Skills-Based Volunteering

Trianna Sims is rarely speechless, but Thursday wasn’t like most days for her.

Alongside her husband, Dontrell, the Sims were given a ceremonial hammer Thursday morning at the site of their future Benton Township house being built by them and Harbor Habitat of Humanity volunteers.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago impacts more than 200,000 individuals annually through programs focused on safety and wellness, education and training, and economic sustainability. They provide career, financial management, digital literacy and business services to help youth and adult members achieve financial stability and obtain training to enter high-growth fields.

The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention (CHIP) mobilizes, advocates, and empowers community collaboration towards ending homelessness and fosters an effective system of homelessness prevention and intervention in the greater Indianapolis area. Their goal is to make homelessness rare, short-lived, and recoverable.

In 2016, 59 nonprofit organizations participated in the Charles Schwab Pro Bono Challenge—a skills-based flash consulting event where Schwab employees utilize their talents and expertise to support local nonprofit organizations in building capacity to serve the community. The projects spanned across 8 regions, engaged 318 employee volunteers and generated almost half a million dollars in social return on investment to the nonprofit participants. Talk about impact!

When Ronnie Devries realized how many Houston residents were in need following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, he knew he could help. With experience as the volunteer coordinator for TXRX Labs, a local nonprofit “hackerspace,” Ronnie helped create a makeshift command center at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center – which quickly became a shelter for thousands of residents displaced by the storm. Working overnight, he helped set up a system for volunteer coordination to ensure volunteers were matched with all aspects of shelter operations.

We are excited to announce the launch of Common Impact’s Skills-Based Volunteering (SBV) Toolkit! Since 2000, Common Impact has supported nonprofits in effectively utilizing SBV to build internal capacity to better serve the community. Our decades of experience have proven that SBV holds great promise for both companies and nonprofits, and represents a sustainable resource for addressing social challenges, that complements traditional philanthropy and volunteerism.

If you work at a nonprofit, you probably find yourself putting off projects and plans due to shortages in budget or in-house expertise. With the support of volunteers with professional-level skills­­­—you can make those plans happen. Join Taproot’s upcoming webinar and learn everything you need to get started on Taproot+, the cost-free online platform that connects nonprofits with skilled volunteers for short-term pro bono projects.

Congress is back from its August recess and will debate budget appropriations for fiscal year 2018 in the coming months. Thankfully, both the Senate and House Appropriations committees have approved maintaining funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that runs AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and funds other national service programs. At Timberland, we believe strongly in the power of service, and we applaud this bipartisan support for national service.

Since PULSE was created in 2009, GSK has sent over 100 employees to work with Save the Children in more than 35 offices across the world. GSK embarked on an ambitious global partnership with Save the Children to help save one million children’s lives. Since then, the collaboration has been voted the most admired partnership for two consecutive years by the C&E Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer.