Volunteer Center Passes Torch
For 18 years, the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Center connected would-be volunteers with local causes and helped nonprofits fill a myriad of needs.
Now it is closing its doors.
Due to a lack of sustainable funding, the Volunteer Center could no longer operate as a standalone nonprofit.
Not that the job is finished. Far from it.
Year after year, the Volunteer Center helped more than 4,000 people, families, corporate and community groups find volunteer opportunities with more than 360 community organizations.
“We’re proud of the ways we were able to work with local organizations and those who wanted to invest in them throughout the years,” said Lisa Spallitta, executive director of the center since 2016. “Anne Arundel County is stronger for it.”
The work will continue, with Anne Arundel Community College taking the torch.
As well as matching people who want to share their talents with nonprofits in need of help, the college will continue the newsletters that were a staple of the center and produce the Volunteer Voice spot for WNAV news radio on Wednesday mornings, also highlighting community opportunities and partners.
“This is a natural transition,” said Cathy Doyle, director of the college’s Sarbanes Center for Public and Community Service, who also served on the Volunteer Center’s board for three years. “We work collaboratively with the community, developing mutually beneficial service opportunities to enhance student learning beyond the classroom. Promoting service opportunities to members of the community will be an extension of the work we have been doing.”
Find direction for your drive to give at www.aacc.edu/volunteer.