The Community Foundation of Grundy County, thanks to a donation from the Morris Lions Club, has unveiled a new website called volunteergrundy.com.

Community Foundation of Grundy County Director Julianne Buck said the idea came from Colin Monk, the chairman of the Community Organizations Active in Disaster board and recently retired.

“He came to me a few months ago and said he knew what he wants to do for volunteer work in his retirement,” Buck said. “He goes, I think we need a volunteer software portal.”

The idea came about because there’s a need in Grundy County for non-profit and volunteer organizations to connect with not only other volunteers, but with each other. Using volunteergrundy.com, organizations can post opportunities and people using the website can respond to fill those opportunities.

Buck said any non-profit organization in Grundy County can create a profile, upload a photo and their information and go from there.

“It can either be a one-time use, like if someone has a 5K coming up, or for a recurring volunteer opportunity like we see with Meals on Wheels, who always needs volunteer drivers,” Buck said. “It doesn’t matter which style. It just has to be Grundy-only opportunities.”

The website is not open to organizations outside of Grundy County.

Buck said Eric Fisher, with We Care of Grundy County, was especially excited because it’ll make scheduling for Christmas-time bell-ringing much easier.

The website can also handle some clerical activities like making reports to see how many hours someone worked, how much money volunteers gave with their time, and things of that nature that are helpful when organizations write grants.

The website will also host opportunities for those needing community service in relation to a criminal offense, although Buck said some organizations will not allow that. Organizations can also limit volunteering sign-ups from kids for more sensitive situations.

“There’s a little bit for everybody,” Buck said. “We’re hoping the non-profits really get into posting their needs so the rest of the community can scroll and sign up for things.”

Organizations like Grundy Area PADS, the Coal City Public Library, and the Grundy County Heroes and Helpers are already on the website. For more information, visit volunteergrundy.com.