HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

The NonProfit Connection

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We Make it Easy to Make a Difference

The Mission of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

HandsOn Northwest North Carolina strengthens our community by building the capacity of our nonprofits and increasing volunteerism. We connect nonprofits with the resources needed to develop capacity, and we connect volunteers with nonprofits needing services. We work closely with the 350+ different nonprofits in our network, and we touch the lives of thousands of volunteers each year. While we have a central focus in Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County, our core services are available to organizations and citizens in the surrounding communities of Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin Counties. Donate Now to HandsOn!

New! As of April 1st, HandsOn NWNC officially became the new host of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in Forsyth and Stokes counties. We are grateful to the Piedmont Triad Regional Council's Area on Aging for their stewardship of this important volunteer engagement program for those 55 for so many years and for their support during this transition. RSVP program information and forms will be added to this site in the near future.

OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

06.20.13	Nonprofit Essentials-Grant Writing class
08.15.13	Stokes County--Are You Covered? Understanding Legal Issues & Risk Management for Volunteer Programs

FEATURED VOLUNTEER

Carl Baker

Carl Baker began volunteering with The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem in 2008. He had retired as a sheet metal mechanic with Timco and was looking for a way to use his experience to help others. Through the years, Carl’s involvement in the Faith in Action Care Program has enabled many older adults in Forsyth County to remain independent in their homes. As a home repair volunteer he has fixed leaky faucets, installed smoke detectors, and repaired mailbox posts. Most of his time, however, has been spent transporting clients to medical appointments. As of early 2012, Carl had made 260 trips, totaling an amazing 10,665 miles. Debbie Weston, The Shepherd’s Center’s Transportation Coordinator says, “I know that I can depend on Carl to accept two or three assignments every week. He is so dependable, and our clients think he is wonderful!”

In addition to his involvement with The Shepherd’s Center, Carl is an active member of Trinity Presbyterian Church. Because of his dependability, dedication, and caring spirit, Carl was named the 2011 Volunteer of the Year for the Faith in Action Care Program of The Shepherd’s Center.

Are you interested in becoming a Shepherd's Center volunteer? You can find more information on HandsOn Connect today!

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FEATURED ORGANIZATION

Bethesda Center for the Homeless

Bethesda Center for the Homeless began in 1987 as a partnership between First Presbyterian Church, Winston-Salem and the Forsyth/Stokes Mental Health Center. From that beginning, Bethesda has emerged as a leader in caring for the community’s most desperate homeless individuals, becoming the largest provider of emergency night shelter as well as continuing to be the area’s only day shelter. This month, HandsOn was pleased to bestow our third High Five Award to Bethesda Center. Funded by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, this award is designed to recognize and honor a nonprofit within our service area that has demonstrated an imaginative or creative way to improve program/service delivery, create a new program, or develop a unique or inventive method to address a particular problem or initiative.

In 2009, HUD's Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act was enacted. The Act made numerous changes to HUD’s prior homeless assistance programs, most significantly to an overall shift in focus from shelter to housing. The new emphasis on rapid re-housing for homeless families and the creation of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals brought a bevy of new regulations and funding changes to Bethesda and other organizations who serve this population in Forsyth County. Bethesda devised two new, innovative systems to help them fulfill the requirements as part of their daily operations. First, an electronic badge system was introduced to identify clients as they enter the shelter and could be used by the individual as they interacted with others in the community as well. This innovative system replaced a manual one, drastically reducing staff time. The second was an electronic model that tracks clients’ length of stay, automatically alerting case managers at certain points during the initial 90 day period and incorporating a color coding system to help them easily see a client’s unique timeline. Further, the new system will help identify common barriers the homeless population faces in obtaining long term housing solutions, which will, in turn, help the Center determine gaps in its services and plan accordingly for the future.

HandsOn NWNC presented Bethesda with this award at our 5th Anniversary celebration on November 20th. To learn more about the other High Five Award nominees, please download the full program.

Want to see your nonprofit as our next Featured Organization? Sign up to become a Supporting Partner today!