Corona highlights volunteer program growth, logs 28,500 service hours valued near $1 million

Madeline Black, the city’s volunteer program coordinator, presented the City Council with a year-end update on the Volunteer Program, reporting increased recruitment and expanded placements across city departments.

Black said the city referred 1,175 volunteers to opportunities over the last year and placed 287 volunteers into longer-term roles across parks, animal services, senior centers and youth programming. "We're proud to say that we've referred 1,175 volunteers to our opportunities," she told the council. The program recorded roughly 28,500 volunteer hours, which Black and staff valued at about $991,500.

Black described operational changes: the city centralized volunteer recruitment, added its first part-time support position (Esmeralda Figueroa), introduced an online volunteer interest form, and emphasized recognition milestones (certificates at 100 hours and custom name tags at 500 hours). She also highlighted outreach and partnership activities including community cleanups, Crossroads Christian High School participation at Butterfield Park, and the Corona Beautiful calendar of events.

The council received the update and praised staff for winning an award from the California Parks and Recreation Society for excellence in community building. Black asked the council to "receive an update" and said staff are available for follow-up; no formal action was required.

Next steps: staff said they will continue to refine metrics; the volunteer office offered to provide further breakdowns of participant origin and program placements upon request.