People seeking volunteer opportunities will be able to have conversations with 30 area nonprofits next Wednesday, April 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Veterans Room of the Oak Park Library. Meet and Match is an event sponsored by lead sponsor West Cook YMCA, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, Ten Thousand Villages, Ernest Hemmingway Foundation and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).
Volunteers in Oak Park, River Forest and surrounding communities, such as Forest Park, Elmwood Park, Maywood, Berwyn, Cicero, and Chicago’s Austin neighborhood are encouraged to participate in this event, which matches the interests and skills of volunteers with the needs of each nonprofit.
“Although we will welcome anyone who walks in,” said Elizabeth Chadri, program officer at the OPRF Foundation, “we are asking volunteers to register beforehand so we can learn what causes they are interested in and what skills they have.”
Ten Thousand Villages needs an event assistant, an event planner/manager and help with HR. The Ernest Hemingway Foundation needs help in fundraising, grant writing and IT as well as assistance in event planning and management.
Ruth Reko, of the Volunteer Meet and Match Organizing Committee and director of Lutheran Global Health Volunteers, said, “With all the wonderful organizations in our community I know you can find a good fit for your talents and time.”
Chadri noted that volunteering and charitable giving seem be part of the culture’s DNA. She pointed to statistics generated by the Halverson Group: the average charitable donating in Oak Park and River Forest is $5,986, twice that of the national average of $2,974. In this area 85% of the residents report giving of their time compared with 49% in Chicago and the national average of 25%.
Phillip Jimenez, executive director of the West Cook YMCA, said, “Togetherhood is the Y’s Signature Program for Social Responsibility. It empowers members to plan and lead volunteer service projects that address the needs of their communities. Working side by side with neighbors and community partners, volunteers make new friends, improve lives and contribute to a stronger and more inclusive society.”
The Volunteer Meet and Match is scheduled during National Volunteer Week (April 10-16) because, in addition to linking volunteers with nonprofits, the OP-RF Community Foundation is promoting volunteerism in general. “National Volunteer Week,” said Chadri, “is about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change — discovering and demonstrating their collective power to make a difference.”
The PADS shelter program of Housing Forward, may be the best example of local volunteerism. It is run by over a thousand volunteers.
Dick Alton, a member of Euclid United Methodist Church and very active in the sustainability movement in the Oak Park area, said, “My best friends are people I volunteer with and, in fact, I met my wife volunteering. Our culture says life is all about our work, our job, but really where I find meaning is what I do outside of work. It is where I can make a real difference, especially when one talks about sustainability. To get to a viable planet, we need to rediscover the heart of neighborliness — volunteering. I am involved in my local congregation in caring for God’s creation, but one of my favorite volunteering activities is the One Earth Film Fest (OEFF). Having communities sit down together to watch a film and then talk about what we can do to take those messages to heart and to our neighbors is amazing. The Green Guides (Green Community Connections/Seven Generations Ahead) is a new task I am just now starting … bringing green messages and activities to my block.”
