VolunteerLocal

Dirty Girl Mud Run

kaylee@volunteerlocal.com

It’s a dirty girl nation.

Mud, sweat, tears, obstacles…and empowerment.

Photo cred: Dirty Girl Mud Run

For the past three years Dirty Girl Mud Run has left a pretty empowering trail across 25 cities in the United States. The women-only, non-competitive 5K run (complete with mud pits, rope ladders and slides), is a partner organization to the nonprofit Bright Pink which provides support for women who have been affected or are at-risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

With 25 events across the nation, and more than 100,000 participants conquering 12 obstacles, all while managing 10,000+ volunteers – a more streamlined process that balanced differentiating markets and a consistent brand image became a necessity. Luckily, Dirty Girl’s Operations Manager, Mindy McPherson, recognized the need for a technology solution right away and set to work on finding the right provider.

“(I) was researching other events to see what people needed and how they managed volunteers, VolunteerLocal just seemed to fit the bill,” says McPherson. “VolunteerLocal gives us the opportunity to manage the program according to our own needs, versus managing multiple spreadsheets.”

Photo cred: Dirty Girl Mud Run

Unlike many 5K runs, Dirty Girl isn’t about finishing first. In fact, it isn’t even timed! To McPherson (and Dirty Girl runners everywhere), this event is about empowering women to conquer fear and overcome obstacles, even in the face of a foe much more terrifying than a slippery mud pit: cancer. Combine this passion for women’s health with their executive team and the thousands of volunteers who make it happen in every city – and you can see why the Dirty Girl Mud Run (despite it’s noncompetitive nature) is sweeping the competition in every other way.

With VolunteerLocal, McPherson believes 2014 will be the best year yet. “We love the program’s flexibility and VolunteerLocal’s consideration to build out and tailor it to our needs,” she says. “It’s truly a comprehensive volunteer program. We’ve asked for some custom features, and they delivered.”

Photo cred: Dirty Girl Mud Run

We are proud to empower the Dirty Girl Mud Run and join the fight against breast and ovarian cancer. If you’re a woman reading this, we encourage you to visit their website at www.godirtygirl.com and register to run (you can do it!), or simply explore some of the great strides this organization has made on behalf of Bright Pink.

Go ahead – get your hands dirty. Sign up to volunteer for the Dirty Girl Mud Run in your city today!


Peace. Love. & Mud.

 

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Hello, I’m Theresa!

kaylee@volunteerlocal.com

Hey there people of the internet!

I’m Theresa Kelly, new Content Marketer/Intern/Person at VolunteerLocal hailing all the way from Elk Grove Village, IL or as I’d like to refer to it … “Chicago.”  Currently I’m a senior at Drake University studying public relations, entrepreneurial management and any other class I can take relating to health, the arts or design.

 

A little about me; behind my new found love for yoga, sick dance moves and smile which all happen to be very mellow sounding, my music playlist tends to lean more alternative. My Chemical Romance’s Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album – love!

As an experienced volunteer and music lover intrigued by Des Moines’ startup community, I am so excited to be a part of the VolunteerLocal team. I get to work with a great team of passionate people in a cool work environment where I get to see technology innovators and big thinkers make ideas come to life every day. Not only that, but the software serves people and organizations who do a variety of really cool things for great causes like Habitat for Humanity, Des Moines Arts Festival and Summer Camp Music Festival.

I’m excited because I know VolunteerLocal is succeeding with the variety of clients we work with and the impact our software has on a client’s event planning experience, yet we still have so much room to grow and be known. The possibilities are endless at VolunteerLocal. I’d like to see our festival clientele grow, get more news media features and in general, generate more conversation with current and potential clients on the web.

If you’d like to connect follow me on Twitter at @teeekelly, on LinkedIn, or take a peek into www.theresa-kelly.com to see some of the other cool things I’ve done, I’d love to meet ya!

 

–       T

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You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers

kaylee@volunteerlocal.com

Don’t see your question in this blog series? Try our FAQ.

Welcome to the world of WiFi-enabled coffee shops, automated ticket sales and cash-free, card-free transactions at the register. It’s the land of double-ya double-ya double-ya dot, the era of Google, the age of Aquarius (let the sun shiiiiine!)–you get the picture. Sometimes all this technology can leave us feeling (more than a little) confused. So let’s clear the smoke and get down to business. Here are the top five “trade secrets” to volunteer management that we’d like to share with you, trusty event coordinators! Sit back, relax, and let’s get digital.

Ready, Set, Go Public!

One of our most commonly asked questions is: what’s the difference between a “private” and a “public” event on VolunteerLocal? Quite simply, a public event gets listed on an organization’s Default Landing Page, while private events can only be found at a specific URL. Although VolunteerLocal automatically sets each new event created as “private,” you can make your events public by checking the “Public Event” setting under the “Event Detail” page (“Events”–>”Your Events”–>”Event Detail”).

Why go public?

Consider your options. For organizations that have multiple events throughout the year, the public event setting is beneficial because all those events can be found under one URL (the Default Landing Page). So, instead of continuing to send out updated URLs for each individual event, you can direct your volunteers to the same page every time: the Default Landing Page. It will automatically update itself with new, public events when you create them.

To find your Default Landing Page URL, click “Account”–>”Settings.”

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