What is a Hands on Hartford Congregation?
Hands On Congregations are congregations of any religious faith or denomination in Greater Hartford that would like to become involved with volunteerism and civic engagement in a meaningful way through a partnership with Hands On Hartford.
Hands On Hartford works with Hands On Congregations to create, coordinate and manage team-based volunteer events. Congregants participate in these volunteer events with other members of their congregation or in conjunction with other congregations.
Hands On Congregations:
- Live their faith by bringing about positive change in the community.
- Serve our poor, ill, hungry, disabled, abused or educationally disadvantaged neighbors by engaging in the work of community organizations.
- Learn about the social issues they become engaged with as volunteers through service learning programs provided by Hands On Hartford.
- Integrate a call to action into congregational mission, worship and prayer.
Hands On Hartford offers an array of partnering possibilities to Hands On Congregations, ranging from coordinating and operating all aspects of a congregation’s comprehensive volunteer program to working with a congregation to conduct one annual volunteer event for its congregants. Examples of Hands On Congregations activities and events:
- Two congregants transport food from a warehouse to a food pantry one day every other week.
- 24 congregants serve lunch at a local soup kitchen one day a week on a rotating basis.
- 100 congregants assist with renovations at a residential AIDS program four Saturdays a year.
Benefits of Being a Hands On Congregation:
- Team Building
- Leadership Development
- Recruiting and Retention Tool
- Organizational Pride
- Positive Publicity
- Goodwill
- Expands Participant Horizons
- More Productive Volunteer Services
- Better management of large-scale engagement events.
- Greater Efficiency in Service Activities
- Strengthens Community
- Provides issue-centered educational and worship resources
