Connections That Count: Unleashing the Spirit of Volunteerism in Baltimore County

Lynn Shematek: 00:00:01

Hello friends.

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I'm Lynn Shematek with the Good News

team let's Meet Allison Vogrin

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and Chanell Abdul -Muhaimin of the

Baltimore County Volunteer Center.

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Join our co-hosts Deacons, Jon Shematek

and Lauren Welch as we bring you

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another podcast episode in our second

season of Good News, all about people

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making a difference in the world.

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Jon Shematek: Alison Vogrin

and Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin.

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Welcome to our podcast.

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We are thrilled that you're with us today.

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Lauren Welch: Thank you.

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Jon Shematek: So you are both responsible

for a lot of amazing volunteer work

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that goes on in Baltimore County.

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What I'd like to do is have you tell us a

little bit about yourselves and your own

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journey how did you get to this point?

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Alison Vogrin: Thank you for

having us on the show today.

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I've always had a volunteer spirit

for years, ever since I was a kid.

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as an adult, I started getting

involved in volunteer activities and

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decided that I wanted to pursue it.

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As a career.

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I joined AmeriCorps and that

really formed what I wanted to do.

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And it's terms of managing volunteers.

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I also had a passion for

working with older adults.

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So when I came to the Baltimore

County Department of Aging, which is

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what our volunteer center is under

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Started in the volunteer capacity

overseeing a AmeriCorps program.

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Connecting volunteers 55 and over

with volunteer opportunities.

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as that progressed and the introduction

of a volunteer center came about,

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I applied for the position and have

been the past year and a half in this

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role as a volunteer program manager.

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Jon Shematek: Great.

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Chanell, what about you?

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: I started off

as a volunteer, very young, Volunteerism

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became my thing, so as I grew older and

got jobs, I decided that I wanted to

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stay in volunteerism and help people.

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I feel like it's a part of human

services, and it's a great way to

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connect with the community and myself.

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I was born and raised in Baltimore

City I used to volunteer at all

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different types of platforms.

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I Left John Hopkins Hospital.

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I was there for about three to four

years and I left due to a restructure

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And that's how I got at the Department of

Aging Baltimore County Volunteer Center.

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Jon Shematek: Thank you.

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Lauren Welch: So Alison and

Chanell, can you tell us?

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What you do in your specific jobs?

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I know Alison you're the program Manager.

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. And Chanell is, a program coordinator.

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Alison Vogrin: our volunteer

center acts as a clearing house.

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we connect volunteers of all ages

in the greater Baltimore region

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with volunteer opportunities.

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we launched this a year and a half

ago, so we're still developing it.

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as the program manager, it's formulating

where we want to go working with

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nonprofits, forming relationships doing

outreach in the community and building

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that relationship I'll let Chanell

explain more about some of the specific

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activities we have done and have coming up

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Jon Shematek: Alison you're responsible

for developing the relationships and the

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network of all these different I think

some of them are faith based and others

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are NGOs and other kinds of entities.

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And so that's your basic role

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Alison Vogrin: Yes.

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Chanell and I tag team on

a lot of this together.

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as the manager, I'm doing more of

the behind the scenes policy part

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or the overall Operation of it.

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But Chanell is there right with me working

on getting our word out about the program.

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We do overlap.

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: So we try to

make outreach to the different agencies,

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get them to understand that the

volunteer portal is there to help them.

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It's free of charge.

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other than recruiting the agencies, we

also give recommendations to volunteers

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who email us about organizations.

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They may want to connect with

even if they're not a user on the

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portal, we still connect them.

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We also hold service.

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Days where we work with some of the

agencies we support on the portal.

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We have a community cleanup coming

up that we're participating in and

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we recruit volunteers for as well.

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We recently had a lunch and learn that

had over 35 agencies participating

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where we talk about volunteer topics

that affect their organization and.

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We have a volunteer fair

coming up pretty soon.

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That's another thing that

we like to host once a year.

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Where we ask all the agencies

connected to our portal to come out

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and support volunteer recruitment.

