The Center for Nonprofit Leadership, in partnership with the County of Nevada and 211 Connecting Point, is pleased to announce the 2022 Community Volunteer Fair: Passion in Action.

On November 5, 2022, between 10 am and 2 pm, approximately forty nonprofit and governmental organizations will come together in the Northern Mines Building at the Nevada County Fairgrounds to connect with potential volunteers.  The Fair will provide a unique opportunity to understand the mission and needs of a wide range of community organizations to determine where a potential volunteer’s skills and experience will have the greatest impact.

Participant organizations provide a variety of services to the community- environmental protection, food security, animal care and rescue, youth education and support, health care, arts and cultural enrichment, social justice, law enforcement and community safety, and addressing homelessness.   To maximize their impact, these organizations rely on the time and talent of volunteers with a range of talents.  The Center for Nonprofit Leadership and its partners hope that the event will draw a broad swath of the community who wish to be part of Nevada County’s rich culture of philanthropy and service.

Local nonprofits report that demand for additional volunteers has skyrocketed as a result of increased community needs.  According to Wendy Willoughby, Managing Director of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership, “For many organizations, there are still huge gaps between current volunteer numbers and the number of people our nonprofits need to deliver the programming and services required by their missions.  Big and small, these organizations rely on the civically minded, giving people of our community to accomplish their important work.”

Jennifer Singer, Executive Director of Bright Futures for Youth agrees, sharing that, “Volunteers are critical to our success, expanding our reach to youth, providing important personal relationships and expanding the staff’s ability to deliver quality services to our community.”

In addition to building capacity to address the community’s most pressing issues, volunteerism has been shown to directly benefit those who serve in myriad ways including increased social engagement, reduced feelings of loneliness and isolation, better mental health outcomes, and even increased longevity.  The Board and staff of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership hope that unprecedented turnout for this event will have a direct impact on the health of the community and the individual volunteer.

For more information and a complete list of participant organizations, visit https://cnlsierra.org/2022-community-volunteer-fair/.