From left, Pinal County Volunteer Center Director Sharon Stinard, Laurelie Brawley, and Judy Bory. Dolores Hamlin and Susan Fender are not in the photo. (Photo courtesy of Pinal County Independent Volunteer Center)

Looking for a way to provide support and expertise to local nonprofits? Our recently redesigned website makes it easy to match your talents and interests with local organizations that need them. became. Pinal County Volunteer Center, 195 E. Superstition Blvd. A non-profit 501(c)3 organization located at Apache Junction that, according to its organization, is a food bank, animal shelter, library, boys and girls club, museum, and senior center. , and others have compiled a list of organizations seeking volunteer assistance. website. Linda McAteer recalls looking for more volunteers earlier this year at the Apache Junction Food Bank, 575 N. Idaho Road Suite 701, Apache Junction. It was then that a friend of hers suggested she visit the Volunteer Center’s website, she said in her telephone interview. Ms. Makatya volunteers at a food bank and she serves as vice chairman of the board. While cruising the site, she came across several broken links, links pointing to inactive sites. She found that while some information was out of date, others could be better organized, she said. She also learned that the Volunteer Center was looking for someone with her computer skills to help update the site, so she contacted Sharon, who manages the Volunteer Center, to donate her services. Ms. McAteer, a retired teacher, said she has always worked with computers. She checked the center’s website and discussed its needs with Ms. Stinard, a founding member of the Board of Directors. McAteer then opted for a click-and-drag web hosting service that Stinad or her colleagues could update and maintain, she said. The site will allow volunteer centers to track online visits, a feature the previous site didn’t have, he said. The site also links users directly to her website for the organization, if one exists, allowing people to research their goals and needs. If you are interested in volunteering, you can contact the organization directly. The online service opened to the public on April 12, Stinard said. This replaces the Volunteer Center’s previous, more labor-intensive screening process. In an interview, Mr. Stinad said he had potential volunteers fill out a lengthy form, was then interviewed by Volunteer Center staff (who were also volunteers), and then met with the candidate if they did not specify an organization or agency. He said it included matching. The process can take an hour and a half to two hours to complete, Stinad said. This could also include background checks and fingerprinting, which are now being done by agencies considering potential volunteers, if needed, she said. At her busiest time in the early 2000s, the Volunteer Center had about five of her volunteers. Stinard said it was open seven days a week, Monday through Friday. Now that people can access the agency online, Ms. Stinard and the Volunteer Center board are performing administrative duties and overseeing the website as needed, she said. There are no regular office hours, she said. “We are an all-volunteer committee that helps volunteer centers find volunteers,” said Ms. Stinard. Stinard said that people volunteering in Pinal County don’t have to live in Pinal County, so having access to information online would simplify the search effort. To help potential volunteers consider travel time, McAteer updated the site to include the location of the organization and the areas it serves within Pinal County, if not obvious from the name. . Visitors to this site will immediately know that Against Abuse, Dorothy Powell Senior Adult Center and Harmony Hospice are based at Casa Her Grande. Most of the agencies are based in or near the Far East Valley. These also include independent bodies and local branches of national bodies. In addition to the aforementioned institutions, the list includes: Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce; Apache Junction Animal Care; Apache Connection Development Services; Apache Junction Food Bank; Apache Junction Horse Rescue; Arizona Social Justice Foundation Children and Youth Services, Maricopa. Arizona Supreme Court, Foster Care Review Board, throughout Pinal County. Casa Grande Valley Historical Society; Community Action Personnel Department, Pinal County-wide. Community Alliance Against Family Abuse throughout Pinal County. Office of Empowerment Systems, Apache Junction. Hope Volunteers Inc., throughout Pinal and Gila counties. Mountain Health and Wellness, Apache Junction. Pinal County Juvenile Court Services; Pinal Gila Community Child Services Inc. Local Fire and Rescue Department Inc.; Santan Valley Chamber of Commerce; Seeds of Hope, Casa Grande. Superstitious Regional Cultural Alliance, Northern Pinal County. Superstition Mountain Museum, Apache Junction. Pinal County United Way and Pinal County Volunteer Center, Apache Junction. Volunteer opportunities include short-term assignments, such as a few days, Stinad said. She said she has helped get people to work at the annual Lost Dutchman Days rodeo at Apache Junction the last weekend in February, as well as cleanup efforts. Lori Ownsby said in a phone interview that volunteer connections don’t always happen on the first try. She volunteered at an Apachejunction-based organization for about a year, but didn’t like the atmosphere in the office. When her friend told her she was going to help move the Superstition Mountain Museum from Goldfield Her Ghost Her Town to a new location at 4087 Her North Apache Trail at Apache Junction, she cooperated. decided to That was in 2002, she said, and she’s been volunteering at the museum ever since. The Apache Junction woman, now 88, volunteers in her four-hour shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. She also oversees the museum’s Thursday series of lectures during the winter, but lecture days require an extra four-hour shift, she said. She likes what she does, she said. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Ownsby. “I like the people I work with and the customers I meet. I like the camaraderie. She said many organizations are looking for volunteers to help after the warmer months because they are gone during the summer. McAteer said the Apache Junction Food Bank needs help unloading truck deliveries. According to Ownsby, the museum needs volunteers to help with general stores, museum shops, and greeters. For more information, visit her website at the Pinal County Volunteer Center or call 480-982-9353.