National volunteer month - meet some of lccm's volunteers!

Did you know that 75.7 million Americans formally volunteered through organizations, contributing over 4.99 billion hours with an economic value of $167.2 billion in 2023?

Wow! What a huge number. To think that nearly 1 in 3 people have formally volunteered is staggering to me. But I guess it really should not be.

In FY 2023/2024, Lebanon County Christian Ministries benefited from 33,325 verified hours of volunteer time with an estimated value of over $900,000 of personnel cost. This is absolutely humbling
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In the 2024-2026 strategic plan, LCCM has made our volunteer engagement and management a priority. We have begun to invest in new ways and there is much more to come.

I enjoy the people! It is a very good and worthwhile thing to do – to be here at LCCM. This is a community, and we are all a part of it! Everyone benefits by being a part of LCCM and this community!
- Kathy

The first area we invested in is our engagement. First and foremost is getting to know you. While this might seem simple, it is a huge undertaking.

We have nearly 120 regular volunteers who touch the ministry on a regular basis.

As the director, I make it my mission to see you and be seen. Our leadership team of each pillar of our work is committed to working with our volunteers and helping each person identify an area they match well.

This might be working with guests in our market, receiving donations or sorting donations, preparing the noon meal, engaging our noon meal guests, or sleeping overnight at the shelter. Regardless of your role, we are glad you have chosen to spend time with us.
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Last year we hosted a couple of engagement opportunities as well. This included several “coffee and conversations” with Bryan. And last year we provided tickets to our volunteers for the Lancaster Stormers baseball game!

  
​“I volunteer at LCCM because I want to help my community. My husband and I volunteer together and when I missed a few days due to illness, I was sad. My husband would come home and share stories of the day, and I genuinely missed being here. I want people to know it is exciting to volunteer at LCCM. I get to be part of a community and help the community. I just love it!”

Another way we have invested in our volunteers is through our software program. This has been huge for LCCM. We now have a singular location to keep our volunteers’ contact information, electronically record hours worked, and complete reporting.
The communication element of the software is so important, and a major reason why is because of inclement weather. With one click of a button, our team can share a closure, late opening or early closing to everyone immediately.
In the past, this was almost impossible and there is nothing worse than a volunteer pushing through poor weather to just find our building locked and no one there.

​“(Volunteering) is a part of my Christian DNA that was passed to me by my parents. I was on a mission trip years ago. One day, I was frustrated because an older widow, who's house we were repairing, was obviously not being helped by her local family. That very evening, this was in part of my devotion.
I have found that God speaks loudest when I most need it. I volunteer at LCCM because it is locally focused and governed by Biblical principles regarding serving our neighbors’ spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.”

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We are also able to share about our fundraising events, and if you are a volunteer, keep your eye out for an upcoming volunteer event!

April 1st kicked off volunteer appreciation month. We want to simply say THANK YOU! We could not do this without you walking with us.
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The work we all do is not easy work. As a team, we often talk about this ministry work. My favorite line is, “if it was easy, everyone would do it. But it is hard, and you were picked and equipped to do it.” We do not only appreciate you in the month of April, but we also appreciate you every day!