Coming off its most successful year ever, Partnership to End Poverty announced that it will transfer the planning and management responsibilities for Project Connect and Project Mobile Connect to Volunteer Connect.
On September 24, Project Connect served a record 3,421 people – offering medical, dental, housing, pet, and financial and many other services. An additional 2,500 people were served by smaller “Mobile Connect” events staged throughout Central Oregon during 2011. The event has served Central Oregonians for the past five years, spurring additional events throughout the year as well as the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. In the announcement, The Partnership notes that a refocus of its core strategies and a staff change opened the opportunity for The Partnership to transition the signature event to another local organization. Volunteer Connect was a natural fit.
“The growth and maturity of this event has grown as the need has increased,” says Scott Cooper, Executive Director for The Partnership. “Moving the leadership of Project Connect will ensure its continuity and high quality of service to the community.”
Over the last five years, Project Connect, along with Project Mobile Connect has grown into the largest multi-county, rural event of the 300 similar events across the country tracked by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. It has grown from serving 1,200 people to nearly 6000. With 150 agencies offering 170 services, the event utilizes over 600 volunteers.
In addition to the valuable direct services provided through the event, Project Connect has spurred valuable interagency collaborations during its 5-year tenure. “Project Connect was the launching point of the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness,” notes Cindy Pasko, Director of Community Services for The Partnership and the lead organizer for Project Connect. “We proved to the County leadership that the region’s nonprofits could work together and that gave them reason to believe we could pull off a 10-Year Plan as well.”
Understanding that a one-day event was not enough to serve the communities, The Partnership added local events throughout the region this year as Project Mobile Connects. In cooperation with Oregon Community Foundation and United Way of Deschutes County, the Mobile Connects served an additional 2,500 people, offering vital medical, dental and social services at eight sites in seven Central Oregon communities.
Cooper noted that the timing of the transition coincides with a significant transition in event staffing. The long-time event coordinator who has managed Project Connect since inception, Cindy Pasko, recently tendered her resignation in order to relocate to California to be closer to family. “Part of our organizational strategy is to start great events and then find good homes for them once they are mature,” Cooper noted. “Cindy’s decisions about her personal life and the growth and maturity of Volunteer Connect made this a great time to make the transition. “ Cooper noted that Volunteer Connect, which was originally started in part with a grant from Partnership, is the natural home for an event which depends heavily on volunteers.
Volunteer Connect aims to link the region’s people to service opportunities. It, like Project Connect, emphasizes the volunteer experience in providing service. It focuses on helping both the agency and the volunteer get the most out of the exchange through ongoing training and continual communication. By adding Project Connect to its “Days of Service” repertoire, Volunteer Connect can take the one-time volunteers and move them to more frequent, year-round volunteering.
“The staff and board of Volunteer Connect all agreed that Project Connect and the Mobile events belong within Volunteer Connect’s mission,” says Betsy Warriner, Executive Director at Volunteer Connect. “Not only can we help the volunteers, but the disaster preparedness that the medical area brings is one we’ve wanted to add to our services since launch. We are looking forward to adding employment development through volunteerism as an additional service for participants. We will be proud to work with all the agencies to continue these wonderful and needed events.”
Both Project Connect and Project Mobile Connect are expected to continue without interruption. Pasko will transfer her records and knowledge to the new Event Coordinator at Volunteer Connect, as well as being available on a consulting basis through the first year. Additionally, a Vista Volunteer hired to help with the events will transfer with them to their new home. To help with the transition and to ensure that the events are continued, The Partnership is offering financial assistance to Volunteer Connect through 2014.
“These are complex community events,” added Warriner. “The leadership is crucial to their success and we look forward to working with those who have built them to what they are today and continuing to bring this valuable community service to Central Oregon.”
The Partnership to End Poverty is a 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to reducing poverty in Central Oregon, long term. The Partnership collaborates with Central Oregon’s wide range of socially conscious organizations (non-profit, for-profit and governmental, faith-based and education-oriented), with the goal of achieving more poverty reduction together than it could working alone. www.partnershiptoendpoverty.org.
Volunteer Connect is Central Oregon’s link to volunteer opportunities. The mission of the organization is to connect volunteers with meaningful opportunities to deeply impact the Central Oregon community. Volunteer Connect envisions a region of engaged volunteers, and we advocate for the volunteer. With over 100 agency partners, the organization links volunteers with opportunities that match their interests and collaborates with agency partners to enhance volunteers’ satisfaction and effectiveness. Volunteer Connect also cultivates students’ lifelong volunteering and civic engagement through service-learning. Launched in January, 2010, Volunteer Connect is a nonprofit, public benefit 501(c)(3) corporation registered with the State of Oregon. Please visit at www.volunteerconnectnow.org.
