Someone is always calling Dorene Goggins and crying, "Help!" With a clientele list that includes 800,000 and stretches from Park City to Tooele, from Farmington to Point of the Mountain, it's no wonder.
Goggins is the director of the Volunteer Center - an agency that serves Utah's nonprofit organizations, the state's human services organizations, the Salt Lake County volunteer program, the Salt Lake City mayor's volunteer program and the Corporate Volunteer Council, a community-minded group with representatives from 25 major corporations and businesses, including IHC, Questar, US WEST and the Deseret News."Utah is a great state for voluntarism," said Goggins. "More than half of the men and women ages 25-55 volunteer on a regular basis. And those are the people who are the most busy."
While the week of April 23-29 has been proclaimed National Volunteer Week, Gov. Mike Leavitt is declaring all of April Utah Volunteer Month.
Each year, four volunteers from each of the four regional areas of Utah are recognized for their achievements with Silver Bowl Awards. Goggins is pleased to note, "We have fifth- and sixth-graders nominated for the Silver Bowl Awards." Students from Rowland Hall-St. Mark's school recently sorted food at the Utah Food Bank. Goggins said that many groups call the Volunteer Center to find opportunities. "We get calls from church groups, schools, Rotary clubs, women's clubs and Boy and Girl Scout groups. We compile a wish list where we survey nonprofit organizations and find out their immediate needs such as a vehicle, computer or clothing," Goggins said.
The Volunteer Center also publishes a handbook about the regular, ongoing opportunities for volunteers. This year's handbook of more than 150 organizations includes Firstway, a group that serves pregnant women and their unborn children and needs help collecting and dispensing maternity clothing; Neighborhood House Senior Day Care, which serves frail, handicapped elderly; Marillac House, serving battered and homeless women and children; and the Salt Lake Rape Crisis Center.
Goggins also provides specialized training to area nonprofit organizations. "We teach them how to set up volunteer programs, provide leadership and motivation training and recognition programs," she said.
Salt Lake's Volunteer Center is a member of the National Association of Volunteer Centers and is in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation. Goggins said that as federal and state governments cut back funding, the country must rely more and more on volunteers to pick up the slack. "We've been very busy. Two years ago, we had 5,000 calls for help. There were 10,000 by the end of last year. It has been so crazy that this year we're going to end up with even more!"
Salt Lake County Volunteer Services uses 17,000 volunteers a year. "Marilyn Kelsey (county volunteer director) tells me that at least one-quarter of their volunteers come from our referrals," Goggins said.
A source of volunteers that Goggins relies on comes from the readers of "Helping Hand" in the Deseret News. "Every Thursday, I have a column highlighting a volunteer along with volunteer opportunities. After that runs, I'll have 35 calls the next day," Goggins said.
The Volunteer Center is the hub of voluntarism in the greater Salt Lake area. Whether it's the Homeless Shelter calling for volunteers to staff the children's playroom or the Food Bank looking for a fork-lift operator, Goggins is able to place Utahns looking to give a helping hand to someone less fortunate.