REPOST: Community service help launches a new and innovative charity fundraising program

This article talks about Community Service Help launching a new charity fundraising program.  

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Community Service Help has just announced the launch of a brand new charity fundraising program that will help manage non-profit organizations’ court ordered volunteer programs. Called Community Service Help for Charities, the program is a free service for all 501(c)3 non-profits.

Recently, the courts have frequently assigned community service to at-risk individuals. Because many people wish to fulfill their community service obligations at a non-profit organization, this has caused many charities to become overburdened with scheduling, required supervision, insurance and other tasks to manage and track the individuals. Unfortunately, these issues have caused some charitable organizations to stop working with court ordered volunteers.

Thanks to the new charity volunteer management program at Community Service Help, non-profits will have all of the extra work associated with court ordered workers taken care of. The online community service program includes electronic supervision, volunteer hour tracking, time sheets and logging, court reporting, and any necessary phone calls and customer support.

In addition to being completely free for the non-profit organization, the new program’s benefits include a $20 donation for every volunteer referred, statistics and volunteer tracking, and— because of the lack of restrictions based on the person’s type of crime, location, age or disability—unlimited volunteer placement opportunities.

“Don't stress about your court ordered volunteers, let Community Service Help manage your entire court volunteering program,” an article on the company’s website noted, adding that through its innovative volunteering platform they will handle everything on behalf of the non-profit organization from start to finish.

“Rehabilitation is always more powerful than punishment. By giving someone a chance to enrich their life and gain new skills Community Service Help seeks to rehabilitate at risk individuals and provide them with the tools they need to be a successful member of society.”

Anybody who would like to learn more about Community Service Help and its charity fundraising program is welcome to visit the organization’s website at any time; there, they can read in-depth information about the new service and the very tangible ways it helps both non-profits and those who need to finish their community service hours.


SharonYounkin, Ph.D., served as the Director for Community Service Programs at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.  More pertinent news about healthcare and community service can be found on this Twitter page.

Teach them right, teach them early: Benefits of involving kids in community service

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 Education integrates community service in its list of extracurricular activities for one important reason: it is vital in character building. If children are taught to volunteer at an early age, helping out may just become permanently ingrained in their characters—probably so much that it eventually becomes central to their being. If this will carry on, it can instigate a domino effect, hopefully resulting to a society where all individuals freely pay forward to achieve that utopian pipedream that remains to be ever elusive.

Because the road toward this goal is no walk in the park, schools have taken it upon themselves to help out in this mission. In recent years, they have adopted methods by which they can introduce the art of community service to students. Community service directors like Sharon Younkin and Noreen Wiedenfeld realize that by teaching students how to give back to the community at an early age, the following benefits may be reaped in the long haul:

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 • Children develop a sense of responsibility. When kids volunteer, they are able to learn what it means to make and maintain commitments. Because they are also held against certain rules in the conduct of volunteering, they can also learn to be on time for an activity, gun for the best results, and take pride in their achievements. Above all, however, children learn to recognize an individual’s role and worth in the overall well-being of communities.

• Children discover the benefits of sacrifice. Because doing volunteer work is not all roses, children get to realize that sacrifice is part and parcel in any endeavor to achieve a desired goal. Reducing play time to accommodate community service teaches them that there are more significant things besides themselves and their immediate needs.

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 • Children develop tolerance. By immersing themselves into working with different people, they learn to get along with others regardless of creed, race, and orientation. At some point, they will realize that even the most dissimilar individuals may be united by common values.

• Children acquire requisite job skills. Exposure into the real world can give children an idea of prospective career opportunities, and by being able to work within their niche of interest, they are able to acquaint themselves to the responsibilities and skills required of those interested to pursue them.

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 • Children use idle time wisely. Instead of slacking around and engaging in unproductive activities, community service can be an exciting, if not totally wonderful, alternative.

Paying back to the community is not an easy task, but with the guidance of the right people, it may actually succeed in bringing about the desired changes.

The following Facebook page provides more information on Sharon Younkin’s community service advocacies.

Sharon Younkin awarded the Partnership Award from Public Health of Madison/Dane County, Wisconsin

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Sharon Younkin, Community Service Program Director, UW School of Medicine and Public Health, was awarded the Partnership Award from Public Health of Madison/Dane County Wisconsin for her work with community partners in creatively developing health outreach programs that result in meaningful community learning experiences for UW Medical School students, providing health and dental care to homeless and uninsured individuals, and offering preventative health information and mentoring support for underserved and at-risk populations in our community.

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Sharon has creatively initiated a number health related programs that impact the health of our community and benefit the underserved and at-risk populations. Through her role as Community Service Director at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, she has partnered with a number of community organizations to create and match UW Medical School Students with six community service programs. Programs include the Medic Clinic offering free medical, dental and psychiatric care for acute health issues; health promotion programs for residents of the Allied Drive neighborhood; a program focused on health-related discussion with young people to help them with lifestyle choices; a mentoring program for middle school students; a service learning program that promotes equity and social justice in community and population health; and a mentoring, advocacy and support program for at-risk pregnant women.

Image source: publichealthmdc.com

In her personal time, Sharon is also thinking about community service. She has served on the Board for the AIDS network and is currently the Board president of the Allied Wellness Center. Sharon's work moves forward the public health agenda of prevention and access to care.