Volunteers are cash crop for Peabody
By SUSAN MARSHALL
Organization chairman
Volunteers have long been the backbone of Peabody Main Street as well as other local groups that perform services vital to our community.
Trying to match a volunteer to the project best suited to his or her skills, interests, and motivation for volunteering in the first place, can be a challenge for any organization that depends on a volunteer staff.
Peabody Main Street's board of directors, organization committee, and director Kristen Hooper have begun to track volunteers in hopes of knowing how best to use those who want to help.
Cash donations, donations of goods that can generate cash or be considered "in kind" contributions, or time given to the organization are all measured as "volunteer reinvestment" to Peabody Main Street.
Tracking began with the Winter Wonderland Christmas promotion in December 2006. Information about support for Main Street projects was added after the benefit auction, the women's fair, a quilt project, training sessions, July Fourth, and other events.
The list of volunteers has grown from a handful in the fall of 2006 to more than 150 people involved in Main Street activities and events today.
A number of people who are residents of other communities, but who enjoy supporting and contributing to our 1880s Main Street are included in this list, as are alumni who have made contributions to their hometown.
In January of this year, Hooper began tracking the actual number of volunteer hours. The Kansas Main Street program assigns a $17.55 per hour "salary" to the amount of time volunteers donate to programs across the state.
Peabody volunteers have logged more than 1,300 hours for Main Street programs, promotions, and events. Applying the state's designated wage amount, the financial re-investment has been just under $23,000 for January through August.
That is "found" money; funds that do not need to be paid out of any budget.
Peabody Main Street volunteers always have been a valued part of the program. In fact, the program certainly couldn't function without them.
But by tracking volunteer time as well as the material and financial donations, the real impact to the program leaps out in numbers everyone can understand.
Our volunteers have made a huge difference to the success of the Main Street program and we are grateful for their many contributions.
