"We are a VOLUNTEER-RUN organization. This is all on us. This is our organization and WE make it succeed or fail." —Susan Oven, RCMG volunteer
2022 Volunteering summary
Still aware of the impacts of COVID-19 in our communities, RCMG volunteers continue to adapt and find more ways to serve their community, both in-person and through online and at-home options. RCMG contributed over 18,000 hours of volunteer service in our communities and more than 4,100 hours of continuing education.
Year-Over-Year Comparisons
| 2022 | 2021 |
Participating Volunteers (Interns, Active, Active-Emeritus) | 303 | 257 |
Volunteer Service Hours | 18,042 | 15,300 |
Continuing Education Hours | 4,184 | 3,630 |
Opportunities & Challenges
Over the year, we spoke with volunteers, community partners, and the wider community. A few trends became apparent over the year, identifying some opportunities and challenges that RCMG can address in 2023 and beyond.
Opportunities
Increasing requests for youth activities from the community
More emphasis from Ramsey County on supporting community gardens
Huge interest in native plants expressed by shoppers at the RCMG plant sale
Challenges
Many activity shifts remained unfilled while volunteers struggle to find activities they can attend
Increase of "ghosting" from volunteers (defined as "a sudden withdrawal from all communication and without explanation")
Frustration expressed with finding shift substitutes
Photos of the Year
Volunteers shared photos from their many projects and events. These are becoming more and more valuable as we use them on the RCMG website, our social media pages, reports to partners, in stories to our community. Please continue to share your photos with us!
Expand the Headlines below to read more about what RCMG did in 2022.
Big changes happened all over RCMG last year.
New & Improved in 2022
RCMG volunteers continue to help grow and develop our local program. New educational events and volunteer service activities were developed.
Educational Events
Read more about these and other educational events below.
Tomato Tours (New)
Garden Gate Tours (Improved)
Volunteer Training (New)
Volunteer Service Activities
Read more about these and other volunteer service activities below.
Garden of Good Hearts (New)
Barn Garden Committee (Improved)
Frogtown Gardens (New)
Community Garden Housecalls (Improved)
Educational Garden on the State Fair Grounds (New)
Garden Gnomes (New)
Gopher Adventures (New)
Healing Gardens (New)
Organizational Services
Read more about these and other organization and program updates below.
Hybrid Monthly Meetings (Improved)
New laptop computers & AV tools (New)
Skills & interest survey (New)
Project Leader "Job" Description Template (Improved)
SignUp Genius Event Information Template (New)
Volunteer Concerns/Incident Report Form (New)
After-Project Review Template (New)
RCMG Volunteers & Achievements
Volunteer Service Activities
Educational Events
Organization & Program Updates