June 2, 2018

I have been wanting to attend Voly in the Park for several years to learn more about nonprofit organizations in my community. This year, I signed on to volunteer at the event, held June 2, in Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. Voly in the Park is an amazing festival dedicated to volunteerism. This year’s event, the fifth annual, featured 75 nonprofit agencies, hands-on volunteer projects, and live entertainment.

The festival showcased VolunteerNow’s proprietary online volunteer matching program, VOLY.org, which connects volunteers with more than 1,000 North Texas nonprofits and 900+ volunteer opportunities.

Area nonprofits represented a variety of causes, including animals, health and human services, hunger relief, environmentalism, and education, among others. Local groups performed on the stage throughout the afternoon, while potential volunteers strolled the grounds—learning more about the organizations represented, collecting information, and signing up to volunteer.

As an Agency Advocacy Team volunteer, I helped nonprofits get settled into their booths and made sure they had everything they needed to be successful. I then checked on them throughout the event. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to connect with friends at those agencies where I had previously volunteered, and to get to know many new ones.

I visited with representatives from all of the organizations as I went from booth to booth. Once my shift was over, I collected literature on numerous opportunities and signed up for several mailing lists. I have already signed on to volunteer at several of these organizations and hope to get more scheduled soon.

I feel fortunate to have been a part of this event, and encourage everyone to take advantage of this amazing opportunity next year!