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Volunteer Nation's Latest News

 

Stay in the know with your fellow volunteers and learn about current events happening in the Volunteer Nation

 

    

 

 

 

Volunteer Nation Blog

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Stay in the know with your fellow volunteers, read the latest volunteer spotlight, and learn about current events happening in the Volunteer Nation.


Paula Restrepo
Paula Restrepo
Paula Restrepo's Blog

Changing with the Times: A New Way to Welcome Volunteers

Starting in January, the volunteer Nation Team reengineered the onboarding process for new volunteers. 

2020 and COVID brought new challenges to our team that we never imagined. These challenges required us to rethink our way of onboarding volunteers.   As we felt confident in our virtual process and engagement, we saw ourselves dealing with an unprecedented number of new volunteers willing to help and not enough projects for everybody. 

 

Back in July, we had to put a pause on our volunteer recruitment and implement the “Interest Form,” a way for volunteers to register while they waited for the right volunteer opportunity to arrive. It was a form designed to capture information on potential volunteers interested in our mission but who may not fit the organization’s current volunteer needs at the time of registration. During the first months of the pandemic, this form helped us marshal volunteer resources and offer new non-production opportunities to volunteers waiting to help us. 

 

After everything we learned during the last six months and feedback from new volunteers, we decided that we needed a new onboarding site and process—the new site required to include all available volunteer opportunities and have clearer expectations for potential volunteers.  

 

Given that we have more volunteers than projects in some areas, we needed to be very transparent to potential volunteers in terms of our needs and project availability, and ongoing versus short term opportunities. For those opportunities closed for recruitment, we ask potential volunteers to still complete the “Interest Form” mentioned above so we can let them know when opportunities become available. 

 

We are grateful for the many people wanting to help us, and we appreciate your patience in awaiting a volunteer opportunity. 

 

Please visit our newly renovated “Volunteer Opportunities” site here and see for yourself the new layout. Click on any of the opportunities available and see how you can get more information on these roles’ expectations and responsibilities. You can also see fun pictures of current volunteers.  Feel free to share with your networks!

 

Photo description: 6 pictures aligned horizontally of current Learning Ally Volunteers, some smiling to the camera and some in front of their microphone in their home studios


Volunteer Spotlight - Richelle Feigin

Richelle Feigin - Volunteer of the year at VTLO

 

Richelle has been volunteering for Learning Ally since April 2020. Recently, her company selected her as  “Volunteer of the Year'' for her time and energy spent doing community service. With this accomplishment, Richelle was asked to select a nonprofit organization that her company could make a donation to in her name. Richelle selected Learning Ally and we graciously received a donation from Vitiello Communications Group (VTLO) in November.  We want to congratulate Richelle on this incredible achievement and highlight her journey through our volunteer program. We want our Volunteer Nation to learn more about her and why volunteering for Learning Ally was important to her. 


Richelle Feigin is a Senior Account Director at Vitiello Communications Group (VTLO), a communications agency that partners with Internal Communications, Human Resources, and Business Leaders to connect employees to the workplace and community.  She has been with VTLO for 11 years. 

 

Rachel has been actively volunteering in her community for as long as she can remember.  However, when COVID hit back in March, she was looking for ways to give back from home while in lockdown. She used VolunteerMatch to search for causes she cares about so that she could use her skills to make an impact on others. That’s when she found Learning Ally.  “It was a perfect way for me to be able to volunteer during quarantine and use my communication skills in a new and different way..” she said.  In her own words, volunteering has reinforced her love of reading and her focus on details.  

 

Richelle perfectly understands the literacy problem that the US is facing and found Volunteer Nation to be the perfect channel to try to help resolve this systematic problem. “I believe that literacy is the foundation for all learning throughout your life. Knowing that the work that I do helps kids become better readers is very rewarding. I’ve seen videos of students who use this tool and there is nothing better than witnessing their transformation from being shy and apathetic in the classroom to thriving emotionally, socially, and academically.”

 

In her personal life, Richelle is also a wife and a mother of two teenagers. She has two Dalmatians, named Chip and Dale (after the Disney chipmunks)! When asked what her favorite audiobook is and why it’s her favorite, Richelle recalled the first book she worked on, Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton. “It’s a very inspiring story, filled with faith and love and determination.  She’s a wonderful role model for anyone struggling to overcome hardships in life.” 

 

Richelle shared a piece of advice to her fellow volunteers. “Sign up today! It feels good to give back, especially knowing that the work I do turns embarrassed, frustrated, and timid students into confident, engaged learners who are empowered to succeed.”

 

We are so glad you decided to take this journey with us, Richelle! Thank you for all you do for Learning Ally and our students.