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by Christine Pesout Finding a consistent time in their hectic schedules for volunteering may seem an impossibility for many people. While committing to a set schedule makes things easier for an agency in need of volunteers, it can be impractical for busy professionals who want to be of service. St. Louis Cares matches those with unpredictable availability with institutions that need a few helping hands. A program of the Volunteer Center of the United Way, St. Louis Cares specializes in what it calls “millennium-style” volunteering — identifying a wide variety of opportunities to help within the community during evenings and weekends, in as little as one- or two-hour time slots. Rick Skinner, director of the Volunteer Center, explains, “Our goal is to strengthen the community through a program that fits the busy lifestyles of individuals and families. We allow people to engage in meaningful service in a way that is flexible.” Individuals may volunteer for as few or as many opportunities a month as they are able. All the training that is required is attendance at a “Let’s Get Started” orientation, several of which are held each month. Volunteers then receive a monthly newsletter filled with a variety of upcoming volunteer opportunities. Activities may include regular visits to shelters, food pantries or parks, and can include once-in-a-lifetime opportunities such as helping out at the Olympic diving trials. Derek Rapp, currently the CEO of Divergence, founded St. Louis Cares in April 1999. At that time, Rapp was working for Monsanto, and was married with two children and one on the way. “It was a good life, but a busy one,” he explains. Unable to commit to a set schedule of volunteer work, Rapp says, “Community service had been important early on in my life, and I wanted to reintroduce it. I was out of balance.” He had heard about City Cares programs in other parts of the country and says the concept resonated with him. “You could be involved without sustained commitment, in a way that suited you.” While Rapp had no experience putting a program like this in place, he decided to cut back to part-time at Monsanto and pursue his mission of starting one in St. Louis. “Monsanto was extremely supportive and treated this with respect,” he notes. Rapp emphasizes the fact that “you don’t have to be the obvious person to make things happen. You just have to have the passion and the ability to find the people who can make things work.” Because of his previous experience with the United Way, Rapp sought assistance from the agency. It provided him with the resources he needed to take the project from concept to operation in just one year. Rapp gives much credit to the best practices he borrowed from other City Cares programs in order to ensure a worthwhile volunteer experience. With the belief that childhood experience in volunteering leads to an ingrained and expected behavior of service, Rapp makes sure several family- friendly opportunities are included each month. He also developed a communication system that creates a seamless relationship between agencies and volunteers to avoid surprises during projects. While
most of us feel the need to give something back to the community,
some may find it’s a difficult endeavor. St. Louis Cares
has been designed to make volunteering easy, and for numerous
agencies and more than 3,400 volunteers, it has succeeded. For
more information, call 539-4063 or visit |
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