City of Sacramento - Volunteer Program - Scrapbook & Photo Album

Scrapbook and Photo Album - Members of Volunteer Team

	Adopt-a-Park Volunteers - March 2012 There are many parks in the City of Sacramento which benefit from volunteers who care about their stewardship.Most clean-ups are scheduled on a monthly or quarterlybasis, usually on weekends.Thanks to the River Park Neighborhood Association and the Glenn Hall Adopt-a-Park volunteers for their efforts to keepGlenn Hall Park a beautiful spot for their neighborhood!
City of Sacramento Staff Volunteer in the Community Not only do members of the community volunteer to assist the City of Sacramento with programs and projects, but staff members also volunteer in the community as well. The Department of Human Resources conducted a survey of staff to learn more about their volunteer activities. Staff had contributed 23,306 hours of service to benefit the community the previous year. Their service was valued at over $400,000 and the majority of the staff surveyed had volunteered for a youth-oriented agency or program such as a school, youth sports activity or scouts or their church or faith-based organization. Thanks to city staff for giving back to the community.
	Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2012 Volunteers gathered at the Steve Jones Park to assist with various beautification efforts. Over 100 volunteers cleaned graffiti from the play structures, weeded gardens, removed stakes from trees, picked up trash and pruned shrubs and bushes. The volunteers represented many clubs and groups in the area including: Metro Edge with the Sacramento Metro Chamber, high school clubs, university fraternities and sororities, AmeriCorps NCCC and families. Volunteers also supported a day of beautification at McKinley Park. Thank you volunteers for sprucing up parks in Meadowview and East Sacramento.
	Hotel Association Community Day Project - September 2011 The annual Sacramento Hotel Association's Community Day project is held each fall. For the past 5 years the association has partnered with the City of Sacramento and other agencies to coordinate projects benefiting many neighborhoods. Past projects have focused on South Natomas, Hagginwood, Southside Park and Oak Park. This year the hotel association chose Curtis Park as a focus for their efforts. More than 160 volunteers from its member hotels and vendors offered a day of improvements at two city parks and two libraries in addition to efforts at area non-profits. Volunteers also completed a holiday card-making project for the California Marine Families' care packages. In addition, volunteers donated disposable diapers and toddler pull-ups for the Sacramento Crisis Nursery. Thank you to the Sacramento Hotel Association for it's continued generosity in our community.
VITA - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program 2011 The City’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) offered free tax services at 5 sites in 2011. Families and individuals with incomes below $49,000 were eligible for free tax preparation assistance. The VITA volunteers included a team from AmeriCorps NCCC and community members. The community members included college and graduate students, retired professionals and individuals with a variety of backgrounds including the financial field. Additional volunteers supported the effort from AARP and the California Franchise Tax Board. 795 tax returns were completed this year and they brought $1,323,965 in federal and state refunds into the community. The IRS presented the Award of Excellence to the City’s VITA program recognizing the exceptional commitment of staff and volunteers.
	AmeriCorps NCCC Green 4 Team Getting Things Done - 2011 The AmeriCorps NCCC team assisted with the 2011 VITA tax program as well as with other City projects. The team completed 300 tax returns for the City's program and the Sacramento Coalition for Working Families. They took the lead with the MLK Day of service in January and supported the Parks Division staff in managing over 100 volunteers for the day. The team also refurbished 6 parks, cleared 5 acres of land of unwanted vegetation, cared for 1,750 trees, and removed 9,903 pounds of exotic vegetation. A portion of the team was also assigned to the Ethel Hart Senior Center and helped with special activities for the seniors. The group taught Wii, created a free "nail salon", discussed nutrition, sang karaoke, and served a nutritious lunch to the clients. Another portion of the team was assigned to the START after-school program and helped provide homework help and assistance with enrichment activities. More photos of the team in action can be found on: www.facebook.com/sacvolunteers
MLK Day 2011 Martin Luther King Junior Day is a national day of service celebrated throughout the United States. It is one of the largest service days of the year. This year over 100 volunteers of all ages joined together to help beautify Shasta Park. With their extra care the park sparkled and was ready to be enjoyed by the community.
	Sacramento Hotel Association Community Day Project - September 2010 The annual Sacramento Hotel Association's Community Day project is held each fall. For the past 4 years the association has partnered with the City of Sacramento and other agencies to coordinate projects benefiting many neighborhoods. Past projects have focused on South Natomas, Hagginwood and Southside Park. This year the hotel association chose Oak Park for their efforts. The teams assembled at the City's Oak Park Community Center for deployment to their many projects. Some assisted with beautifying the grounds of the Oak Park Community Center and deep-cleaning the interior, while others gathered in the multi-purpose room to sort the generous donations of clothing for the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services clothing closet and to make cards for the Birthday Magic parties for children in homeless shelters. Additional teams compiled resource materials and informational fliers for packets distributed in the neighborhood. Projects also included environmental stewardship at local schools and minor repairs for local non-profits. For their generous service to the community the Sacramento Hotel Association won the 2010 People Helping People Award from Community Link. Additional photos are included on: www.facebook.com/sacvolunteers
	Mormon Helping Hands Day - May 2010 Over 750 members of the LDS Church participated in the Mormon Helping Hands Day at William Land Park on May 8, 2010. The teams preserved 65 pathways, spread 25 yards of decorative bark and removed 10,500 pounds of plant clippings. In addition, a team of over 400 assisted in the Natomas area where they built beds for a community garden, and planted over 80 new trees as well as weeded and spread mulch. The community service day was part of a statewide effort by the church to renew and beautify city, county and state parks in California. Additional photos

