Helping residents learn how to help out in their community was the point of the Volunteer Fair hosted by the Batavia Chamber of Commerce Tuesday afternoon.
The event at the Batavia Public Library featured over three dozen non-profit organizations looking for volunteers.
Kathryn Vance of Batavia said she has lived in town for more than 20 years and had just retired.
“I’m just looking. There are so many times I wanted to volunteer but I was still working,” she said at the four-hour event Tuesday. “Now, I don’t know exactly, but I’m kind of looking around. I want to work with children but I’m open. I’m going to take a quick look at everything.”
Nicolette Jensen, also of Batavia, said at the Volunteer Fair that “she just wanted to contribute somehow. I’m looking to find something that I’m interested in.”
“I do like seniors and I do like kids,” Jensen said. “There are a couple things I’ve already seen that I’m interested in, and there are several I’ve never heard of.”
Margaret Perreault, president and CEO of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce, said the fair was organized for the first time a year ago and it “was a great success.”
“Moving forward this year we heard from our not-for-profits that they really appreciated our Volunteer Fair by not only getting quality volunteers at food pantries and other places and also the visibility that we provided,” Perreault said.
A year ago, Perreault said that “a lot of one-time volunteer opportunities were popular” including service hours for students as well as “things like helping Mutual Ground … or volunteering and signing up on the Northern Illinois Food Bank website and knowing how to do that.”
“Those kinds of opportunities that most people aren’t aware of, that’s the kind of thing many of our not-for-profits appreciated,” she said about the Volunteer Fair.
Perreault said that Batavia residents want to give back to their city.
“People want to support our community and support the people here,” she said.
Cathy Madlinger, a board member of Batavia RSVP which offer rides for senior citizens, said last year’s fair drew about a dozen volunteers for the group.
“It was extremely important as we had a hiatus for three or four years due to COVID,” she said. “A lot of the not-for-profits in the Tri-City area were looking for volunteers and people are very generous with their time but don’t always know where to look. This gives them kind of a one-stop shop to show what’s available.”
Sharon Filiaggi of Batavia came to the Volunteer Fair on Tuesday because she is “looking to contribute to the community.”
“I’ve worked for non-profits before and working for them there are rewards. I’ve always enjoyed being involved in something that gives back to people and gives back to the community,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
