Wanted: Volunteer Capacity then Volunteers

We recently sat down with Wanda Bailey, Chief Services Officer for the City of Chula Vista, who is charged with creating and implementing a volunteer service plan for the city.    The priorities and framework have been completed and can be found in a 35-page report - Chula Vista Serves. 

The plan is comprehensive and progressive - but let’s be honest, who wants to read a 35-page report? So - we have done the work for you and below is a synopsis of the ambitious plan. 

Three priority areas of need in the city have been identified: Education - Health - and Connections. The plan builds on existing models of service and programs such as Junior Achievement, Volunteer San Diego, Boys & Girls Club, South Bay Community Services, YMCA, and others.  

The idea is to build volunteer capacity within existing programs to not just increase volunteerism but to produce impact volunteerism --- service that creates long-lasting change.

Education - Chula Vista’s high school graduation rate is 86% and 19.5% of residents age 25+ do not have a high school diploma.  Some have questioned why education is the city’s business, but an uneducated community is not good for city business - so the city definitely has a stake in education.

Graduation Coaches - This is basically a 1.5 hr workshop for adults on how they can support the young people in their lives to graduate.  The goal is to have 5000 individuals  receive this training ---- but groups will need to step up to offer space to host workshops and recruit participants.  There are some real questions around evaluation that geeks like me always get hung up on.  I asked Wanda about this and she said that they are working on determining how to measure impact.

Classroom Opportunities - This is basically expanding Junior Achievement (JA) entrepreneurial and financial training into middle and high school classrooms.  I’ve volunteered for JA in the elementary schools and it is a great program and very easy for a volunteer.  I would encourage everyone to contact JA to sign-up.

Mentors - Did you know that there are currently over 200 youth on various waiting lists for a mentor? The plan hopes to increase the number of new mentors serving these youth through existing programs, such as Big Brothers/Sisters, South Bay Community Services, YMCA, and more. 

Health - A healthy community increases quality of life for its residents and prevents higher costs for treatment of preventable diseases.

Volunteer Corps - A planning grant has already been received to develop an operating proposal that will establish a team of AmeriCorps volunteers to implement a comprehensive health outreach and improvement initiative.

Connected Communities - To build a culture of service and increase volunteer capacity in the City.

Love Your Block - This is a great way of building connected communities by providing funding for neighborhoods to design and work on improvement projects together. We spoke with Wanda about the possibility of expanding the program to include an option for a “Love Your Neighbor’s Block.”  

CV Live - This effort is targeted at building capacity within local organizations to engage and manage volunteers in meaningful work that will create sustainable impacts.

The plan is Ambitious with a capital “A” - but its success will depend on you and I.  There are many more details to be planned and implemented.  Why not join efforts now? Be part of the solution. 

*Funding for this plan is from private grants* 

For more information, contact Wanda Bailey.