SCI Receives National Volunteer Certification
- Tuesday December 5, 2017
The Science Center of Iowa & Blank IMAX Dome Theater (SCI) has received certification as a Service Enterprise Organization, joining a growing group of 20 other organizations statewide with this volunteer-focused designation.
Managed nationally by Points of Light and statewide by Volunteer Iowa, the Service Enterprise Initiative is a proven, research-based model that equips organizations to leverage volunteers and their skills across all levels of the organization. It also diagnoses strengths organizations can leverage and challenges that need to be addressed to achieve sustainability.
“As a nonprofit organization, we rely on volunteers to help inspire ‘a-ha!’ moments for our visitors every day,” said Curt Simmons, SCI president and CEO. “The Service Enterprise training and certification process brought together a cross-departmental team and helped us see new ways for volunteers to support our mission of engaging and inspiring Iowans along their journey of lifelong science learning.”
SCI’s Service Enterprise certification is the end result of a process that included an extensive assessment as well as more than 20 hours of training, consulting and internal planning to better integrate volunteers into day-to-day operations.
Applications are currently being accepted for the next round of Service Enterprise training next spring. To learn more about Service Enterprise, visit volunteeriowa.org/SEI.
About Volunteer Iowa (or Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service)
Volunteer Iowa and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure. More information is available at volunteeriowa.org.
About Points of Light
Points of Light – the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages more than 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service each year – we put people at the center of change. For more information, go to pointsoflight.org.
About the Science Center of Iowa
The Science Center of Iowa engages and inspires Iowans along their journey of lifelong science learning. The 110,000-sq. ft. facility located in Downtown Des Moines features dynamic experience platforms, large format theaters and daily interactive science demonstrations, including the NAEYC-accredited SCI Preschool. The Science Center of Iowa also provides educational outreach programs across the state of Iowa. For more information, visit www.sciowa.org.