The November MeetingThe meeting was held on Monday, November 23 hosted by Kristin J. (Kullander) Gardner at the Martin Center at the University of Akron. This month's presenter was be Theresa Beyerle, who is with the University of Akron's redesigned Service Learning department. The University hopes to get out into the community and connect agencies with students/faculty who may be able to provide service learning experience benefitting any agencies who needs help with those challenging hard to fill needs, like data analysis, research, outcome measurements, etc. Theresa briefly spoke at the October meeting to introduce herself and lead a more in depth discussion this month.

The June Meeting, Sheila Sheley welcomed 19 members to the June DOVIA meeting held at United Disability Services on South Main Street. The following officers were installed for the 2009-2010 year: Jessica Goff, President; Kathy Head, Vice President; Cynthia Humphrey, Recording Secretary; and Hollie Ashworth, Treasurer. In the absence of outgoing president, Mary Kase, Jessica thanked all the officers and committee members for a successful program year. Evaluations were distributed to members to give feedback on the monthly topics. Jessica asked members to let her know if they could host a meeting next year and also requested members to submit ideas for program topics. An audit of the treasury will be conducted over the summer. Information on Using Interns as Volunteers was shared. A helpful handout is available by going to www.internweb.com.

The May Meeting, hosted by Andie Schoofs at Access, Inc., was attended by 22 members and 9 guests. Following a brief business meeting and election of officers for 2009-2010, Kathy Levine, CPL, CVA gave an informative presentation on Best Practices in Volunteer Risk Management. All attending participated in an interactive discussion on identifying risks and then evaluating, implementing, and monitoring risk management techniques. Kathy’s multiple handouts included a glossary of terms, a check list assessing an agency’s program risk, and a risk management safety checklist. She also covered the volunteer application, sample interview questions, the exit interview and a warning/incident report. Kathy cautioned us to remember that there is never a time when we are at zero risk but to keep our focus on being alert and trying to lower risk with good practices.

The April Meeting, was hosted by Bonnie Binns at the Howe Road offices of CSBMRDD. Twenty members were in attendance to hear the results of the 2009 DOVIA Greater Akron Voice for Volunteerism Award which was presented to Matt Patrick of WKDD, 98.1 FM radio station and to Tom Erickson of WNIR, 100.1 FM radio station. A $100 check was mailed to both the Akron Children’s Hospital and to Heaven Can Wait in the name of the honorees. Members were given a copy of the DOVIA ad which ran in the Akron Beacon Journal on April 26. Andie Schoofs and Kathy Head both gave highlights of their conference sessions at the Forging New Links on March 30 and 31. Both agreed the conference gave them fresh ideas and new energy to tackle issues in their jobs. A lively discussion on social networking, volunteer speed matching techniques, and making a lasting impression followed before members adjourned at 1pm.

    

DOVIA President Mary Kase present the Voice for Volunteerism award to WKDD’S Matt Patrick, and WNIR’S Tom Erickson during Volunteer Recognition Week

The March Meeting, hosted by Jan Pluck at the Haven of Rest, selected by unanimous vote our honorees for the second annual Voice for Volunteerism award. They will be announced during National Volunteer Week, April 19-25. Members gave input on the topic, “How Will a Recession Affect Volunteering?.” Some insights included: many agencies are seeing a drop in monetary donations but a rise in volunteer inquiries; people who have recently lost jobs are seeking volunteer positions because they have time and look for ways to keep busy; unemployment and the rise in gas prices have caused some volunteers to resign; the value of the volunteer coordinator position is in question as agencies cut their own staff to meet budgets. However, someone is needed to handle this manpower. The March 19 issue of TIME magazine has an article on this timely topic (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1886544,00.html)

The February Meeting, held at Rockynol Retirement Community, recognized Andie Schoofs, Access, Inc. and Kathy Head, Summa ‘s Palliative Care and Hospice Services, as the recipients of DOVIA’s Carolyn S. Reed Scholarship. Both DOVIA members will attend the 2009 Forging New Links Conference in Columbus, Ohio on March 30 and 31. As first time attendees, Andie and Kathy will both share highlights of their experiences at our April DOVIA meeting. Members also completed a questionnaire on using volunteer interns and briefly discussed best practices with background checks for volunteers.

The January Meeting, held at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, featured a sharing of agency volunteer handbooks and a discussion, “Volunteer Handbooks – Do You Need One?”, lead by Jessica Goff, DOVIA vice-president. Members shared what they found essential to a good handbook including a written sign-off page confirming receipt of the handbook by each volunteer to assist with compliance issues. The newly revised DOVIA by-laws were adopted by a unanimous vote.