By John F. Jansen, NPC Guest Blogger

I was looking at the VolunteerMilwaukee.org website the other day and marveling at the limitless variety of volunteer postings available there. From pulling weeds to hospice care, every imaginable community need is there, and so are the opportunities.

Thank heavens somebody is putting those needs and opportunities together. And that somebody is our own Volunteer Milwaukee, a service of the Nonprofit Center.

While I was with Community Shares, most of our volunteer needs were in the area of board directors and committee members. We found most of our board directors, and nearly all of our committee members, through Volunteer Milwaukee. The process was simple and reliable, and the volunteers were talented and dedicated.

We couldn’t have survived without them and I thought we really used the service to the maximum. Turns out there are plenty of nonprofits making even better use of the service.

Aurora Health Care receives the most volunteer referrals of any nonprofit using the site. They currently have two dozen volunteer positions posted, ranging from Musical Volunteers in hospitals to Wheelchair Trackers (someone’s got to keep an eye on them).

Aurora’s Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator, Michelle Tisljar, points out that despite its size as an organization, volunteers are vital to their operation. She said it helps a lot that volunteer notifications come to her instantly via email and she is able to quickly reply with a volunteer application packet.

On the other side of town, the Urban Ecology Center recently increased its volunteer referrals from 500 to 2,000. This includes hearty folks doing things like planting, erosion control, trail maintenance, removal of invasive species and the like.

But for the folks at the UEC, it’s about a lot more than having access to people doing hands-on work. It’s also about making new relationships, and the UEC makes the most of the opportunities Volunteer Milwaukee provides.

“Sometimes, they bring dollars with them to help with the projects, which helps a lot,” said Meghan Jones, UEC's Volunteer Program Manager. “It’s allowed us to make some nice connections with businesses throughout the area.  They have a good time and always seem to want to come back. And just getting our name out there helps a lot.”