The Volunteer Center of the Triad helps tackle food insecurity and other hardships in our community - a job made even harder by the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Director Carley Swaim Walker and Director of Volunteers & Community Engagement Hope Tyler recently sat down with the Chamber's Niketa Greene to discuss the importance of volunteerism during this time.
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This episode is sponsored by Truliant Federal Credit Union
Visit Truliant here
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Today’s host is Niketa Greene, the Chamber’s Director for the Leadership Greensboro Program.
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1:05 - Niketa kicks off the episode by welcoming today’s guests Carly Swain and Hope Tyler from the Volunteer Center of the Triad. Carly and Hope start with an introduction of themselves and share some of their personal background.
3:30 - Niketa asks Carly about some background about the Volunteer Center. Carly shares the mission of the organization and how they act out their mission every day. Niketa asks Hope to highlight a specific program, the Reducing Hunger Through Service Program, that the Volunteer Center helps coordinate to take on food insecurity within the community.
6:20 - Niketa asks Carly and Hope how Covid-19 has impacted the work that they do, and more specifically, the work that they do to assist with feeding the Greensboro Community. They highlight several local organizations that are already working hard to tackle food insecurity, and it was natural that those organizations came together in the pandemic crisis to identify the need and how to respond. Guilford County Schools also jumped into action to ensure that food-insecure students were able to continue to be served.
10:20 - Hope explains how they have worked to get the word out about what is needed of volunteers and the community. The online presence, emails, social media, and press releases have been a huge way to keep in contact with the volunteer community and ensure that needs are met. She highlights that in times of crisis, people look to help others, and the Volunteer Center’s website identifies how people can step up to assist.
12:00 - Niketa asks how the pandemic has changed the work the Volunteer Center does, and how the Reducing Hunger Through Service Program has been impacted by the crisis. Carly emphasizes that, no matter what crisis they’re faced with, it’s the Volunteer Center’s duty to become the volunteer response center to coordinate emergency efforts. For pandemic management, the team of four staff operated as all-hands-on-deck to make sure they could coordinate volunteers to give relief for those in need.
16:32 - Niketa asks what other impact the Volunteer Center’s volunteers have had over the past few months. One Step Further has the Community Nutrition Program, which allows families to shop (online) according to their dietary needs. Backpack Beginnings coordinates weekend food distributions to ensure that students in need still have meals over the weekend. Other corporate partners are donating materials, like masks, to organizations and volunteers on the ground.
20:14 - Niketa asks Carly and Hope what they need from the community as we move forward in the new Covid-19 world. Carly thinks that they will continue to operate as the crisis volunteer response center for the foreseeable future, recruiting volunteers to make sure that resources are located and distributed to fellow community members that need help.
21:50 - Hope details how people can get involved as volunteers in the current pandemic. Like the organizations it serves, The Volunteer Center itself is a non-profit, so fundraising and donating is critical for these organizations to survive.
23:50 - Niketa asks Carly and Hope to end on their thoughts of the power of volunteerism. Carly emphasizes how volunteering is giving your time, which is giving your heart to the betterment of the community. Doing something good during this crisis provides a ray of hope. Hope adds that volunteering is a great way to channel the stay-at-home boredom, frustration, and loneliness that some of us are feeling, while also creating a positive impact for others.
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Want to get involved? Check out The Volunteer Center’s website: https://volunteercentertriad.org/
And make sure to follow The Volunteer Center on their socials!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/volunteercentertriad
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volunteercentertriad/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-07lBHbkw37jhRJy6vJ5AA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/volunteergboro
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Make sure to follow impact. The Boro on social media!
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @gsochamber
Visit the Chamber website at greensboro.org.
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