Agenda - 04-01-2004-1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~ ~i- Compost bin sales a§sistants Bi-lingual volunteer m recycling education Student irrtems fors ecial projects Perforniers and facil'tators for senior programs Many of our human service departments also have "Friends" organizations that assist in advocacy and reso ee development, such as the Friends of the Library, Northern Orange Senior Center, andDepartment of Social Services. One notable and hig ly organized example is the county's award winning RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Pr gram) administered through the Department ou Aging that matches vohmteers who in 2Q02-2003 provided nearly 7,000 direct service hours in areas such as income tax assistan e, computer maintenance, special event coordination, reading partners, disaster pra~pazedness, and music programs for nursing homes- Another special end avor of the Health Department is the new Public Health Reserve Corps that includes olunteer nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, social workers, and IT techrricians ho have contributed their lime and expertise to staffing emergency shelters and suppo g the flu clinics and call centers. The Solid Waste Management Department also ha awell-organized and highly responsive group of student and adult volunteers who help support special events like Apple Chill, Festifal] Hog Day, and "student move-out" t selected multi-family sites, The preliminary st f model presented by County staff last fall proposed an Adoption, Foster Home and olunteer• Manager to manage and coordinate the animal adoption, foster care, volunte and related programs. A revised staff model could allow for even greater emphasis onl.the recruitment, training, and supervision of volunteers. In 2002, the Huma a Society of the ilnited States conducted a national survey of 289 animal shelters to ssess their volunteer efforts. About 90 of the respondents were municipal animal ontrol agencies. HSL1S found that the most successful programs did not waste the volunteer's time and had strong support and commitment through the administration and I'padership of the organization. (See summary of F><SUS survey results -Attachment B) County staff has al surveyed other shelters in the state that are county operated to learn more about their e rts to involve volunteers. The attached report highlights volunteer activities that iueludle dog walking, cat cage cleazring, greeting visitors, adoption assistance, web page editing, and special events, (See staff report o1~ county-run shelter volunteer programs -Attachment C)