THIS is National Volunteer Week. This week is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in our community. It’s about demonstrating to the nation that by working together, we have the fortitude to meet our challenges and accomplish our goals.

To sort of ‘set the table’ regarding the need for volunteers in Sheboygan County I want to cite a little piece of a recent volunteer survey that Lakeland College, the Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Sheboygan County partnered up to distribute: 90% of the responding nonprofits need and plan to recruit more volunteers by the end of this year. This is big because simply stated, nonprofits are not able to achieve their important missions that impact so many without the help of skilled, dedicated and caring volunteers. So, if you have ever considered getting involved, this is the week to take some steps in that direction.

There is no better time than during National Volunteer Week to hold the community’s first Volunteer Fair. As many already know, United Way of Sheboygan County took over the Volunteer Center last summer. With that said, we have partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan and the LTC Culinary Institute to bring our community its first Volunteer Fair. It is very intentional that we planned for the event to happen during this incredible week that focuses on working together and encouraging people to get involved in our community.

The Volunteer Fair will take place this coming Thursday, the 16^th, in the commons area at the University of WI-Sheboygan. The event, featuring 26 local nonprofits in need of volunteers, runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This is a free event and open to the public.

In reality we could have had over 40 nonprofits participate in this event, but we only had space for the first 26 to respond. We are already planning for a larger space at the University next year in order to accommodate more organizations that need volunteers. Truly, the demand to be a part of the Volunteer Fair is a reflection of the aforementioned survey….the need to recruit more volunteers by the end of the year.

The event will feature the delicious food stylings of the LTC Culinary Institute students from 11:00 – 2:00.  We know everyone likes food so we figured there was no better way to encourage people to stop in, meet some nonprofits, and to celebrate National Volunteer Week than to offer up some free samplings. 

Also, from11:00 – 1:00, our friends from 104.5 The Point will be with us to help us spread the word about the Volunteer Fair and encourage folks to stop in and consider getting involved.

Like prizes? We have those too. Each one of our participating member organizations will have some form of a gift basket at their table, and all who attend will get a free ticket to put into a drawing for your favorite prize. Those drawings will take place at 3:00. 

This is the perfect opportunity to get out of the office or out of the home for a little while!  Twenty-six local nonprofits will be there to answer your questions and chat with you about volunteer opportunities within their organizations. You would be amazed at the diversity of volunteer needs and how giving just a little of your time can have such a large impact. A complete list of the participating nonprofits and event details can be found on our website at www.uwofsc.org/events.

If you won’t have the time to stop in, please take time to look at all of the current volunteer opportunities posted on the Volunteer Center webpage at www.uwofsc.org/volunteer. There are hundreds of volunteer needs just waiting to be filled.

Community Volunteer Fair: One day; 26 nonprofits; Hundreds of Volunteer Needs.  Let’s all UNITE to for the betterment of our community. Please stop in on Thursday, April 16 at the University of WI-Sheboygan anytime between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain.

National Volunteer Week is about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change – discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to make a difference. National Volunteer Week, a program of Points of Light, was established in 1974 and has grown exponentially each year.