While the economy is down in the dumps, donating your time – and
saving your money – might be the best way to flex those
volunteering muscles. In its third month of existence as a
nonprofit group, Volunteer Morgan Hill wants to develop into the
go-to place for locals who want to volunteer.
While the economy is down in the dumps, donating your time – and saving your money – might be the best way to flex those volunteering muscles. In its third month of existence as a nonprofit group, Volunteer Morgan Hill wants to develop into the go-to place for locals who want to volunteer.
“Our vision is to be in a position so that any organization that’s looking for volunteers would think of us first,” said Victor Gaxiola, Volunteer Morgan Hill’s president.
The group began as the 23-member Leadership Morgan Hill class of 2009 working through the nine-month course that teaches the importance of volunteerism and leadership. The paradigm for every class every year is that their final project must be sustainable.
The 2009 class, better known as Volunteer Morgan Hill, easily surpassed the sustainability criteria when in January it was inducted into the Community Foundation giving it credibility as a 501(c)3 nonprofit group. The distinction doesn’t provide funding but rather oversight and legitimacy as a nonprofit. *In February at the first meeting, five classmates did what they do very well – they volunteered to be members of the organization’s board as required by the Community Foundation. The group envisions itself as a “volunteer clearinghouse” so it can match those interested in helping with groups that need volunteers for a variety of events and projects.
The leadership class’ final project was organizing a volunteer fair that the board said snowballed into a tremendous success on its inception on Sept. 12, 2009. The four-hour volunteer bonanza attracted more than 500 people who signed up to volunteer with vendors like the American Red Cross and Community Emergency Response Team. The number of “actual names on paper” who agreed to donate their time totaled 965, meaning many signed up for multiple volunteer opportunities.
“After the event the reaction was so positive,” Janice Crosier said, treasurer of Volunteer MH. “The response was overwhelming.”
Crosier added that many of the vendors met their volunteer needs for the year after just one day in Morgan Hill at the fair. Crosier’s daughter Kayln is an active volunteer and student at Ann Sobrato High School; she belongs to the CSF and Interact clubs, both dedicated to serving the needs of the city.
“They had so many options (at the fair), it got to the point where they got too many volunteers. It was kind of crazy,” Kayln, 18, said.
Director of Operations Jeff Dixon said, “That’s what this community does, it helps each other out. We were all impressed by the turnout at all levels, young and old.”
After the project’s success, Gaxiola said they saw that “this could be bigger,” that the fair was more than just a project, but a valuable community service: Linking people with organizations that need volunteers. The fair also attracted many high school students who are required to fulfill a civics requirement to graduate, but the board said it hopes volunteerism can be ingrained in the children and they’ll continue to want to give back.
“It’s an important lesson to learn to give back to others,” Kayln said. “Most teenagers are self-centered and they need to branch out and help.”
The new nonprofit group garnered the attention of the City Council on Sept. 2, 2009, when it proclaimed Sept. 12 as “Volunteer Morgan Hill Day.”
Volunteer MH’s next step is to build a greater Web presence and work toward their second fair in September. Board members said that if they can repeat the success of last year they will be satisfied. A May informational meeting for the public is also in the works.
Volunteer MH’s headquarters will remain online-only for now; check out www.volunteermorganhill.blogspot.com for more information on how you can help or how you can donate your time around town. *
Volunteer Morgan Hill board members
President: Victor Gaxiola, financial consultant at Gaxiola Financial Group
Vice President: Larry McElvain, executive director at Discovery Counseling Center
Director of Operations: Jeff Dixon, president of Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance
Secretary: Cynthia Mann, manager at Anritsu
Treasurer: Janice Crosier, director of clinical projects at Kaiser Permanente
