Partnership Opportunities

Partnership does not necessarily entail participation in each opportunity.  We will work with you to assess which programs and projects are a good fit for your organization.

Calendar Projects 

Each month we offer a variety of volunteer opportunities in partnership with our CSPs.  We work closely with you to develop ongoing projects that meet your needs, the interests of our volunteers and HandsOn Greater Phoenix project parameters.  Projects occur weekly, every other week, or monthly, after 5pm or on weekends. 

For each Calendar Project, HandsOn Greater Phoenix will recruit and train a Project Leader who will attend each project.  Project Leaders are typically volunteers from the community who agree to act as the liaison between HandsOn Greater Phoenix, your agency, and the volunteers.  They monitor volunteer sign-ups and ensure that each project is completed with a thumbs up from both our CSPs and volunteers.  

Examples of such projects include:

• Preparing meals for homeless men women and children

• Educational programs for young children in shelters and schools in low-income areas (HandsOn Greater Phoenix has several signature children's education programs including Read To Me, Mind Wizards and Bookworm Buddies)

• Working in food banks

• Playing bingo with nursing home residents

• Caring for animals in no-kill shelters

• and much, much more!

A typical Calendar Project

• is led by a volunteer Project Leader trained by HandsOn Greater Phoenix

• requires no additional training or finger printing of volunteers

• is a group hands-on project (no envelope stuffing, office work or babysitting)

• occurs on evenings after 5pm or weekends to accommodate busy volunteers

• generally takes place within a 1-4 hour time-period

• does not require any additional commitment from its volunteers beyond the completion of the project.

Civic Education

We take community involvement a step further by providing leadership trainings and programs that give individuals the skills and experiences they need to affect positive change in our communities.  We also provide discussion groups designed to stimulate dialogue and action on critical local, national and world issues. 

Our CSPs are critical to the success of these programs.  You are the experts.  We look to you to help us tell the stories behind the issues and provide avenues for community members to get involved in helping you further your missions.  Past sessions have included: Inspiring Stories of International Relief, Creating Your Own Community Project, 101 Things to Do with a Children's Book, Hunger 101 and more!  Ongoing opportunities include Conversation Cafes, Citizen Action Book Club, a Film Discussion Series and The Community Forum. 

Providing speakers, resources for workshop participants, meeting space, assistance with curriculum development and helping us spread the word is often where our partners contribute in this area.  If you have a workshop idea, please let us know.  And be sure you attend these sessions, as well.  Those who work on the front lines with the issues help make the discussions better - asking the tough questions and bringing firsthand knowledge to share with the rest of the audience.

Days of Service

HandsOn Greater Phoenix has several large-scale service events throughout the year. Here's how it works:

1. We put out a Request For Projects (RFPs) packet to find out which of our Community Service Partner Organizations want to participate and to get a general idea about what types of projects need volunteers. 

2. Once projects are selected from the pool of RFPs, we work with each CSP to develop a project(s) that meets their needs and fulfill volunteer interest.  Planning involves a site visit and consultation to confirm the scope of the project, number of volunteers needed, supplies needed and other logistical considerations.

3. We recruit teams of volunteers to complete each project to your satisfaction.

4. We train project leaders to ensure that the volunteers are well managed at your project. 

5. We are committed to success and provide evaluation and follow-up for each project we take on.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration  (January 15-19, 2009) - A week of service projects and issues education sessions to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Serve  A Thon for Schools (April 12, 2008) - This day of service provides an opportunity for 3,000 volunteers to donate one day of their lives to make the Valley's schools a better place to live.  See results of Serve A Thon for Schools 2007. 

A Day for Downtown  (November, 2008; In partnership with Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Phoenix Community Alliance) -  More than 500 corporate and community volunteers gather on this day for rewarding service projects to revitalize downtown organizations and neighborhoods.  

Business Services

We have developed our Business Services to help companies in the Valley area create meaningful community service opportunities for their employees. These projects typically occur during the weekday, but may also occur evenings or weekends.  Projects are determined by employee interest and community needs.  These project provide team/morale building and leadership development opportunities to participating volunteers.  It's also a great way to educate the business community on your needs and missions. 

Training Opportunities

Based on input from our Community Service Partners, we design trainings to provide CSP staff with valuable resources related to volunteer and project management. You will learn how to: identify a meaningful need and relate it to a project, recruit and engage volunteers, analyze project outcomes and much more.

Association for Volunteer Administration of Central Arizona (AVACA)

AVACA is the professional association which promotes excellence in
volunteer resources management by providing opportunities for professional
growth and development, networking and collaboration, and training and
education. AVACA also serves as a resource and advocate for the profession
of volunteer resources management.  Find out more about becoming a member.

Bookworm Buddies

This literacy-based mentoring program pairs caring adult volunteers with primary aged school children to work on reading comprehension and practice.  We provide this program in a direct service capacity with school partners.  Host site schools for Bookworm Buddies are selected through a special application and interview process.

AmeriCorps

We place AmeriCorps members for a dedicated year of service to help build volunteer capacity at CSPs. Additionally, members receive leadership and professional development training.  Host Site CSPs for the AmeriCorps program are selected through a special application and interview process.

Community Grapevine

You can post community volunteer needs, manage volunteer registration and more on our web site’s Community Grapevine. Download our Community Grapevine manual to learn how.

Listing in Community Partner Directory

We post the name, mission/description and web address of all Community Service Partners on our website.