Volunteer Center prepping for 10th annual challenge

Volunteer projects range from Provident Bank organizing a pop-up dress shop for low-income girls to find prom dresses to Barry Isett & Associates working on a gardening project for the Salvation Army

Once all of the projects are finished. the groups will document their work and the end results and bring a display to the Volunteer Challenge event at the SteelStacks ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem on May 8.

While there is voting and awards are given out, “it’s more of a celebration than an awards ceremony,” said Karen Smith, CEO of the Volunteer Center. “Everybody comes together to share their projects.”

The program itself is a fundraiser for the Volunteer Center. The organization will have online voting for best projects for small-, medium- and large-sized companies and each vote costs a $1 donation to the center.

The hope is that the volunteers will recruit their friends, families and coworkers to vote for them and donate.

People attending the event will also get to vote for their choice with tokens that come with their event ticket purchase.

This is the 10th year the center has held the Volunteer Challenge. Eric Luftig, vice president of marketing at Victaulic, is this year’s honorary chairman.

This year’s goal is to raise $75,000 through the challenge. Last year they raised $65,000.

For more information or to register go to www.volunteerlv.org. Online voting for the volunteer projects begins April 25.