Global Youth Service Day - April 2010 Over 300 volunteers participated in Global Youth Service Day, "14 Miles of Service". Members of AmeriCorps*NCCC served as team leaders and youth from area high schools and colleges joined in to make a "green" difference on that day. Global Youth Service Day is the largest volunteer event in the world. Sponsors of the event included Sierra Health Foundation and Wellpoint.


Senior Connect - The fourth Senior Connect event was held in March 2010 at the George Sim Community Center in Avondale/Glen Elder, previous events have been held at the Sam Pannell/Meadowview Community Center, Joe Mims/Hagginwood Community Center and the Oak Park Community Center. Senior Connect is a gathering of agencies providing services to seniors in these tough economic times, plus direct services such as free clothing, free bags of food, a free nutritious lunch, free hair styling and more. Also included at selected sites are free seminars on special topics such as fraud prevention and creditor-debtor issues. Over 300 seniors have attended these popular events. The planning team included the City's Volunteer Program, the City's Parks and Recreation Department, the Volunteer Center of Sacramento, Senior Legal Hotline, and Sacramento County's Senior Nutrition Services. Shown is Kelly, from AmeriCorps*NCCC Gold 2 Team helping at one of the events. The AmeriCorps team helped with set up and tear down, served lunch, distributed food and staffed the clothing closet. One of the team members commented, "I liked volunteering with Senior Connect because we got to help one on one with people who really needed it." Additional photos

Martin Luther King Day of Service 2010 This annual event in January is celebrated throughout the country as a national day of service. Locally efforts are coordinated in collaboration with Hands on Sacramento. This year City volunteers assisted at the Ethel Hart Senior Center with beautification projects and in City parks. Despite the rain, groups of volunteers diligently worked to enhance the beauty of two wonderful parks - McKinley Park and William Land Park - by spreading mulch, trimming, picking up debris and more.

Sacramento Hotel Association In October 2009, the association provided over 200 volunteers for it's annual community service day. This year the teams provided community revitalization efforts and donations to support the South Natomas Community Center and Park, South Natomas Library, Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center, Bannon Creek Elementary, a community garden and a clean-up along Garden Highway with Councilmember Ray Tretheway. Donations included books and clothing to support area seniors, adults and children. SHA Newsletter and Project Photos

Love Your Levee The Love Your Levee clean up involved youth and adults in an effort to care for the environment. Volunteers cleaned up along the levee and learned about the levee system from staff in the City's Utilities Department. Students from Kennedy and McClatchy High Schools joined in the effort along with members of the City of Sacramento's Youth Commission. Sponsored annually by Councilmember Robbie Waters, the program was held in May, 2009.

Teens Go Green! Youth and teens gathered in Natomas and Meadowview to support water and energy conservation and recycling. The teens heard presentations about conservation measures and went into the neighborhoods to gather pledges from residents to recycle and conserve energy. They also exchanged incandescent bulbs for energy efficient ones. The team gathering the most pledges won special prizes! This program was part of Global Youth Service Day in April, 2009 and was sponsored by the City of Sacramento's Office of Youth Development.


VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program was offered at 6 sites through the City of Sacramento in 2009. Volunteers train each year to help low-to-moderate income residents complete their income taxes at no charge. Shown at left are Bena, Pete, Matt and Bill. At right Mac helps a client. Volunteers not pictured included Chi, Rakesh, Leo, Greg, David, Verdia, Yuan, Gloria, Kathy, Bingwei and AmeriCorps *NCCC Gold 2 Team.


