Volunteers Impact on their Community?

Lauren Herlein?

Community Engagement Manager, Alpha Grand Rapids?

9/6/23?

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At Alpha Grand Rapids over 180 regular?volunteers play a crucial role in serving our 1,200 families. From behind-the-scenes roles such as cooking a meal for our Single Moms Support Group and sorting material donations to client-facing roles like facilitating GED or a Parenting class, our volunteer team is on the ground collectively serving over 13,000 hours a year. Their dedication, time, and effort are resulting in generational, communitive transformation.???

Through their time serving at AGR, our volunteers are strengthening profound change within our local community. Because of their passion and awareness of community issues, our volunteers are naturally being a catalyst in our community through the various ways:?

1. Advocacy: Volunteers frequently engage in advocacy efforts, raising awareness about community issues, and advocating for policy changes that benefit the greater community and invite others to participate.?
2. Economic Impact: By volunteering their skills to empower our families through teaching education fundamentals and job skills, volunteers can contribute to local economic development, indirectly creating jobs and opportunities within the community.?
3. Social Cohesion: Serving brings diverse groups of people together, promoting social cohesion and breaking down barriers that can overflow into community life.??

In essence, volunteers are the lifeblood of community impact and development, and their impact is far reaching, touching various aspects of the community. They bring energy, expertise, and a passion that empowers communities to thrive and become better places to live for everyone.?

Here at Alpha Grand Rapids, we are humbled by our volunteer team that continually shows up for their community. Each meal served to nourish a friend, frequent conversations that allow another human to feel heard and seen, one moment to empower another to take the next step forward, is changing the course of transformation within the Greater Grand Rapids community. We are proud to be a part of the change.??