Volunteer Community Blog - PADM 4226: Introduction to Nonprofit Organizations
Time is the greatest commodity we
have. We do not get more minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a year.
What we do with our time must be rewarding and impactful for our overall mental
and physical health. When it comes to giving of my time for volunteer efforts,
there are a few hard truths that impact my decisions: I hate the outdoors
(unless I am on a golf course), I do not do well in medical-type situations,
and I need to make a difference and leave an impression with whatever I do.
This is why I am more inclined to be a “policy volunteer” rather than a “service
volunteer” because I like to draw on my skills and experiences to affect change
(Worth, 2019, p. 243).
This blog post is another pertaining
to an assignment for Introduction to Nonprofit Organization. Our
professor tasked us to find three local volunteer opportunities and discuss the
organization, the opportunity at hand, and the impact it might have in the
community, among other things. For this assignment, I am choosing to look at
opportunities all promoted by Hands On Nashville, a nonprofit
organization connecting volunteers to over 200 local opportunities that include
schools, nonprofits, and other civic organizations (Our story and mission).
The three organizations I chose are Nashville General Hospital, Nashville City
Cemetery, and Hispanic Family Foundation.
Nashville General Hospital
Established
as Nashville first hospital in 1890, Nashville General Hospital has served to
provide community health services and “specialty care services, providing
access to affordable, high-quality healthcare for all,” (Nashville General
Hospital). Their mission, “To improve the health and wellness of our Nashville
community by providing equitable access to comprehensive, coordinated,
patient-centered care. We also work to support tomorrow’s caregivers, and
translate science into clinical practice,” is the driving force behind their
affordable services and their partnership with Meharry Medical College, the
first historically black medical school in the south (Nashville General
Hospital).
Having
worked in another hospital system in Nashville, I am very familiar with Nashville
General Hospital (NGH), and it is one of the reasons their opportunity, Making
Food Totes for NGH Foundation,” caught my eye (Haygood). Every Tuesday and
Thursday, volunteers make 30-60 food totes to be delivered to members of the Nashville
community experiencing food insecurity. Hands on Nashville does a great
job listing the details of the opportunity, from who the project serves
(“Families, Homeless, Low-income communities, Immigrants, Refugees or Ethnic
Groups, LGBT, Military/Veterans, Children”), to the age requirement of those
volunteering (age 15+ with an adult or 18+ without an adult) (Haygood). What I
like most about this opportunity is that is in direct correlation with the part
of the NGH mission that states, “to improve the health and wellness of
Nashville…,” (Nashville General Hospital). Without programs like this to serve
as a marketing strategy to support the mission, it would be easy for NGH to get
lost in sea of other healthcare providers in Nashville, including Vanderbilt
Medical Center and the TriStar hospital system (Worth, 2019, p. 278).
The
information provided on the Hands On Nashville website does not say
whether training is needed, though I suspect it is not needed to help fill
grocery bags. I do like the notation that this volunteer opportunity is good
for groups, and noting the minimum age requirement, I think this would be
especially good for groups like the Girl Scouts and Scouts BSA, or high schools
that require service hours of their students. If policies are in place for the
handling of the food products, and expectations while in the hospital
performing the service, I think this is a great low-impact (physically) opportunity
to help make a difference whether the volunteer is aged fifteen or one hundred
and fifteen.
Ultimately,
Nashville General Hospital was built around a service culture, where doing what
needs to be done for the community helps that community feel respected and
included, (Worth, 2019, p. 72). And, in order to remain relevant to Nashville,
NGH must continue to welcome the community in and provide services not just
within the brick and mortar of their facility, but within the community they
serve.
Nashville City Cemetery
I feel as
though I have always had a fascination with the artistry and architecture of a
cemetery. It started when I first began shooting on film – the way the setting sun
would cast a halo around a headstone, covered in dirt and moss from years of its
service identifying the passing of someone’s friend and loved one always
appeased me. So, when I saw that every Saturday, the Nashville City Cemetery
Association hosts “Clean-up the Nashville City Cemetery,” the oldest public
cemetery in Nashville, I knew I had to learn more (Laux).
I had no
idea there was a Nashville City Cemetery Association (NCCA), though in
hindsight it makes sense due to the extensive history in the area. The mission
of the Nashville City Cemetery Association is to “protect, preserve, restore,
and raise public awareness of the Nashville City Cemetery in collaboration with
the Historical Commission of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and
Davidson County, Tennessee,” (NCCA MISSION STATEMENT 2017). I love this. Having
grown up in Philadelphia where there is history on every corner, the
preservation of our past and symbolic pieces is essential, so the stories
continue long past when we are here to tell them. The outcomes related to the
impact this organization has in correlation to preserving the 200 years of
history that rests on that property can only be measured by a family’s emotional
connection to their past and the educational opportunities this cemetery provides
(Worth, 2019, p. 162).
