Facilitating far-reaching effects of volunteerism

The basic task of Serve Rhode Island is to recruit volunteers across the state and link them to nonprofit groups that need their work. Why then, is the basement of its office in Providence filling up with ladders, tools, painting, carpentry and landscaping gear?
The stockpile of tools is evidence of Serve Rhode Island’s evolution into an organization that puts together big service projects at which hundreds of people swoop into a work site and spend a day of hard-driving repair and cleanup, for instance, at an inner-city school. This is becoming a favored activity of companies including Fidelity Investments, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Collette, Hasbro Inc., Citizens Bank, The Washington Trust Co. and others looking to combine philanthropic work with employee team building.
As the de facto project manager for group-service projects, the nonprofit charges a fee per volunteer to cover its time and help monetize a corner of its business (the standard fee is $75 per person).
Despite the popularity of service projects – Serve Rhode Island organized 100 in 2013 – the rate of volunteerism in Rhode Island is 39th in the nation and behind its neighbor states in 2012, according to a report published by the Corporation for National Community Service, a federal agency. This frustrates Bernie Beaudreau, executive director of Serve Rhode Island, who sees volunteerism as an investment in the community.
“Volunteer service is essential for civic health and for connecting people,” Beaudreau said. “Social capital is a real thing, and you know it when it is missing. When volunteerism is working well, it is vibrant and wonderful.”
Serve Rhode Island has a $900,000 annual budget from federal, state and private grants, and a staff of six paid persons and 4 AmeriCorps Vista volunteers. Part of its work is managing the federal AmeriCorps program in Rhode Island. The organization seeks grants to fund AmeriCorps projects, and then distributes grants to nonprofit groups, which employ the AmeriCorps volunteers.
The rest of its work is to beat the bushes for volunteers to work in nonprofit groups in the state. The nonprofit constantly combs its imagination and resources for fresh ideas to achieve its goals. The organization’s State Service Plan 2013-2015 is packed with suggestions to increase volunteerism, including publicizing the need; promoting volunteering as a path to employment; building a corps of volunteers for emergencies, such as a hurricane cleanup; encouraging volunteerism by young people, old people and families; and improving nonprofits’ skills at managing their volunteers effectively. SRI is refining its website, HandsOn Connect, where people wishing to volunteer can find a place to do it.
Beaudreau is dissatisfied with the level of volunteerism in Rhode Island. About 23 percent of Rhode Islanders volunteer, he said. Connecticut and Massachusetts are at 30 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively, according to the 2012 figures from the CNCS report titled “Volunteering and Civic Life in America.”
People volunteer at a lower rate in times of high unemployment and economic hardship, Beaudreau said. This is probably a factor in the Ocean State’s low level. At the same time, high levels of volunteerism contribute to building a foundation for a stronger economy because volunteerism promotes overall civic well-being, he said.
“People volunteer when they are secure,” Beaudreau said. However, volunteering can build greater security. “Where there is a lot of social interaction and social capital, people are much more connected and finding work is easier,” he added.
The growing arena of group-service projects is useful but it has imperfections. It takes a huge amount of planning by a small staff. Some comments in the State Service Plan warn that corporations could use their work days to displace cash gifts. Beaudreau doesn’t see the latter as a problem. “Every nonprofit we work with on service projects is thankful for the engagement,” he said.
Nina Pande, executive director of Federal Hill House, a multi-service agency that helps poor families in urban areas, said the nonprofit organized construction of a big playground on Courtland Street in Providence by Blue Cross employees. Playground work and equipment purchased by Blue Cross was worth $40,000, Pande said.
“We are a huge fan of Serve Rhode Island,” Pande said. “Bernie [Beaudreau’s] vision is one of thoughtfulness and inclusiveness.”
Federal Hill House also gets volunteers to work with underprivileged children through the organization via Senior Corps, part of AmeriCorps for older people. “Children benefit from a one-on-one relationship with an adult,” Pande said. The volunteers also benefit from the work, keeping “healthy, active and learning new things.”
Carolyn Belisle, managing director of communications for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, has worked with Serve Rhode Island to create service projects for the insurer’s employees. The work is important for employees, Belisle said. “We must step outside our walls and be familiar with what goes on. This is a great way for employees to be exposed to the community that we operate in.”
Serve Rhode Island is also creating a pool of volunteer emergency responders, like the many people who helped clear beaches after Hurricane Sandy. An offshoot of this work is the Storm Assistance for the Elderly and Disabled project, in which volunteers – including many young people – shovel snow for people who can’t do it themselves.
Serve Rhode Island is working on developing volunteerism by professionals to serve on nonprofits boards or do tasks like human resources, tech development or financial work. It is a little tricky to cordon off and define discreet tasks in these areas, but “there is a pool of interested professionals who want to give their time,” Beaudreau said.
Beaudreau says the hardest nut to crack is lack of money and staffing for Serve Rhode Island to do more work. “We need more staff to go out and make presentations,” he said. “Our reach is limited. We need to get people to think about volunteering, and that takes conversation.” •

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