At the Alexandria Volunteer Bureaus annual Evening in the Heart of Alexandria, the 28-year-old Alexandria nonprofit announced that its name will change to Volunteer Alexandria, reflecting an updated approach to volunteer recruitment and management.

The organization currently manages initiatives to recruit, train and place volunteers in nonprofit and government agencies and events; to provide service learning opportunities for youth; to place and supervise court-mandated community service clients; and to coordinate volunteer management for disasters in cooperation with the Alexandria Fire Department. Much of the volunteer recruitment is currently accomplished online, a service that will expand over the next 12 months with updated technology.

Volunteer Alexandria has recently completed a strategic planning process with its board of directors, headed by Allison Cryor DiNardo.  The process, funded through a grant provided by the Alexandria Community Trust (ACT), resulted in a decision to affiliate with the newly-formed national volunteer organization, Hands On Network. Through collaboration with other volunteer centers, Volunteer Alexandria will be able to employ the best practices being implemented in other areas of the country to increase and better utilize Alexandrias volunteer base.

There is even more of a need for volunteers to step up at this critical time of economic crisis, when nonprofit and government agencies will be asked to do more with less, said Volunteer Alexandrias Executive Director Melinda Patrician.