Davenport Volunteer Connection, Davenport, IA, USA

Welcome to the DVC! This page is dedicated to keeping you updated on volunteer opportunities within your community, as well as a place for you to share your unique volunteer experiences. Thank you for putting your passion into action!

The Davenport Volunteer Connection (DVC) is your one stop source for connecting volunteers and organizations in meaningful service. We invite you to "Put Your Passion in to Action" and learn how you can make a difference in your community.

The purpose of the DVC is to help the community connect to volunteer opportunities and to provide centralized volunteer recruitment and management for internal departments and community organizations.

The DVC has five core functions:
---Raise the profile of volunteerism in the community
---Increase the number and diversity of community volunteers
---Build the capacity of internal departments and local organizations to effectively involve volunteers
---Connect volunteers to meaningful service opportunities
---Develop a pool of emergency response volunteers

Programs and Initiatives:
***National Days of Service: The DVC will partner with the community to involve more volunteers and to expand our community impact!
---9-11 Day of Service and Remembrance - September 11, 2012
---Make A Difference Day- October 27, 2012
---Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service - January 21, 2013
---Global Youth Day of Service - April 26-28, 2013
***Youth Connect: A focus on youth leadership development and civic engagement through volunteerism
***Community-Wide Volunteer Recognition
***Volunteer Management Trainings
***Emergency Response Volunteer Program

History:
The City worked in partnership with the Davenport Community School District, Mississippi Valley Directors of Volunteers in Agencies, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, and United Way of the Quad Cities Area to pursue a Volunteer Generation Fund grant to establish a volunteer center.

Created by the Kennedy Serve America Act, the goals of the Volunteer Generation Fund grant are to 1) expand and improve the capacity of organizations to utilize volunteers; 2) spur innovation in volunteer recruitment and management practices, with the goal of increasing the number of volunteers; and 3) enable people to effect change by participating in active volunteer and citizen service. The City was awarded the grant in March 2011 making Davenport for the first and only municipality in Iowa to operate a volunteer center.