Volunteer Connection: Kish United Way plans new Web site

Lois Self can always use a hand. As a volunteer coordinator at the Pay-It-Forward House in Sycamore, Self makes sure people can help with tasks at the nonprofit hospitality house, which serves family members and friends of patients at nearby Kindred Hospital. Volunteers are asked to help with office tasks, make repairs on the house or do yardwork, Self said. “We appreciate all the help we can get,” Self said. The DeKalb-based Kishwaukee United Way is working on a Web site that will help connect prospective volunteers with organizations like the Pay-It-Forward House. The new Web site will use an existing database of information about local nonprofit agencies as well as extend an invitation to other groups in town in need of volunteers, such as religious institutions. The hope is that the new Web site will provide a more direct way for people to find organizations seeking volunteers, Kishwaukee United Way Executive Director Dawn Littlefield said Thursday. “We've got good information on our Web site now, but we wanted it to be more user-friendly,” Littlefield said. “The way it is now, though, you have to have a good idea what you're looking for.” The new site is scheduled to go live May 1, although information is still being compiled to post online, Littlefield said. Called Volunteer Solutions, the Web application the local agency is using is administered by the national United Way and gives users the option to browse by interests, rather than by agency. A person can look for volunteer opportunities under categories such as children or the elderly, or by tasks such as helping people with reading, said Ellie Armour, graphic designer at the DeKalb-based Morningstar Media Group. “You can search by abused children, or children of parents going through a divorce,” Armour said. “Or you can go broader if you're looking to help students or homeless people.” A calendar feature is another component of the new site, which allows viewers to search by times. It allows organizations in DeKalb County to list annual events such as the Ben Gordon Center's annual dodgeball tournament, Littlefield said. “Volunteers will soon be able to log on and create a user profile,” Littlefield said. “They can save searches for the types of work they want to do, and will get e-mail alerts from different organizations and groups about services they need.” In 2004, the Kishwaukee United Way took over compiling a database of nonprofit groups in need of volunteers from Voluntary Action Center, when VAC's Meals on Wheels and transit services expanded, Littlefield said. In February, Littlefield began talking with Armour about putting together a new site with more modern Web components, Armour and Littlefield said. Instead of the Kishwaukee United Way constantly updating the database of those who need volunteers, organizations will be able to go on to the new site and make additions to their information as needed, Littlefield said. “The biggest thing now is reaching out to groups beyond who we've worked with in the past,” Littlefield said. “We know a lot of people are in constant need of help.”

On the Net The new Kishwaukee United Way Web site: http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/kuw/volunteer/