MARIN BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS GIVE BACK $60,000 TO THE  COMMUNITY

                    THROUGH WEEK OF CARING PROJECTS

Over 600 volunteers from the Marin business community rolled up their sleeves and lent a helping hand to community organizations around the county during Week of Caring, September 8-13. By the end of the week, these volunteers had put in 3,088 hours in a variety of projects ranging from gardening and coastal cleanup to office reorganization and food preparation. In total, employees from 18 local businesses participated in what has now become one of the most popular civic engagement programs in the County.

Week of Caring is a partnership between the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (Center), United Way of the Bay Area (UWBA) and The Volunteer Centers of the Bay Area. It is held to promote volunteerism and community involvement among the Marin business community by providing them with a range of service projects.

“Volunteers participated in 59 different projects,” stated Darlene Fiscus, Volunteer Services and Community Relations Manager. “Using established national standards, the monetary value of the hours they logged can be put at $60,000.”

Nonprofits like Homeward Bound, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Halleck Creek Riding Club, Davidson Middle School and The Redwoods registered a variety of projects for businesses to choose from. Participating businesses included Autodesk, Redwood Credit Union, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Chevron Corporation, Fireman’s Fund, AngelPoints, Bregante + Co. LLP, Dominican University and the Center’s Business Volunteer Council, among others.

Participating nonprofits were very appreciative. “This garden would not have been possible without the hard work of volunteers. We’re so happy that the Enterprise employees decided to make this their project for Week of Caring.” said Stuart Moody, coordinator of the gardening project at Davidson Middle School in San Rafael.

Across the Bay Area, according to UWBA, more than 7,000 business volunteers from 51 companies made a difference at more than 120 nonprofit organizations.

Dan Pelkey, an employee at Fireman’s Fund Insurance helped build a retaining wall at Muir Woods last week. Says Dan, “I spend over forty hours a week with some of my coworkers but I really enjoyed being outside and working hard with them on a project that didn’t involve ‘business as usual’”.

By building partnerships with nonprofits through volunteering projects, businesses get a chance to see their community in a whole new light while at the same time building a spirit of teamwork and cooperation in their own organizations. For more information please call the Center at 415-479-5710 or visit us at www.centerforleadershipmarin.org