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Jon Shematek: Wow, that's great.

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you mentioned earlier that you're

part of the department of the aging

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I was at your website recently.

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it's overwhelming all the programs

that you offer and support Lauren

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and I are all about connections.

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this is just awesome for us, some

of your programs are targeted

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towards seniors and others actually.

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Enable seniors to volunteer themselves.

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Is that right?

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Alison Vogrin: Yeah.

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While we're housed under the department

of aging, we're really a Baltimore County

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government initiative for all ages.

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One of the facets under the volunteer

center is that retired and senior

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volunteer program, which is that

AmeriCorps program that connects

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volunteers 55 and over with opportunities.

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we have two colleagues in

charge of that grant program,

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and they work in our office.

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So we tag team with them.

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whenever we get inquiries from

somebody who is within that age

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range, we'll refer them over to the

retired and senior volunteer program.

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we work with the other programs

in the Department of Aging

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that recruit volunteers.

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we have volunteers.

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With the Medicare assistance

program, who are providing phone

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support and doing presentations

in the community about Medicare.

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We have volunteers with the home

team that are providing socialization

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as well as delivery of food to

older adults who are isolated.

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We have volunteers with the ombudsman

program who are going out and advocating

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for older adults and long term care

and assisted living facilities.

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We have volunteers with our nutrition

programs, so they're going out and making

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sure people who don't have access to

nutritious meals are having that and

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coming together for socialization as well.

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So there's multiple programs just within

the Department of Aging that we're

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helping to support and promote, but then,

as you mentioned, there are a number

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out in the greater Baltimore region

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Jon Shematek: Do the recipients

of the services or the entities

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that offered services need to be

part of Baltimore County as well?

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: No, they can

be in the whole greater Baltimore area.

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They don't necessarily have

to be Baltimore County.

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Mostly all the agencies that we have

on the portal are a part of Maryland.

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Alison Vogrin: when we talk about

the portal we have an online

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platform, so that's the key

feature of our volunteer center.

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So while you can call us and email

us and ask for help in finding

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volunteer opportunities that feature

portal is there as a tool to empower

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people to search for opportunities.

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Based on their interests accessibility,

skill level and location.

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it's a nice feature because it

has different types of filters.

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we have more than 80 non profits in

the area that are posting their needs.

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a volunteer can go onto the portal,

find out that agency's mission

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learn about where they're located,

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Read the needs to see specifically.

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Do I fit the age requirement?

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What's the time commitment involved

if someone's interested, they

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can go ahead and directly respond

through the portal to that agency.

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Then the agency can follow

up with the next steps.

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We've have right now around.

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We have over 800 users on the

platform, volunteer users.

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And in the time that we have been since

we've launched in the October: 2023

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have been over 1200 connections made

between volunteers and opportunities.

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We like to think of this as a one

stop shop where you can just go on

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and we have comprehensive Listing

of all these different agencies.

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So you can do an easy search rather

than having to search here and there.

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It's just in one spot.

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the thought is that it makes it easier.

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I presented to a group of students

at Towson University and Part of

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what they had indicated as terms of

volunteering, what their fear was just

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that initial outreach to an agency.

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How do I find them?

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How do I get started?

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I tried to show them this

tool is to help you with that.

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And these are agencies that

are looking for volunteers.

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Chanell and I are responsible for

maintaining those relationships with

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the agencies so that we know that they

are following up with the volunteers.

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Lauren Welch: What are some of

the challenges that you've had

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? Alison Vogrin: Yeah Chanell,

Some of the challenges are one,

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this is a virtual platform.

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So there's the technical piece of it.

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Initially, we launched and that took

us a little while to get that up and

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running to where we needed to be.

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But we've got it now.

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And we have a great tech

team that helps us with that.

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Two challenges making sure our

message is getting out to the public.

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So that's why today's platform that you're

offering us is very important because

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a lot of people haven't heard of us.

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And Chanell and I are for the volunteer

center are just the team of two.

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Trying to get the word out while

also being in the office, handling

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calls and planning these programs.

