Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Virginia State Parks Volunteer Opportunities


When the economy is tight, we all have to tighten our belts. This is no less true for state government especially when your state is having a budget crisis (which might be just about all of them by now). We took quite a hit for the FY2009 budget to do our part to balance the overall state budget, and we will likely be giving more up in FY2010. But, Virginia State Parks have been operating frugally for a long time, and we have an ace up our sleeve.

The results from 2008 are in and Virginia State Parks enjoyed record volunteerism, 235,096 hours. Based on the Virginia Office of Volunteerism volunteer value of $19.72 an hour, this means volunteers contributed $4.6 million to our State Parks. Based on an average work year of 2,000 hours (after paid vacation), that's the equivalent of 117 full time employees.

What do volunteers in Virginia's state parks do? They greet guests at contact stations and in visitor centers, they serve as Campground and Park Hosts (live in the park in their own camping equipment for 30-60 days in exchange for volunteer time), they conduct educational programs, they work on our trails, they monitor a variety of birds and wildlife, they assist with a variety of clean up efforts, and the list goes on. Scout troops come out to parks to volunteer in exchange for camping stays, earn merit badges or for Eagle Scout projects. Our Youth Conservation Corps program brings teens 14-17 to our parks for a three week residential volunteer program. Our Youth Service Corps beings at risk teens 14-17 to our parks for a three week non-residential volunteer program. College students give up their spring break partying to volunteer for a week in our parks. Most of our parks have Friends of groups who help with volunteer projects and the general support of our parks, including advocacy and fund raising, and we have the Virginia Association for Parks, who performs that support at the state level. There is something for everyone!

With an on line volunteer database, volunteering is easy. Simply go to http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/volnteer.shtml, fill out an on line application, and search through our variety of volunteer opportunities at the park nearest you. If you have a group that would like to volunteer, contact the park directly or email our volunteer office at vspvolunteer@dcr.virginia.gov .

No comments:

Post a Comment