Chariteers,

It's been a little while since the last Charity Quest newsletter! I have been quite busy expanding this free volunteer network into Bergen County NJ, Staten Island, and Union County NJ. Forgive the gap!

As the saying goes... "something's gotta give". In this newsletter, I wanted to welcome the new regions and check in on Summer of Heroes, our annual solo volunteer competition.

• Summer of Heroes 2024 is in full swing!
• Bergen County is now on the app, and many organizations have joined!
  
• Union County has a few charities on the app, with more on the way!

The summer is the perfect time to head down to the shore and cool off. I speak from experience - I just visited Jenkinson's boardwalk for the first time a few days ago!

But it's also a tough time for charities, fighting poverty & hunger 365 days a year. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, you have to fight to get a volunteer slot on Charity Quest...

Summer is a different story altogether.

Charities experience volunteer shortages - something we can see ourselves via the Charity Quest Data Insights platform. That's why summer volunteer heroes are so critical, and it's why we started a two month long volunteer contest to celebrate everyone who helps local charities "beat the heat!"

Summer of Heroes runs from July 1st to August 31st, so we're exactly at the half way point. Remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Here's the rules:

• The individual volunteer with the most accumulated service hours wins the Grand Prize.
• Contestant must be a Charity Quest volunteer in good standing.
• Service hours must be recorded by staff at participating charities via the Charity Quest platform.
• Ties will be broken by perfect attendance record (e.g. least amount of recorded absences)
• The top three volunteers will win the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize chests respectively.

Special shout out to our wonderful sponsors who have contributed the prizes this year!

Prime Cycle + Body returns as a Super Sponsor!

JP's Bagel Express makes a heroic Sponsor debut!

Thank you so much to our prize sponsors! We currently have the following prizes:

1st Place - Hero of the Summer 2024

$75 Gift Certificate to Prime Cycle + Body

$20 Gift Certificate to JP's Bagel Express

2nd Place - Runner Up

$50 Gift Certificate to Prime Cycle + Body

$20 Gift Certificate to JP's Bagel Express

3rd Place

$25 Gift Certificate to Prime Cycle + Body

$20 Gift Certificate to JP's Bagel Express

There are too many wonderful charities in Bergen County on Charity Quest to name them all, so let me keep this brief - thank you! I'll have more specific shout-outs in future newsletters that are targeted at volunteers in that area, as well as on the Charity Quest Instagram.

Thank you to everyone who is giving this crazy free volunteer management platform a shot.

Thank you to the volunteers who have stepped up to serve their community.

Thank you to Patrick Fallon, everyone at the Bergen County Office of Food Security, as well as the Community Food Bank of NJ for helping to spread the word!

If it's been a while since you've opened the Charity Quest mobile app or the companion website, and you live in Bergen County, please take a look! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by what pops up near you.

Union County is a bit more spread out, but we're so fortunate to have a few charities in Union that have joined our network! As above, I'll have more specific shout-outs in future newsletters that are targeted at volunteers in that area, as well as on the Charity Quest Instagram.

We expect more charities to come online in this area in September, as I will have the honor of presenting the platform to county & local governments soon.

If it's been a while since you've opened the Charity Quest mobile app or the companion website, and you live in Union County, please take a look!

We're hard at work on something incredibly awesome that is going to be a game-changer for volunteers and charities in Northeast New Jersey...

Stay tuned for more updates on that. I will need help from each and every one of you as we strive to become America's volunteering app!

Charity Quest is a labor of love! Support this project by leaving a 5-star review on the App Store or Google Play, buying something from our merch store, making a free will contribution, or becoming a subscriber.

Having issues with the Charity Quest app or website? Click the link below if something isn't working. Apple does not send me a notification when someone leaves a bad review on the App Store, so this is the best way to notify me of a problem and receive a quick solution.