Alternative Spring Break - In March, a group of students, from Northwest Ministries at Clackamas College in Oregon, joined the City of Sacramento's volunteer team to help for their Alternative Spring Break. They assisted with several projects in our parks, along our bike trail, at the police academy, with our community partner, St. John's Shelter for Women and Children and participated in efforts to prepare the new homeless shelter annex at Cal Expo. The team not only helped in a variety of volunteer projects, but also learned first-hand about the complex issues surrounding homelessness in Sacramento. They also had an opportunity to be on-camera as part of the volunteer team making preparations for the shelter annex, and meet and talk with Mayor Kevin Johnson and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Thank you Beth, Suzanne, Cristina, Calvin and Matt for your service to our community.

Volunteers celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in many ways on the weekend of January 19, 2009. Caring volunteers assisted seniors to create warm scarves against the winter chill at Pioneer House as part of a program providing information and resources about disaster preparedness for seniors. The City's Office of Emergency Services provided extensive information about developing an emergency "to go" kit. Below are photos of volunteers helping at other City events for the weekend including Hart Senior Center, McKinley Park, and Oak Park Community Center where beautification efforts and environmental work were completed. Additional projects included a learning forum for START after-school students on the legacy of Dr. King.


The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in 2008 provided free tax preparation services to low-to-moderate income residents at 7 community centers. The program trained 40 individuals to assist with tax preparation including the AmeriCorpsNCCC team Silver 5 shown on the steps of the Crocker Art Museum. The AmeriCorpsNCCC team also organized a community resource fair. The City's award-winning VITA program was recognized by the IRS for exceptional community service through the volunteer return preparation program and by the Volunteer Center of Sacramento as the winner of the Spirit Award for Volunteer Group of the Year 2008.

National Family Volunteer Day, held on November 22, 2008 joined families and friends together to make holiday cards to accompany gifts provided to frail seniors through the Caring Neighborhoods Program and Eskaton TLC. In addition to families, Girl Scout troops, California Scholarship Federation students from McClatchy High School and Key Clubs from Mira Loma and West Campus lent their helping hands.


The Sacramento Hotel Association provided over 232 volunteers to enhance the Hagginwood neighborhood in September 2008. Volunteers cleaned the park and community center, planted flowers and trees and donated thousands of children’s and adult clothes for distribution at the community center’s family nights.


The City of Sacramento celebrated National Martin Luther King Jr. day in conjunction with Hands on Sacramento and other community groups in January 2008. Volunteers helped to deep clean the Hart Senior Center and the Oak Park Community Center. Additional volunteers spent time clearing debris from the Duck Pond at William Land Park. Volunteers also assisted with the distribution of information packets about free and low-cost City services.


National Family Volunteer Day provides families the opportunity to work together as a team to better their communities. On November 17, 2007 families and friends joined together to make holiday cards to accompany gifts provided to frail and shut-in seniors through the Caring Neighborhoods Program and Eskaton TLC. In addition to families, Girl Scout troops and sororities from California State University Sacramento and University of California, Davis joined in the fun.


The Sacramento Hotel Association in collaboration with the City of Sacramento, Hands on Sacramento and the Southside Park Neighborhood Association provided over 200 volunteers to enhance the Southside Park neighborhood. Volunteers painted amenities, cleared debris from the pond, cleaned the playground, mulched the community garden, painted over graffiti in the surrounding area, delivered informational packets, pruned shrubs, and painted addresses on the curbs for safety.


At the celebration of the Grand Re-opening of the Hite Park playground, volunteers spread new wood chips and planted new shade trees. This past May, the playground was destroyed by fire. After the re-dedication, residents were treated to a Family Fun Day and Health Fair at Prairie Elementary School which is located next to the park. During the fair, residents were able to sign-up for low or no-cost health insurance programs, health screenings, and register children for preschool and kindergarten.

Volunteers celebrated Earth Day along the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail with "14 Miles of Service". Community members planted ten valley oak trees, removed 2,000 non-native plants, and collected 8,647 pounds of debris. As a result of continuing stewardship of this area, volunteers are able to concentrate on the planting of new trees, nurturing young trees and roses, and removing invasive plant species.

Students and faculty from the University of Alabama arrived in Sacramento to serve the community for their Alternative Spring Break. The group volunteered for a variety of environmental projects for the Discovery Museum, the William Land Park WPA Rock Garden, Forest Services, Community Gardens and the Old Sacramento Living History Program. The group is pictured in front of the Fremont Community Garden. Alternative Breaks seek to use this experience as s springboard into lifelong active citizenship where the community becomes a priority in an individual's life decisions.

VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, is a project of the City of Sacramento in collaboration with the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board. Community volunteers train to assist citizens with their income taxes. This year the City hosted sites at the following community centers: Hart Senior Center, Robertson, George Sim, Oak Park and Pannell/ Meadowview. Volunteers who assisted at the Pannell/Meadowview Center included: Michael, Mary Lynn, Leo, Dung, Bill and John. Not pictured were Veronica and Shin.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service was celebrated January 15, 2007. The City of Sacramento participated as part of the community-wide service event. Volunteers beautified William Land Park, McKinley Park, the Pannell/Meadowview Community Center and the Hart Senior Center. Mayor Heather Fargo (photo below, left) thanked all the volunteers for their efforts. Volunteers tended the rose gardens at McKinley Park (photo below, right).


National Family Volunteer Day was celebrated by the Caring Neighborhoods Program on November 18, 2006. Families created hand-crafted holiday cards to accompany gifts provided for low-income and isolated senior citizens in our neighborhoods. Each year Caring Neighborhoods and Eskaton TLC program sponsor the Giving Tree project for over 400 seniors. Family volunteering strengthens families and encourages lifelong volunteers and a legacy of volunteering.


Over 500 volunteers from Home Depot (see photos below), AmeriCorps*NCCC, and the community participated in a project in Meadowview involving Hands on Sacramento, the City of Sacramento, and the Sacramento City Unified School District in September 2006. The volunteers planted 160 trees in local parks, stenciled 173 storm drains to prevent water pollution, delivered 1,200 resource packets, deep cleaned the community center, painted amenities, cleaned up illegal dump sites, created greeting cards for seniors, and spread 130 yards of bark at 3 parks.


The City of Sacramento collaborated with AmeriCorps*NCCC, Hands On Sacramento and the Sacramento City Unified School District to develop the Oak Park Neighborhood Enhancement Project, July 2006. Over 235 volunteers painted over graffiti (see photos below), planted trees, did yardwork for frail and isolated seniors, cleaned up parks and neighborhoods, deep cleaned the Oak Park Community Center, helped deep clean neighborhood schools as well as developed community gardens, distributed resource materials to residences, sorted donations and framed a house. VIEW SLIDE SHOW!


AmeriCorps*NCCC members clean up an illegal dump site as part of the Avondale/Glen Elder Neighborhood Enhancement Project, July 2005. The project was developed by the City of Sacramento's Parks and Recreation Department/Caring Neighborhoods Program and George Sim Community Center, Human Resources Department/Volunteer Services, Neighborhood Services Department and Councilmember Kevin McCarty. VIEW SLIDE SHOW!

Volunteers enhanced the Avondale/Glen Elder Neighborhood in a variety of ways: abating tagging and gang-related graffiti, stenciling storm drains to deter dumping of toxic chemicals into the water supply, improving two community gardens, providing improvements to the low-income housing complex at Kennedy Estates, and cleaning the George Sim Community Center. VIEW SLIDE SHOW!

AmeriCorpsNCCC members paint the home of a senior as part of the Avondale/Glen Elder Neighborhood Enhancement Project. Project sponsors included: AmeriCorpsNCCC, Citizens Acting Collectively, Inc., Container, U.S.A., Home Depot-Folsom Boulevard, Home Depot - Florin Road, Hastie's Capitol Sand and Gravel, InfoLine Sacramento, Councilmember Kevin McCarty, Redi-Gro Corporation, Rebuilding Together, and Tierra del Oro Girl Scout Council.

Volunteers serve in many programs. Volunteer Molly Kenneth (center) helps a member of the public fill out paperwork to have her dog vaccinated at a City Animal Care Services Free Pet Care Clinic.

Volunteer Stephanie Cyr introduces Cleo, a Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix, to a member of the public at the No More Homeless Pets Super Adoption Day.

De Dee Cornelius, Director of Oak Park Community Center presents "Top Giver" award to volunteer Leslie "Sarge" Thomas at the Sacramento City Council Meeting, September 21, 2004. Mr. Thomas has volunteered for the City of Sacramento for 25 years.

"Top Giver" Volunteer Judy Hodges accepts award at Sacramento City Council Meeting, September 21, 2004. Mrs. Hodges volunteers in the Caring Neighborhoods program and has helped organize a holiday food basket program and a health fair.