How Did Bobby Hill Nearly Double Rescue Squad Volunteers?

If you've ever met Bobby Hill of Virginia Beach, Virginia then you likely have heard him exclaim, "I have the best job in the world because I get to save lives every day."

Bobby is the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad Foundation's recruitment coordinator. He has been in that position since 2009 when he retired as chief magistrate in Virginia Beach. Although Hill had been a long-time rescue squad volunteer, he knew he needed more skills to successfully recruit for Virginia Beach's 10 all-volunteer rescue squads.

Bobby Hill loves his work.
 (photo by Glen McClure)

Bobby got the training he needed at the Academy for Nonprofit Excellence, which was started in 2005 by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. The academy operates in partnership with Tidewater Community College. It offers one- and two-day courses for nonprofit staff and board members in southeastern Virginia at a reasonable cost -- $60 and $85 each.

Since 2005 more than 1,140 people from nearly 450 different nonprofits have taken academy courses. And, more than 80 of them, including Bobby Hill, have earned Certificates in Nonprofit Management. Bobby took 19 classes in everyting from fundraising to social media and personnel management and quickly put his new skills to work. He continues to take classes today to keep his skills fresh and connect with other nonprofit people.

So, what happened at the rescue squads since Hill began working and taking classes?

The number of volunteers has nearly doubled, which is important since Virginia Beach is the largest city in the country to rely on an all-volunteer network of emergency health providers.  The Hampton Roads Community Foundation has put more than $1 million in grants from its unrestricted funds into the academy. The goal is to help area nonprofits to do their best work by investing in the people who make it happen.

Learn more about the nonprofit academy at academyfornonprofitexcellence.org, which recently announced its fall 2014 class schedule.

(The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is a regional community foundation started in 1950 as the first community foundation in Virginia. It is among nearly 750 community foundation around the country serving specific geographic regions. It is the largest grant and scholarship provider in southeastern Virginia and manages more than 400 charitable funds created by donors from all walks of life. Over the decades it has provided more than $195 million to improve life for residents living in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. It also serves people in Isle of Wight and Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, including Accomack and Northampton counties. Learn more at hamptonroadscf.org. You can click here to locate a community foundation near you. )