Volunteerism is what has made Greenville great. The future of our community is dependent upon the engagement of a large number of our creative community. This is where we need your help. One of the most important functions of Greenville Forward is to help Greenville's residents get involved and engaged in the community.... one hour or two at a time.

Greenville Volunteer Opportunities. We have created a listing of some of the non profit organizations and their volunteer needs.

Greenville Forward has many opportunities for engagements, and while many are not formal and structured, we are in the process of developing lists of volunteer opportunities.

Spend some time understanding where you are passionate and let us match these passions to the places where you can make the most difference. Review the focus areas and let us know where your passions lie. For more information about how you can get involved, contact Brock Koonce at 864.233.8443 or at bkoonce@greenvilleforward.com.

Hands On Greenville has volunteer opportunities every weekend and on most other days. You can volunteer for as much or as little time as you would like. They have a great interactive website where you can screen volunteer opportunities by interest and passion. Click here.

Also, HOG Day, the annual volunteer blowout in May. With all results tallied, this year’s HOG Day had 6,817 volunteers! Up 1,400 from last year. These volunteers collectively contributed 27,268 hours of volunteer sweat equity back into our community. The impact they have is truly priceless, but to give you some indication of the power of this year’s effort, those 27,268 hours of service represent an in-kind value of $550,813! Wow..

Greenville City Boards and Commissions. The City of Greenville also has many openings. (Click here)

Download an application for the City Boards and Commissions. It's easy and you can apply online. If applying for a board or commission, remember that many have special requirements and qualifications.

Greenville County Boards and Commissions

Go the link to see the openings for Greenville County Boards and Commissions. (Click here.) Currently there are lots of openings and opportunities. We recently sent out an e-mail with an application. Over 117 people applied for 48 open positions. Way to go.

Leadership Greenville is a 10 month program which teaches participants about Greenville and community engagement. Since Leadership Greenville began in 1973, there have been approximately 1,500 alumni who have been involved in almost every significant decision about the future of Greenville County. Many Leadership Greenville alumni have served in key positions, some of which include City Councils, County Council, School Board, members of Congress, and judges. Whenever you see people making a difference in Greenville, you might notice that their resume lists Leadership Greenville as one of their key activities.

Leadership Greenville is designed to help develop informed, committed and qualified leaders for Greenville County. By taking an intensive look into the issues affecting Greenville County, Leadership Greenville prepares and motivates participants to provide quality, dynamic leadership within the area. Participants are selected through an application process based upon their past involvement in the community and their ability to set and achieve high personal goals.

In it's 38th year, Leadership Greenville is the community's premier leadership program. Applications are due at 5:00 on June 1st of each year. Click on the following link for an overview of the program. Also, if you are a nonprofit, Leadership Greenville produces a few projects a year. Download the application.

The Greenville Chamber also offers several other leadership programs including:

• Opportunity Greenville is a four week short course orientation about Greenville.
  

• Youth Leadership Greenville program is offered exclusively to rising juniors in the Greenville County School District to provide insight into the community and leadership skills that will prepare them for future leadership roles.

Professionals United for Leadership and Social Interaction. Pulse meets a few times a month to engage our young professionals. Specifically created to help our 25 to 40 year olds get engaged, PULSE offers a meaningful way to get involved in the community and to meet other young professionals. PULSE has also launched a Pacesetters, a mentoring program to match young professionals with more "seasoned" professionals in Greenville.

Go to the PULSE website.

Diversity Leaders Initiative. South Carolina has always been a highly diverse state. Yet, for many of our citizens, being part of that diversity has been a considerable disadvantage. Historical racial divisions and cultural legacies have created deep divides that continue to challenge social and economic progress in South Carolina.

Recognizing an urgent need for diversity-related programming, the Riley Institute launched a unique program that encourages community leaders to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by the many facets of diversity in our state, including among others, differences in cultural background, language, gender, and physical ability. For more information about the Riley Institute diversity program, click here.

Leadership South Carolina. Greenville Forward's Executive Director and its Board Chair were in the 2009 graduating class of Leadership South Carolina, along with six other Greenvillians Leadership South Carolina.

Leadership South Carolina provides gifted and highly motivated South Carolinians an opportunity to advance their leadership qualities while broadening their understanding of issues facing the state. Each year, approximately 55 individuals are selected through a competitive process for participation in Leadership South Carolina.

Opportunities for personal growth include assessments of learning and leadership styles and how these styles interact with those of others. Class sessions include presentations, panels, experiential learning, and a great deal of interaction between class members and presenters.

Visit the Leadership South Carolina Facebook page. Click here. Applications are due on May 15. Visit the webpage and download an application. Click here.

Liberty Fellowship is a rich experience that allows young leaders to reflect on what it means to lead an exemplary life, both personally and professionally. Participants discover that values are at the heart of every decision leaders face, and that balancing conflicting beliefs while staying true to one's ideals is the mark of a great human being.

The Fellowship creates an experience and environment that foster values-based leadership. Values cannot be taught, but the capacity to lead others with purpose and conviction can be cultivated, and one’s innate inclination toward ethical leadership can be nurtured.

Those chosen to participate in the program understand success. They have finely-tuned managerial and technical skills. They are already in the top tier of performers at their organizations. They now seek to fully engage in the world around them by becoming more self-aware, self-correcting and self-fulfilling.

Liberty Fellows now in the midst of the two-year program will tell you that they are changed people. The program’s seminars, readings and projects allow them to broaden their perspectives while pursuing common ground with other real-world practitioners. They are given the time and tools to consider timeless ideas about what it means to lead in nonpartisan and unselfish ways. And they are afforded the unique opportunity to grapple with diverse perspectives in ways that unite and inspire.

Applications are due on February 1st.