We’re partnering with National Processing Solutions (NPS) on a new form of fundraising which looks very promising. The basic idea is that when merchants sign on with NPS and VVCC, up to half of the credit card processing fees they pay NPS come to us to support the free services we provide. We anticipate that this format will provide regular, growing, monthly revenue, and will complement contributions from our strong donor base and expanding public and private grant funding.

You may be interested in joining our volunteer team to make brief presentations to local merchants. In our trial runs, presentations have been fun and merchants have been uniformly supportive. In fact, the only time we haven’t gotten a signup is when a merchant chooses to remain loyal to a different processing company. We’re looking for a half-day-per-week commitment from our volunteer team. If you’d like to know more, please call volunteer Jo Marco at 602 494-2722, and plan on attending an information session Friday, March 23rd or Friday the 30th from 2-3p in the conference room. And, please RSVP to Jo.

You’re invited! Please plan to join the conversation. All sessions are open to all volunteers – and all take place in our office conference on Van Deren. Just call or email to let us know you’re coming. See you then!

SRD 102

• Wednesday, March 28^th, 10a-noon
• Friday, April 20^th, 1-3p

Website 101

• Wednesday, April 11^th, 10a-noon

Pay Forward Information Session

• Friday, March 23^rd, 2-3p
• Friday, March 30^th, 2-3p

We invite you to join us for any or all of these learning opportunities. These introductory level sessions help volunteers understand what we do – and how we do it. Each learning event is designed to provide plenty of opportunity to interact and ask questions.

Service Request Desk 101

· Friday, March 2nd, 1-3p

Volunteer Orientation

· Thursday, March 15th, 10a-noon

Unless otherwise noted, all learning events take place in the conference room at our office in uptown Sedona.

Please RSVP – space is limited!

Maybe you’re new to this website stuff and just want to learn how to navigate this website so you can learn more about Verde Valley Caregivers.

Maybe you want to see available service requests and learn how to select and claim them.

Maybe you want to put your two sense in and learn how to comment on something you found here.

Join us for a customized tour. We’ll show you around the site and then answer your questions. Your session will be facilitated by the folks who developed and maintain the website and we are definitely a fun bunch!

We invite you to join us for any or all of these  learning opportunities. These introductory level sessions help volunteers understand what we do – and how we do it. Each learning event is designed to provide plenty of opportunity to interact and ask questions.

Website 101

· Wednesday, February 8th, 10a-noon

New Neighbor Interviewing 101

· Wednesday, February 15th, 10a-noon

Guardian Angel Program 101

· Wednesday, February 22nd, 10a-noon

Volunteer Orientation

· Thursday, February 16th, 10a-noon

Unless otherwise noted, all learning events take place in the conference room at our office in uptown Sedona.

Please RSVP – space is limited!

When a new neighbor contacts us, we take a bit of information over the phone and then assign a volunteer to visit. During this visit, the interviewer establishes a relationship, gathers additional information about the neighbor, and helps them understand what we do and how we do it.

New neighbor interviews take about an hour – more or less – and require a keen eye, an open ear, and a gentle touch.

As we move into the next generation of interviews, we plan to gradually expanding the interview to include observations about potential safety issues and other opportunities to be of service.

In New Neighbor Interviews 101, we’ll provide an overview of the process and review both the initial intake and interview forms. We’ll take a look at how we use this information in our CARE software system, and what questions we can and cannot ask. We’ll address issues such as confidentiality and other concerns our neighbors bring forward. And we’ll give an overview of the services we offer and ways to help our neighbors understand and request them.

At least once each month, usually the third Thursday from 10a – noon, we hold a volunteer orientation in our conference room at the office in uptown Sedona. It’s an opportunity to meet Kent Ellsworth, our Executive Director, and Roger Wyer, our Volunteer Coordinator.

Each session provides an overview and history of Verde Valley Caregivers, as well as context about how we fit into the community and the lives of those we serve. We review the kinds of service opportunities available to volunteers, and walk through what happens when a neighbor makes a service request and we match that request with a volunteer.

We provide a thorough packet of information and there’s plenty of time to ask questions. If you’d like to volunteer, it’s a good time to fill out the forms, including your interests and availability. We’ll also need your social security number and birth date in order to conduct a background check, and your driver’s license number and name of your insurance carrier to make sure you’re covered under our insurance policy.

At the conclusion of each orientation, we’ll take your photo for use in creating your badge. And, if you’d like, you can sign up for service at that time.

We try to make orientations informative, responsive, and fun. So, bring a friend!

Recently, it’s clear we’re taking too long to get through the new neighbor intake process and install a Guardian Angel unit consecutively. The number of new neighbors is increasing and it seems nearly all of them are asking for GAP.

In asking volunteers who conduct new neighbor interviews if they’d be willing to consider installing GAP units, we were delighted by the number of those showing interest.

So, we’re working on an in-service training for GAP installers. All volunteers are welcome – including anyone who has wondered about GAP or wanted a better understanding of this valuable service. For those interested in joining our team of installers, we’ll follow up with field training opportunities. Mike Flummer has volunteered to serve as trainer for this first in-service.

Check the event calender for the next date and time for this learning opportunity.