Photo By Michael Strasser | The annual Super Sign-Up Volunteer Fair at Fort Drum, New York, offered community...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Sept. 7, 2018) -- Fort Drum’s robust community of volunteers had a chance to grow its ranks Sept. 6 during the annual Super Sign-Up Volunteer Fair at the Commons.
“We have a strong volunteer community here and they are very well-supported,” said Dani Reed, Fort Drum’s Army Volunteer Corps coordinator. “We love our volunteers because they do a lot more than a lot of people think they do. Volunteers are an important part of many organizations on post.”
The annual volunteer fair is a one-stop shop for Fort Drum community members to learn about the various organizations on the installation and in the neighboring communities that have volunteer opportunities.
Reed said that the community recently celebrated the 53rd anniversary of Army Community Service, an organization that has largely thrived since the beginning on passionate volunteerism.
“Volunteers care about their community, and they want to help others,” she said. “I think volunteering is the best way to connect with your community and its organizations and services. If you’re new to the community, it’s a great way to meet other people who have the same interest in volunteering.”
Representatives from 48 organizations were in attendance – to include the Lowville Food Pantry, the American Red Cross and Girl Scouts of America.
Dee Brown, with the Fort Drum USO, said that they have more than 150 volunteers registered but close to 25 who actively volunteer monthly.
“That’s a little on the low side,” she said. “But a lot of our volunteers who were on summer break or their spouses were in training, will be back and we should have double the number by the end of the month.”
Brown said that some people become so dedicated to the mission that they sometimes treat it like a fulltime job when there is a shortage of volunteers.
“I feel bad when that happens because we don’t want to wear out the same volunteers,” she said. “But when we have 50 volunteers, there’s a good rotation and volunteers don’t feel overly obligated and they can enjoy themselves.”
Brown said that Super Sign-Up is a chance for USO representatives to meet new community members and let people know that the organization supports Soldiers on post.
“We do get a lot of traffic in our USO, and normally incoming Soldiers will have a tour of our center and that’s how we get a lot of new volunteers,” she said. “There’s a lot of spouses and family members that don’t get this information, so that’s why I think Super Sign-Up is a great opportunity to reach them.”
Brown said that the USO provides a home away from home for Soldiers and their family members, and the best volunteers have the compassion to close that distance for their patrons.
“A good volunteer has the heart to serve Soldiers – that’s their motivation for being there,” she said.
Tomeka Towler had recently arrived at Fort Drum after being stationed in Germany and heard about Super Sign-Up from a neighbor on post.
Having previously worked in the Department of Defense Education Activity school system overseas, she was interested in volunteering with Child and Youth Services and the Protestant Women of the Chapel.
“I am most interested to work with children, so I was looking for anything where I could do that here,” she said. “I’m usually working, so this is the first duty station where we have been where I am not, so I have to do something to keep myself busy. Volunteer opportunities sounds good to me.”
Attendees new to volunteering were introduced to the Volunteer Management Information System (VMIS), which tracks a person’s volunteer hours, organizations supported, awards and special recognition. It also lists volunteer opportunities in the military community, complete with job descriptions.
Reed said people can learn more about VMIS by attending a class that further explains the online tracking system. The next two classes are scheduled 1-2:30 p.m. Sept. 11 and Oct. 9. The VMIS can be accessed through the Army One Source website at http://www.myarmyonesource.com.
“You can go on that site right now and I would say there are about 2,500 different volunteer positions available here at Fort Drum,” Reed said. “When you register through VMIS and set up your profile, your volunteer record will follow you when you move to another installation."
To learn more about Fort Drum’s Army Volunteer Corps and upcoming training, visit https://www.facebook.com/FortDrumArmyVolunteerCorps/.
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.07.2018 08:39 |
| Story ID: | 291720 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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