Greater Cleveland Volunteers

Greater Cleveland Volunteers (GCV) is dedicated to improving lives and strengthening the Greater Cleveland community through volunteerism and service.

The organization, known for years as the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (or RSVP), engaged adults age 55+ in volunteer service. Three years ago, facing increased demand for help and growing interest from younger individuals, the agency developed a new strategic plan, expanded its mission and changed its name to Greater Cleveland Volunteers.

Today, over 3,000 volunteers age 18+ assist at 195 sites of 135 local nonprofits, and hundreds of one-time only events. GCV members provide over 400,000 service hours annually to the community; time valued at $8.5 million.

United Way of Greater Cleveland provides GCV with funding to assist with volunteer recruitment, placement and development.  “United Way helps us help our partner organizations increase capacity by expanding their pool of volunteer help,” said Joy Banish, executive director of GCV. “We prescreen our volunteers to assess skill sets and interests, allowing us to match them to an organization’s specific needs.”

Finding the perfect fit
Sixty-nine-year-old Lena Nance worked as a neighborhood librarian for 34 years. When she retired, she wanted to maintain relationships she had with area businesses, community organizations and political leaders, and turned her attention to volunteering.

Lena knew of RSVP, but was not directly involved. Her awareness and interest in the organization was peaked when a GCV representative came to the hospital where she volunteers to talk about the benefits available to members.

GCV provides free insurance to its volunteers, covering travel time to and from assignments and time spent on-site doing volunteer work; along with excess liability insurance should a volunteer do something wrong or cause damage while on duty. GCV also keeps track of volunteer hours and recognizes volunteer service to the community.

These benefits were the icing on the cake for Lena, and she became a GCV member in 2004. Since then, GCV has connected her with additional opportunities to which she has contributed over 2,300 volunteer hours. She has received local and national recognition, including being named the GCV volunteer of the yea r in 2008.

About Greater Cleveland Volunteers
GCV recruits individuals age 18+ to volunteer at over 200 nonprofit health, human service, education and cultural organizations that help make Greater Cleveland even greater. To learn more about ongoing and special event volunteer opportunities, call 216-391-9500 or go to greaterclevelandvolunteers.org.

For more information about how you can help United Way continue to support hundreds of area programs and services, click here or call 216-436-2100.