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| Eleanor Watkins |
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Campaign under way to recruit volunteers
Challenging times call for creative solutions. So Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center is looking for volunteers to lend a hand.
Like most nonprofit agencies, Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center is currently facing reduced funding from government and private sources. This means we’ve been tightening our belt and reducing staff. To ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of our community, we are getting creative by establishing more group sessions for clients and looking for more volunteers to assist our paid staff.
"We are always on the lookout for volunteers," explains Volunteer Coordinator Eleanor Watkins, "but right now the need is even greater than in the past."
For instance, TCWRC trimmed costs by cutting its part-time development director position. That person had overseen fundraising activities.
"We are hoping that some volunteers will step up to help in that area," she noted.
There are a great many different types of volunteer opportunities available. Some require little or no training or experience; just a desire to help on a regular basis. Others -- including any that involve direct client contact -- require that volunteers take part in TCWRC’s free training program.
Training classes meet one evening a week and on one Saturday for a total of 30 hours over an average of six weeks. Participants learn about domestic violence and sexual assault and about working with clients.
"We have an average of from 20 to 25 volunteers who work with us currently," Watkins reports. "We would like to double that so that the burden is not too great on any single volunteer."
Volunteers are needed to help at the front desk, updating training materials and doing paperwork, working at fund-raising events and at public information booths, helping with mailings and doing maintenance work at the agency’s facilities.
After receiving training, those willing to take a more active role might consider becoming court watch advocates. These volunteer to observe court cases involving domestic and sexual abuse and tracking cases. Knowledge of legal procedures is a plus for such volunteers and Spanish speaking capability is desirable. Court watch advocates also must be available to work at the courthouse according to the court schedule and be able to commit to enough time each month to track the ongoing cases.
"This really requires a commitment, but it can be extremely interesting and rewarding work," Watkins notes.
And, of course, we always need trained volunteers to help on the telephone hotline.
"After taking part in our training program, our hotline volunteers are scheduled to be on call for one 16-hour shift each month," she explained. "You do this from your home. You don’t need to come into the office. The phone calls come in to an answering service and then are switched over to the volunteer’s home phone."
Watkins said hotline volunteers listen to the callers, then might refer them to local services, give basic information about legal services available to them, might accompany a caller to the hospital or be with them when they make a report to law enforcement. Or they might help them get into the shelter or find emergency housing.
Other trained volunteers might work in the office providing direct services to clients.
"Confidentiality is the key to all of this," Watkins stressed. "Our volunteers must be non-judgmental and willing to work with all kinds of people. They must strive to empower clients, be empathetic and believe in a non-violent philosophy," she said.
For volunteers who wish to help, but may not choose to work directly with clients, a good volunteer option might be working at the Wild Flower Thrift Boutique on Main Avenue in Tillamook.
The shop provides an important source of income that supports TCWRC’s programs. In the past, the agency received workforce-training funds that paid for part-time staffing at the boutique. Those funds have been cut by half.
"Ironically, this reduction in paid staff is coming right at a time when, because of the economy, we have more customers in the shop than ever," notes TCWRC Executive Director Kathleen Marvin. "So it is important that we have enough hands available to keep things operating smoothly."
Wild Flower Manager Melissa Finnell said volunteers are needed who are willing to commit to a regular work schedule, whether it be for one hour a week or more.
"It is very helpful to us to know exactly when a volunteer will be coming in regularly. That way, we can schedule our operations with some predictability."
She said volunteers in the shop do such things as price items, set out merchandise in displays, straighten things on racks and shelves and work the cash register. Others with special skills are needed to do such things as painting furniture, making minor furniture repairs and sewing.
To help would-be volunteers determine their best options, applicants are asked to undergo a pre-screening interview with Watkins. If you wish to volunteer, you may pick up an application at the TCWRC offices at 1902 Second St. in Tillamook, or download one from the website at www.tcwrc.net.
For more information, contact Eleanor Watkins at (503) 842-9486.
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