GetNvolved Evaluation Proves Value August, 2009 A survey of students and teachers at Menasha High school showed that the greater the use of GetNvolved®, the more likely people were to agree that “there are many opportunities in our community” and “it is easy to engage in service.” Anecdotal narratives and a small survey of nonprofits resulted in an average score of 8.0 on a scale of 1-to10 (with 10 being best) on the statement, “GetNvolved® is easy to use.” In the fall of 2008, 198 students and 68 teachers took the pretest. The post test was given to 187 students and 49 teachers. The average differences pre and post on the questions relating to opportunities in the community and ease of engagement for the entire population were 4% and 5%, respectively. But when attention was paid to those students that visited GetNvolved® more than 10 times and used it for record-keeping, the percentages jumped to 8% and 9%. Clearly, the system can increase the perception of opportunities and make it easier for students to connect with community agencies. This evaluation was conducted as part of the Sprint for Education Grant received in 2008 by Menasha High School. Nvolved, Inc., the company that provides GetNvolved®, conducted the evaluation with the help of Menasha High School. For more information, contact Paul Vidas, President of Nvolved, Inc.: paul.vidas@nvolved.com. January 2009 Asset Champion http://www.search-institute.org/hc-hy/initiative/getnvolved/asset/getnvolved 1/14/2009 January 2009 Asset Champion http://www.search-institute.org/hc-hy/initiative/getnvolved/asset/getnvolved 1/14/2009 GetNvolved Thanks to GetNvolved, organizing available service and volunteer opportunities and hours is much easier and more fulfilling for students and staff in three Wisconsin high schools this year. GetNvolved is an online program that connects schools, students, and volunteer agencies to serve all of them better.
Paul Vidas, creator of GetNvolved and president of Nvolved Inc., worked with youth and in nonprofit organizations for several years. When he saw the large percentage of youth who lacked Developmental Assets 7 and 8, “Community Values Youth” and “Youth as Resources,” he decided to move to the for-profit world. He created GetNvolved to help youth find opportunities to become involved in their communities and to show others in the community the great things that young people are doing.
Students involved with community service or service learning through can sign on to GetNvolved and browse through available service opportunities gathered from local agencies in need of volunteers. Students log their hours and comment on their experiences, and the nonprofits they serve with can comment back –which demonstrates to students that they are valued and have important roles in their communities.
Local agencies are able to post volunteer opportunities and have access to the program for free, but for a small fee they can access volunteer records, which include the number of volunteers and hours volunteered, as well as student comments and reflections about their experiences. They also get access to reports, student quotes, and narrative information.
Once students have been entered into the database, they can assign themselves to groups such as “National Honor Society” or “Student Government” and add service hours to each group as they complete them. Making each student accountable for entering his or her own info takes the burden off staff and puts the students in charge of their own records. The program does not allow duplication of hours, or counting the same completed hours for two different groups, and the student records are only visible to the teachers or advisors of the groups they are assigned to and to the nonprofits where they serve, not to other students or staff.
Teachers and staff working with service or service-learning components can then manage each group and send messages to students. Vidas is looking to implement a service-learning rubric on the site, allowing students to respond to prompts and teachers to evaluate the responses. He thinks the new rubric will make it easier for teachers to engage their students in service-learning because many of them do not have enough time or resources to take on entire projects on their own.
Menasha High School in Menasha, Wisconsin, used to have a full-time staff person to manage the community service opportunities and records. The school has a long history of service learning, and all students are required to complete a number of service hours each year. This year, they made the switch to use GetNvolved and are extremely pleased with the results.
Vidas finds his work is very uplifting. Every day he can read dialogue between youth and nonprofits about their experiences. He sees recognizing the good these young people are doing in the community as part of his role. One student won a youth award for volunteer service because adults she worked with became aware of the extent of her service through GetNvolved, and were then able to nominate her.
For groups up to one hundred (such as National Honor Society, Key Club, Student Government, and Service-Learning Class), the annual fee is $175. For groups of two-thousand or more, the annual fee is $995. GetNvolved has completed its pilot phases and is now available for distribution.
For more information contact Paul Vidas at paul.vidas@nvolved.com or (920) 257-9486 or visit www.nvolved.com. 
October 11, 2008
Program matches student volunteers with nonprofit groups
By Kate Baer
Post-Crescent staff writer APPLETON — Pairing student volunteers with much-needed local volunteer opportunities is what Paul Vidas was striving to do when he began Nvolved Inc. Vidas, a well-known name in the area nonprofit organizations, firmly believed in the positive benefits for the community and the students when volunteering gives way to learning through service. "These kids are the resources in our community," Vidas said. "It is vital that they feel a part of the community, and volunteering does that." Nvolved Inc. takes volunteers and volunteer opportunities and brings them together with software called GetNvolved, developed by Vidas and coordinated by the Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley. A student is able to log into the product Web site and look up hundreds volunteering opportunities. Each posting is accompanied by a description of what is needed, allowing students to make informed choices. The student can then choose a commitment and keep track of their hours with the software. On the other side, the organizations can e-mail Vidas or the Nvolved Inc. Web site to post their listings for students to see. Groups are notified of interested students immediately. Students also can receive feedback after volunteering for an event. According to Maggie Quigley, a chief organizer of the "Every Girl's A Princess" event that requires student volunteers, the software has made her job as an organizer much easier. For Quigley, the best part is having the ability to respond to the student volunteers through the Web site after the event. "It is great to be able to let them know how instrumental they were in the success of the event," said Quigley. "I have nothing but praise for this program." For students, the ability to track their service hours for school requirements or honor society, or college applications has become easier with the software. "It has made volunteering a whole lot easier," said Laura Berens, a sophomore student at Menasha High School. "Instead of a whole bunch of tiny pieces of paper, it is all right there." For Berens, the software has proved essential in keeping track of the more than 220 volunteer hours she has logged. Berens is just one of the hundreds of Menasha High School students becoming acquainted with the software after the school received a $5,000 grant from the Sprint Ahead for Education grant program through the Sprint foundation at Sprint, Nextel. "We have found it creates more opportunity, and the piloted groups from last year responded very well to the system," said Larry Haase, principal of Menasha High School. "Paul really listens to our counselors and the kids and he will adjust the system for the kids." While not all area schools require community service hours to graduate, Menasha High School requires 36 hours. "We've been a service learning leader school for a while," said Haase. "We strongly believe in service learning." With three area high schools using the software, Vidas plans on involving the community with his efforts. "This needs to be a collaborative, community-wide effort," he said.
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