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Darcy Hughes

Darcy Hughes

Darcy Hughes is the Content & Storytelling Manager at VolunteerMatch.

Recent posts by Darcy Hughes

2 min read

5 easy ways to volunteer – virtually

By Darcy Hughes on November 23, 2022

With all the hustle and bustle of our modern lives, it can be easy to let our good intentions to volunteer fall by the wayside. Volunteering doesn’t have to feel like an extra task on your never-ending to-do list. From small tasks to larger projects, finding ways to get involved is easier than you might think.

Topics: virtual volunteering
5 min read

The Process was Magic: How a Creative, Skills-Based Volunteer Opportunity Became a Documentary Short

By Darcy Hughes on November 14, 2022

In 2020, Cedar Schimke, Executive Director of Slow Food Minnesota, posted an opportunity on VolunteerMatch, seeking creative volunteers to tell her organization's story. At the same time, filmmaker Kish Daniels was looking on VolunteerMatch for an engaging, skills-based project. He saw Cedar's posting and clicked the button, "I Want to Help," what came next was a project neither party could have expected.

Topics: inspiration local volunteering
3 min read

Planting the Seeds for Change during National Adult Education Week

By Darcy Hughes on September 22, 2022

This week is National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week and we want to show some #LocalLove to Literacy Minnesota, the only statewide, volunteer literacy organization in Minnesota. 

Sophie Phan, Volunteer Outreach Coordinator and volunteer for Literacy Minnesota, believes in English literacy as a powerful means to broaden educational and economic opportunities for immigrants and refugees in the United States. Sophie immigrated from Vietnam to Minnesota when she was five years old, grew up as a voracious reader, and believes in the power of stories to motivate and inspire.

Topics: inspiration Interview
3 min read

Senior Dogs Snuggle Up For International Dog Day

By Darcy Hughes on August 25, 2022

For this International Dog Day (August 26th) we want to spotlight Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary, a nonprofit dedicated to the mighty task of rescuing, caring for, and rehoming large breed senior dogs. Of the dogs who come to Lily’s, 80% are from shelters and, more often than not, have suffered neglect. The organization does thorough evaluations and treatments to get them adoption ready. 

Topics: inspiration local volunteering Stories from the Field
4 min read

“Feeding others feeds my soul” Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes

By Darcy Hughes on July 8, 2022

An interview with Rozene Pieri Enloe, a Community and Volunteer Outreach Coordinator with Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes— a community-based organization dedicated to alleviating hunger in Santa Cruz County, California.

  • 40% of those served by Loaves and Fishes are children
  • Homelessness in Santa Cruz County is 5x the national average
  • With only four full-time staff members, the nonprofit relies on volunteers
Topics: Stories from the Field
1 min read

The Road To Good

By Darcy Hughes on July 1, 2022

Compassion fatigue. We all know what it is, even if you haven’t heard the term before. The 24-hour news cycle brings, seemingly every day, previously unfathomable stories of devastation and destruction. Our hearts and minds were not made for it. The natural impulse to care can become exhausting.

Topics: inspiration
2 min read

Watch The Color of Care and Take Action

By Darcy Hughes on May 5, 2022

The Color of Care, from executive producer Oprah Winfrey, takes a hard look at the origins and ongoing disparities of embedded racism in our healthcare system. This timely documentary interweaves history, data and testimony from those who lost loved ones to COVID-19 and frontline medical workers in overwhelmed hospitals.

Topics: social justice civil rights advocacy Films
3 min read

5 Ways to Help Others on #MLK Day

By Darcy Hughes on January 13, 2022

Photo Credit: The Seattle Times

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”In the past two years, the need has been immense for every cause area: from food security to homelessness —education to mental health. Meanwhile, the threat of the virus has prevented volunteerism from returning to its pre-pandemic highs. This year, we can change that.

Topics: inspiration advocacy
2 min read

Our Top Blog Posts of 2021 to Inspire Your Community-Building Resolutions in 2022

By Darcy Hughes on December 30, 2021

This year, within our country and our communities, we have witnessed immense social challenges and incredible acts of kindness. Building kind, inclusive, and thriving communities is an intentional process that any individual can contribute to in a meaningful way. As you plan for the new year and make community-building resolutions, this list of our Top Blogs of 2021 can help inspire you.

Topics: inspiration
5 min read

Drum Roll Please! Announcing the 2021 #GiveTimeSweepstakes Winners.

By Darcy Hughes on December 27, 2021

As part of our givetime campaign with U.S. Bank, we are spotlighting a few of the nonprofit organizations that won free VolunteerMatch membership for a year. If you are looking for ways to give time now and into 2022, consider supporting one of these incredible causes. 

Plus, check out even more ideas at the end of the post!

Topics: csr