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Glendora launches VolunteerMatch listing on city site to centralize volunteer opportunities
Summary
The City of Glendora and Glendora Public Library embedded VolunteerMatch in the city website to consolidate volunteer listings across local nonprofits and city programs; library staff say the soft launch in December produced more than 2,300 views and the Friends Foundation funded the first year.
The City of Glendora has added an embedded VolunteerMatch listing to its website to consolidate volunteer opportunities citywide, library staff reported at the June 9 meeting of the Glendora Board of Library Trustees.
Library Services Manager Cindy Romero told trustees the VolunteerMatch tool is accessible from the city site under Services > Volunteer in Glendora and is embedded on that page so residents can search opportunities by filters such as “done in a day,” “older adult friendly,” or “library.”
The city and library presented the change as a response to community confusion about where to find volunteer openings. “There’s so many great opportunities to get involved through the community. Where do I find out about them?” Romero said, recounting the coordinating-council conversation that prompted the effort.
Romero said the library coordinated an initial outreach round to about 35 local organizations and began a soft launch in December. “Since we launched, it was a soft launch, in December of last year. We’ve had over 2,300 views just on the library and the city opportunities,” Romero said.
The listing shows city and nonprofit postings together; organizations create and manage their own accounts and posts, and listings can be set to expire so stale positions do not remain online. Romero said search tiles and categories make it easier for residents to find short-term or skills-based placements, such as Rotary Field of Heroes, Laundry Day, hospice volunteering, and computer skills tutors at the library.
Trustees and staff said they are promoting the resource to local service groups, school districts and clubs that routinely look for volunteer placements. Romero said the Glendora Public Library Friends Foundation and the Glendora Community Coordinating Council funded the first year of the service; the city will support it in subsequent years.
Trustees asked whether the site records volunteer hours for individual users; Romero said volunteers can create accounts but she was unsure if personal hours are automatically tallied and will follow up. She also said staff has asked organizations to keep listings current and that postings time out automatically unless renewed.
Trustees described VolunteerMatch as a useful tool to match people and organizations by skills and availability and encouraged broader citywide promotion. The board directed staff to continue outreach to schools and local service organizations and to report back on additional metrics as they become available.
The VolunteerMatch page is accessible from the City of Glendora website under Services > Volunteer in Glendora and via the library’s web links.
