2nd Quarter - June - 2024 Newsletter
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Inside this Issue:
Welcome to our 19 new Community Partners!
Leadership Centre County Class of 2025 Full-Tuition Scholarship for Community Partners - Apply Before the July 31st Deadline!
Volunteer Centre County + Penn State - MLK Day of Caring Jan. 20, 2025
Court-Referred Service Update - New Platform Changes Forthcoming in July
Results of the April 2024 National Volunteer Month Promotion Celebration
Summer Social Media Promotion Strategy for Community Partners - a $10 Boost per Post
Do You Know About Our Widget? Use it to help boost your website’s SEO
News About the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference July 10-12, 2024 in Lancaster, PA
Volunteer Centre County’s Latest Activities
Volunteer Centre County Board Meeting Update
Benefits for our Community Partners: PANO and AL!VE — 20% membership discount
Nonprofit Resource: Tech Soup
New Centre County Video - Add Your Link or Video!
Did you know? Newsletters reside in each Community Partner’s portal on the Volunteer Centre County platform for easy reference.
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Welcome to our 19 new Community Partners
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19 Community Partners have joined since our last newsletter - 1st Qtr 2024!
Please welcome:
League of Women Voters of Centre County
Grief Connection
National Multiple Sclerosis Society - Pennsylvania Keystone Chapter
Office for Research Protections, Penn State University
Mount Nittany Health Foundation
Park Forest Preschool
CenClear Child Services (CenClear)
Centre County 4-H Robotics
Alzheimer's Association
Hope's Dream Rescue and Sanctuary
Adult Community ESL program (Penn State Career and Family Pathways)
Latin Vibe
Philipsburg Cemetery Co., Inc.
Spotlight PA
Mountaintop Area Swimming Pool
State of Hope Foundation Inc.
Centre Helps
Wildlife Leadership Academy
ACAP Centre County
We are 106 Community Partners Strong!
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Leadership Centre County - Tuition Scholarship Class of 2025
Volunteer Centre County Sponsors This Full-Tuition Scholarship
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Volunteer Centre County is offering a full-tuition scholarship for 1 applicant to
Leadership Centre County’s Community Leadership Program Class of 2025.
Application deadline: July 31, 2024.
Leadership Centre County is the region’s premier community leadership development organization. LEADERSHIP graduates are better informed about issues, practiced at fruitful discourse, and are inspired by provocative ideas and solutions – they are prepared to lead. LEADERSHIP educates participants about the needs, available services, strengths, opportunities, and current issues in Centre County to increase the leadership pool within the county with people who are well-informed, networked, and qualified to lead.
Participants in the Community Leadership Program (CLP) immerse themselves in an intensive 10-month exploration of current socio-economic issues that provide the foundation for a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. LEADERSHIP trains class members to work collaboratively for the good of the community with the goal of increased civic engagement in Centre County.
As their 1,100+ program graduates can attest, the CLP will provide you with the tools to be a more effective leader and make a greater impact on your community.
SCHOLARSHIP PROCESS
Leadership Centre County is currently accepting nominations for its Community Leadership Program, Class of 2025. The application deadline is July 31, 2024, and the program will begin in October 2024 and end in June 2025. Self-nominations are encouraged and accepted, or ask a friend to nominate you.
Once you apply, you will hear back from Denise Sullivan, Interim Executive Director of Leadership Centre County, at which point you may apply for this scholarship sponsored by Volunteer Centre County.
Simply reply to Denise’s email that you will receive from her upon nomination/application,
and tell Denise that you are either an unpaid Executive Director of an organization that is a Volunteer Centre County Community Partner,
or that you are a paid employee of an organization that is a Volunteer Centre County Community Partner,
and ask for the scholarship link.
Leadership's Recruitment and Selection Committee will select the scholarship recipient with Ann Echols (Leadership Centre County Graduate ('10) who is on that committee and on the Board of Leadership Centre County) recusing herself.
Think of this as a "Centre County 101" course.
To learn more about LEADERSHIP and its core program, click here: https://leadershipcentrecounty.org/community-leadership-program/ or call LEADERSHIP’s Interim Executive Director, Denise Sullivan at: 703.772.1218.
