Faith in Action of the Greater Kanawha Valley spends every day of the year serving the needs of the community’s older neighbors. Volunteers offer free rides to medical appointments, monthly grocery shopping assistance, friendly phone calls and outreach programs, and even work through their Honey Do Crews to help create a safe home environment by installing grab bars, handrails, and more.
The program’s volunteers have provided nearly 30,000 hours of service to seniors in need of a helping hand in Kanawha and Putnam counties. In turn, Faith in Action receives hundreds of applications from new care receivers every year. Simple math tells a complex story: adding new volunteers to their current roster to keep up with the needs of the community is the constant challenge faced by the organization.
“Even with 225+ volunteers on our current roster, it’s never enough,” said Executive Director, Jennifer Waggener. “Each of those volunteers participate in the way that fits their interests, their schedule, and their abilities. That flexibility is one of the key benefits of serving with our program.”
But that flexibility is also one of the key reasons the organization strives to reach out to as many different people in as many ways as possible to tell the story of the impact people make volunteering to assist an elder neighbor.
Toward that end, Faith in Action partnered with MotionMasters, an award-winning local video content producer, to develop an online training tool that makes “attending” a required training session accessible to nearly everyone.
“Faith in Action fills a big void in our community,” said Diana Sole Walko, president of
MotionMasters. “I know this firsthand, because the organization has been a friend to my mother-in-law, who is in her 90s. Our assignment was to produce engaging video content to help the organization grow and train its volunteer base. We couldn’t wait to get started.”
“The training is set up in three modules, between 9 and 15 minutes each,” said Waggener. “The prospective volunteer can take one module at a time or complete the whole thing when it’s convenient for them. On their lunch break, in the evenings while watching TV, while traveling…wherever, whenever.”
Faith in Action will continue to offer at least two in-person volunteer training sessions each month, believing that there’s nothing quite like being able to ask questions or start a discussion in the same room with the trainer. “But for those who have a tighter schedule or who want to get the training completed before they can attend an upcoming in-person event, this tool is perfect,” Waggener said.
To access the training, visit faithinactiongkv.com/volunteer. “You’ll need to enroll with your email address initially, which is very simple to do. Then you can just kick back, listen to the Faith in Action story, and learn how you can be an integral part of the work we are privileged to do every day,” said Waggener. “Spending a little time with a senior in need of a helping hand, neighbor to neighbor. What could be more rewarding?”