January 2016 Volunteer eNews

MLK Day, 2015 Year In Review, spotlights

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January 2016

Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites

> IN THIS ISSUE: MLK Day of Service, 2015 by the numbers, assignment spotlights

BRM

Martin Luther King Day of Service January 18, 2016

Be sure to check our volunteer events calendar for upcoming service projects.  The winter has been relatively mild. It has been the perfect temperature to get out and do some good!

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Hosting Spotlights

Watson Mill

Watson Mill Bridge State Park

Campground Hosts and Equestrian Hosts needed at this beautiful park tucked away outside of Athens, Georgia.

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SAM shortline

SAM Shortline Excursion Train

Mechanical Host, Landscaping Host, and Car Hosts are still available for Spring 2016.

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hosts

Experience a New Location

We have hosting in the majority of our 63 parks and historic sites.  Let 2016 be the year you try a new location or a new time frame in a previous location. Our parks have unique beauty and 4 seasons to experience.

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2015 Year in Review

Campground Hosts

hosts

1774 applications processed in 2015


Community Volunteers

volunteer

305 applications processed

 


Corporate, School, Civic Groups

break
  • American Hiking Society at Black Rock Mountain State Park
  • Rivers Alive with the DNR Commissioner's office
  • Sweep The Hooch in conjunction with the National Park Service and Chattahoochee River Keepers
  • Austin Peay University Alternative Fall Break at James H Floyd State Park
  • University of Illinois, Chicago Alternative Winter Break at Magnolia Springs State Park
  • Fort Benning Rangers at Chattahoochee Bend State Park and FD Roosevelt State Park
  • Union Sportsmen at Hard Labor Creek State Park
  • Your State Parks Day with Friends of Georgia State Parks
  • ...and the countless other groups that worked directly with the park staff to put in hours of service over the year...

We thank you all!!

Year in Review

Logging Your Hours

Here is the website for more information on Volunteer Hours and how incentives are earned.

You can see how many hours you have recorded or were transferred over from 2014 by logging into your time sheet.http://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/timesheet

Using this neat Stats feature, you can see where you are in the overall documentation of hours for volunteers all over the state: https://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/stats

Thank you for your patience as we transitioned to this new tracking software. Your information is now accessible by you, park managers as well as myself. However, it is completely private and not accessible by anyone outside of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites. 

Volunteers Defined: We love and need them all!

Community Volunteers-Help on a day-to-day basis at a Park as they are available. Our community volunteers help with leading hikes, helping with maintenance, assisting with the visitor or retail center, guide new visitors to park activities and locations. Those volunteering more than once per month or planning to volunteer more than 20 hours per year need to update registration.

Hosts (Campground, Yurt, Maintenance, Golf, Train)-Stay in their personal RV at designated free Host Site for 2-6 months in exchange for a minimum of 24 hours of volunteer work.  Host duties include: visitor assistance and maintenance.  All hosts are required to update registration to still be considered for hosting.

Group Volunteers-This is for Churches, Corporations, Scouts and Universities who want a tailor-made project that will strengthen the group as individuals as well as a team morale while assisting Georgia State Parks. Only the group leader will need to be registered in our system.

How are we doing?

In order for Georgia State Parks to continue to thrive and grow, even in these lean budget times, we need to get feedback from those that utilize our services and Parks. As Volunteers and Hosts, you have the same rights and anonymity in park observations and feedback as our Park Staff.  Please use this quick survey form to share your experiences with us.

Thanks for reading!  Please feel free to share with others.  If you need to contact me, Georgia State Parks Volunteer Coordinator: nyleta.wallace@dnr.ga.gov

As always, thank you for being a steward for Georgia State Parks!

Have a great day!

Helpful Links:

eNews Archived - http://gastateparks.org/volunteer/news

Log your Hours - http://gastateparks.org/volunteer/hours

See your recorded hours - http://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/timesheet

Volunteer Hour Stats - https://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/stats