University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

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  UB CORE's collaboration with nine nonprofit agencies will help match UB employees seeking volunteer opportunities in the community. Opportunities also are available through such groups as Neighbor to Neighbor/UB Paints, pictured above.

By SUE WUETCHER

Published: January 28, 2008

UB has revamped its UB CORE (Community OutReach for Employees) volunteerism program to make it easier for employees to serve the greater Western New York community.

The university has joined with nine nonprofit agencies in the community to help match UB faculty and staff with volunteer opportunities. The agencies range from the SPCA and Camp Good Days and Special Times to Buffalo ReUse and Read to Succeed Buffalo.

“As the second-largest employer in the area, especially in these difficult times, UB employees should play a larger role in providing community service to those in need,” says Katherine Frier, director of the Wellness and Work/Life Balance unit in University Human Resources.

Jennifer Bowen, assistant vice president for human resources, says Wellness and Work/Life Balance is working directly with these nine agencies to ensure that there are meaningful opportunities for faculty and staff to serve the community, as well as to better align UB CORE with the university’s larger public-service efforts built around the four major areas of economic development, pre-K-16 education, community impact, and health and wellness.

“We also wanted to make sure we had a diverse range of opportunities for volunteering beyond the main events we have traditionally participated in, like the Day of Caring, Ride for Roswell and the Linda Yalem Memorial Run,” Bowen says. “The goal was to identify service opportunities that related to our university community outreach efforts, but also provided a mix of large-scale events, as well as regularly occurring and occasional activities.”

Adds Frier: “We also had found that although people want to volunteer, in some cases they did not know how and where they could do so. By providing specific information about specific opportunities, we are fulfilling that need.”

Wellness and Work/Life Balance collaborated with UB’s Office of Community Relations to identify the best organizations that met all these objectives, then reached out to forge partnerships.

The result, Bowen says, is a “more well-rounded and diverse program in the newly expanded UB CORE.”

More than 100 UB employees have signed up to participate in UB CORE, Frier says.

She and Bowen note that UB CORE is an important part of the university’s ongoing Great Place to Work initiative.

“The work culture in a great place to work is built on trust, pride and camaraderie,” Bowen explains. “Giving our faculty and staff meaningful volunteer opportunities and the chance to do something good for the community alongside their coworkers is a great way to promote pride and camaraderie. Joining UB CORE lets employees connect with each other while making a difference in our surrounding communities.”

Frier agrees, noting that in addition to making a meaningful impact in the community, the opportunities provided by UB CORE offer employees “another way to get out of the office, meet each other and perhaps develop relationships with people with the same interests.”

She points out that many of the companies and organizations that are cited as being “great places to work” have a strong volunteer component that serves to boost morale and improve retention.

“The employees are proud to be serving as a part of a larger organizational effort and enjoy the opportunities that the group events provide,” she says.

Representatives of the nonprofit organizations working with UB CORE are thrilled to be partnering with the university.

Kerri Bentkowski, citizen action coordinator for Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, says the UB CORE partnership formalizes a longtime association between the organization and UB.

“UB is an important community stakeholder, a critical partner,” Bentkowski says, adding that many faculty, staff and students take part every year in the organization’s shoreline sweep.

Peggy Johnson, director of volunteers for the Buffalo City Mission and Cornerstone Manor, says the mission’s partnership with UB CORE helps the organization provide more services to its clients.

“We’re donation-based; we can only provide so many services. We rely heavily on volunteers,” she says, adding the mission is “blessed” to be partnering with UB.

UB CORE is organizing several large events during the spring and summer. Volunteers are needed for the Spring Shoreline Sweep with Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper on April 18, to staff the kitchen of the Friends of the Night People on April 30, for Brush-Up Buffalo on June 20 and for the Ride for Roswell on June 27.

Arrangements also are being made to build a house for Habitat for Humanity.