The volunteer
announcement does a very good job highlighting the expectations of the
position. Participants between the ages of sixteen and eighteen must be accompanied
by an adult, and those under sixteen are not able to participate. A brief
synopsis of duties are clearly explained on the website and there is a notation
that the full details and exact location will be provided after one chooses to
volunteer:
“Volunteers will be asked to help
sweep and protect headstones, remove branches, rake leaves, and gather walnuts
and magnolia pods. All volunteers will be met by a few Nashville City Cemetery
Association Board Members who will provide guidance and regale them with
stories of Nashville's oldest public cemetery,” (Laux).
The only question I have is if a volunteer needs to provide
tools or gloves, etc., but I suspect that may be provided in the full details
after registration.
Regarding
policy that I believe would be essential for this volunteer opportunity, I believe
there should be one regarding respect to the area to include mention of where
it is safe to walk (e.g., stay on a path), what not to take from the area, and activities
during inclement weather, to name a few. Worth explains that having policy is
an essential risk management tool, and since volunteers here are outside in the
elements, and walking on uneven terrain, I think a safety policy is a must-have
for the Nashville City Cemetery Association (p. 263).
Hispanic Family Foundation
I am a
sucker for a baby shower, having worked as the District Marketing Manager for
Babies-R-Us throughout seven states in the south. There was nothing more rewarding
than watching expectant mothers choose all of the fun gadgets and necessities in
advance of the day they would become a mother. Unfortunately, not everyone can
afford the items needed, or maybe they do not have a strong support system
around them, which is why the Community Baby Shower hosted by the Hispanic
Family Foundation (HFF) caught my eye (Weaver, 2022).
Founded in
2013, the mission of the HFF is, “to work through platforms of economic, social
services, advocacy, and culture to provide programs that strengthen the
Nashville Hispanic Community (Weaver, 2022). To execute on behalf of their
mission, the HFF hosts a plethora of community events, from back-to-school
events to Easter egg hunts, to community breakfasts, and more (Janbakhsh, 2022).
This consistent connection to this ever-growing Nashville demographic is
essential not only for the impact the Hispanic Family Foundation can have in its
community, but for the impact the community can have on the Foundation. As
Worth explained, “community foundations receive gifts from members of a particular
community and makes gifts to support a variety of service-providing nonprofits
in that community,” and that is exactly how the HFF is structured (Worth, 2019,
p. 36).
The Community
Baby Shower is a perfect example of connecting gifts to the Foundation with
members of the community. At this event, twenty-five volunteers, aged thirteen
and older, will help with set-up, tear-down, and passing out gifts to the 100
expecting mothers attending the event (Weaver, 2022). The baby shower is held
in conjunction with the Nashville Diaper Connection and Mother to Mother, two
organizations that provide additional services in the Nashville community (Janbakhsh,
2022). In addition to the celebration, health professionals will be on site to education
to the expectant mothers on women’s health challenges and safe baby practices (Janbakhsh,
2022).
I could not
find any written policy for their events, so I would suggest policy regarding physical
ability and overall safety practices, for example to set up and tear down might
require someone to be on a ladder or carry something heavy, and a policy on
ethical expectations to address respect for the community, repercussions if
something is stolen, etc. While this event is a celebration, it is also sensitive
in nature in that we do not know what these mothers may be experiencing regarding
health, economic challenges, or personal challenges. For that reason, I suggest
all policies be handed to the volunteers and a statement of understanding should
be signed (Worth, 2019, p. 263).
All of these volunteer opportunities
tell me a lot about the organizations and support their individual missions. Nashville
General Hospital operates to provide health and welfare to those less fortunate
in Nashville as demonstrated by the food bags made and delivered. The Nashville
City Cemetery Association is charged with preserving the history of the area
and those who impacted the growth of Nashville, and their efforts to keep the
area clean and safe keeps the area accessible to the community. And lastly, the
Hispanic Family Foundation is committed to strengthening Nashville’s Hispanic
community and that includes the future members of the community, so what better
way then to shower them with love and support as they prepare to enter the
world?
Haygood, K. (2022). Making food
totes for NGH foundation. Hands On Nashville. Retrieved March 10, 2022,
from
https://www.hon.org/opportunity/a0C5a00000iO14TEAS/making-food-totes-for-ngh-foundation
Janbakhsh, D. (2022, March 4). Improving
the lives of families in our community. Hispanic Family Foundation.
Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://hffus.org/
Laux, S. (2022). Clean-up the
Nashville City Cemetery. Hands On Nashville. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from
https://www.hon.org/opportunity/a0C5a00000iO6z9EAC/clean-up-the-nashville-city-cemetery
Nashville General Hospital. (n.d.).
Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://nashvillegeneral.org/
NCCA MISSION STATEMENT. Nashville
City Cemetery Association, inc.. (2017). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from
http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/index-2.html
Our story and mission. Hands On Nashville. (n.d.).
Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.hon.org/HON_OurStory
Weaver, T. (2022). Community Baby
Shower. Hands On Nashville. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from
https://www.hon.org/opportunity/a0C5a00000iO3qkEAC/community-baby-shower
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