makepositive's graduate consultants used their furlough time to volunteer their technical expertise to OnSide Youth Zones during the COVID-19 pandemic
As it’s the start of Volunteer Week here in the UK, makepositive wants to take this opportunity to acknowledge the amazing volunteer work undertaken by our graduate consultants during their time on furlough.
Our grads (Josh Hackett, Joseph Spratt, Adam Stone, Will Taylor, and Udit Makhia) volunteered their time and technical expertise with OnSide Youth Zones, a wonderful charity that provides young people from age 8 up through 19 (and up to 25 for individuals with disabilities) somewhere safe to go where they can occupy their minds and bodies with fun activities that help them learn new skills all while socializing in a safe and positive way. OnSide Youth Zones is there for young people who live in under privileged communities and who might otherwise be spending their free time alone at home or on the streets. If you would like to know more about OnSide Youth Zones and the incredibly important work they do please visit their website here.
Our graduate consultants decided to make the most of their time on furlough by volunteering to assist with OnSide Youth Zones’ implementation and completed the following features and configurations:
- A fundraising development custom build
- Executed a phone validation and data cleanse
- Assigned mentoring case flow
- Added File flow and quick action
- Updated the Member Search page loading behaviour
- Researched and created recommendations on Enhanced Notes
- Created recourses for exam prep
- Offered general advice and support for OnSide Youth Zones’ System Administrator
As their volunteering time came to a close, our grads received a lovely thank you message from the Onside Youth Zones’ Chief Executive Kathryn Morely who expressed her gratitude for the assistance they had provided. She emphasised how much their work will help OnSide Youth Zones continue to measure their impact, track engagement and support levels, and improve back office efficiency as they continue work on their mission to be there for every young person.
For their part, our grads expressed similar feelings of gratitude for the opportunity OnSide Youth Zones had provided for them. One of our grads, Joseph Spratt, described how much he valued the experience. His volunteering time, he said, gave him back a routine and the opportunity to continue working with his team, while also further honing his development skills and general technical knowledge all while on furlough.
COVID-19 has certainly presented us all with unprecedented challenges – but the case could be made that charities and not-for-profits are being hit particularly hard during this time of uncertainty. In light of this, we’re so proud of the work our graduate consultants did for OnSide Youth Zones and so proud that this was how they chose to use their time. We’re delighted that they’re now back and want to thank them for doing such a wonderful job and for representing makepositive and our company values so well!
Thank you grads and welcome back!