Day of Caring 2014Thursday, May 8 & Friday, May 9, 2014

Day of Caring

• Day of Caring is an event that supports United Way’s mission to bring people together to improve lives and strengthen communities through volunteering

• A day when local businesses partner with nonprofit agencies to make a difference by completing volunteer projects

• A way for more volunteers to advance work in Education, Financial Stability and Health

Benefits of Day of Caring

• Complete projects (wish list)• Opportunity to market the services your

organization provides• Develop and build relationships with local

companies and their employees• Create a positive volunteer experience• Captive audience to recruit on going

volunteers

Partnership Responsibilities

• United Way– Recruit companies and volunteers– Planning, administration and evaluation of DOC– Training agencies, company coordinators and

volunteers– Provide best practices and other resources

Partnership Responsibilities

• Agencies– Register on Volunteer Now site– Accurately represent and describe projects– Provide tools, materials necessary to complete project– Provide snacks/lunch when possible– Meet with company coordinator prior to DOC– Obtain liability and photo releases for volunteers– Report volunteer hours and outcomes– Provide proof of insurance– Provide safe environment

Partnership Responsibilities

• Company Coordinators and volunteers– Designate project leads– Register volunteers through Volunteer Now site– Meet with agency representative prior to event– Consistent communication to volunteers

Project Needs and Assessment

• Brainstorm with entire staff. What is on your Wish List?

• Think outside the box• Staff capacity to lead projects• Review project ideas in the agency leader

manual• Skilled volunteer needs

Examples of Day of Caring Projects

• Build a deck, playground, park bench or ramp• Organize toys, food pantry or books• Landscaping, yard clean-up, prepare and plant

community gardens• Prepare emergency medical kits, literacy kits or

personal hygiene kits• Assist elderly clients with grocery shopping, play

games or read to kids• Design a brochure, develop a marketing plan or set up

IT

Project Details

• Determine type of project – One Basic Category/Project-unskilled– Variety of small unrelated projects- if you have several

projects that only need 2-4 volunteers for each project you can tie them together as one project to attract a larger group.

– Special Skills Projects-special skills needed• Number of volunteers needed• Time it takes to complete project• Additional tools needed by volunteers

Submit Projects

• Name of individual filling out the spreadsheet• Agency Name• Address• Project Leader (may be different for each project)• Phone Number• Secondary Project Leader• Email address of Project Leaders• Length of project (morning/afternoon, all day)• May 8 or 9• Minimum/maximum number of volunteers• Project description• Food and supplies provided by agency (lunch, water, bug spray, gloves)• Tools provided by agency• Supplies and equipment volunteers need to bring• Special skills volunteers will need• Additional comments about project

Submit Projects

Next Steps

• UWECI will enter all the projects into Volunteer Now.• Not registered? UWECI will register your agency with

basic information.• Receive a password and login information.• Each agency is responsible for checking the project

information for accuracy.• Changes should be made by March 25

UWECI.org/Volunteer Now

UWECI.org/Volunteer NowBenefits of UWECI/Volunteer Now:• Promotes your agency and creates awareness of the programs and

services provided. • Most of the major volunteer websites throughout the state work on

a shared database platform. This connects you to websites and opportunities across the state.

• Volunteer Opportunities: List ongoing opportunities for your agency • Board Connections: a great resource to list board and committee

positions need to be filled in your organization.• Calendar: a way to display one time volunteer opportunities for

your events.• Product Connections: a place to list the needs of your organization.

UWECI will enter all the projects into Volunteer Now

Painting Project, Indoor, Full Day• Agency: Area Substance Abuse Council - IA - Cedar Rapids • Project Name: Painting Project: Indoor, Full Day • Primary Address: 3601 16th Avenue SW Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 • Description: Help us paint our adult residential bedrooms! All you need to participate is basic painting skills.

We will provide all painting supplies, snacks, lunch, and water. If volunteers could bring extra painting stools or ladders, that would be very helpful.

