POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATION & VOLUNTEER CENTER NATIONAL NETWORK OFFERS VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT TRAININGS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 15, 2004) – The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network is offering a Volunteer Management Training Series (VMTS) to help community based organizations recruit, train, manage and engage more volunteers to aid in delivering social services.

The results of recent studies underscore the importance of the VMTS at this time in our nation's history. Nearly 64 million people volunteered an average 52 hours over a 12-month period ending September 2003, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Most charities and congregations utilize volunteers, greatly value the contributions those volunteers make in improving services in a cost-effective manner, have established volunteer management practices at a minimum, and are prepared to absorb at least 5 million new volunteers, according to the Urban Institute's Volunteer Management Capacity Study, supported by the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the UPS Foundation.

"By implementing the practical solutions or 'effective practices' offered in the training series, volunteer coordinators increase their professional skill development and maximize the benefits of effectively engaging a powerful unpaid workforce that can prove to be beneficial to the overall operations of community-based organizations," said Robert K. Goodwin, president and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network.

Included in the training series are high quality, comprehensive courses based on research and effective practices in volunteer management. The trainings consists of seven courses: Understanding Volunteering, Planning a Volunteer Program, Recruiting and Placing Volunteers, Orienting and Training Volunteers, Supervising Volunteers, Evaluating Your Volunteer Program, and Mobilizing Low-Income Communities. VMTS provides local community (nonprofit, business, and government) and faith-based organizations with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively engage volunteers in their work.

"The trainings have proven to be so beneficial to our operation that we require one AmeriCorps member from each our 60 programs to attend," said Eddie Aguero, ADA/Special Projects Director, California Service Corps. "Never before has there been a training system that provided such comprehensive knowledge for the novice and veteran service staff."

The VMTS is offered in local communities by Volunteer Centers, a group of more than 360-member organizations of the Points of Light Foundation that connect millions of people with hundreds of thousands of volunteer opportunities each year.

In some cases, Volunteer Centers are partnering with State Commissions to provide volunteer management training to National Service members. "It is great to be able to help CNCS achieve the goal of armoring every AmeriCorps member with professional skills to recruit and replace volunteers effectively in agencies in their community," said Carol Stone, president/CEO, Volunteer Center Orange County in Santa Ana, California.

"Offering the Volunteer Management Training Series is significantly improving the skills of volunteer managers and organizations in our community, said Carol Hodnett, executive director of Volunteer & Community Resource Center in Stuart, Florida. "It enables our volunteer leaders to provide organized, first-rate volunteer experiences in diverse organizations from the homeless shelter to the sheriff's department."

For more information about the Volunteer Management Training Series or to find a Volunteer Center that may offer the course call 1-800-VOLUNTEER (1-800-865-8683) or visit www.pointsoflight.org and enter your zip code.