Outstanding Volunteers in Forsyth County Are Recognized

April 24, 2009

For Immediate Release

(Winston-Salem, NC) – HandsOn Northwest North Carolina has presented the 2009 NC Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service to seven recipients from across Forsyth County.  HandsOn, which works to increase volunteerism and build the capacity of local nonprofits, presented the awards at a breakfast on Thursday, April 23rd, at Salemtowne. Winners were selected by a volunteer committee from 31 diverse nominees in seven categories. Award recipients are: Pete Breidenbach (Adult Volunteer), Richard Cooper (Senior Volunteer), KABA Access Control Industries (Corporate Volunteer), Rusty LaRue (Special Events Volunteer), John Matthew Murphy, IV (Youth Volunteer), Carolyn Blakley, Morgan Christian, and Chase Blakley (Family Volunteers), and The Augustine Project of Winston-Salem (Group or Team Volunteers).  

Download the full press release here.

HandsOn Announcement

October 23, 2008

For Immediate Release

Nonprofit and Volunteer Connections will now be known as HandsOn Northwest North Carolina, after becoming a fully-branded affiliate of HandsOn Network, a national organization committed to volunteer and community participation throughout the United States and around the world, announced Executive Director Amy Lytle.

The Nonprofit and Volunteer Connections board voted on August 22 to adopt the new logo of HandsOn and to change its name to include a broader service area. It will become one of 380 HandsOn Network Action Centers.

“We are honored and excited to be part of the new national HandsOn Network,” said Lytle. “We feel this will have a very positive impact on volunteer opportunities in Winston-Salem , Forsyth County , and eventually all of Northwest North Carolina . The board felt that the HandsOn name represented both the hands-on nature of community volunteering as well as the high-touch approach we take when helping local nonprofits increase their capacity.”

Nonprofit and Volunteer Connections was created in Spring 2007 with the merger of Nonprofit Connections, Winston-Salem’s nonprofit capacity-building consortium, with the volunteer center start-up initiative, Volunteer Connections. Lytle opened a formal office for the newly-merged organization in October, 2007.

Currently, almost 1,000 volunteers are registered through the online volunteer database, with 152 organizations advertising more than 200 active volunteer opportunities. The organization has also done several sponsored or co-presented workshops and networking sessions. A new website will make the transition to the HandsOn brand by the beginning of November. Only limited opportunities outside of Forsyth County will be offered initially.

HandsOn Network works nationally with individuals, corporations, nonprofits and government institutions to develop and mobilize citizen leadership. The HandsOn Network serves more than 80% of the American population and 12 international communities. It is part of the Points Of Light Institute, itself a merger involving Points of Light Foundation, the Volunteer Center National Network, and HandsOn Network in June 2007.