As in all the previous years, NCF couldn't have operated in 1999 without the contributions of our dedicated volunteers!
The office duties were carried out by 68 different individuals, including 26 people on placements for work experience in the office. In addition, we had two students on contract during the year working on projects through the office. Many of the volunteers go on to paid employment after spending time with us. Naturally, training all those new to the office is a never-ending challenge.
Web registrations continue to be done online by office volunteers, who then contact the new members to tell them their account number, and how to complete their registrations.
The office volunteers processed 2,521 new account registrations and 6,587 account renewals in 1999. These volunteers also process all donations, and over $300,000 was deposited during the year. Bell's "Call Answer" was added to the Office main phone line in July, ending the busy signals for all time! The system goes to voice mail when the phone is busy, and volunteers call in for messages even during the holidays.
Organizational accounts, which began in 1997, grew considerably this year, as all the VolNet accounts were added to the system, again with volunteer time. This was a major undertaking, as over 200 new accounts were created, directories set up for their web presence, and ftp arranged for the accounts.
Other volunteers working outside of the NCF Office provided training for new members at the St. Laurent Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, prepared web pages for Information Providers and "CapitalFind", which can be visited at http://www.ncf.ca/capitalfind and answered questions in the online Help Desk (ncf.admin), among other things. That newsgroup is a valuable resource for both old and new members to NCF, and serves as a central sharing point for information about our system. In addition, the office volunteers were involved in the Harvest Ride, processing both advance and day-of-event registrations, and of course the donation deposits.
Volunteer Recognition is important, and we again gathered at The Olde Forge for a Volunteer Appreciation pizza party in January. It was a great chance to meet other volunteers in person, and gave us a chance to discuss new opportunities with many volunteers. The Volunteer Hall of Fame is online at: http://www.ncf.ca/ncf/volunteer/hof.htm
I'd like to thank all the volunteers, especially the long-time office volunteers, for their dedication.
Sheila Alder
Office Manager
National Capital FreeNet
Feb/00
Office Webpage :
http://www.ncf.ca/ncf/office