. We ask that you provide the full contact information for the group/team leader in the Participant 1 location so the agency’s Day of Caring coordinator can contact you as Day of Caring nears. The names and contact information for all other participants is optional but is welcome. At this point, the screens may differ depending on if you are choosing one or more volunteer spots.

Congratulations! You’ve selected your project for United Way Day of Caring XVIII! Would you like to select more projects? At the bottom of the screen, you may choose to select another project. When you have completed your project selection, simply logoff by clicking Logout in the upper right hand corner of the screen. For each project you choose, you will receive an letting you know when it has been approved by the system administrator at United Way. This may take 48 to 72 hours.

Editing your project selections To add participants to a project you have chosen: Login to your Volunteer Solutions user account by going to click on Volunteer and login using your username and password. Look for the My Events section as you scroll down the page. The projects that you have selected are here. Click on the project title. This will bring you to the project description. If spots are still open, simply click Register. If this option is not showing, this means the project is full, and you will need to choose a different project or speak with the organization to see if they will accept more volunteers.

Editing your project selections To remove or reduce participants in a project: –Please send an to Libby Richardson at –Include your name, your workplace name, the project title, and the number of participants to be removed –You will receive a confirmation when your employees have been removed from the project. –The change can also be noted by logging into your Volunteer Solutions user account by going to clicking on Volunteers and logging in using your username and password. Look for the My Events section as you scroll down the page. The projects that you have selected are listed here.

Additional Resources United Way Day of Caring general information

Support Team Libby Richardson, Community Engagement Manager (860) Angela Marchio, Special Events Summer Intern (860)

Thank you again!