SPOTLIGHT: Carol Johnson
The contagious nature of volunteering
Carol Johnson and her husband Chuck bought a house and got married in Hermosa Beach in 1964. Their daughter is now a teacher in Hawthorne.
Now retired, Carol has spent a lot of time volunteering with Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) and other organizations. Being a “Conversation Companion” and engaging our community’s older adults through socializing has always been one of her areas of focus, but as Carol explained, “this used to be such a great way of brightening people’s day, including mine. Of course, over the past 18 months we haven’t been able to meet face-to-face, but still talk on the telephone.”
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Featured Volunteer Opportunities
If you’re interested in volunteering (getting back to it or taking the next step to volunteer) with BCHD, we have COVID-19 safety protocols in place for every role. See below for what’s currently available and please stay tuned to our newsletters and website as new opportunities arise! Please fill out our Volunteer Application at www.bchd.org/volunteer to pursue available volunteer roles. You can also email us at [email protected].
Vaccine Clinic Volunteer- Medical & Non-medical
We are in need of additional support for non-medical and medical roles at our youth COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Non-medical roles range from assisting with traffic flow and safety, to observing and helping fill out vaccine cards. Medical roles include vaccinators, vaccine mixers, and adverse reaction observers- medical credentials required for these roles. These clinics will specifically be held for kids ages 5-11 and will take place now - Dec 9. Shifts run Monday - Thursday 3 - 7 p.m. and on Saturdays 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (locations will vary throughout the three Beach Cities and no clinics will be held the week of Nov. 22) If you are interested in supporting us with these upcoming clinics, please complete the appropriate training on our Dashboard.
Once training is completed, an email will be sent to register for the "When I Work" scheduling platform. You will then be able to see and sign-up for available shifts.
Administrative Office Front Desk Volunteer- HIGH NEED
Our admin department is looking for volunteer help, including telephone coverage, screening of staff and visitors, periodic disinfection of shared spaces, mail and package distribution, badge making, supplies inventory, assembling packets and assisting with Help Desk Ticket tasks and projects. Weekly four-hour shift commitment on a regular basis is required.
Center for Health & Fitness Front Desk Volunteer
CHF is looking for volunteer support with screening members at the check-in table downstairs, ensuring members have read and signed the new COVID-19 Code of Conduct, reviewing verbal screening questions with members, taking and recording temperatures on a log sheet, assisting with cleaning equipment between reservations, and greeting members and directing them for proper gym entry and exit. Weekly commitment of three hours a week on a regular basis.
Center for Health & Fitness Outdoor Exercise Assistance
Additional volunteer help is needed at CHF with outdoor classes and check-in. Tasks include assisting with outdoor equipment set-up, checking members in on our software system and helping put equipment away. Various shifts are available. For more information and to sign-up, click and fill out the form here.
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BCHD Achieves Service Enterprise Recertification from Points of Light Institute
This month, BCHD was awarded Service Enterprise Recertification from Points of Light Institute. BCHD was originally certified with the agency in 2017.
A Service Enterprise is an organization that fundamentally leverages volunteers and their skills across all levels of the organization to successfully deliver on its social mission. Not only do they lead and manage their organizations better, but they are also significantly more adaptable, sustainable and better-resourced to do their work. Feedback received from Points of Light Institute regarding BCHD's volunteer operations stated that “with this certification, BCHD joins a prestigious group of nonprofits committed to effectively delivering on their mission by strategically engaging volunteer time and talent.” For more information, visit: http://www.pointsoflight.org/service-enterprise-initiative.
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Each holiday season since 1998, BCHD has led the Holiday Gift Bag project. Thanks to generous community members and organizations, we provide gift bags filled with practical and fun items to approximately 250 Beach Cities older adults and adults with disabilities in the BCHD Care Management program. Many of these individuals are homebound or live in isolation and the holidays can be a difficult and lonely time for them. These bags bring great joy to their holiday season.
2020 highlighted the need to be prepared for emergencies and we were able to provide an emergency kit backpack to each holiday gift bag recipient, which contains three days of essential supplies. For the 2021 holiday season, we will be providing approximately $3,700 in grocery gift cards to lower income individuals. We are also planning to provide stamps, a 2022 calendar, some snacks, hand sanitizer, holiday cards created by youth in our community and more.
