What Do HOB Volunteers Do…
…for 3000 Hours Per Year?
Stop in to HOB any given day, and you will meet an incredible array of volunteers. People from our community step forward and ask, “How can I help?” and as a volunteer-driven organization (by our mission), Heart of Biddeford has lots of answers to that question.
Some people serve on our board or one our four communities (Business Enhancement, Design, Organization or Promotion). The Board ensures the overall well-being of the organization and hires the Executive Director. They meet monthly, and are actively involved in various projects and committees. The Committee members meet once per month to check in on goals, then move forward on those goals each month. You’ll see Design Committee members decorating a store window, Business Enhancement Committee members conducting retention interviews, Promotions Committee members contacting bands for upcoming concerts, and Organization Committee members running a fund-raiser. Some of these folks have years of experience in fund-raising, economic development, gardening, or event planning. Others just want to do what they can to help.
Some volunteers sign up to work on a short-term project that meets their professional development goals. For example, recent UNE graduate Katie Labbe worked with our AmeriCorp Vista Tony Delcourt to make an orientation video ; UNE students Taylor and Sean came up with a Twitter campaign (#SeeingOrange) for our summer construction season; and Jenna Leigh went door-to-door downtown getting 100 businesses to sign up on the City’s new Access Biddeford App. Each of these volunteers had goals to develop certain skills, and HOB’s volunteer opportunities helped make that happen.
We also rely heavily on volunteers for Adopt-a-Park and downtown events. Adopt-a-Park volunteers work in collaboration with the City to keep our parks looking beautiful. Event volunteers show up, get trained, and help things go smoothly. Whether its selling tickets, supporting kids learning how to do chalk-art, running the sled derby at WinterFest, making the 5K Course safe, or cleaning up after a festival, we simply could not host events without the help of all the volunteers.
Add it all up and you have more than 3000 hours of contribution to the City of Biddeford. A national volunteerism advocacy group called the Independent Sector says that in Maine, the worth of volunteer hours (once you count in the training they receive and work they do) is more than $20/hour. That’s a $60,000 contribution!
Thank you for all you do, Heart of Biddeford volunteers! Inspired to join us? Just fill out this application!