Service Summit 2010

Stiles Najac, Food Security Coordinator for Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Doris Weber, Family of Woodstock, share ideas on fostering volunteerism during the UlsterCorps Service Summit. Photo: Nicci Cagan, From the Ground Up

SAVE THE DATE!
Second Annual UlsterCorps Service Summit
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
8:30am-Noon
SUNY New Paltz
Co-sponsored by the Center for Research,
Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO)

…

First Annual Service Summit
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
8:30am-Noon
SUNY New Paltz

Thank you so much to our Speakers, Sponsors, Volunteers & Participants!
Listen to Greg Fry’s report on the Summit on WAMC

Opening Remarks by Ulster County Executive Mike Hein
Closing Remarks by Marshall Beckman, Deputy County Executive

UlsterCorps is organizing a half-day Service Summit of representatives from the nonprofit, business, higher education and governmental sectors to address the state and value of volunteerism in Ulster County. The gathering will offer an opportunity to take a new look at volunteer service and how it enhances a greater degree of well-being and resiliency in our communities. At the Summit participants will be invited to explore collaborative efforts toward realizing more effective and expanded use of volunteers.

The agenda for the Summit will include a factual overview of the value and extent of volunteerism in Ulster County, begin to identify who are the volunteers (i.e., age, gender, skills background) and where they are providing service, and highlight examples of successful practices and obstacles to more effective engagement of volunteers. The information will be shared through a combination of speakers, panel and break-out group discussions. We plan to take initial steps toward a strategy to strengthen and further expand volunteer service in our communities including the role of inter-agency collaborative programming.

Erica Wagner, SUNY New Paltz, Rev. Duncan Burns, Angel Food East, Diane Reeder, Queens Galley, Sarah Urech, Oncology Support Program, and Victoria Langling, Markertek/Daily Bread Soup Kitchen at UlsterCorps Service Summit. Photo: Nicci Cagan, From the Ground Up

This is the first of what we plan will be an annual Service Summit that will foster the understandings, skills and collaborative networks necessary to more fully engage the considerable human capacity for service present in Ulster County. It is our intent that the information presented and insights gained from the presentations and exchanges will be of use to businesses interested in increasing their community involvement, service agencies working to use volunteers more effectively, and local governments in their efforts to strengthen the well-being of local communities. UlsterCorps will post on its website the information gathered and will continue its work to deepen the knowledge about volunteer community service in Ulster County. We plan to develop a resource databank on the state and value of volunteer service in the county, including practical examples of best practices and strategies to address obstacles to effective engagement of volunteers.

We believe that the notion of service work is important in our civic life and as individuals, family and community members. We plan to nurture a focus on the quality of service work and an appreciation for how our lives individually and collectively are enriched. We will address how to implement and grow a culture of service in Ulster County that is an integral part of daily life and that becomes as common and deliberate an activity as socializing, exercising or shopping.

Participants List
Evaluation Responses
Agency Survey Report
Volunteer Survey Report

Thank you to our Sponsors!