About Us
Becoming a volunteer is easy. Volunteer NWMI will connect you with a volunteer opportunity that makes a meaningful, rewarding change in your community. Build a house. Tutor a child. Care for abandoned pets. Build hiking trails. Lead a volunteer group. Join a nonprofit Board.
Register today and join us in making a difference!
Whether you are working, parenting, in school or retired, Volunteer NWMI and our partners offer you a variety of ways to get involved while meeting your schedule and interests. Volunteer for a one-time project. Volunteer for a few weeks. Volunteer after work or on the weekends. Volunteer alone, with family, friends or co-workers.
When you volunteer through us you join people from all backgrounds and experiences. You get a chance to explore issues that shape our community and develop your leadership and job skills. Get connected. Get more done. Have fun. You might even change the world!
In addition we also produce a monthly television show highlighting non-profit agencies in the five county area and the volunteers who serve them. To watch the current show, and past episodes, click here.
Mission
The mission of the Volunteer Center is to efficiently raise and effectively distribute volunteer resources to support area non-profits across the five counties we cover in Northwest Michigan. This region includes Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties. Our strategic vision is to significantly increase volunteer resources in the community by providing volunteer recruitment and connection services for the region, following sound business practices, affirmative community engagement, and meaningful collaborations with the public and private sector partners to mobilize volunteerism.
RSVP
Did you know that volunteering keeps you healthier, happier and more productive? The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, (RSVP), for anyone 55 or older connects people to meaningful volunteer assignments through the Volunteer Center at the United Way of Northwest Michigan. You can volunteer year round, seasonally, once in a while or start with one hour! RSVP members work with over 200 area nonprofit agencies, giving an average of 35,000 hours per year. Volunteering puts you in touch with new faces and new places, presents new challenges, and adds interest and meaning to your life. All you need is a desire to help. The Volunteer Center staff can assist you in finding just the right place to use your talents. Volunteering feels good. It's easy. And the benefits touch us all!
Tuesday Toolmen, a program under the RSVP umbrella, is an innovative volunteer program that helps low-income seniors in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties with home health and safety repairs. People assisted by Tuesday Toolmen are able to remain in their homes for a longer period of time thus preventing premature placement in a nursing home. Since the inception of the program, more than one hundred seniors have been assisted with small home repairs.
The Afghan Angel Project began in 2000, also through RSVP. Donations of yarn and the expertise of talented volunteers is the key to its success. Over the years, hundreds of beautiful afghans have been knitted or crocheted and distributed to medical care facilities in Northwest Michigan. To date 116 RSVP volunteers are registered with the Afghan Angel Project.
To join RSVP, or become involved in one of the above programs, please complete the RSVP application you can find here.
Youth and Family
Our Youth and Family Volunteerism initiative was launched in early 2007. This targeted effort recruits and enrolls young volunteers with the Volunteer Center. We work with area non-profit organizations to identify and define youth and family appropriate volunteer opportunities and involve local families in them. It has been proven that if a child begins volunteering while young that the trend will continue throughout their life, we at the United Way feels that it is vital to foster that need.