Volunteer program expanded
It isn’t that Stephanie Hunter didn’t want to spend time helpingnonprofit groups serving the area’s needy residents.
But the secretary in Franklin County’s human resources office has a packed schedule, without a lot of free time.
When county officials created a pilot program allowing employees to volunteer while on the clock, Hunter took fulladvantage of the opportunity.
That is how she found herself at Franklinton Farms, a nonprofit urban farm west of Downtown. There, she worked in the fresh air, shoulder to shoulder with co-workers, pulling weeds and digging post holes in a raspberry patch.
“It was a little different than what I thought it was going to be … but I had fun, because I was working with other people,” Hunter said.
Hunter and other county employees will be able to continue connecting with local nonprofit groups, following a recent vote by the Franklin County commissioners to make permanent the year-old Volunteer Initiative Plan. The program, part of the county’s wellness efforts, provides up to 16 hours of paid time off (about $426 per employee total) for each worker who volunteers their time at nonprofits.
In the first 12 months of the program, 52 of 482 eligible employees volunteered for more than 294 hours, helping at seven nonprofits. The payroll costs covered were less than $8,000, said county spokeswoman Robin Dever.
The program is open to employees who are not part of bargaining units. Discussions about expanding it to cover union workers likely will be part of new contract negotiations.
Generally, participating workers spend about four hours at a time at one of more than 40 local nonprofit groups, ranging from food pantries to free clinics, Thaddeus Burton, an investigator for Franklin County Adult Protective Services
“I think it’s a great opportunity for people whose schedules tend to not allow them to volunteer on the weekend to do it during work hours.”
said Cait Graessle, a human resources officer who coordinates the volunteer program.
One group of employees packed meals for students to take home on weekends, helping to ensure that they had healthy meals while away from school. Another helped build a home through Habitat for Humanity.
Thaddeus Burton, an investigator for Franklin County Adult Protective Services, baked cookies at Ronald Mcdonald House for the families of children being treated for serious medical issues.
In addition to directly helping nonprofit groups, the program served as a team-building experience for employees, some of whom sought out additional service opportunities afterward, Graessle said.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for people whose schedules tend to not allow them to volunteer on the weekend to do it during work hours,” Burton said. “I would encourage anyone to take advantage of it. … A little bit of sweat and tears never hurt anyone.”