Joanne Smith at first did not want to volunteer herself for this article about volunteering. But soon, she was freely offering her time to discuss a subject close to her heart.
“I feel I am the luckiest person in the world,” said Smith, a Jersey City native. “I have gotten to work with fabulous people, getting a chance to bond.”
“I feel I am the luckiest person in the world.” – Joanne Smith
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She is currently serving as an unpaid board member with the Friends of the Loew’s, the volunteer group that has helped manage and preserve the 80-year old Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Journal Square, and at Hudson Pride Connections, the Journal Square-based organization working with the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) population, especially with those who are HIV-positive. Smith also served as Hudson Pride’s paid executive director for many years.
Nowadays, Smith does temp work, which allows her to make a living and still have the flexibility to volunteer and help promote volunteering to the public.
How you can get involved
National Volunteer Week starts today (April 19) and runs until this coming Friday, April 25.
And this Thursday, April 23, a “Volunteer Service Expo” will be held at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre, 54 Journal Square, from noon to 8 p.m. The expo will include various social service agencies, healthcare agencies, youth services, faith-based organizations, theatre companies, arts groups, service clubs and others.
Smith is one of the organizers.
“When I was putting together the Expo, it was following what our President [Barack Obama] said about volunteering while he was running for office, and encouraging people to consider that as a way being involved in the community,” said Smith, who was also a volunteer on Obama’s presidential campaign.
Agencies represented
Among the agencies that will be represented at the Expo are: Hudson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates, which works with foster children), Jersey City Public Library Literacy Program, United Way of Hudson County, Hoboken University Medical Center, and even the 2010 Census.
Smith said if 25 to 30 agencies participate in the Expo, then it will make the event a success, but she hopes for more, because so many agencies and organizations are in need of volunteers.
Attendees will learn about potential volunteer opportunities that meet their interests, schedules, and skills. There will be a wealth of information about the agencies and their services, along with free giveaways. There will also be “speed volunteering” – hands-on activities that guests will accomplish right there, on-site, including assembling toiletry kits and youth arts and craft projects.
What may be in Smith’s favor, and the Expo’s, is the number of people who have taken up volunteering lately.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, in their Volunteering in the United States 2008 study, found about 61.8 million people ages 16 and over, or 26.4 percent of the U.S. population, volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2007 and September 2008.
The study also found that among employed persons, 28.9 percent of the 61.8 million volunteered during the year ending in September 2008. By comparison, 22.3 percent of unemployed persons and 22.2 percent of those not in the labor force volunteered. Also, male and female volunteers spent an average of 52 hours on volunteer activities during the period from September 2007 to September 2008.
Expo itself needs volunteers
During this time of layoffs, people may have more time to volunteer, but not everyone will take the time.
“My heart goes out to anyone who is trying to get a paycheck,” Smith said, “but hopefully people will be able to see this as a win-win situation.”
She also says that those interested who have never volunteered will have the opportunity to learn firsthand – the Expo itself needs volunteers.
The event is free to the public and to exhibitors. To offset the costs of producing the event, the organizers are seeking businesses and individuals who want to become Expo Sponsors.
Persons with questions, or who want more information about volunteering or sponsorships, can email joanne.vol.expo@gmail.com, or call (201) 988-1615.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.