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Those are definitely challenged.

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin:

Some challenges are.

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making a recommendation for something

that might be a little out of our field.

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We may not have an agency that we can

match them right away with because a lot

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of people believe we're the ones doing

the hiring for volunteers when we're

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just matching them with organizations.

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That's one of the challenges

and definitely always getting

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the word out that we're here.

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A lot of people, even me, when I

first started, did not know that

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there was a GetConnected portal.

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I didn't know that it was a place where

I can take two minutes to log on and

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register and then match myself up with

different organizations creating filters.

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I think that's a wonderful thing,

because just like I was telling

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Alison recently, back in my day,

it was a lot of cold calling.

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Sending out emails before

emails was really a big thing.

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And it was hard to get an answer back.

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The most important part is getting

an answer back and finding a

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place that is suitable for you.

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A lot of volunteers ride buses.

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The older volunteers, they're

getting rides to these places.

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So you want to be somewhere

matched that you can rely on.

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Just basically getting the word

out, letting people know we're here.

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Alison Vogrin: And I also want

to touch upon that connector

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where we're clearing house.

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a lot of times people here,

Baltimore County Volunteer Center

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and their individual in the

community who needs services.

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They reach out to us thinking

we have a pool of people we can

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just send to offer the service.

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we can't do that for liability reasons.

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We're only working between brokering

that relationship between a established

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nonprofit and the volunteers.

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It's hard when we get requests from

individuals who need the services.

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We can refer them to agencies, but

There aren't always agencies in the

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community to fill those gaps either.

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Jon Shematek: I'm glad you made that

clarification Alison and Chanell,

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people might think, Oh, I can call this

and I'll get connected to somebody.

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Whereas you have a.

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Trusted, vetted, established

group of agencies and

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entities that need volunteers.

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so your job is to connect.

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Chanell.

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I've never heard of you guys when

I got on the website and saw.

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That vast array of programs, it wouldn't

be fair to ask if you have a favorite,

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but I do want to know if there are any

programs you especially want to highlight.

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Alison, I think you said in

your bio that you're an animal

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lover, or maybe a volunteer at an

animal shelter from time to time.

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There's a whole animal services piece.

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And the schools this is, amazing.

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are there any particular

programs either Chanell or Alison

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that you want to highlight?

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Either where there's a really special

need or it might be a surprise to

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some of our viewers and listeners?

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Alison Vogrin: having a community

cleanup with Deaf Shalom Zone, an

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organization that provides a pantry

for the greater community, but two,

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it offers a lot of resources and

services for people who are deaf.

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We're going to be doing community

cleanup with them on April 12th.

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So we're, it's just Saturday and we're

excited about that because, we get to

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learn more about their needs firsthand

when a volunteer contacts us about it.

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We can tell it in more

detail what it's about.

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it's a Saturday, April 12th from 10 to

1 at Deaf Shalom zone, which is in the.

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Pikesville Catonsville area

we need about 20 volunteers.

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It's a little bit of physical activity.

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We're going to be doing some cleaning

helping the stock in the pantry, but

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we're going to be looking forward to that.

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And I can just speak because there's

so many organizations that we can't to

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narrow it down to say they're all amazing.

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They all do great things.

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But to speak to different activities

we've done in the past that

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I'd like to plug and promote.

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We did a Clean up the Benjamin

Banneker Historical Parks.

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last fall worked with the Baltimore

County Department of Recreation

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and Parks as well as Yield Camp.

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that's an organization that

connects people with nature.

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We did a cleanup in the park

there an organization www.

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fema.

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gov Gets a lot of volunteers from

our portal last spring, we went to

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their site and assembled food baskets

that they delivered to homeless

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individuals throughout the state.

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those are just some of the initiatives.

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we've worked with and firsthand

know what they're doing.

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Chanell, I don't know if you have a

preference or anything for any of the

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organizations that you want to plug.

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin:

Again, Deaf Shalom.

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We're going to be doing

a community cleanup.

