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Organization Launches Campaign to Mobilize Volunteers

By Terri Rimmer

Hands On Network has started a drive to get 6.4 million volunteers involved nationwide in two years.

Affiliates have also stepped into major leadership roles in local communities across states.

“We just couldn’t sit around and watch this stuff go on around us,” said Network Volunteer Danielle Cuviller.

The national civic movement is to bring people together to improve communities and there are numerous chapters all over the U.S. The agency is made up of 52 volunteer organizations that serve as entrepreneurial civic action centers nationally and internationally. Over the past few years a number of volunteer focused campaigns have been launched with high hopes. According to staff combining the urgency of needs in communities with a belief in action to help people and stir the nation the Hands On Campaign will focus on problem solving and will adopt a project-management approach to effective community work.

According to literature from Hands On while increasing volunteerism is a tangible and meaningful goal the campaign ultimately seeks to improve critical areas and increase interest and demand to volunteer.

Hands On, formerly CityCares, is rooted in the belief that every person has the ability to make a difference.

Hands On organizations develop volunteer projects in partnership with community-based agencies, then recruit and manage teams of volunteers to staff the projects. Affiliates offer strong project management, including recruiting, training, on-site project supervision, evaluation, and recognition of volunteers acting in effect as the “volunteer-management department” for community-based agencies. Projects are conducted in a wide variety of service areas to address the varied needs of each community, and offer a variety of outlets for service opportunities.

Hands On says they are different from other volunteer organizations because they meet the needs of modern citizens by extending programs beyond simple agency referral.

Some of their national programs include AmeriCorps, Citizen Academy, Emerging Leaders Program, National Technology Initiative, and others.

The AmeriCorps Promise Fellows Program, for example, Hands On awards fellowship positions throughout the network through an alliance with the Network, America’s Promise, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. The AmeriCorps Ed Award provides incentives to volunteers who make a sustained commitment to service. The Emerging Leaders Program awards grants to Network affiliates for the development and implementation of new or existing programs.

In addition, the Network is also involved in a Mr. Clean Campaign which involves volunteers working side by side in various cities.

For more information, access handsonnetwork.org.

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