Council approves town-run volunteer registry to connect students with civic volunteer openings

The council voted to create a town-coordinated volunteer initiative on Feb. 18 to help local committees and events find volunteers while giving students opportunities to earn required service hours.

Why it matters: Schools and many scholarship programs require volunteer hours; committees that stage town events reported difficulty finding volunteers. Councilmembers said a centralized town registry would help committees staff events, increase youth civic engagement and bring more residents to town activities.

Councilmember Alex Sanchez said he had asked town staff during the summer whether volunteer opportunities for youth were available; the response was that no central system existed. Sanchez said the new program will provide a bridge between committees that need volunteers and students — for instance, high‑school honor societies and service-hour requirements — and will make volunteering easier to find and track. The council approved the motion and asked staff to design a simple signup and matching process that committees can use to list immediate needs.

Council members said they expected the program to increase participation at widely attended events such as Veterans Day and the Fourth of July, and to augment committee operations such as Cultural Affairs and Economic Development programming. The manager and clerk will work with liaison staff and committee chairs to draft a registration and verification process for student hours. No additional budget appropriation was requested in the motion.

Ending: The item passed unanimously; staff will return with an operational proposal for a centrally managed volunteer registry and a process for tracking student service hours.