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Volunteer Centre County is happy to support our Community Partners!
Thanks to you all, Centre County is better for everyone!
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Volunteer Centre County + Penn State
MLK Day of Caring Jan. 20, 2025
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Volunteer Centre County and Penn State’s Student Affairs Student Leadership and Involvement Office are joining together to make MLK Day of Service on January 20, 2025 happen!
Volunteer Centre County will be seeking Community Partners to participate in the 2025 MLK Day of Service on January 20, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
The Office of Student Leadership & Involvement at Penn State University Park would like to increase the visibility of Penn State students in our local community as they build community and civic responsibility amongst students. As Penn State works on the supply side (student volunteers), Volunteer Center County will connect with Community Partners and work on the demand for service side. Together we will create a win-win for the 2025 MLK Day of Service and connections beyond!
Volunteer Centre County will be reaching out to our Community Partners and find out who is willing to take on groups of students for the MLK Day of Service on January 20, 2025, from 10 AM - 2 PM. Community Partners will be asked to provide an overview of how their organization helps to make Centre County be a better place for all before students start to help them. Penn State can designate certain students to be group leaders if the nonprofit does not have staff present to oversee the work.
Penn State will provide transportation and lunch for the students, as well as hold students accountable.
Penn State students are covered by Penn State insurance and can sign any liability forms needed by the Community Partner for the work they are performing.
We look forward to working more closely with Penn State and collaborating to increase volunteerism in Centre County!
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Court-Referred Service Update
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We summarized the survey results and feedback that we received from our Community Partners about what we will call Court-Referred Service. This summary was presented to the Centre County Bar Association on May 14, 2024.
The features presented in our 1st Quarter 2024 Newsletter will be implemented in July. This includes refining the search feature on the volunteer opportunities page, as well as the ability to collect additional information from people who apply online about (1) the number of hours they may need, (2) the name of the judge they are working with, and (3) the due date for their hours. This information will be shared with the Community Partner whose volunteer ad is selected for application.
Please email info@volunteercentrecounty.org and request a copy of the PowerPoint presentation presented to the Centre County Bar Association on May 14, 2024, if you would like to have a copy.
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Results of Our April 2024 National Volunteer Month
Promotion Celebration!
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A HUGE Shout Out THANKING EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING!!
We spotlighted Community Partners during April and two generous individuals anonymously donated $3 per Facebook “like” to the Community Partner whose spotlight was “liked”! This strategy was a hit and helped us raise our number of followers on Facebook to 1,185. It will take us time to build up to where we want to be, but this is a great start! THANKS TO YOU ALL!
Our audience is your audience.
Please like our posts, especially if the post is promoting your organization. This will help get the word out about your needs.
Please let us know your organization’s preferred hashtags and “@” address so that we can better promote you.
Please follow Volunteer Centre County on Facebook and Instagram.
https://www.facebook.com/volunteercentrecounty/
https://www.instagram.com/volunteercentrecounty/
Help Make Volunteer Centre County Better Known,
and in turn,
We Can Help Make Your Organization’s Needs Better Known!
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Summer Social Media Promotion Strategy
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At our May 10, 2024 Board Meeting, we voted to boost each Community Partner’s needs for volunteers, needs for donated goods, and ‘Spread the Word’ posts at $10 each for up to 7 days. So, all new activity to the Volunteer Centre County platform will now be boosted, offering those who use it an extra reach to get noticed.
We encourage our Community Partners to post as many volunteer needs and need for donated goods as possible. Each time a need is reposted, it can move to a better spot on the platform for recognition.
Do you have silent, online, or in-person auctions coming up in the Fall? If so, consider calling out for donated items now.
Please tell us about your fundraisers and events so we can post them to your organization’s ‘spread the word’ feature and amplify them on our social media.
Share your event and fundraiser info with us via email at info@volunteercentrecounty.org and we will post it for you.
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Do You Know About Our Widget?
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PLEASE CONSIDER ADDING THE VOLUNTEER CENTRE COUNTY WIDGET TO YOUR ORGANIZATION’S WEBSITE
The widget is available through your Community Partner portal on the website.
