WELL WHETHER IT'S SPENDING TIME AT A LOCAL SENIOR DAY CARE CENTER,
PLANTING A TREE, OR LENDING A HELPING HAND AT THE ANIMAL
SHELTER, VOLUNTEERING HELPS BUILD STRONGER COMMUNITIES.
SO, TO CELEBRATE VOLUNTEERS AND THE IMPACT OF THEIR WORK, THE
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE IS PARTNERING WITH LOCAL
ORGANIZATIONS TO OFFER A SCHEDULE OF VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES IN HONOR OF NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK, WHICH
KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND.
HERE TO SHARE MORE IS LUISA COTTO, DIRECTOR OF
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE, AND ENGAGEMENT
COMMITTEE MEMBER ETHAN CREO.
NICE TO HAVE BOTH OF YOU WITH US.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
A LOT OF FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THE UNITED WAY BUT AREN'T
NECESSARILY FAMILIAR WITH THE WORK THEY DO.
ONE OF THE BIG THINGS AND ACTIVISTS IS VOLUNTEERISM.
TALK ABOUT VOLUNTEER WEEK AND HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO YOUR
MISSION.
NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEKLY, IS IMPORTANT TO THE COMMITTEE NOT
ONLY TO RECOGNIZE ALL THE VOLUNTEERS IN OUR COMMUNITY BUT
ALSO TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY GIVE BACK
TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE 12 DIFFERENT PROJECTS, STARTING
FROM APRIL 6th TO APRIL 13th.
EXCELLENT.
SO ETHAN YOU ARE A COMMITTEE MEMBER, A VOLUNTEER, TELL US WHY
YOU ARE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS?
YES, SURE, SIMPLY PUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I BELIEVE THERE
IS NO GREATER FEELING THAN HELPING OTHERS AND THAT'S WHAT
YOU ULTIMATELY DO BY VOLUNTEERING.
AND THAT'S A PRETTY REWARDING THING.
AND SO THAT'S THE MAIN REASON WHY I DO IT.
AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER GREAT BENEFITS TO IT AS WELL.
YOU SAID TOO THAT YOU ARE NOT ORIGINALLY FROM MIAMI.
YOU ARE NEW TO THE COMMUNITY.
TALK ABOUT IT.
ABSOLUTELY.
I'M FROM PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA ORIGINALLY.
WHEN I GOT INVOLVED IN UNITED WAY ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO AK, I
DIDN'T KNOW THE CITY THAT WELL, DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I ACTUALLY HAD
A CONNECTION HERE.
SO I WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO CHANGE THAT AND TO TO GET MORE
EVOLVED, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHERE I'VE BEEN LIVING FOR FIVE
YEARS, RIGHT?
SO I GOT INVOLVED THROUGH LINK MIAMI, WHICH IS UNITED WAY'S
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS GIVING COMMUNITY.
AND FROM THERE I'VE JUST BEEN KIND OF HAD A JOURNEY THROUGH A
LOT OF DIFFERENT VOLUNTEER EVENTS ALL OVER THE CITY.
MET A LOT OF VERY INTERESTING PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY.
BEEN TO NEIGHBORHOODS I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW EXISTED.
AND SO IN DOING THAT, FEEL LIKE I'M A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY
NOW.
YEAH.
YOU FOLKS TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, AND BEFORE WE GET INTO
SOME OF THE EVENTS THAT ARE COMING UP THAT WE ARE GOING TO
LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT, LET'S TALK ABOUT SPRINGBOARDING OFF
WHAT ETHAN WAS TALKING ABOUT, SOMETHING THAT COMES OUT OF
VOLUNTEERISM AND STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE ON THIS.
IT'S NOT ONLY GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE YOU'RE HELPING.
IT'S GOOD FOR YOU.
TALK ABOUT THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS THAT PEEK GET FROM HELPING OUT.
ABSOLUTELY.
JUST LAST YEAR DURING NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK, I'M AWFUL WITH
PLANS.
WOE WERE HELPING TO CREATE AN ORCHID GARDEN.
I FOR FIRST TIME AM THE PROUD OWNER OF AN ORCHID.
GREAT.
YOU LEARN SKILLS, YOU LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE MIAMI, LEARN HOW
TO MEET PEOPLE.
IT'S GOOD FOR YOU.
STRESS REDUCER TOO RIGHT?
IT IS.
IT'S GOOD FOR INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES TO GET INVOLVED IN OUR
COMMUNITY THAT WAY.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND SHOW SOME OF THE -- A LIST OF SOME OF THE
EVENTS THAT ARE COMING UP.
I KNOW ONE OF THE FIRST ONES IS A SENIOR CENTER.
WE'RE GOING TO PULL UP SOME OF THOSE ON OUR SCREEN.
PEOPLE CAN PULL UP SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE COMING UP DAY BY
DAY.
TALK ABOUT SOME OF THEM FOR US.
MINA PROVIDE WAS A WINNER OF ONE OF OUR GRANTS INSPIRE 305.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THEY DO IS PROVIDE MUSICAL INTERACTIONS
WITH OLDER ADULTS WITH DEMENTIA.