Ways to Give: We need your help to continue this wonderful tradition.
Donate. In order to fund the Holiday Gift Bag project, we are seeking community donations. Donate $100 or more by December and you, your family or organization will be acknowledged on our website, in a local newspaper and in a letter that goes to all gift bag recipients.
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• BCHD staff and essential-service volunteers will be delivering bags. Current BCHD volunteers willing to follow BCHD COVID-19 safety protocols to deliver bags may sign up here. Space for this volunteer opportunity is limited and we may not be able to have everyone help.
• We are also looking for volunteers to help color and decorate holiday cards that will be inserted in each holiday gift bag. For more information and to participate, go to https://www.bchd.org/holidaygiftbags
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Recognizing Employees on International Volunteer Managers Day
November 5 marked the 21st Annual International Volunteer Managers Day. BCHD recognized 33 staff (and Volunteer Services Purpose Connector volunteers) that work closely with volunteers and/or supervise interns with words of thanks and a small token of appreciation.
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Meeting of the 2021 BCHD Volunteer Advisory Council
(Pictured L-R: Fred Manna, Kate Ekman (BCHD staff), Colleen Otash, Sue Brilliant, Jean Lucio, Paula Dobin, KC Christensen, Mary Drummer, Dennis Heck)
On October 28, the 2021 BCHD Volunteer Advisory Council met virtually with Acting Volunteer Services Supervisor Kate Ekman. The Council is helping us shape the volunteer experience and make it more relevant in the context of current and future community need. In this meeting, we discussed District events and programs, reviewed preliminary results of the Volunteer Opinion Survey for feedback in regard to improvement plans and talked about the upcoming holidays and our priority needs in terms of volunteer recruitment (see “Featured Opportunities” above). Learn more about our Council members here. Thank you to the Council for taking time to meet with our department to share your thoughts! Although the Council holds a special role and the Volunteer Opinion Survey is distributed annually, we desire feedback at any point from any volunteers! Feel free to reach out to [email protected] with any questions or thoughts you’d like to share.
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2021 Volunteer Hours
While volunteer support has changed with our continued adaptations due to COVID-19, we are so grateful for the commitment of our community to help others. Below is a capture of time reported in 2021. The numbers below indicate groceries shopped for, prescriptions picked up, calls made, Center for Health & Fitness front desk volunteer time, Free Fitness event volunteers, committees met, administrative support, intern projects, gardens kept, and more.
January: 1,314
February: 1,551
March: 3,402
April: 3,173
May: 2,566
June: 1,391
July: 1,580
August: 1,684
September: 1,554
October: 1,666
Total: 20,127
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Volunteer Anniversaries
Although many of you still are not back to actively volunteering in your usual roles right now, we are endlessly grateful for your commitment. The many collective years of efforts toward a healthy beach community from our volunteer corps is truly incredible. We are so glad for everyone’s support, time, and dedication.
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November
Jayne Glodowski, 13
Peggy Kramer, 9
Mary Jo Ford, 7
Denise Fucci, 7
Gina Ruben, 7
Kim Fukumoto, 3
Nancy Henderson, 2
*Official years of service in BCHD system.
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Virtual Social Hour with BCHD Care Manager Charlotte Barnett
With many senior centers closed and many older adults unable to socialize, we want to provide a space for people to talk, ask questions and share their experience during COVID-19. Join us if you want to learn more about community resources or BCHD, or if you just want to connect! Open to all.
First & Third Tuesday of the Month
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
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Virtual Mindfulness Drop-In
Take 30 minutes to downshift and practice mindfulness techniques. The guided session will be led by Carrie KersterCarrie Kerster a trained Beach Cities Health District instructor.
Wednesday, December 1
4 – 4:30 p.m.
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Virtual Happiness Chat
This is a casual discussion group with light-hearted activities to spark conversation. Share ideas, tips, resources, jokes, quotes – anything that supports our happiness!
Second Tuesday of the Month
(December 14)
12:30 – 1 p.m.
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