AmeriCorp worker seeks to bring more volunteers to Desert Manna

BARSTOW • Margaret Graessle loves people and is no stranger to helping them.

As a Christian missionary, the Newberry Springs resident traveled to India three times, and has helped Hurricane Katrina victims. But as an AmeriCorp volunteer, working at Desert Manna Ministries is Graessle’s first experience with a non-profit.

“I was looking for a job different than substitute teaching,” she said, adding that her AmeriCorp commitment ends June 30, 2010. “When I looked at the job description it suited me. I was only interested in this one.”

Graessle, who began working at Desert Manna on Aug. 17, must put in a minimum of 1,700 hours of work before the end of June. She is tasked with bringing at least 50 more volunteers to the shelter, enabling it to provide services to 100 more clients. To do that, Graessle is determining how volunteer work can supplement work being done by the shelter’s staff. She will put together a database, which allows volunteers to keep track of their hours, she said. She is also developing a training program.

“We have a volunteer now who’s helping in the computer room,” Graessle said. “We’ll see how that works and maybe expand that and get another volunteer who can work with her or work at a different hour.”

Graessle came to Desert Manna because the shelter needed someone to help build its capacity to serve others, said Sheri Randolph, the shelter’s executive director. Randolph, who was in the process of applying for an AmeriCorp volunteer because Desert Manna doesn’t have the funding to hire any more staff members, received a message from Inland Empire United Way, who had hired 10 volunteers. Inland Empire United Way put out a notice to local non-profits, asking if they needed a volunteer.

Even though Graessle’s goal is to bring 50 more volunteers to Desert Manna, Randolph said 50 volunteers aren’t needed at the same time. There are volunteers who serve lunches and Desert Manna needs volunteers to unload the food trucks when they pass out commodities, but one thing the shelter is looking for is skilled volunteers such as attorneys and grant-writers.

“The point of (AmeriCorp) is it’s a specific need the agency has and that person’s going to do that,” Randolph said. “The other thing is it’s a way to get skilled volunteers. They don’t want (agencies) to get AmeriCorp volunteers and make them file or take out the trash.”

Graessle is only two months into AmeriCorp commitment for Desert Manna, but she already recruited 7 volunteers to help build and be on the shelter’s float for the Mardi Gras Parade last Saturday. She also plans to advertise the shelter’s need for more volunteers on the float, she said. She also says she may continue volunteering at Desert Manna past June 30, though she’ll need to find a job.

“Charity is love,” she said. “Giving help to those in need is a good thing. I definitely want to continue volunteering in some capacity.”

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com