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We met, I met with the manager there.

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The person who runs that

organization, beautiful woman.

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She has a lot of plans for this

place and hopefully we can help

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clean up their community as well.

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We recently did a group

retreat for our division.

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At art with a heart,

which is a great place.

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I recommend it.

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If you and the wife are looking to

volunteer somewhere and get artsy and

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crafty, it's a great place to volunteer

and every and anything that you makes

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goes to their store where they sell

it and the proceeds go back into the

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community for art programs for kids.

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It's a great place And again, all of

them, like meals on wheels, help out

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the community a lot for those who can't

get out and get meals for themselves.

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You just can't pick 1, because everybody

does a great job and pretty much

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contributes in some way, shape, or form.

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Jon Shematek: Great.

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We're going to ask you, for some

contact information, since you mentioned

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the April 12th event at Deaf Shalom,

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if someone were Interested in that

particular event, how do people find

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you, let's say the Deaf Shalom one in

particular, since you highlighted that.

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how would they find it?

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: of course,

we're recruiting it and we'll probably

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have it as a spotlight on a portal.

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But as well, you can reach out directly

to us at our phone number, which is

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410 887 2733 You can leave a message

to register or you can email us at,

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Alison Vogrin:

volunteers@baltimorecountymd.gov.

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Jon Shematek: I

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: we try

to make sure that we always

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answer people right away.

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Alison is really big on making sure

people get a response back from us.

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So you'll always receive

a response back for us.

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Whether it's phone call and

you leave a voicemail or you

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send us an email, we will.

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We make sure that we give

back to each and every person.

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Jon Shematek: Great.

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did I understand you a moment

ago saying you Spotlight events

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from time to time on the website

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: Yeah, during

our holiday, a lot of places will

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have spotlight, like happy helpers,

meals on wheels they may have events,

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especially during the holiday and

the Thanksgiving season, which, a

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lot of people like to give back.

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Some people will be looking for, one

time initiatives or ongoing initiatives.

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And that's a really great place to go.

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go on a portal and you can

see these highlights pop up.

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Jon Shematek: That's fantastic.

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Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: Yeah, another

thing that want to work with agencies.

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We do a hands on thing with the agencies.

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If they can't set up their

portal or they need help, we're

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there to pick up the phone.

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We have lab hours that they can

call and get help and Walk through

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it just like the user where

they are for the agency as well.

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Jon Shematek: Super.

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I did have an additional question because

most of the folks that are doing such

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wonderful things Talk to us at some point

in the discussion about money and funding.

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are you completely funded by

county government or do people make

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donations other than volunteering?

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Alison Vogrin: Correct.

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we are solely county funds.

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We don't take donations And

have a bare bones budget.

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the two of us and staff.

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The staff with the retired and senior

volunteer program have their own

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funding through the AmeriCorps grant.

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this is a county wide initiative that

originally launched under the former

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county executive Johnny Oshkoski Jr.

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he wanted to see a

volunteer center reinstated.

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there were initial funds for that.

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our portal is our main primary.

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Feature if anything, that

would be our biggest expense.

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There would be just maintaining that

online contract with the vendor.

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we do, have other budgets for the,

service events, but again, we're

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going to the agencies and serving.

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So a lot of times we don't need.

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A lot of supplies for that because the

agencies already have it all on hand.

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Jon Shematek: That's great.

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But

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Alison Vogrin: thank you for

asking about the fund, the funding.

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Jon Shematek: Yeah.

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So the main thing is to get the

word out about all the amazing

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work that you facilitate.

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You make these vital connections people

are really hungry help someone else,

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not just watch the news and fret about

things, but what can I do that's going

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to make a difference in someone's life?

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some of these things can be a

one time, Others, depending on

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the agency, are more ongoing.

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weekly, monthly, whatever

people are able to do.

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So that's also great to hear.

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Alison Vogrin: on the portal

it's nice that it's set up where

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an agency can specify that.

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if it's a one time activity,

you can actually sign up for

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the specific date you want.

