Back to School: 14,000 Backpacks Stuffed with New School Supplies for Needy Children Given Out to 52 Schools
by Sue Scheff on Aug 20, 2010
STARS (Supplies To Assist ouR Schools) proudly filled 14,000 backpacks with school supplies and delivered them to 52 schools throughout Florida. How did they do this? There were many volunteers, generous donors and lots of people of all ages that participated in helping students start off their school year right!
A big part of their success was assistance of VolunteerSpot.
The Disney VoluntEARS got involved too. Their co-founder, Joe Hembrooke, had this to say about VolunteerSpot, “Before VolunteerSpot, people would call day or night to volunteer or see when the next opening might be and I would have to remind them a day or two in advance — it was a big job since we have over 100 volunteers on our list wanting to help. Now, with VolunteerSpot I am in “heaven”. No calls at all hours, I don’t have to say yes or no to anyone and really your VolunteerSpot is a joy to use.”
Is your club, organization or group planning an activity or fundraiser? Learn how VolunteerSpot can help you too. Doing good just got easier!
Congratulations to the S.T.A.R.S., your tireless efforts are recognized throughout the state of Florida and the glow on the students faces that receive those filled backpacks will be priceless.
Watch video to learn more about how VolunteerSpot can help you in your next fundraiser or activity.
Tags: Back to School, Community Service, Donations, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, VolunteerSpot
VolunteerSpot Makes Back-to-School Hassel Free
by Sue Scheff on Aug 17, 2010
It is that time of year again, and schools throughout the country will be opening as parents are scrambling. Have you considered starting a VolunteerSpot in your community? Learn more today! Here is the latest press release from VolunteerSpot. Read more about STARS filling and passing out 14,000 backpacks in Florida, with the help of VolunteerSpot – click here.
As massive budget cuts hit schools across country, free online tool makes it easy for parents to help our nation’s teachers
Back-to-school is right around the corner, and due to recent state-wide budget cuts, teachers and schools need parents’ help this year more than ever before. Parents will be asked to step-up and help in the classroom, the campus, and to support fundraisers. VolunteerSpot (www.VolunteerSpot.com), a free online coordination tool, simplifies the volunteer experience and makes it easier for more parents to get involved. Most importantly, VolunteerSpot is a proven success; the online sign up tool increases parent participation by 20% and raises school donation rates, too.
Any teacher or parent-leader can invite volunteers to sign up electronically through VolunteerSpot.com, and in two simple-clicks, parents can sign up for whatever activity and time works for them — from reading to the class or brining snacks to the Fall party, to helping in library or cafeteria, to staffing important fundraisers like the school carnival or stadium concession stand. VolunteerSpot even sends automated messages reminding volunteers of their commitments. No more “reply all” emails, late night phone tag, or disorganized paper sign-up sheets.
“Back-to-school is an exciting but stressful time for teachers and parent-leaders as they set up their classrooms and prepare for the year’s fundraising activities,” said Karen Bantuveris, Founder & CEO, VolunteerSpot. “It’s our responsibility as parents to help out in any way we can, and VolunteerSpot helps by making it easier for more parents to get involved at school.”
“VolunteerSpot made it so easy to sign up parents to read to my kindergarten class,” says Erin W., of Austin, TX. “I set up the schedule in a few minutes, and VolunteerSpot did the rest. Within 48 hours, all the spots were full and the best part is the kids love seeing their parents in the classroom.”
VolunteerSpot brings the simplicity of an online party invitation to school volunteering and makes it easy for anyone to ask for help. The site also provides unique tools, from free e-books, including the new “Room Parent Survival Guide,” and smart tips on everything from how to throw a successful school carnival or bake sale to Teacher Appreciation Week.
VolunteerSpot recently helped the Carmel Unified School District in California win a $100,000 donation when they were faced with the request to mobilize volunteers for the US Open. Asked to assemble a team to work approximately 14,000 hours over the course of seven days, the school district enlisted VolunteerSpot’s easy-to-use sign-up sheets, automatic e-mail reminders and organizational tools to ensure that the event went off without a hitch.
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About VolunteerSpotBased in Austin, Texas, privately held VolunteerSpot (www.VolunteerSpot.com) is a free Web-based organization tool that powers grassroots volunteering at school and in the community. Founded by ‘mompreneur’ and PTA leader, Karen Bantuveris, VolunteerSpot’s easy online sign-up tool saves time, streamlines communication and makes it simple for more people to get involved. VolunteerSpot has help organize more than a quarter-million volunteers since its public launch in April, 2009. VolunteerSpot is perfect for coordinating groups for anything – PTA activities, classroom helpers, carnivals and festivals, tournaments, VBS, service projects, mentoring sessions, group campouts, ministry meals, book fairs, swim meets, and more…. VolunteerSpot, DOING GOOD Just Got Easier!!!
Tags: Community Service, Parenting, parenting advice, Parenting Blogs, Parenting Resources, Parenting Teens, Teen Help, Volunteering, VolunteerSpot
Sue Scheff: Winter Games, Spring Youth Sports
by Sue Scheff on Feb 15, 2010
As many parents in the Northeast are shoveling their way through heavy drifts of snow, the Southern states, although chilly, are gearing up for their spring sport season with their children.
