National Volunteer Week, April 15th through the 21st, is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to come together to tackle tough challenges, and build stronger, more resilient communities.
Each year, we take this time to recognize the people and organizations that inspire us to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who lend their time, talent and voice to make a difference in their communities.
The New Orleans Baby Cakes are celebrating United Way of Southeast Louisiana's Tricentennial Volunteerism efforts throughout our region. From individual acts of kindness to extraordinary team efforts, United Way of Southeast Louisiana and The New Orleans Baby Cakes recognize standout volunteers and companies for their dedication to building better, brighter futures for all. On April 17th, The New Orleans Baby Cakes will be hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Night where we will recognize and honor some of our top volunteerism companies, organizations, and individuals. Tune in to Facebook Live tomorrow prior to the game where we will announce our Top 5 Volunteer Organizations. 
In conjunction with the New Orleans Tricentennial, the 2018 NOLA Foundation and its Community Engagement Committee – in partnership with United Way of Southeast Louisiana, HandsOn New Orleans and NetWork Volunteers – is launching the city’s Tricentennial volunteer challenge, 300,000 Hours for the Next 300.
The challenge aims to engage residents and tourists through 300 unique volunteer projects to accumulate 300,000 hours of service over the course of 2018.
A year-long calendar of volunteer opportunities that are available in 2018 can be found here. The public can select from the projects listed and register online to participate. Members of all ages are invited to join in the challenge, as family-friendly projects will be offered throughout the year.
The Community Engagement Committee is still accepting submissions for service projects. Interested nonprofits can contact zoe@networknola.org for more information on project specifications and requirements.
Upon the successful completion of the challenge, 300,000 Hours for the Next 300 is estimated to generate more than $7.2 million in community impact over the course of 2018.
United Way’s HandsOn Volunteer Center is our region’s main resource for volunteering. We have a variety of programs, projects and resources to meet your needs. We connect people to quality opportunities to serve, build capacity for local volunteering, raise awareness of the value volunteers bring to our communities and mobilize volunteers to effectively and efficiently meet local needs.
Dont forget to share your volunteerism story and enter to win a pair of tickets to Jazz Fest!