Volunteers fuel the fire that is the Kids’ Chance of America mission. Last year, nearly 1,000 volunteers donated their time to Kids’ Chance organizations across the country. In celebration of National Volunteer Month, we acknowledge and honor all of those who work tirelessly to help the children of injured workers achieve their educational dreams. Thank you!

‍Kids’ Chance of Kansas (KCKS) is a great example of how volunteer engagement can make all the difference in reaching our goal of #MoreMoneyforMoreKids.

A couple years ago when founding volunteers began to step down, KCKS went through major board turnover. The new board members recognized that if burnout was to be avoided, they needed help. In addition to hiring a virtual assistant to handle administrative duties, they purposefully began identifying volunteer opportunities. They tapped into their networks in the workers’ compensation industry and started posting volunteer opportunities on social media. In just a year’s time, their small team grew to include 25 volunteers, supporting a myriad of events and outreach activities.

Weston Mills, president of KCKS, noted that adding volunteers has helped the organization grow tremendously. “We can do more events, reach out to more people, find more students, and raise more money.” They have also expanded their committees to include more volunteers. “This helps us build a continual pipeline of potential board members and ensure we have continuity for the future,” Weston explained.

KCKS and their volunteers have numerous fundraising events planned for this year: a golf tournament in May, a pickleball tournament in July, a night out with the local Minor League Baseball team in August, and a bowling event in October. This busy schedule of events ends with a happy hour in November. Following the public happy hour event, the volunteers will gather for a pizza party. “It’s our chance to show gratitude to our hard-working volunteers,” Weston said, “and celebrate the impact and importance of all that they do.”

According to Independent Sector, the hourly value of volunteer time last year in Kansas was $25.48. With each of the KCKS volunteers donating an estimated average of 60 hours a year, that adds up to more than $38,000 of human capital contributed in 2021 — a big bump to the bottom line of a small organization!

Want to attract more volunteers to help your state organization?

• Identify meaningful things to do and provide solid direction.
• Recruit your friends and colleagues — 61 percent of people report that they volunteer because they were asked by a friend.
• Post your opportunities on social media.
• Convey the impact of donated time by sharing student stories and communicating the value of volunteerism to the organization.
• Finally, display plenty of gratitude — and do it often!