GTECH Super-Volunteer: Scott!

Building out projects like our Green Playces takes a lot of hard work.  If we had to it all ourselves, they’d never get done.  We love working with the users and neighbors of these spaces, but we also welcome volunteers from around Allegheny County (and beyond, if you like). One of these volunteers really stepped up for the build out of our Hill District Green Playce. He attended every one of our five build days and played a huge role in developing this amazing new greenspace.  Posing atop a telephone poll he just installed with his signature Pick-Mattock is GTECH super-volunteer: Scott.  We decided to ask him how he found out about us, and what kept him coming back:

How long have you lived in Pittsburgh?

A little over 1.5 years.

When did you start volunteering, and why?

I started volunteering with GTECH in October. I have been given a lot of opportunities in life and think it’s important to give back and help create opportunities for others to succeed. Before moving to Pittsburgh, my wife and I were active in our town’s volunteer ambulance corp in NY.

How did you find GTECH?

A few months after moving to Pittsburgh, my wife and I started looking for charities and non-profits in Pittsburgh that we could contribute to. I found GTECH on some website that listed and rated hundreds of such organizations in the city (I think it was greatnonprofits.org). I found several that sparked my interest but GTECH was set apart for me because it seemed like a great combination of my passion for environmental and land management issues while also helping people and communities.

What has been the best part about working on the Hill District Green Playce?

Definitely the last day where we had all the kids out installing the bench seats. Despite the cold, it was great seeing how enthusiastic they were about helping build the site. It literally put a face (or faces) on the meaning and importance of this kind of work.

How can we better reach out to other super volunteers like you?

First, thanks for calling me a super volunteer. Really, I’m just big and strong. I wish I had a good answer for you and I’ll give it more thought and let you know if I come up with anything. Have you ever tried marketing at the universities? Set up a booth at a career fair? Even if you are not offering employment, it’s a good way to attract interest or interns. I’ve worked a lot of career fairs and seen organizations do that. Reach out to corporations and see if they are interested in team-building days? When I worked in industry, I organized a Habitat for Humanity team-building day with my group of about 40 people.

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Do you have ideas about where we can find more super-volunteers like Scott?  Think you might be one yourself?  Please, reach out!

g.white@gtechstrategies.org