value of volunteering

A funny thing about our nonprofit is how much time we spend supporting other nonprofits.  Volunteering with our members allows them to be active in the community, learn about other organizations, give back and even get some job experience.

In fact, volunteerism is such a large part of our program, we created a position for a Senior Direct Support Professional only to coordinate volunteer opportunities in Sanford.  Cory Long works with other nonprofits in our community to find organizations and positions that are most mutually beneficial.

As Great Bay Services believes in fostering our members' independence, Cory works with our members and Sanford Program Director Jon Stimmell to find the interests of our clients and help them reach their goals.

In the past month, our members:

• Set up chairs for meetings at Acton Church 
• Assisted at the Acton food pantry
• Sorted food, broke down boxes, unloaded trucks and restocked shelves at the food pantry in Alfred 
• Cleaned up playgrounds and trails around Sanford
• Delivered meals for a regular Meals on Wheels route
• Mucked out stalls, swept, and performed other small chores at Moon Run Farm in Berwick. The members also feed, pat and groom the horses.
• Made dog toys and blankets for  Grammy Rose Rescue in Acton

Starting in October we are adding a few more sites, like preparing food boxes for Curtis Lake Church and serving a buffet breakfast at Seeds of Hope center for teens.

Of course volunteering is its own reward, but our members are also taking the next steps, learning job skills.  Many of these opportunities are weekly commitments, so our clients can work towards individual goals and get experience working on a schedule.  We will also be working on translating our new skills on to resumes and job applications with the members.

Cory, Jon and all our staff at both Great Bay locations work closely with each of our member to help them achieve each of their goals.  

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