See below for a list of projects for our 6-month fellowship term starting March 10, 2025.

 

Host: Volunteer Center South Bay Harbor Long Beach
Region: Half Time
Openings: 1
Project Focus: Disaster Response and Preparedness / Emergency Management (e.g., flood prevention, wildfire prevention, coastal protection), Earthquake Preparedness and response
Skills Needed: Relationship Management, Research, Emergency Management, Volunteer Management,

Remote or On-Site Placement

On-site

Service Needs & Plans

The Volunteer Center has been mobilizing volunteers for 60 years but is in need of research and technical support to build up standard procedures and guidance to all partner agencies in times of disaster. We need operational/technical support better utilizing our salesforce based system (Hands On Connect) to streamline opportunities and volunteer engagement in preventative and post disaster matters. The fellow will help us gather best practice information and volunteer guidance around disaster response and build up our network and hub system to be prepared in advance.

Environmental: extreme weather events such as floods, earth quakes and wild fires have impacted Southern California in recent months. The land shift in Rancho Palos Verdes, ongoing earth quakes, and the recent wildfires have demonstrated the gaps in communication and hub centers that can mobilize volunteers and engage the community to support one another during times of disaster.

Project Description

The goal of this project is to prepare the Volunteer Center and the South Bay community specifically Torrance, Wilmington, Harbor Cities and Long Beach for volunteer activation and placement during times of disaster such as wildfires, floods and earth quakes.

The Fellow will support in creating an Emergency Response Guide for Volunteer Engagement around the four main categories (Wild Fires, Earth Quake, Landslides and Floods). They will also conduct outreach to likeminded organizations to build up the network and hub of volunteers, including engagement plan, streamline the volunteer management site (Salesforce/Hands On Connect), and recruit and train volunteer leads to support activation procedures in times of crisis.

Having the emergency gridline and response plan in place along with a network of organizations and community members willing to lead teams – the South Bay community will be able to quickly mobilize volunteers to support vulnerable populations and reduce communication and resource distribution barriers.

Desired Skills

Ideally the fellow will have a solid to excellent knowledge of Sales Force to utilize our Volunteer Management system (Hands on Connect/Salesforce).

Organization & Workplace Highlights

The Volunteer Center has been a vital and trusted partner in mobilizing support for those in need throughout the South Bay community. Our mission is to empower the community to practice empathy, spread kindness, and volunteer where care is needed most. For over 60 years, the Volunteer Center has been a trusted presence in the South Bay community for leading and administering programs that include Food for Kids, Operation Teddy Bear, the Court-Referred Community Service program, and youth support initiatives such as Impact Makers. The core of our work is not the programs alone but the creation of an umbrella of care with all of our efforts. Everything we do is designed to build empathy and resilience in our community through community service and volunteerism.

Our flagship programs provide resources not only for children and families in need of assistance but also for those with the means to assist. A hungry child from an under-resourced family who is nourished through our programs gains the ability to focus and study for a better future and learns that the community cares for them. A child whose parents engage them in volunteering learns to have empathy for the lives of others and to seek personal well-being and healing through service.

We strongly believe in centering BIPOC and youth voices to shape our program and leadership structure. As reflected in our leadership demographic attachment, 55% of our board of directors and 100% of our Senior Executives are BIPOC passionate about representing and serving historically marginalized communities. Our locations also offer bi-lingual restorative justice services in all four office locations throughout SPA 8 to remove language barriers.

Our mission is to empower the community to practice empathy, spread kindness, and volunteer where care is needed most. Empathy, Kindness, and Resilience serve as the cornerstones of our culture and who we strive to be in all of our actions. We believe the Volunteer Center is an excellent place for emerging leaders to practice the gift of empathy and engage with a dedicated team and thousands of volunteers that are making the community a stronger and whole.

Community Highlights

We are located in Service Planning Area (SPA) 8, which includes more than twenty communities in southwest Los Angeles County. In the service area, 36.7% of the population is Hispanic/Latino, 29.7% are White, 19.1% are Asian, 9.7% are Black/African American, and the remaining 4.8% are American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, other race/ethnicity, or multiple races (TMMH Health Needs Assessment, 2022).

We operate our Education Literacy Program in 60 elementary schools throughout the South Bay community, Food For Kids in 15 elementary schools, and Impact Makers in 22 high schools. The community and population we serve are diverse and vibrant. Our main office is in Torrance, which is a slice of a small-town city with a cozy feel (population of 145,000) right at the heart of Southern Los Angeles. Our center is close to the local hole-in-the-wall type of food places, art centers, and museums, and a few minutes drive to the beach. We also have another office in Long Beach, which provides its own unique experience; LB is a vibrant city of almost 500,000 residents with ports, beaches, cruises, and everything in between. The best part of all of this is the people. South Bay has some of the most welcoming and friendly people in city leadership, chambers, and local gatherings, which creates such a positive experience for all of us living and working in the area.