• Participants Still Needed: 8• Date / Time: May 10, 2012 - 09:00 am to 05:00 pm Drywall Repair: Indoor, Morning, Construction• Agency: Boy Scouts Of America, Hawkeye Area Council • Project Name: Drywall Repair: Indoor, Morning, Construction • Primary Address: 660 32nd Ave. SW Cedar Rapids, IA 52404• Description: Replace a 3' X 8' section of drywall and insulation in our volunteer service area. We'll provide

lunch, water, and cleaning supplies. We'd like volunteers with experience hanging and finishing drywall on metal framing. Volunteers will need to provide one sheet of drywall, insulation, drywall tape, joint compound, drywall finishing tools, and gloves for handling insulation.

• Participants Still Needed: 2• Date/Time: May 10, 2012 - 09:00 am to 12:00 pm

Check project accuracyVisit: http://volunteer.truist.com/united-way-of-east-central-iowa/user/login/Click on “Agencies” so that it is highlighted blueEnter Agency NameEnter Password Go!

Check project accuracy

• Click on Events tab

• Click Details

Check project accuracy

• To preview what the project looks like online to volunteers click on the link next to Project Name

• To edit, scroll down. Click on Edit Project:

Next Steps

• UWECI sends companies a sneak peak of projects

• Company Coordinator’s sign up all the volunteers for projects through online system

• Agency lead of each project should receive email with company information

• Agencies may also check online

• Click on Participants to see information for volunteers that signed up for projects

• View company coordinators contact information

Contact Volunteers

• You may have multiple companies signing up for your projects

• Assign agency staff leads if you have more than one project or are at different locations

• Email or call Company Coordinators/Project Leads as soon as possible

• Thank them for selecting your project• Set up a host site visit to go over checklist

Review Day of Caring Checklist

Preparing for the Day of Caring

• Have a contingency plan (rain, finish early)• Obtain materials and prepare work space• Have appropriate number of tools available• Make arrangements for snacks, water and

lunch (if possible)• Prioritize projects• Meet with staff leads

Preparing for the Day of Caring

• Print instructions of how to complete tasks• Review Risk Assessment Checklist• Review your contingency plan again• Print liability waivers and sign in sheets• Prepare orientation• Continuous communication with company

coordinator

Elements of a Successfully Structured Volunteer Projects

• Volunteers sign-in and out (calculate hours)• Complete liability waivers and media releases• Provide brief agency orientation– Mission and overview of organization– Service provided– Impact of the volunteer project on your

organization– How it ties back to United Way goals in Education,

Financial Stability and Health

Elements of a Successfully Structured Volunteer Projects

• Complete the project– Provide clear instruction– Have materials/tools ready– Complete most important projects first– Do not assign yourself tasks. Be available to

troubleshoot issues– Be available, do not leave the project

unsupervised

Elements of a Successfully Structured Volunteer Projects

• Schedule clean-up time and assign volunteers to help

• Reflection time– Thank the volunteers– Talk about the impact of the projects completed– Ask for feedback and how they felt about the project– Remind them of other volunteer opportunities with

your organization– Collect contact information from interested volunteers

Liability Insurance• Liability Insurance- contact insurance provider ask for

“Certificate of Insurance” or “Addendum” to your policy for the DOC.

• All agencies are required to fax copy of Certificate of Liability Insurance to 319 398-5381 Attn: Sue Driscoll or email to sdriscoll@uweci.org.

Volunteer Comments• Give information on how to continue volunteering after the Day of Caring. • Make a time schedule to make sure there are enough tasks. • Maybe have some backup activities ready in order to fully utilize the volunteer's

time. • Agencies need to be better prepared with tasks• Better description of tasks.• Alternate plan for jobs during inclement weather• It would be nice to know in advance some items that the agency needed for the

project• I would like to see the measureable impact we made• Have larger projects for bigger teams• Our group was given little information on how to handle our task• I would like to hear an explanation of the services the agency provides to the

community

Success Stories

Dates to Remember

• Agency submit project form 3/10 • Agency final project review 3/14-3/21• Company registration opens up 4/1-4/4• Companies register by end of April • Site visits by 5/1• Day of Caring 5/8 & 5/9• Submit hours and waivers by 5/12

Questions or Comments

• Sue Driscoll, 398-5372 ext 22, sdriscoll@uweci.org

• Tara Paulsen, 398-5372 ext 45, tara.paulsen@uweci.org