Some of us (we won’t name names) are old enough to remember when KISS came out with their hit song, “Detroit Rock City.” But Gene Simmons isn’t the only one that thinks Detroit rocks. As the lead singer says, “Get up, everybody’s gonna move their feet.” And that is exactly what our friends over at the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon have been doing.

In 1978 Neal Shine, the managing editor of the Detroit Free Press, watched the Falmouth Road Race and was overwhelmed by the event. He suggested that the newspaper sponsor a similar event in Detroit, where he knew such a race would benefit the city. And that was how things got (rock ‘n’) rolling, eventually growing into Michigan’s largest road race.

“We often like to refer to the third week in October as, ‘Detroit’s Marathon Weekend,’” says Leah Yanuszeski, Digital Director of the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon. “Meaning it’s not just an event for runners. It’s an event in Detroit, about Detroit, for Detroit.”

The marathon involves multiple distance events, including a marathon, half marathon, disabilities & relay divisions, 5k walk/run, and a Kids Fun Run. The course goes through many different neighborhoods, where residents come out to cheer and support the thousands of runners passing by. That foot traffic impacts the city economically, bringing in waves of athletes, family and friends to Detroit each year.

The all-encompassing event embraces participants not only from Michigan, but from across the globe. It also welcomes elite runners and casual walkers alike (it’s been called one of the 10 best events for first-time marathoners by Rodale Publishing). One of their secrets to managing that amount of activity? Volunteers.

Each year, the Detroit Marathon has over 3,500 of volunteers putting their best feet forward. And they’re all run through VolunteerLocal. “VolunteerLocal has kept our volunteer lists and information organized and handy,” says Yanuszeski. “It’s a great resource for our staff, and helps us to easily see how far along we are in recruiting volunteers each year.”

You might not be a fan of rock music, but few things rock harder than volunteers. Sign up to become a Detroit Marathon volunteer and get a free t-shirt, an invite to a post-race volunteer thank you party, plenty of free smiles and high-fives from the race participants, and more.

Photos courtesy of YouTube, Detroit Free Press, and Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon

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You might not know it, but a lot of great things have come out of Akron, Ohio. Oatmeal, the waffle ice cream cone, caramel corn, and the legendary hamburger are all said to have originated in the city. Even more impressive (and exponentially healthier): the Akron Marathon.

The Akron Marathon is a world-class race organization that puts on The Akron Children’s Hospital Akron Marathon Race Series. The three races in the series are The National Interstate 8k & 1 mile, The Goodyear Half Marathon & 10k, and the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Relay. The race was founded by avid runners Steve and Jeannine Marks. While traveling the country for various races and marathons, they noticed the need for a marathon in their area. Akron had a lot to offer and the founders knew that the community would embrace the opportunity to come together on the race track.

The marathon is widely known for its devoted and encouraging supporters. “We would never be able to give our runners the race experience they’ve come to know and love without the support of our community,” says Katie Kline, Project Manager for the Akron Marathon. “People come out at 7am to cheer on runners they’ve never met in their life and never will.” With 13,000 runners, 2,000 volunteers, and over 100,000 spectators, the race is a way to unify the community, promote health and fitness, stimulate the local economy, and benefit charitable organizations.

Before using VolunteerLocal, that community was managed by using a volunteer platform that was a shoot off of Akron Marathon’s runner registration platform. The platform worked but wasn’t easy to navigate and didn’t allow for volunteers to see or update their registration. “Since moving to VolunteerLocal, we have gotten so much positive feedback from our volunteers on how easy it is to register and view their profiles,” says Kline. “As the main user of VolunteerLocal for our organization, I cannot say enough nice things. The system is user friendly and intuitive.”

“I’ve been amazed at how much time VolunteerLocal has saved me over the last two years. I would absolutely recommend this system to anyone who manages large groups of volunteers.”

Feeling energized and ready to join the community? Find volunteer opportunities for the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon and more.

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Regardless of how much you know about reggae music, you definitely know about Bob Marley. And I think we can all agree that he knew what he was talking about when he said, “One love, one heart, let’s get together and feel alright.” Which is exactly what the Calgary Reggae Festival is all about.

The Calgary Reggae Festival was created in October 2003, when six Calgarians came together with the same vision – to increase the awareness of reggae music in Western Canada, and to provide an avenue where those tunes could be heard. The Calgarians came from all different backgrounds, such as DJ’s, broadcasters, promoters, musicians and event planners. They’ve been working ever since to educate the general public about the unifying power of reggae music.

That power is no joke. Since its creation, reggae music has influenced a range of people, cultures and lifestyles. The Calgary Reggae Festival gives this community the opportunity to connect, learn about and enjoy live music while providing artists the chance to share and spread the love. And love they do spread – this year the organization is donating several admission tickets to newcomer families, in hopes of allowing individuals who may not otherwise have the ability or means to attend the festival.

Another way this festival helps spread cheer? By using VolunteerLocal, instead of those pesky spreadsheets. When you’re recruiting over 150 volunteers, manually entering application forms into Excel is a pretty loveless job. “VolunteerLocal has saved us time and has helped us to focus on engaging volunteers in more meaningful ways,” says Liz Kehler, Volunteer Engagement Coordinator of the Calgary Reggae Festival. “I love the Export function, the ability to communicate to all or just specific groups, the dashboard for a quick overview of stats – there’s too many to list, it really covers all our needs!”

“VolunteerLocal organized everything for me beautifully, which is really what you want as a volunteer coordinator,” says Kehler.

Ready to join the community? Register to work at the beer garden, sell raffle tickets, get silly in the kids zone and more and become a one love volunteer today.

Photos courtesy of Calgary Reggae Festival

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Alright, so we’ve recently admitted we’re not fitness professionals. But that’s why we leave that to the experts – our awesome clients. And you know they’re a pro when it’s literally their first name.

canfitpro is the leading provider of fitness and wellness education. They work to empower people with fun and effective physical activity by delivering accessible and affordable fitness education. canfitpro was founded in 1993 as a voice for all fitness professionals. In the years since, the company has grown rapidly, with almost 100,000 members across Canada and over 25 countries. Now offering multiple certification designations, canfitpro has grown to not only be the largest provider of education in the Canadian fitness industry, but has also acquired the reputation as being one of the top fitness organizations in the world.

That spot at the top wouldn’t be possible without some helping hands. “Our largest event has over 400 volunteers,” says Tammy Lyle-Gravlev, Volunteer and Academy Experience Coordinator for canfitpro. Volunteers put their best foot forward assisting with the information booth, registration, IT consultation, social media and more.

Before using VolunteerLocal, canfitpro was using a paper application to manage those hundreds of volunteers, which then had to be manually entered. “It was a very time consuming process. Volunteerlocal has lightened my workload, which has allowed for the opportunity to focus on other projects,” says Lyle-Gravlev.

“The online database is easy to use, and gives our volunteers a lot more freedom in selecting shifts and jobs that they are interested in. They’ve been happy with the streamlined process. I would definitely recommend VolunteerLocal.”

Are you ready to be a pro? You can! Check out canfitpro’s fit-tastic upcoming events here.

Photos courtesy of canfitpro

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