Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (February 22, 2021) – Through the last many years, the Volunteer Center of Door County has been dedicated to its mission of connecting people to volunteer opportunities which develop their skills, create a greater sense of community, and meet local non-profit needs. With hundreds of not-for-profit organizations in the Door County community, the need for volunteerism is great. A hub where local volunteer opportunities and non-profit information is kept, the Volunteer Center has been a place where all could come to find a way to get involved and make a difference. Countless community members and visitors, from elementary students to active seniors, have relied on the Volunteer Center to help them choose opportunities that align with their interests and goals. This mission has changed lives.
The Volunteer Center has been best known for the few programs it ran to foster a sense of community and build dedication to service. One of these programs was the Sunrise Ambassador program where adult volunteers lead and encourage young children to get involved in and get excited about giving back to their community. On a larger scale, the Volunteer Center held an annual event, the Golden Heart Awards, to celebrate and spotlight some of our community’s most active volunteers. Through its 18 years of hosting this event, known as the “Feel Good Event of the Year”, the Volunteer Center has gifted over $55,000 in donations to community non-profits to aid in the furthering of their missions, and provided more than $11,000 in scholarships to college-bound Door County graduates who dedicated their high school years to serving our community. The impact of this event has been incredible.
It is with a heavy heart that the Volunteer Center has made the difficult decision to close its doors effective immediately*. When the center began years ago as a Leadership Door County Initiative, it was in a time where many non-profits did not have a web presence. There was no consolidated place where a community member interested in volunteering could find opportunities which aligned with their goals, and there was great need for an organization to provide that – so the Volunteer Center was born. As the years have passed, most local not-for-profits have developed websites of their own to promote their opportunities and large-scale volunteer search engines have taken over matching volunteer interests to local not-for-profit initiatives. This, coupled with ongoing financial stress and staffing difficulty, has led the Board of Directors to cease operations of the Volunteer Center effective immediately.
Though the Volunteer Center will no longer exist as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the need to promote community engagement and recognize outstanding volunteers remains vital to our community. Our Board of Directors will continue to be advocates of promoting and stewarding volunteers in our community and invite you all to join us in that ongoing effort.
The Volunteer Center has appreciated the support of the Door County community through the years. We thank every donor, sponsor, and volunteer for the gifts of their time, talents and generosity. It has been a pleasure to be here and work toward making this community a better place for all.
Please direct any questions or concerns regarding the Volunteer Center status to the Board of Directors at (920) 746-7704.*The Volunteer Center is currently working within DFI and IRS regulations to begin the dissolution process and determine disbursement of organization assets in accordance with 501(c)(3) law.
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