In late 2019, Shelby County residents and organizations were offered an additional tool to help meet their volunteer desires and needs.
A new website, www.serveshelby.com, was created by Lilly Intern Danni Schweitzer to provide community members the opportunity to find the perfect match for their service desires. The site also served as an avenue for local organizations to share with the community their volunteer needs.
BRCF’s hopes in creating the website was that we could provide a central location for both nonprofit organizations and volunteers to meet their needs and contribute to a combined effort of serving Shelby.
Due to the social isolation of the pandemic, there were little to no volunteer opportunities to share on the website or social media platforms during most of 2020 and 2021. Chances to volunteer in Shelby County started to become more widely available in 2022 and it became apparent to BRCF that it was time to revive Serve Shelby.
When Laura Land joined the Foundation in July of 2022 as the new Community Engagement Officer, one of her first assignments was to learn as much as possible about nonprofits in Shelby County and to decide how to best utilize Serve Shelby to support their efforts. Land has dedicated the majority of her time over the past several months to connecting closely with local charities through one-on-one conversations and by way of the Nonprofit Roundtable, growing the Serve Shelby site, and becoming more actively engaged on social media through this resource.
If you are connected to a local nonprofit and your organization does not have a profile on the Serve Shelby site, contact Land to add this information. Additionally, if you are a community member looking for volunteer opportunities, check the site often and/or follow Serve Shelby on Facebook or Instagram to be sure you are informed of any local volunteer needs.
In March, Serve Shelby published the first edition of the Serve Shelby e-newsletter. Visit https://mailchi.mp/blueriverfoundation.com/serveshelbymar23?fbclid=IwAR2mwrXAM27L7TFh0EIo723KeKpGvPMp8z6dLtiabvCQrJc8E2Zq_a9hIrw to enjoy the first release and sign up to receive future versions.
