Stiemke: Nonprofits prepare for Promise students
The students are coming! Prepare!
For the past several months, in one way or another, I have been communicating that to our 160-plus member nonprofits. We want to make sure that all nonprofits are ready to engage the expected 1,700 Promise students.
The MCC Promise program will allow students who graduate from a McHenry County high school to attend McHenry County College tuition-free. What a gift!
One of the requirements for this program is that each student completes volunteer service. So students, and anyone else who wants to volunteer, listen up:
1. Start early. It takes about one to three weeks to begin volunteering with an organization. You can’t just call or walk in today to start tomorrow.
2. When you begin your search for a place to volunteer, think about what you want out of it. Are there skills you want to learn? Do you want job experience? Are you looking for something that might help you with a class? Do you have a special interest in a certain cause?
3. Make sure you know when you are available to volunteer. Don’t waste your time trying to get in with an agency if the service has to be completed on Tuesday morning when you know you have class or work at that time.
4. Don’t volunteer with friends. Make this your experience. Get the most out of it. Absorb what you can about the agency; learn about their impact in McHenry County. If you are working with homeless, find out why McHenry County has a homeless population. If it is seniors, look into how the organization keeps seniors safe in their homes. If you decide to become a mentor for a child at risk, really be there for them. Open your eyes to the mission. Don’t get distracted by friends, but do talk about the experience with them.
5. Be up front with the organization; ask questions. Find out what the dress code is, whom to report to, how you will be trained, what work you will be doing.
6. Don’t serve with a bad attitude; be there for the organization’s mission. Sometimes the work you will be doing will be fun and interesting; sometimes it might seem mundane. The important thing to remember is you are helping to affect a community.
7. Give the organization feedback. Help them to better engage volunteers. If you have concerns, talk to the agency about them; chances are it is affecting others, too.
8. Think about volunteering even after your service commitment is complete. Remember both the community and the nonprofit invested in you. If you stay, you will find value.
The United Way of McHenry County Volunteer Center is proud to be a Promise Partner. Students, along with anyone else, can get connected to a volunteer opportunity in McHenry County by visiting www.volun
teermchenrycounty.org or by calling 815-344-4483.
The MCC Promise program will not only help students understand how important community involvement is, but it also will stimulate our economy as students choose to work and live where they are educated. It will help attract employers to our county. It will help families look forward to their child’s education. If you haven’t found a way to support the Promise yet, do so soon.
Call the Friends of MCC Foundation at 815-455-8778.
• Rebecca Stiemke is director of United Way McHenry County Volunteer Center. She can be reached at 815-344-4483 or rstiemke@volunteer.mchenrycounty.org.