The widget is to be placed in your organization’s website code and connects your website to your organization’s Community Partner page on the Volunteer Centre County website — Free!
Why use the widget? Because then you can update your organization’s volunteer and donated goods needs in one place, on the Volunteer Centre County platform, and everyone can see them instead of having to post them once on your organization’s own website and again on the Volunteer Centre County platform. This feature offers efficiency, and consistency, as well as, allows us to better advertise for your organization!
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The Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference
July 10-12, 2024
Volunteer Centre County is a Silver Sponsor for this Conference
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The Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference will be held at the Holiday Inn - Lancaster in Lancaster City, PA on July 10-12, 2024
Join us for the 2 1/2 day conference that includes hands-on learning, workshops, pre- and post-conference tours and group activities, interest group meetings, and pre- and post-conference site visits to innovative intergenerational programs and places in the Lancaster region. It will be a major event, showcasing innovative, impactful, intergenerational initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
You won't want to miss this first of its kind program in Pennsylvania. It will be a major event, showcasing innovative, impactful, intergenerational initiatives across the state and beyond.
The full conference agenda with all concurrent sessions and posters is now available on the website’s Agenda Page. Check out the fantastic list of speakers and the variety of topics that will be covered at the conference.
Click here for the event summary to learn more about this conference and to register.
Please help spread the word about the conference with your colleagues and network(s). Along these lines, here are links to the Conference Overview webpage and the hot-off-the-presses Penn State News article on the conference.
Register now and don't forget to book your room at the Holiday Inn! The room block expires on June 9th. The room block is under Penn State Intergenerational Conference and the code is PSI. Here is the link to make a reservation or you can call 888-865-4329 for our special rate.
You may contact Dr. Matt Kaplan as well.
Quick Fact: Did you know that Volunteer Centre County originated through Dr. Matt Kaplan’s Millbrook Marsh Summit? If it wasn’t for Matt, Volunteer Centre County would not exist! Thank you, Matt!
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Volunteer Centre County’s Latest Activities
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We had an article published about “April National Volunteer Month” in the March 29, 2024 CDT’s Helping Hands column thanks to CCCHS. See: https://www.theccchs.org/post/april-is-national-volunteer-month-support-local-nonprofits
In April, we contracted with StateCollege.com for 1 year of advertising.
Also, in April we contracted for a month of fundraising with WPSU.
Volunteer Centre County was invited to present at the April 16th Smeal Sapphire Nonprofit Symposium for the 3rd year in a row. We had a good turnout and students offered their insights for how to better attract them to volunteer and ideas for helping nonprofits to prosper.
We also participated in the YMCA Healthy Kids Day on April 20, 2024. Many families played cornhole with beanie babies and won magic rings!
Volunteer Centre County is part of the Penn State Non-Profits Quarterly Meetings held by Julian Morales, Director of Local Government and Community Relations, Penn State University. We advocate for all Community Partners and their needs for volunteers and donated goods. Our first meeting was on April 25, 2024.
On April 29th, we presented about volunteer centers to Penn State’s Office of Research Protections.
On May 23rd, Rep. Paul Takac’s Office held a Senior Fair at Centre Care and they set up and promoted Volunteer Centre County at the Fair.
In May, we were added to the Commonwealth of PA’s PennServe website: https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/pennserve/Pages/Volunteering-and-Community-Service-in-the-Commonwealth.aspx
On June 15, 2024, we attended the Juneteenth Festival in downtown State College, again offering participants the option to play cornhole with beanie babies and win magic rings.
We are now on the Centre County PA Video Tour site: https://www.elocallink.tv/mlink/mlink2/code.php?id=w7wzQ4
We will be the volunteer center listed on this website for students to learn about where to volunteer in Centre County: https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/get-involved/service-leadership-opportunities/volunteer-opportunities/local-service-organizations
On June 19, 2024, we presented to PEO Chapter S about Volunteer Centre County.
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Volunteer Centre County Board Meeting Update
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On May 10th, 2024 our Board of Directors met.
Our strategic goal for 2024 is to become top of mind as the one-stop platform for ways to give back in Centre County, PA where volunteering and donating goods is easily accessible to all.
