South Dakota’s Helpline Center launched a new site this month that connects people through volunteer opportunities. SDPB’s Jilanne Doom has this story.
With only 37 percent of the state volunteering on a regular basis, the Helpline Center decided to revamp a volunteer site they started in 2003. Volunteer Solutions is a new database that allows interested people to search for volunteer opportunities all across the state. Volunteer Services director Sara Carothers says the site offers a variety of new ways to get citizens involved.
“There are some really cool features with this site. There are the very basics which means you can go on and you can search based on what you’re passionate about or interested in or how much time you have to give. If you’re only available Monday mornings, you can search Monday mornings and find out what opportunities are open on Monday mornings specifically. If you’re interested in animals, you can check animals and all the opportunities with animals will come up.”
Carothers says there are countless volunteer opportunities in South Dakota that people might not be aware of. This site shows openings at over 100 local non-profit organizations.
“So it really helps people get a handle on the hundreds of opportunities that are out there. People know some of the traditional places to volunteer, but they don’t know that there’s hundreds of other ways to give their time. And this site helps connect them.
There’s also a new feature that allows people to share opportunities with others who might be interested. Carothers says this will hopefully get the remaining 60 percent of South Dakotans interested in volunteering their time. For SDPB, I’m Jilanne Doom.