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Garland launches Volunteer Garland program; coordinator reports thousands engaged and plans for citywide service day
Summary
Volunteer Coordinator Josue Diaz reported Volunteer Garland has recorded about 1,200 volunteers for events and approximately 3,874 total recorded volunteer engagements to date; staff plans a citywide "Big Event Garland" service day in spring to expand participation.
Volunteer Coordinator Josue Diaz told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board that Volunteer Garland has registered thousands of volunteers and is building a citywide volunteer infrastructure.
"Since October of last year, we have engaged over 1,200 recorded volunteers at our different events," Diaz said, and added the program has about 850 newsletter subscribers and a cumulative recorded total of about 3,874 volunteer entries in the system as of a recent count.
Diaz reported the program has recorded about 24,000 pounds of litter collected from parks, rivers and creeks and described an "estimated volunteer contribution" figure the office has calculated (transcript references an estimated figure of 134,000; the unit was not specified in the meeting remarks). Diaz described a self-serve litter program, partnerships with the library and recreation centers for volunteer shifts, and a web portal at volunteergarland.org for signups.
Diaz previewed a planned citywide service day, "Big Event Garland," to be held in spring (date TBA) that will bundle multiple volunteer projects into a single, coordinated day of service. He invited board members and community groups to partner on the event and said the office aims to provide site packets and turnkey project maps for groups of varying skill and age levels.
Board members praised the early results and noted volunteer projects have included restroom painting, lakeshore cleanups and other park support tasks. Staff said Volunteer Garland coordinates with parks operations and other city departments and offers support for corporate days of service, scout Eagle projects and nonprofit partners.
