This incredible spirit of goodwill has not gone unnoticed by EWWBNA, so we are studying the possibility of creating a domestic focus, assisting local non-profit efforts in North America. The types of projects we are considering would not replace paid electrical workers, they would be projects that would not get done without EWWBNA support. There are countless needy non-profits that could benefit, and many IBEW locals in fact have been involved in such volunteer work for many decades.
Another concept we are exploring with our European partners is the construction of pre fab solar units that could be shipped to in-need communities in developing countries and reassembled by local electrical workers with EWWBNA guidance via on-line instruction. EWWBNA volunteers could build the units domestically and participate in the on-line training. EWWBNA would seek donations for the material and equipment to build the solar units and funding to cover shipping costs.
Best Practice Examples of Volunteering on Local Projects
Following a recent virtual (on-line) board meeting, we received a report from Phil Venoit, the Business Manager of IBEW Local 230 British Columbia, on recent volunteer efforts involving his members.
Through the non-profit organization HeroWork, Local 230 members transformed a former youth detention facility into a group home for at-risk, young men in need of a therapeutic community to break the vicious cycles of addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. The group home focuses on engendering healing and self-empowerment with the goal of the young men returning to society and leading productive lives. Twenty-five Local 230 members volunteered over 800 hours on this project.
On another project, again together with HeroWork, Local 230 members renovated and expanded the PEERS Resource Center, a multi-service grassroots agency assisting current and former sex workers. The Center provides an array of support services as well as education and employment training to over 600 annually in Victoria and on Vancouver Island. The Local 230 volunteers helped redesign and renovate the interior space and outside areas and resolved several safety and building code deficiencies. The effort included an upgraded electrical panel, new lighting, a fire/security alarm system, a new kitchen and dining area, new showers, expanded teaching areas and a nurse station.
EWWBNA applauds the goodwill and generosity of the Local 230 volunteers.
