Alan Prahl column: Volunteering brings hope and help
Dec. 21, 2013 |
The Fox Cities are rich in volunteerism. Thousands of people donate countless hours to help make life a little better for other people. Volunteer labor saves nonprofit organizations and taxpayers millions of dollars and makes the community a better place to live.
Some acts of volunteering and giving stand out during the holiday season. For example, we see and hear an army of bell ringers at more than 50 red kettle locations inviting us to support The Salvation Army. In addition to Thrivent’s generous up to $125,000 matching contribution, Bassett Mechanical, Bemis Foundation, Capital Credit Union, Goodwill NCW, J. J. Keller Foundation, Kimberly-Clark, We Energies Foundation and 12 charitable funds within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region offer matching contributions. It’s a visible, well-known community effort.
Many other volunteer acts are less visible. People quietly help a neighbor or serve at their church, service club, school or business. Volunteers pick up trash along highways, raise money for scholarships, cook and serve food, serve as tutors and help in countless other ways.
The Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin recently published a study indicating that 35.6 percent of Wisconsin residents volunteer. That’s 1.62 million people who gave 165.3 million hours of service, adding up to an estimated value of 3.1 billion dollars in services.
The Volunteer Center helps match people looking for volunteer opportunities with nonprofits that are looking for volunteers. By the way, January is National Mentoring Month. To learn more, visit
Some organizations rely heavily on volunteers. The St. Joseph Food Program for example has more than 400 people who volunteer. Last year they donated a stunning total of more than 62,000 hours of labor on a variety of jobs. While the financial value of that labor is huge, Executive Director Monica Clare said, “More important than the financial, however, is the wonderful way our volunteers reach out to our clients in a way that is dignified and empathetic. Our clients look forward to the smiling faces they see each week as their grocery needs are filled.”
Many local nonprofits receive essential financial support through your voluntary donations to the United Way Fox Cities. Each year the United Way convenes over 200 volunteers who care about the community. Nanci Micke, vice president of marketing and communications said, “Our volunteers learn about key issues, identify unmet needs, determine how to meet those needs, make funding decisions and evaluate results. They generously contribute their time and talents, joining together with a unified purpose of improving lives and strengthening the community.”
Thank you, volunteers, for your quiet, generous gifts of your time, talents and financial donations. Your actions are a great gift to the community during the holidays and throughout the year. We’re fortunate to live in a community where thousands of people share and care. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
— Alan Prahl is with FISC, a nonprofit program of Goodwill NCW. He can be reached at .