BROKEN BOW – The Broken Bow Public Library hosted its first-ever volunteer fair on June 21 from noon to 1 p.m.
During the hour-long volunteer fair, organizations set up booths where they could advertise the volunteers they need and explain to those that didn’t know what their non-profit does for the community.
Thirteen organizations signed up with 12 actually attending. The idea of the volunteer fair started in May of 2023 with the community forum hosted by the library. The goal of the library is to make the volunteer fair an annual event.
Megan Svoboda, Broken Bow Public Library Director, said that if the people are receptive to the idea, the library will continue to host the volunteer fair.
“The group of people at the forum said that this would be a great service that the library could provide for our community. We’re very excited. We’re just trying to make Broken Bow a better place.”
Stephanie Grafel, a representative of both Optimist International and Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce, was excited about this event because they love events that the library puts on.
Many of the organizations attending wanted to gain membership and present the projects they have going on. When talking to the representatives of the TeamMates organization, they said that the volunteer fair made them organize their thoughts and think about what they stood for as an organization and also what they need to do to continue.
Michelle Nelson, a representative of Rotary, agreed with the representatives from TeamMates and feels that this event gives them a chance to explain what people can do in their organization to help.
“A lot of people have maybe heard of Rotary, they don’t really know what it is, so this gave us a chance to sit down and explain to people what we do and what we’re about.”
Phil Sloat, a representative of the Lions Club, explained that the Lions Club is fairly well-known but they are still excited to get new members through the volunteer fair.
“It’s just a really good opportunity. We’re looking forward to any contacts we can make through this and new members.”
Overall, when speaking to all kinds of non-profit organizations they said that the volunteer fair is a great opportunity for them to get their name out and find people that are willing to put the time and effort into their organization.