Strategies for increasing our social media presence per our strategic goal for 2024 were discussed and also more new features for our platform were discussed and chosen.
We are thankful for the Centre Gives donations that we received, including the Centre Gives 2024 Good Neighbor Prize for $500.
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Benefits for Community Partners:
PANO AND AL!VE MEMBERSHIPS
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Volunteer Centre County is happy to announce that we have partnered with AL!VE and PANO to offer a 20% discount to all Community Partners for membership in these two organizations!
Send us an email at info@volunteercentrecounty.org if you would like to have the latest BENEFITS document sent to you.
PANO: https://pano.org/ — PENNSYLVANIA ASSOCIATION OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (20% Discount)
PANO is a statewide membership organization supporting the thousands of nonprofits that serve millions of people in the Commonwealth.
While other associations cater to specific nonprofit trades, PANO is the only membership organization that supports Pennsylvania’s nonprofit sector as a collective whole.
We support nonprofits through training, best practices, consultation, and discount programs. We amplify their impact through research, public policy initiatives, and advocacy.
PANO is accredited by the Standards for Excellence Institute, signifying that the organization practices the highest level of ethics, accountability, and transparency.
Discounted dues vary based on organization size and start at $86 a year for organizations with revenue of $50,000 or below.
Email info@olunteercentrecounty.org to request a membership form created just for Volunteer Centre County Community Partners to receive the discount. A list of benefits that come with membership is part of this form, so request the form if you simply want to peruse the benefits that membership covers (it is a long list - over 1 page).
AL!VE: https://www.volunteeralive.org/ — ASSOCIATION FOR LEADERSHIP IN VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT (20% Discount)
Al!VE is the national professional association for leaders in volunteer engagement to provide networking, professional development, mentoring, and advocacy for our peers.
Some member benefits include:
AL!VE Academies - both the live sessions and recordings
Monthly Member Newsletter and Quarterly Socials Online for Networking
Association Database and Resources – looking for a colleague to connect with regarding a certain topic? Reach out to your fellow members who are happy to share information, mentor, or network. Members span the nation and beyond and include advocates for change, educators, decision-makers, and practitioners who strive for diversity and inclusiveness. Collectively, we share a commitment to effective leadership of volunteer efforts and continued advocacy for our profession.
Join a Community of Practice
We are proud to partner with our colleagues in the profession who also offer member discounts.
We are:
Professionals in volunteer management and engagement
Advocates for the recognition and appreciation of volunteer management
The resource for and the link to tools, research, and best practices
Educators of decision-makers in all volunteer management arenas
Influencers for redefining job descriptions, compensation, and the position of volunteer manager in our organizations
Diverse, inclusive and member-driven
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Nonprofit Resource:
TECH SOUP
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If your organization is not a member of Tech Soup (membership is free), please consider joining if you need software or hardware. Tech Soup offers discounted software and hardware for nonprofits. This month, Zoom is available for $18 a year! Click here to learn more. Once you register, Tech Soup sends periodic emails about their offers and discounts on various products.
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New Centre County Video Tour
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Centre County and CGI Digital have partnered to create a new community video program for the County's official government website. (centrecountypa.gov)
The program will showcase everything that makes Centre County a great place to live, learn, work, and play!
The program will spotlight several of the key businesses and organizations in the community to help welcome new families and businesses that are coming into the area.
View the video tour here: https://www.elocallink.tv/mlink/mlink2/code.php?id=w7wzQ4
If you’d like a link to your nonprofit on the new website, or have CGI make a video for your organization, please contact:
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Volunteer Centre County is a volunteer center with no employees - we operate only on donations.
To donate, please consider the options listed here: https://volunteercentrecounty.org/donate
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Thanks for reading and
thanks for making Centre County a better place for everyone!
Please reach out if you need us to post for your organization, help with accessing your organization’s portal, or with any other questions or volunteer needs that you may have.
info@volunteercentrecounty.org
814-308-5052
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Our next newsletter will come out during the 3rd Quarter of 2024.
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info@volunteercentrecounty.org
(814) 308-5052
P. O. Box 92
Port Matilda, PA 16870
http://www.volunteercentrecounty.org
Building connections to serve the needs of volunteers and nonprofits in Centre County.