Lt. Governor Parkinson promotes Volunteer Kansas in Topeka

Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson will be in Topeka today to promote Volunteer Kansas, a new initiative encouraging Kansans to support their communities and neighbors through volunteer service.

Parkinson will be volunteering at Topeka’s Let’s Help, 200 S. Kansas Ave. at 11:30 a.m., with press availability at 12:30 p.m.

Let’s Help Inc. is a not-for-profit organization working to break the cycle of poverty and help individuals and families become self-sufficient.

“Every Kansan can make a major difference by serving others,” Parkinson said. “By reaching out and helping those around us, we can make a difference. That’s why community service and volunteering is important to me and to our state.”

Kansas was ranked fifth nationally in the Corporation for National and Community Service’s 2007 “Volunteering in America” report, while Kansas City was placed seventh in the group’s report on volunteering in America’s cities. “While that is great,” says Parkinson, “Kansas can still do better.”

To do that, Parkinson has made it easier for all Kansans to find service opportunities by compiling a list of those opportunities throughout the entire state and placing them in one location, www.volunteerkansas.ks.gov.

“By making it easier to find service opportunities, we can build on our already robust tradition of volunteering,” Parkinson said. “This ‘one-stop shop’ for finding volunteering options will continue to grow, and in doing so we will be able to reach out to more Kansans in different parts of the state.”

Volunteer Kansas will highlight some of the state’s most effective and beneficial programs and services – efforts that don’t always get the credit they deserve.

“Promoting some of the unheralded angels of our state will bring attention and support to some of the best non-profit and other service organizations that Kansas has to offer,” Parkinson said. “In addition to encouraging more Kansans to volunteer, hopefully this increased attention will lead to more organizations reaching out to more people while offering more and better services.

“Kansas is full of compassionate people, and we pride ourselves on our positive and caring attitudes. We do a great job of helping out our neighbors, but we can always do more.”

If you would like your organization listed in the database, please visit the Volunteer Kansas web site.

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