Hands On Greater Portland

Calendar Projects are “done in a day” projects created by your agency and supported by a Hands On trained project leader on the day of the event. Very popular among our volunteers, these projects are advertised through our Project Calendar, which allows for easy browsing and quick online registration. Because the Calendar represents Hands On Greater Portland's signature projects, we only accept projects that align with our Standards of Excellence and meet specific criteria (see below).

Referral Opportunities are created by your agency and advertised through the Hands On website's referral listing. Opportunities are often found through keyword, region, impact area, and other searches using the search box. When volunteers find a project they are interested in, they will be able to contact the agency directly to sign up or get additional information. From this point, the agency is in charge of initiating further communication with the volunteer; Hands On is no longer involved.

Calendar Projects:

DESIGN:

- Done-in-a-day (usually 2-4 hours)

- Group-based (minimum of 3 volunteers)

- Hands-on

- Volunteer activities directly serve Partner Agency mission

- No advance training aside from on-site training the day of the project.

- Partner agency has overall responsibility for managing the project: designing the project, arranging to have necessary tools or supplies, providing orientation and/or training to volunteers at the beginning of the project, and being present during the entire project.

TIMELINE:

- Posting must be received 3-6 weeks prior to the day of the project to allow time for volunteer sign-up and project leader recruitment.

- Volunteers register for the project directly through the Hands On website.

- Partners should contact Hands On project leader the week before project to confirm meeting place and volunteer numbers.

ON THE DAY OF:

- On the day of, Calendar project leadership is shared between the Agency Contact, who leads and supervises the work being done, and the Hands On Project Leader, who serves as a Hands On ambassador and helps manage the volunteers.

- Introduction/orientation before the project's start is lead by the agency contact.

- Wrap-up reflection at project’s end is lead by a Hands On Project Leader

Referral Opportunities:

DESIGN:

- Volunteer positions often require a long-term or on-going commitment

- Positions may call for specialized skills or advanced training

- Requests for single volunteers (as opposed to group projects)

- Almost anything that requires a background check

- Opportunities requiring less hands-on, mission-oriented tasks (e.g. mailings.)

- General fundraisers (e.g. walks, runs, gala dinners, etc.)

- One-time volunteer opportunities that may not meet the Standards of Excellence for Calendar projects

TIMELINE:

- Postings can be submitted at any

time, though the longer a posting is

up, the more opportunity there is for

volunteers to find it.

- Volunteers contact agency with

interest, after which it is the agency's

responsibility to follow up with more

information.

- Volunteer opportunities may be

posted for up to six months, at which

point the agency must renew

the posting by contacting Hands On.