Cindy Watts

Not everyone would agree with Cindy Watts that bolting from work at 5 o’clock and heading to an evening meeting that lasts until 8:30 “isn’t a problem.”

For Cindy, it’s all in a day’s work — as branch manager for Illinois State Bank’s Lake in the Hills office and as a board member for the United Way Volunteer Center of McHenry County, where she holds the position of vice president and treasurer.

The volunteer center, which has existed for two years, is modeled on similar organizations across the country. “We are what you might call a clearinghouse for volunteers throughout McHenry County,” Cindy explains. “We help match volunteers with area nonprofits. Our goal is to provide a volunteer for every agency request we get.”

Because others on the board also have day jobs, evenings are the best time for meetings. “We meet as a board once a month, and I meet with the executive director once a month,” she says. “We also hold programs for nonprofits that board members attend, but most of our work takes place in the evening.”

Although new, volunteer center beginning to make impact
Cindy has served on the board for a year. “I’m learning that the wheels of any organization can turn slowly,” she says. “As eager as our board is to make an impact, it takes time to implement programs and see success.”

Cindy points to April’s Human Race, an event the volunteer center sponsored along with Illinois State Bank and others, and its success in terms of entrants and money raised. A thousand people participated, generating $36,000 for area charities.

Anyone who is interested can learn about the volunteer center online, through word of mouth, and by reading a monthly column written by the executive director that appears in the local newspaper. “Our list of needs is long,” Cindy says. “There are endless volunteer opportunities.”

Volunteer center’s broad reach helps multiple charities
Community volunteerism is not new to Cindy. She has been involved with Big Brothers, Big Sisters and with Senior Services of McHenry County, but she likes the volunteer center’s broad reach. “I’m able to help agencies and their volunteer needs on a higher level,” she says, noting, “We also offer training to agencies’ boards and volunteers, helping them fulfill their individual missions.”

“We are a small board, we work very well together, and we all have the same vision for our organization,” Cindy says. “That’s what makes it rewarding.”

If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then Cindy and the volunteer center must be doing something right. “The county next to us has borrowed our idea,” she says.