Amidst a global pandemic, how can we leverage the power of volunteering as a vital component for boosting local resilience?
Volunteering strengthens community capacity, helps raise funds, and generates project momentum and buy-in. It can also boost moods and morale while instilling hope in the face of challenges. But for much of the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a complicated barrier to volunteering — all while creating an even greater need for community support.
In this short piece I created for Planning Magazine, I share tips from groups who are continuing their on-the-ground efforts to improve communities with volunteer support.
Design nonprofit Neighborhood Design Center invited volunteers to help install tactical urbanism interventions across the city as part of their “Design for Distancing” competition, while the urban service corps Civic Works dispatched 150 volunteers across the city to blaze a walking path, sort books for kids, and paint picnic tables, among other efforts.
Their strategies for safely continuing volunteer efforts throughout the pandemic have been consolidated into eight easy-to-digest action items and best practices for hosting safe, comfortable volunteer opportunities, even while physically distanced.
>>> Read the full piece on Planning.org <<<