As the Winter Games opened this week, the entire family can join and watch the athletes compete against countries worldwide. Does your child have an athletic dream?
VolunteerSpot’s free and easy online coordination tool saves time and simplifies parent participation in youth sports. They have a new eBook with sample online sign up sheets to give parents ideas of all the ways they can ask for (and get) help with their team activities.
Whether it’s Little League, soccer, swimming, softball, lacrosse, or all of the above, spring is an exciting time for children participating in youth sports. For parents, though, their busy schedules are about to get a whole lot busier! Beyond spending joyful hours cheering on the sidelines, parents provide the backbone for any successful youth sports program by participating as coaches, referees, groundskeepers, timers, bringing snacks, driving carpools, and much more.
Parent leaders that use VolunteerSpot reduce their planning and coordinating time by several hours a week and eliminate late-night reply-all emails, last-minute phone tag and hard-to-read clipboard sign up sheets. Team parents appreciate how easy it is to sign up and pick their days to help, with a few clicks from an email or through a link on the team website. VolunteerSpot then sends automated email reminders to help everyone remember and keep their commitments.
Here are a few ways parents are using VolunteerSpot to save time and power team and league activities:
- Snack schedule sign up sheets
- Concessions stand volunteer scheduling
- Tournament scheduling (officials, linesmen, score keepers, awards, setup/cleanup)
- Assistant coaches, practice helpers, and field maintenance
- Swim meet volunteer scheduling
- Fundraisers like carwashes, carnivals, fun runs, and picnics
The time is now to start planning your spring and summer activities, let VolunteerSpot help you be ready to spring into your children’s sports! Think warm!
Read more on Examiner.
Tags: Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Teen Health, Teen Sports, VolunteerSpot, Youth Sports
Sue Scheff:Volunteering Just Got Easier! T’is the Season!
by Sue Scheff on Nov 21, 2009
It is always better to give than it is to receive. We hear that a lot and for good reason. It is true!
This is such an important topic, there will be two parts to this article. VolunteerSpot is a fantastic organization designed to help you give back to your community. There are no more excuses! During this holiday season, take the time to learn more about your neighborhood and what their needs are.
The founder of VolunteerSpot, Karen Bantuveris, recently took time to answer questions about her mission and hopefully will give you inspiration to take steps to help others this holiday season and all year round!
Part 1:
1. Why and when did you start VolunteerSpot?
I’m a working mom and when my daughter entered school I knew I wanted to be active in the classroom and with her Scout troop, etc. I wanted to quickly and easily schedule my volunteer commitments with the rest of my business calendar, but my inbox kept filling up with back and forth emails over how many cupcakes to bring to the class party or whose turn it is to help at recess or other really clutter some communication – I knew several parents that just said ‘take me off the list’ because of this.
It’s not that parents didn’t want to help, it’s that there wasn’t a good way to ask them – so that’s when I got the idea for VolunteerSpot.
We launched our ‘Early Edition’ in the Spring of 2009. What started as a tool to help my PTA in Austin, TX has grown to helping more than 100,000 volunteers participate in their communities across the country.
2. VolunteerSpot offers many resources. What do you feel people benefit most from your organization?
We save volunteer leaders time and frustration and get more people volunteering. Typically we hear that it’s always the same people volunteering at school, little league, library, etc. With VolunteerSpot, we make it easy for more parents to volunteer – because it’s so easy to find a spot on the schedule that fits in their busy lives. Open an email, click to the schedule, click a shift and you’ve found a volunteer job. Plus parents also love our automated reminders so they never forget what they signed up to help with.
3. How many different states have participated in VolunteerSpot and how can people join?
We’re currently serving volunteers in more than 40 states (and several countries)! Anyone can launch a VolunteerSpot sign up – it’s really easy to get started with our simple planning wizard. It’s been truly remarkable seeing all the wonderful ways folks find to use VolunteerSpot. In addition to helping parents and teachers coordinate volunteers at school and sports, we see congregations and nonprofits using us for their good work like after school mentoring programs, literacy outreach, community arts festivals, handicapped riding programs, building teams and community kitchens.
4. Do you charge any fees? Do you have sponsors?
VolunteerSpot is free for teachers and grassroots volunteer leaders. We ask that workplace volunteer teams, leagues and nonprofits with budget contribute to keep us free for groups that can’t afford us. Sponsors are important to our business and we’ll be adding new features soon to help them support the good work of our volunteers.
5. What motivates you and what inspired you to start this wonderful organization?
Professionally, I’m a business process expert. When I saw good people drop out of volunteering, and leaders burn out over frustrating communication obstacles, I just knew that there had to be a better way! By simplifying the volunteer experience, our tool has increased volunteer participation by more than 20%, reduced leader burnout and increased donations to the organization that use us!
Part 2 continues with how VolunteerSpot can help you! Click here.
Follow VolunteerSpot on Twitter @VolunteerSpot and get updates on their Blog.
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Tags: Community Service, Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering, Volunteers, VolunteerSpot
