There are many reasons a person might be interested in volunteering to work for the City of Dixon but Jody Worthy is hoping the number one reason might be to serve one’s community.
“This is how I can make a difference in my small town and I hope there are others who can help, too,” said Worthy, an American River College student who is spending her spring semester gaining work experience as the City of Dixon’s Volunteer Coordinator. Worthy has been trying to recruit seniors, retirees, or people who are out of work or anyone over 18 years old who want to help in the day-to-day operations of the city.
“We need clerical workers and people who can work in administration as much as we need workers in park maintenance or public works,” she said. “We have major ongoing needs.” Although she started the program several weeks ago, she’s had only a few takers.
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“I think people just don’t want to go through the process,” she said admitting that it can be a little daunting. There is the application, then an interview, then fingerprinting just as if the person was actually getting hired as paid staff but that is the requirement.
“I try to make it as easy as possible and if they call or come down here, I can walk them through it almost immediately,” she said. She works Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall.
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Worth had to go through even a more stringent process volunteering to work at the Dixon Teen Center but then decided teens “were not her cup of tea.” That’s when she decided to take on getting volunteers for the city as a school project for work experience credit at the community college.
Any volunteers will be thoroughly trained which people can use on a resume to get a permanent job in the future. The city is hoping to get at least a three to six month commitment from any volunteer but the hours can vary. While it cost $32 to get a fingerprint scan, Worthy said that amount is reimbursed to the volunteer after 30 days of work.
“We’ll basically take whatever hours they can give us,” said Worthy. For more detailed information and job descriptions, one can visit www.volunteersolano.org and look under the City of Dixon. Or, you can call Worthy at (707) 678-7000.
