About Us

BUILDING A CULTURE OF VOLUNTEERISM AND SERVICE IN ULSTER COUNTY

In early 2009, a small group of committed volunteers launched UlsterCorps to bring other volunteers together with the organizations in Ulster County that rely on their help. Since its inception UlsterCorps has connected thousands of people with dozens of Ulster County agencies that provide food, clothing, shelter, emergency services, literacy training, child and elder care, animal welfare, and more to the area’s most vulnerable residents. UlsterCorps has become a vital, collaboration-building resource for nonprofit agencies, civic and religious organizations, businesses, schools, government and volunteers of all ages.

Since 2009, UlsterCorps volunteers have:

• Hosted an annual Service Summit which brings together over 70 community leaders from the nonprofit, business, higher education and governmental sectors to address the work and value of volunteerism and collaborative projects in Ulster County. The 2024 Summit focused on Service in Support of the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Action. More information about this and previous Service Summits can be found here. The Summit, which is free to participants, is part of the on-going work of UlsterCorps to deepen the knowledge about volunteerism and to find ways to strengthen a culture of service and collaboration in Ulster County;
• Built a dedicated corps of over 200 volunteers, our Glean Team, to assist the Farm to Food Pantry Collaborative led by the Rondout Valley Growers Association and Family of Woodstock. Starting in 2009, the group has gleaned, collected and distributed over 1,313,068 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to soup kitchens and food pantries in the county. In 2023, the collaborative collected over 127,896 lbs lbs. of produce from 23 donors and distributed it to 53 food pantries, shelters, and community meal programs in Ulster and surrounding counties.
• Served Together as the U-Team, an active and vital community of volunteers who serve as “first-call responders” for urgent events, projects and last minute community needs;
• Assisted other local non-profits through our Volunteer Coordination Team, a corps of volunteers who can help agencies coordinate short and long term events and assist with key aspects of volunteer management during a disaster, including operating a volunteer reception center, placing spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers, and inter-agency coordination;
• Collected and distributed new or gently used coats, suits, hats, mittens, holiday gifts and other agency wish list items for those in need in our community;
• Matched thousands of volunteers with service opportunities during National Days of Service, including Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service, I Love My Park Day, September 11 Day of Recognition and Service and throughout the year;
• Created an Online Database of 100+ agencies and their needs so volunteers can easily learn about available opportunities and how to connect with them;
• Developed and maintained both interactive and printed maps of volunteer opportunities, food pantries and soup kitchens, farms and farmers markets to help volunteers, and those in need of services, connect;
• Built a community of over 3900 individuals who subscribe to our monthly e-news of upcoming long and short term volunteer opportunities throughout Ulster County;
• Brought together and honored volunteers who give their time and energy to agencies throughout Ulster County at our Annual Celebration of Service

UlsterCorps initiates and supports creative collaborations that seek to educate, inspire, and explore causes and solutions to some of the challenges facing our community.