SO THAT HELPS THEM THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
SO VOLUNTEERS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY TO BE PART
OF THAT MUSICAL -- THAT'S CUTE.
IT WAS.
TO BE PART OF THAT MUSICAL INTERACTION --
IS THAT WHAT'S GOING ON, DANCING WITH SENIORS?
DANCING AND INTERACTING WITH SENIORS WITH DEMENTIA AROUND
WITHOUT DEMENTIA AS WELL.
YOU CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE BENEFITS YOU'VE SEEN.
I KNOW YOU'VE DONE SOME THINGS WITH MISSION UNITED WHICH IS
HELPING VETERANS RIGHT?
ABSOLUTELY.
TELL BUS THE CONNECTIONS YOU'VE MADE.
ABOUT A WEEK AGO, ACTUALLY, I WENT TO A GREAT EVENT THAT WAS
HOSTED BY MISSION UNITED, WHICH IS UNITED WAY'S HOLISTIC SUPPORT
SYSTEM FOR LOCAL VETERANS WHO ARE ASSIMILATING BACK INTO
NATURAL LIFE HERE IN MIAMI.
THIS WAS ENTITLED MISSION UNITED CARNIVAL.
LUISA AND I WERE BOTH THERE.
WE HOSTED A CARNIVAL, THEY COULD WIN PRIZES AND WHATNOT, AND
EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT WAS THERE BOTH VETERANS AND THE
VOLUNTEERS LEFT WITH A VERY BIG SMILE ON THEIR FACE.
AND THE VETERANS WERE VERY GRATEFUL TO US.
AND SO IT WAS SPECIAL BEING ABLE TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT BACK TO
THEM, WHO GAVE SO MUCH TO US.
AND SO THAT WAS A VERY IMPACTFUL EVENT AND KIND OF REMINDS YOU
WHY YOU DO IT.
ABSOLUTELY.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, TO LET THEM KNOW THAT SOMEBODY CARES.
EXACTLY.
RIGHT?
LUISA TALK ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS.
THEY HAVE TO BE ABOUT 18 YEARS OF AGE CORRECT?
ABSOLUTELY.
THE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES HAPPEN ON SATURDAY, WHERE YOU
CAN BRING YOUR ATTENTION.
DURING THE VOLUNTEER PROJECT DURING THE WEEK WE ARE GOING TO
HAVE SOME VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE NEED FOR
VOLUNTEERS TO BE 18 YEARS OLD.
OKAY, RIGHT.
SOME OF THEM ARE BEAUTIFYING, A LOT OF PROJECTS.
CAN YOU KICK OFF SOME OF THEM FOR US?
12 DIFFERENT PROJECTS, SOUTH FLORIDA ON SATURDAY, MAKING SURE
THAT THEY HAVE A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING PAINTED AND A GARDEN,
WE ARE GOING TO BE WITH MINOR MELODIES AS ALREADY MENTIONED,
WE ARE GOING TO BE WITH A SERVICE ANIMAL JUST MAKING SURE
THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT ALSO GET
ANIMALS INVOLVED, ONE OF THEM THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR.
I BET. AND ALSO WE'RE GOING TO BE
WORKING WITH BASICALLY WITH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, WE'RE GOING TO
BE PAINTING, WE'RE GOING TO DO MINDFULNESS CLASSES.
IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT.
AND FOR THE -- WELL LET'S SEE, THE OLDER TEENS, IF THE
TEEN COMES WITH THE ADULT, CAN THEY ALSO GET SERVICE HOURS?
A LOT OF TEENS NEED TO GET SERVICE HOURS.
THAT'S A BIG DEAL.
ABSOLUTELY.
APRIL IS UNITED WAY'S BIRTHDAY MONTH.
IT'S A BIGGIE.
TELL US ABOUT IT.
SO WE'VE BEEN AROUND FOR 95 YEARS.
AMAZING, RIGHT?
IT'S FANTASTIC.
SO WE'RE GOING TO BE ENGAGING THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE HAVE
BEEN FUNDINGS SINCE 1924.
THAT INCLUDES YMCA, YWCA, JEWISH COMMUNITY SERVICES, I'M GOING TO
LOSE A COUPLE OF THEM, GO THE OUR WEBSITE.
AND ON APRIL 24 WE'RE GOING TO BE HOSTING AROUND SIX DIFFERENT
PROJECTS ALL AROUND MIAMI COUNTY TO CELEBRATE OUR 96th BIRTHDAY
IN A BIG WAY.
WE HAVE A BIG CHALLENGE THIS YEAR, WITH 9500 VOLUNTEERS FOR
95 PROJECTS THAT WE'RE CALLING THAT 9500 PER 95 CHALLENGE.
I HOPE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL OF OUR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES.
THANK YOU, LUISA AND ETHAN.
FOR MORE ON ALL THE EVENTS WE DISCUSSED TODAY, VISIT
VOLUNTEERMIAMI.ORG.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE MORE INFO ON VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
THROUGHOUT SOUTH FLORIDA ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, @YOURSOUTHFL.