Site connects volunteers with organizations, offers rewards
Published in the June 26, 3013 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Morgan Hill is unique among Bay Area cities because such a high number of our residents give generously of their time and talent in volunteering with various nonprofit groups and fundraising events. That’s why Morgan Hill Life is teaming with San Jose-based website company GoVoluntr.com to provide a fun, easy and rewarding way to participate in volunteering opportunities in our community.
GoVoluntr is a rewards-based social media platform that encourages volunteering. Its Internet site connects volunteers, nonprofits, and businesses together into an engaging community of “Do Goodrs.” GoVoluntr’s website matches individuals with volunteer opportunities and tracks their service hours through a volunteer identification system.“The real fun begins when volunteers start accumulating hours,” said Michael Fogelstrom, an executive at GoVoluntr and a Morgan Hill resident. “Do Goodrs earn VPins – Volunteer Pins – and points online to showcase and reward their community activity. Points can be exchanged for a selection of rewards from local merchants and some of their favorite online retailers.
“GoVoluntr provides a new way for businesses to interact with nonprofits and champion causes in their community,” Fogelstrom added. “We give businesses a turn-key employee volunteer program, a powerful cause-related marketing platform, and on-demand reporting of all their activity. We make it easy for volunteers, nonprofits, and businesses to do good.”
Michael Fogelstrom
Morgan Hill Life encourages nonprofit organizations that provide public benefit to the Morgan Hill region to participate in our partnership with GoVoluntr, said publisher Marty Cheek. Morgan Hill Life hopes its teaming with GoVoluntr will encourage volunteers to give of their time and talent to good causes. There is no cost to nonprofits to start an account with GoVoluntr. Morgan Hill Life will publicize many of the GoVoluntr volunteer opportunities benefiting Morgan Hill’s public in its print and web pages.
Two local organizations have already joined the GoVoluntr.com-Morgan Hill Life partnership. The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce and Independence Day Celebrations (IDC), which puts on the Freedom Fest events in Morgan Hill, are now listing various volunteer opportunities on GoVoluntr. (Go to our website page “Get Involved” to learn what opportunities await local Do Goodrs.)
IDC board member Lynn Astalos encourages local nonprofit organizations to find volunteers through the website. “America has always been a land of opportunity and volunteering, and GoVoluntr shows that spirit by giving Morgan Hill residents the opportunity to easily find volunteering positions with Freedom Fest and other nonprofit organizations,” he said. “This is a great partnership for Freedom Fest and Morgan Hill Life to encourage people — families especially — to get involved with our community events.”
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO John Horner agreed. “The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is very excited to partner with GoVoluntr,” Horner said. “Morgan Hill has earned a reputation as ‘Volunteer Town USA’ thanks to the generous way people share their time and passion to make this the best community it can be, and now we have an additional resource with which to enable that activity.”
Visit GoVoluntr.com or MorganHillLife.com to learn more.
