‘We wouldn’t exist without them’

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    GREENFIELD — One group was dedicated to serving county seniors. Another strives to give children a safe place to grieve. One, with a table tucked in the corner, aims to teach residents about emergency preparedness. And one brought two kittens for visitors to see.

    More than a dozen local organizations converged at the Hancock County Public Library on Tuesday during the 12th annual Hancock County Volunteer Fair.

    Conducted in conjunction with National Volunteer Week and sponsored by the Hancock County Public Library and United Way of Central Indiana, the event provided a one-stop shop where individuals and groups seeking ways to give back to the community could connect with one another.

    Many of the charities in attendance have few or no paid staff and rely on volunteers to keep their doors open and their missions strong. The annual fair gives groups a chance to share what they do in the community with folks who might want to help, officials said.

    A 2016 study on volunteerism in the United States found that a third of all Americans are involved in some sort of school, civic, recreational or religious organization, according to the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. The nearly 8 billion hours of work volunteers give to nonprofits across the country is valued at nearly $184 billion — money charities can invest in their communities instead of hiring staff, the corporation says.

    Hancock County nonprofits, like their counterparts across the nation, say volunteers are the heartbeat of their organizations.

    The Hope House Thrift Store, for example — which funds more than half of the costs to operate the Hope House, Hancock County’s only homeless shelter — has just one full-time employee and three part-time employees, manager Angie Lyon said. “The rest is volunteers, and they are a critical part of our operation,” she said. “We wouldn’t exist without them.”

    The 8,000-square-foot thrift store at 35 E. Pierson St., Greenfield, has plenty of opportunities for volunteers, from sorting donations to arranging items on the sale floor, Lyon said. She oversees volunteers of all ages who are seeking the service opportunity for a variety of reasons, including as part of a leadership role, as ordered by the court system or just because they want to give back to the community, she said.

    Tuesday, Lyon came to the volunteer fair looking for even more helping hands, telling perceptive volunteers that she’d look for them to commit to one-hour shifts at least twice a month, she said.

    The volunteer fair attracted people of all ages to the library’s conference room; teens, parents and seniors browsed the booths and picked up pamphlets.

    Kelly Shores of Greenfield brought her two children to the fair, where they were quickly enchanted by two gray-and-white kittens at the booth of Partners for Animal Welfare Society of Hancock County, or PAWS, a nonprofit animal shelter dedicated to finding homes for stray dogs and cats and helping prevent overpopulation.

    The all-volunteer group operates a small retail store and adoption center at 3141 W. U.S. 40, Greenfield, but regularly holds adoption events at the Greenfield Tractor Supply store, 1645 N. State St., and PetSmart, 2211 Barrett Drive.

    Shores and her family recently moved to the Greenfield area, and she wanted to find a way to get them all more involved in the community, she said. She saw information about the volunteer fair on the library’s social media pages and decided to stop by, since she and her son and daughter were already planning a visit, she said.

    She was looking for volunteer opportunities that her children could take part in alongside herself, she said.

    Prospective volunteers seemed particularly engaged at Tuesday’s event, said Jeannie Roberts, United Way of Central Indiana — Hancock County volunteer engagement coordinator. They were asking lots of questions and understanding of the commitment of volunteering for some organizations, she said.

    “We’ve had lots and lots of potential volunteers,” she said. “I’m feeling very pleased. Even if people walk in to the fair not knowing what their passion is, it doesn’t take them long to find it.”

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    “Even if people walk in to the fair not knowing what their passion is, it doesn’t take them long to find it.”

    — Jeannie Roberts, United Way of Central Indiana — Hancock County volunteer engagement coordinator

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