MEMPHIS — Barbara Andrews, a preschool teacher at Kiddie Kollege Child Care Center in Memphis, requested additional volunteers to support understaffed classrooms. The center, a predominantly Black preschool located in the Castalia Heights neighborhood, operates with limited resources for public outreach.

Andrews noted the disparity in publicity resources and detailed the current staff-to-child ratio. "We don't have the media budget like larger nonprofits to let the public know we need volunteers," she said. "Pretty much any small nonprofit like ours needs hands on deck." She added, "We may have 30 children in a classroom and three teachers." William Anderson, former president of the LeMoyne-Owen College Alumni Association, participated in Dr. Seuss Wacky Wednesday activities at the center.

A 2023 report from the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland, titled "The State of Volunteer Engagement: Insights From Nonprofit Leaders and Funders," indicated that close to 70% of nonprofit chief executives believe volunteers provide "more detailed attention to the people served." Debra Brown, a volunteer coordinator, recruits, trains, and assigns volunteers for community projects with organizations such as the NAACP and the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis. Brown, who previously managed community engagement and volunteer coordination at Vitalant, commented on the intrinsic rewards of volunteering. "Sometimes volunteer opportunities don't come with tangible gifts, but they offer the chance to do meaningful work and support causes that matter most to you," she said.