Welcome to the Volunteer Gwinnett News, a new quarterly newsletter to help you stay informed about opportunities to volunteer, how to become a volunteer, and the work volunteers are doing in our community today.
Volunteers are an essential part of Gwinnett County Government and our community. Their selfless contributions ensure projects get done, improve lives, build bridges, save tax dollars, and keep us all vibrantly connected.
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We want to celebrate you!
Gwinnett’s Volunteer Appreciation Party
will be held
November 17 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
at the Isaac Adair House in Lawrenceville. To thank you for your dedicated service, join us at the Preservation Lawn for games, food, entertainment, kids’ activities, and more!
For additional details, click
here.
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Join local business owners at the Buford Arena on
Thursday, November 21 at 11:30am
as they honor and celebrate Gwinnett’s public safety heroes at the fourth annual Red, Blue and You celebration. This free community event will begin with a short honor ceremony followed by lunch for our heroes and their families. All public safety volunteers are encouraged to attend and participate in the festivities. To register, visit
www.redblueyou.org
.
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Q1 and Q2 Volunteer Impact
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Volunteers
: 35,801
Hours
: 524,953
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far in 2019! We’ve had many successful events, and we appreciate every person who contributes service to Gwinnett.
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Yellow River Trash Bash
This annual river clean-up was held on September 14 in partnership with the Yellow River Water Trail, Gwinnett Department of Water Resources, Gwinnett Parks and Recreation, and Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful. Across 16 sites, 135 volunteers removed 271 bags of trash, nine tires, construction road barrels, several shopping carts, a truck gas tank, dinette table and chairs, and a toilet equaling an estimated 6,020 pounds of trash!
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Park’nership Workday
Collins Hill Park benefited from a Park’nership Workday on August 17 in partnership with the Gwinnett Parks Foundation. More than 30 volunteers assisted by laying 12 pallets of river rock, picking up trash, and spreading new rock on existing trails.
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Clear the Shelters
For the second year in a row, Gwinnett Animal Welfare and Enforcement participated in the National Clear the Shelters event on August 17. Sponsored by NBC, this event is designed to find forever homes for shelter animals. More than 1,000 people visited the Gwinnett Animal Shelter, adopting 135 animals.
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AVI-SPL Workday
Employees from AVI-SPL, a Duluth-based company, volunteered at Bethesda Park Senior Center on August 16. The group helped clean inside the center and worked on beautification projects outside. Volunteers planted 25 new native beauty berries and removed non-native privet and Japanese honeysuckle.
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Nestle USA Lawrenceville Distribution Center Workday
Representatives from Nestle USA’s Lawrenceville Division volunteered at Freeman’s Mill Park on August 1. Volunteers planted 20 new native beauty berries to help boost pollinators in the park and removed non-native invasive privet species.
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BAPS Youth Leaders
More than 90 Youth Leaders of BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir volunteered at Harmony Grove Park on July 30 and 31. Volunteers spent two days freeing the retention pond of more than 400 pounds of trash and debris in addition to planting more than 120 native plants throughout the park.
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Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services spent the summer reaching out to communities alongside volunteers to create a safer and healthier county!
In May, a Liberty Heights subdivision located in Norcross was identified as an area in need of a smoke alarm blitz. Volunteers from Gwinnett’s Citizen Fire Academy Alumni Association, fire educators and firefighters canvassed the neighborhood, placing door hangers in multiple languages to announce the upcoming blitz. So far, more than 600 homes in the Liberty Heights area have had smoke detectors installed with an additional 200 homes scheduled for installation on October 19.
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CFAAA volunteers also assisted in three mini blitzes in areas serviced by Fire Stations 9 and 20. The locations were chosen based on data that showed an increased number of single-family dwelling fires. Each mini blitz was conducted over a three-day period during the weekdays between 4:00pm to 5:00pm in communities with 100 to150 homes. Just this summer, CFAAA volunteers provided 39 personnel and 130 service hours. They visited 910 homes, installing 365 smoke alarms and 97 carbon monoxide alarms.
Between June and August, volunteers from CFAAA, Fire Explorer Students, and the general public provided 1,354.25 volunteer hours and 147 personnel hours. Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services is extraordinarily proud of volunteers and humbled that they continuously offer their time to assist in creating a safe and healthy community for all Gwinnett residents. You can participate in the Gwinnett County Citizen’s Fire Academy by registering
here
.
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Did you know the Gwinnett Juvenile Court uses Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers? These trained community volunteers are appointed by a judge to advocate for an abused or neglected child during dependency proceedings. CASA volunteers advocate for each child to be placed in a safe, permanent home as quickly as possible. They make independent recommendations to the court for services that focus on meeting the needs of each child.
The main qualification to be a CASA volunteer is a sincere concern for children. A CASA volunteer must be at least 21 years old, have strong verbal and written communication skills, attend all court hearings, and commit to the program for at least one year (or until the child is placed in a permanent home.) To learn more about qualifications and to get involved, contact the CASA Advocacy Director at 770.619.6015. The Gwinnett Juvenile Court is located at 115 Stone Mountain Street in Lawrenceville.
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Gwinnett Employees in Action
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It’s a new school year and that means employees are volunteering at the Junior Achievement Discovery Center – Gwinnett each month, sharing their life experience while coaching small groups of students!
Junior Achievement recently recognized Gwinnett employees for their service and positive impact on future leaders. During the annual Breakfast of Champions, Gwinnett was recognized and awarded a 100 Club Award and Impact Award! The 100 Club Award is given to organizations who contributed more than 100 volunteers to JA of Georgia programs. The Impact Award is awarded to the top five organizations who brought the largest number of volunteers. During the 2018 – 2019 school year, Gwinnett sent 147 volunteers who impacted 1,651 sixth and eighth grade students, totaling 956 combined service hours.
We are grateful for our partnership with Junior Achievement and believe in the value the program provides to both students and employees!
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Volunteers for the Youth Diversion Program are an exciting, dynamic, diverse group who share a willingness to contribute their time and talent to working with at-risk youth. One of these volunteers has been serving as a panel member for 25 years! Since Mr. Bob Caldwell began volunteering as a YPD panel member in 1994, he has strengthened our community by leading 275 YDP conferences; encouraged 825 youth and families in need of support; and given 688 hours of kindness, compassion, and wisdom to youth in our community
Mr. Caldwell is not only a dedicated volunteer; he is also a devoted husband, father, grandfather. He has three sons, eight grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. He served in the U.S. Air Force and was recently honored with a
medal and commendation from the Korean consulate for his service during the Korean War.
He is a member of Snellville First Baptist and is grounded in his faith. Bob enjoys kayaking and watching sports and is an avid Georgia Tech fan. Those closest to Bob describe him as a kind and giving man with a great sense of humor.
YDP is privileged to have Mr. Caldwell as a volunteer. We thank him for 25 years of dedication to Gwinnett’s young people. More importantly, we value his giving heart and his selflessness and look forward to many more years of service with YDP.
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