It could prove to be one of the most natural and virtually seamless transitions ever witnessed in Michigan’s Great Southwest. United Way of Southwest Michigan will soon become the de facto clearinghouse for volunteers across the region.
Effective March 1, the community volunteer services of Volunteer Southwest Michigan (VSM) will be transitioning into the work of United Way of Southwest Michigan. Essentially, United Way will become the community’s resource for promoting, supporting, and connecting volunteers to non-profit organizations and faith-based institutions.
United Way President Anna Murphy says, “Volunteer Southwest Michigan has served the tri-county area for over 30 years.” She points out, “During that time, they’ve helped celebrate and elevate the work of tens of thousands of volunteers. United Way is honored to now carry that torch, and to continue the noble work that VSM has been a champion of for so long.”
This transition will allow Volunteer Southwest Michigan to refocus its mission on its two core programs, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Court Mandated Community Service.
Judi Burnison is Executive Director at VSM. She notes, “The court mandated program has been a long-standing part of our organization.” Burnison adds, however, “CASA is much newer to us, but presents us with a tremendous opportunity to serve vulnerable children in our community. Focusing on these two programs will allow us to accelerate their growth and increase the impact on those we serve.”
To align with the change, Volunteer Southwest Michigan will change its name to Family and Court Advocates. The organization’s location and staffing, however, will remain unchanged. Additional information can be found at their new website, www.familyandcourtadvocates.org.
While absorbing the volunteer work will be new for United Way of Southwest Michigan, they are not completely unfamiliar with the work, inasmuch as United Way has been providing volunteer projects and opportunities for decades. Prime examples of United Way’s volunteer involvement include the Day of Action for Seniors, the School Supply Spectacular, and a host of smaller projects for specific corporate partners. In fact, last year alone, United Way coordinated more than 32,000 hours of volunteer time, worth nearly $767,000.
United Way will treat the next several weeks as a discovery phase, where it will reach out to nonprofit organizations, volunteers, and corporate partners to understand the needs and desires they have regarding volunteerism services. Murphy says, “We do what we already do very well,” and adds, “so that work will certainly continue. But we also need to find out what the end-users want this new line of work to look like.” To that end, organizations that have had a long-standing relationship with Volunteer Southwest Michigan can expect to hear from United Way in the coming weeks.
United Way of Southwest Michigan fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. They do so by Living United…By forging unlikely partnerships…By finding new solutions to old problems…and by mobilizing the best resources. To learn more, visit them online at the link below or by calling 269-982-1700. Here’s the link: http://www.uwsm.org.
