Volunteer agency changes name

By William k. Alcorn

Affiliation with HandsOn will have a positive impact on the Mahoning Valley, its director says.

BOARDMAN — The Volunteer Services Agency has changed its name to HandsOn Volunteer Network of the Valley.

The change, effective Jan. 1, also involves affiliation with a national organization, HandsOn Volunteer Network, and expansion of the agency’s program and funding sources, said Virginia Leskanic, executive director.

The change came about after the Points of Light Foundation, with which VSA was affiliated for 24 years, along with Volunteer Center National Network, merged with HandsOn, Leskanic said Thursday at a press conference to introduce the new name.

Affiliation with HandsOn will have a positive impact on the Mahoning Valley in a number of ways, including the opportunity to apply for HandsOn grants, she said.

Leskanic said the local agency has a broader mission under HandsOn. Previously, the mission was strictly to mobilize volunteers. Now, it also includes transforming the community through volunteering and civic involvement.

“We’re no longer looking at volunteering as a transactional occurrence. Our work involves elevating critical thinking, engaging people in problem solving and understanding issues and promoting the leadership capacities of our volunteers and agency partners,” she said.

For example, VSA launched a board training and leadership development program, which under HandsOn will become more responsive by offering levels of training geared to a participant’s experience. Also, though VSA has long had youth volunteers, under HandsOn the agency has adopted a national model, Youth Volunteer Corps, under which youth will be encouraged, among other things, to develop a lifetime ethic of service.

Volunteer Services Agency had a budget of $360,000 in 2008. Funding sources include the Trumbull and Youngstown-Mahoning Valley United Way organization, a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Services, and foundation and individual contributions. The agency has four full-time and five part-time employees and two Volunteers In Service to America (VISTA) volunteers. The agency mobilized 7,000 volunteers last year.

HandsOn VNV has offices at 5500 Market St., Suite 106 in Boardman; the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University; and a satellite facility at Catholic Charities Regional Agency, 175 Laird Ave. N.E. in Warren.

People interested in the program can call (330) 782-5877 or visit the Web site at www.hovn.org.

alcorn@vindy.com