Hands On San Diego 2008 is just around the corner – September 22-28! In order to participate, please submit your volunteer project proposals no later than June 13, 2008. Hands On San Diego is Volunteer San Diego’s annual week-long service event that mobilizes thousands of volunteers from corporate teams, military, school, church and family groups to strengthen their communities.

Last year, 100 projects were completed and we would like to top that figure this year! The event was a great success and we received wonderful responses from agencies, including: “[the volunteers] were awesome with their hard work and enthusiasm! We could not have had a better team of volunteers to build our walkway!” and “This was my first time working with Hands On San Diego and I enjoyed every minute. People [at Volunteer San Diego] were helpful, friendly and we got FABULOUS volunteers!”

Here is just some of what those volunteers accomplished last year:
5,200 meals were served to youth, homeless and senior citizens
2,000 library books were re-shelved
595 bags of trash and non-native plants were removed from beaches and canyons
200 youth were tutored
16 buildings were painted
6 landscaping projects were finished
1 school got an extreme makeover

We anticipate more participants and more great accomplishments this year, but the success of the event depends very much on when, where and how the volunteers are needed. That’s where you come in!

For those of you who have worked with us for years, we have noted volunteer feedback and made a few changes this year!

• In order to encourage more volunteer participation and make volunteering in this event even easier, projects should be scheduled for a specific date and time. We are primarily looking for these date/time-specific projects where individuals or groups can just “sign up and show up,” without needing to coordinate additional logistics. These projects should be scheduled for September 22-28th. We will still accept a smaller number of projects that can be adopted by groups, as in years past, and completed during the month of September.
  
• We have found that more and more people and groups are not able to coordinate and provide supplies, so please be prepared to provide the supplies necessary for your projects!
  
• Collection drives will not be a part of HOSD this year. We will continue to promote your drives and wish lists, as needed, during the holiday season. In past years, we have found that more drives are adopted during the holidays than the Hands On San Diego event.

• Project Proposal Form
  
• How to Submit a Winning Proposal - tips & list of project ideas
  
• Project Checklist