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So it would list out all the dates and

the times and you can select the shift.

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if it's an ongoing, it's more,

You just do a general response.

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Someone has to follow up with you.

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And most likely, with an ongoing

opportunity, there's more screening

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processes, such as a background check,

it may be a volunteer interview.

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When volunteers are going on the portal

and looking for opportunities, we ask them

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to be mindful of, your commitment level.

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What works with your schedule right now?

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And when I was with the group of students

from Towson University the other day,

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I suggested, why not start with a one

time activity, if an agency offers both,

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I used St.

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Vincent de Paul as an example, They

have an upcoming event, the Empty

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Bowls event, where you can find out

more about their mission and what they

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do, you can ease into it and possibly

volunteer at one of the shelters

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later, but it exposes you initially.

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we do have a feature on the portal.

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for youth.

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we have a partnership with Baltimore

County Public Schools so that if a

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student who needs service learning

hours goes to our portal, there's a

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link that says student service hours.

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They can click on it and the agencies

listed there have all met the requirements

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to be approved for the BCPS mandate.

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those agencies have met with the

office that oversees the service

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learning requirement and have

completed the necessary training.

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So it makes it easier for the

student because they don't need

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to question if this is within the

framework of the requirement or not.

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The agencies have already said

that we've taken that step.

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Jon Shematek: I know Lauren

always has one final question

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Lauren Welch: You all have thought of

everything that a volunteer would need.

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you have given so much information.

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I would like each one of you

to share some final thoughts.

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: 00:20:10

share why volunteerism is so important

and people need to think about that.

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: 00:20:19

Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: I think

volunteerism is very important because

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work experience, learning experience,

socialization skills, you talk with

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people, you build relationships

It helps build the community up.

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I'm born and raised in Baltimore.

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It's a place that has many small

gems, nonprofits, church, faith based.

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Places that you can build a strong

sense of home with volunteers.

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It's a great way to build confidence

learn skills and just meet different

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people of every walk of life.

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Alison Vogrin: I agree.

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: 00:20:54

Completely with what Chanell said.

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maybe we're a little biased because

both Chanell and I are, avid volunteers

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but I also feel we all have a

civic duty support our community.

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It could even be going out and

doing a cleanup or planting trees

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We all have an ability to give back.

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And we should take advantage of that

that's a gift to be able to Pass that

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: 00:21:13

forward whether it be our skill or

just doing something kind for others,

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: 00:21:18

just being able to give that forward.

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: 00:21:19

and that's in addition to everything

that Chanell said about all the personal

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: 00:21:23

benefits one can get from volunteering.

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: 00:21:27

Jon Shematek: Yeah, that's beautiful.

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: 00:21:27

that's great.

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: 00:21:29

I just want to thank both of you

for being here today and for sharing

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: 00:21:33

these stories this is very exciting

to me and we can't wait to spread this

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good news and let people hear about

what's right in our own backyard.

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: 00:21:40

All they need to do is get on the internet

and they can find a way to help out.

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: 00:21:45

And do good and maybe find a little

meaning in their own lives doing so.

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: 00:21:49

So once again, thank you very much.

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: 00:21:51

We really appreciate your

time and the work that you do.

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: 00:21:54

Alison Vogrin: thank you

for lifting this message up.

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: 00:21:57

Chanell Abdul-Muhaimin: We thank you too.

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: 00:21:58

People like you, if it wasn't for word

of mouth and people asking the questions.

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: 00:22:02

No one would ever know.

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: 00:22:04

Lauren Welch: That's right.

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: 00:22:05

We didn't know until now.

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So thank you.

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: 00:22:08

This is amazing.

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: 00:22:10

And Jon and I want to thank all

who are watching and listening

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for the gift of your time today.

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Until next time, peace and blessings.

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Bye bye.

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: 00:22:20

Lynn Shematek: This episode

of Good News has been brought

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: 00:22:23

to you by Listening for Clues.

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: 00:22:26

For more podcasts, check out

our YouTube channel or our

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: 00:22:30

website listening for clues.com.