Leesburg staff unveil new volunteer signup map and dashboard for spring cleanups

Matt Smith, the town’s stormwater GIS coordinator, demonstrated a new web-based volunteer registration and management dashboard the commission says is intended to streamline signups for the Keep Leesburg Beautiful cleanup program.

The platform combines a map of cleanup locations, filters for availability and suitability, and three participant-facing forms: a sponsorship/registration form, a suggest-a-location form and an activity report form. Smith said the system links location markers to volunteer registration and to an automated back-end for staff that will show where trash bags have been placed and how many bags crews have collected.

The town attorney’s office reviewed a volunteer waiver that Smith said will be part of the online flow. “Once they hit next, they’re able to fill that up,” Smith said, describing the waiver step that must be completed before volunteers go out. He said the town requires every group to complete at least one waiver before participating.

Commission members asked whether the system supports a “put me where you need me” option for volunteers who do not pick a site before arrival. Smith said the feature is not yet enabled, but the dashboard includes a form and a submissions table staff can use to assign volunteers on the morning of an event.

Smith said the platform is mobile-friendly and that QR codes can be printed on materials so volunteers can file their activity reports from their phones at the end of a cleanup. He described an automated email feature that would confirm signups to volunteers and notify staff of new submissions.

The group discussed outreach and incentives. Commission members reported that multiple local businesses have agreed to offer discounts or freebies to volunteers and that proof-of-participation cards will be handed out at events. Staff said two volunteer groups had already signed up using the town’s older registration form; those entries will be migrated into the new system.

Smith gave a timeline for public release: he said the team hopes to post the registration page within a month and—if no additional change requests arise—issue a press release next Monday or Tuesday. He also asked commissioners for a small change to the forms: an “assign me” option for volunteers who want to be placed where staff most need them.

Implementation details remaining include finishing some form validation, embedding the dashboard on the town website and finalizing email templates. Smith said the town will keep staff able to mark locations as “full” or “contact for status” in real time during events.

Commissioners and staff urged Smith to include language on the site about high-school volunteer-hour verification; staff agreed they could provide sign-off forms if students need them.

The presentation drew sustained discussion and several technical questions from commissioners; no formal action was taken at the meeting, and staff said they would return to the commission if the board requested further edits prior to posting.

The transcript of the presentation included practical demonstrations of the registration flow, the volunteer activity report and staff-side dashboards that show bag counts and submission tables.