VUProjects

The Idea

In February 2017, Volunteering Untapped launched a new initiative called VU Projects that is designed to grow our impact, expand the opportunities for our volunteers to serve and expand the opportunities for organizations who have needs that can't be met in three hours on a Saturday, no matter how many people we are able to draw. VU Projects will connect an organization that has a single project or series of projects that needs to be completed with an individual who will lead the effort. That person is in charge of attracting other volunteers through their personal network to the project and ensuring that the project is completed to the standard that the nonprofit requires. We are in the process of further developing our list of opportunities and we look forward to advancing this new initiative and expanding the impact of our volunteers.

The Nonprofit Requirements

We will be keeping this list fairly small and expect to get a good amount of interest from nonprofits. We will be very discerning in the service opportunities we include as VU Projects initiatives. We are looking for meaningful, engaging and impactful projects to include. If you have a project that you think would be a perfect fit for this initiative, please reply with a description of what you need, how it would grow your impact and if there would be any materials or equipment the volunteers would need that you do not already have. If your organization would like to propose a project for us to include as an opportunity, please email us at bmoregivesback@gmail.com. The minimum requirements for inclusion as a VU Projects initiative are as follows:

  • high-impact for the organization or the people the organization serves
  • requires the involvement of multiple people
  • at least 100 hours of work or substantial enough that it would require groups of people multiple days to complete
  • no landscaping or cleanup projects, unless you are an environmental organization with a specific project that can be seen to completion
  • must add capacity and allow your organization to do something you can't already do or allow you to do it significantly better

Available Projects

The following are opportunities that have been unclaimed and are searching for changemakers who can take the project on and lead a larger group that will see it to completion.

  • 1

    Organization: Greater Baltimore Urban League

    Mission: Helping disadvantaged Marylanders gain access to equal opportunity in employment, education, health care, housing and the civic arena.

    Project Description: At the third ever event in VU’s history, in April 2014, we volunteered with GBUL’sSaturday Leadership Program and helped high schoolers create resumes and practice one-on-one interviews. It was so rewarding to see the students walk out of that session proud of their resume and what they had learned. We now want to create a full curriculum that could be used by GBUL’s staff and shared with the many other organizations around the city that would benefit by having it. We want this curriculum shared widely and creating this will have a powerful ripple effect of which we may never see the full extent. This curriculum should allow both staff and the students themselves to easily follow along to complete a polished resume and professional LinkedIn page. This is an important step for a high school student who will soon be applying to colleges or jobs and you can help give that needed boost.