Monthly Forums Hope To Promote Volunteerism

By Shannon Hicks

On February 23, representatives from Newtown Parks & Recreation, Newtown Youth & Family Services, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company, and Women Involved in Newtown were given a long table along one of the walls in the sitting area of a Church Hill Road coffee shop for two hours. They were there to offer information and answer questions about their respective groups. Judging from the size of the crowd inside the location about midway through Monday’s forum, the idea was a hit.

Peter Johnson, general manager for Newtown’s Starbucks, has launched what he hopes will become a monthly forum for the residents of town and surrounding communities to connect with nonprofit organizations who use volunteers to continue their missions. The program is an independent follow-up to an offering that had been sponsored by all Starbucks stores in January, but Mr Johnson decided to keep his store’s volunteer streak running well beyond that drive.

“It’s really our goal to connect these organizations and bring a human face to them,” said Mr Johnson, who took the initiative to have his store pick up an idea that was launched as a one-time occurrence last month. “This isn’t about selling more coffee,” Mr Johnson promised. “This is really just to connect local organizations with individuals who have a big heart, who want to have a good time.”

Amy Mangold was thrilled with the forum.

“It was wonderful,” said Ms Mangold, the director of Parks & Rec. “It was really a great event.”

Residents were interested in a number of things, she said, from long-term involvement in commissions and new projects to short term efforts for special events.

“We had a couple of people, including one who was really interested in helping with the trail project that we’re starting,” said Ms Mangold. “One person wanted to take home information, read through it and send in their name and information if they’re still interested after they read at their leisure the information we gave them. Another person approached us with a program suggestion. She wants to do contra dance calling and dance classes.

“It was a good way to get some information out to the public,” she added.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company member Karin Halstead also felt Monday’s event went well.

“We spoke with a few residents and passed out fire helmets and fire truck baseball cards to the kids,” said Ms Halstead, who also called the afternoon a success, especially considering the department picked up a new Junior Corps member after the session.

Bob Nute, who is also a member of Sandy Hook Fire & Rescue, said an event like Monday’s allows the public to get to know more about an organization that is integral to a town’s infrastructure whether they have time or interest in volunteering or not.

“As we first found out, many people, including business owners, do not know we are volunteer organizations,” he said. “It is critical that the townspeople understand that 250 volunteer firefighters and 60 ambulance volunteers provide all of their protection, and have since the early 1900s.

“This helps them understand why we hold fundraisers throughout the year and lets them understand the budget line item for fire department allocations,” he continued. “It also needs to be brought out that the savings to them in taxes is significant based on volunteer versus a career town-paid fire and ambulance service.”

The open house allowed the fire department, and the other groups, to show opportunities for different ages and interests, said Mr Nute. The department’s Junior Corps — which welcomes young adults ages 14 to 16 from all of the town’s districts, not just Sandy Hook — provides a healthy learning environment for future potential firefighters, for instance.

“[Residents also] need to know that it is not just about fighting fires and assisting with medical situations. There are positions within the fire department that need to be filled by folks who may have no desire to be firefighters but have skills that can help us ease the burden we place on our current members for administrative duties,” Mr Nute pointed out.

“And last but not least, we have a good time doing whatever it is we might be doing and we do it as organizations that take pride in serving the town we live in and we do it unconditionally.”

The forums will take place the last work week of each month. Days and times will change in order to best capture the diverse schedules of Newtown residents.

“We will be changing the days and times because of the different customer bases at different times during the week,” said Mr Johnson. “We’ll expose the volunteer opportunities to as many people as possible.”

“I feel that Starbucks’ main goal is to connect the community closer together and that’s what this event really provided, an opportunity for the community to see what we do and what they can do to help us,” said Ms Mangold. “Peter did an excellent job [organizing the forum], and we would love to participate again.”

If enough groups begin to show interest, a pair of forums may be offered each month, with one open house during morning hours and another offered during late afternoon-early evening. Mr Johnson said he would rather offer more forums with room for each group to welcome visitors who want time to sit and talk one-on-one than to crowd out the prospective volunteers with too much space given to organizations.

Sandy Hook Fire Department and Newtown Youth & Family Services have also indicated interest for future events. Mr Johnson has also been talking with representatives from Relay For Life about March, and more groups are expected to be announced as the forum nears.

“We’ll print a flier for each month, and I want to get that flier out two weeks ahead of each date, but if an organization comes to me even the day before and say they want to participate, I’m not going to turn them down,” said Mr Johnson.

“So you may see a list of groups planning to participate, but you may show up and be surprised as well as who else is here.”

(Organizations interested in participating in an upcoming volunteer forum should contact Peter Johnson at Starbucks Newtown, 364-1423. The best day to reach him is Monday, he said, but if he is not available when you call, ask for the on-shift supervisor and leave a message for Mr Johnson.)