Volunteer Center of Washington County

The core of our mission is connecting those who can help to those who need the help. We continuously collaborate with our 50+ local nonprofit partner organizations to identify and promote the Volunteer needs that they have and we use our own community outreach programs to recruit, engage, and connect individuals who want to help meet those needs. One of our core programs, get connected, includes a shared website portal that allows each of our 50+ nonprofits to promote their organizations and list all of their Volunteer opportunities. Driving awareness is the first step to recruiting volunteers and our website had nearly 45,000 views of the Volunteer opportunities and over 15,000 views of our partner profile pages. Get connected allows community members to learn more about our partner nonprofits, sign up for Volunteer opportunities, and they can easily connect directly to local nonprofits that interest them. Other innovative programs include camp superhero which engages youth campers in grades five through eight and allows high school students to serve as camp leaders. Each day of camp involves hands-on activities and interactions with different nonprofits in our community. To date, over 300+ students have participated in our camps which can inspire a lifetime of community involvement. Our do good bus is another program that supports our nonprofit partners by engaging groups of volunteers to tackle big projects that might otherwise not get accomplished. Employers, church groups, civic organizations, and community members choose to participate in our program. To date, over 3,000+ volunteers have participated and have contributed over 11,700 hours collectively, providing much-needed service to our local nonprofit partners. Social good brews is a for-purpose coffee shop that invites community members to gather, connect, and serve. The hub features nonprofit organizations and their Volunteer needs. Over 39,000 Volunteer hours have been contributed to this community gathering space. As we expand our reach in unique ways, more people become empowered to get involved as hub guests, event attendees, program participants, and ultimately, engaged and active community volunteers. The hub, is our unique gathering space that invites our community, nonprofit partners, and volunteers to connect and/or serve through various opportunities. The hub is the home of our for-purpose coffee shop, social good brews, which boasts a warm and inviting environment while providing exposure to our 50+ nonprofit partners and their Volunteer opportunities. The coffee shop staff includes over 60 active volunteers, many retirees, who assist as bakers, baristas, and more. The hub also includes our give back gallery, a space to host Volunteer and nonprofit activities, community rentals, and so much more. With final renovations to be complete in 2023, including a new commercial kitchen, this space will allow even ways to serve our community.