Volunteer and Information of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties received $55,800 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to help rebuild and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith joined Executive Director for Volunteer Information HPE Brenda Snider and Manager of Community Programs and Communications Tracey Legault-Davis at the head office in Belleville for the announcement.
In a press release, it was noted that the funds from the grant have already been already put to use. The funds were used to create a three-year strategic plan, update technology, research and develop a fund development strategy and to create a marketing plan.
Implementation of the project was completed in August 2023.
Executive Director for Volunteer Information HPE Brenda Snider said the organization now has the ability to work more efficiently.
“One of the things the pandemic taught us was that when it hit, we worked on Windows 98,” said Snider.
“So you can imagine being stuck at home, trying to do portals on the website and a dated website to begin with, all the craziness that happened. So with that money, we purchased four new laptops so we can work anywhere.”
It was also noted that the organization hired a marketing consultant to help develop a strategy.
Snider says they are already starting to see some traction since expanding their marketing.
“I can tell you every week when that (social media post) hits, put it together with the newspaper article and the radio spots, every morning at seven o’clock I hear ‘someone wants to volunteer, someone wants to volunteer,'” Snider told media.
The new funding has also helped with interviews for students looking to find volunteer opportunities.
“Brenda was doing all of them, which was too much for her,” Legault-Davis tells Quinte News.
“We had a summer student and because of the increased funding and everything else we were able to keep her on. So she is right now in Guelph, but because she has one of our laptops, she is interviewing all of our students.”
The agency helps to serve 275 different agencies across the Quinte region.
Those looking to find more information about becoming a volunteer can head to Volunteer and Information of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties’ website.
