An estimated 50 health and social service agency representatives, clergy, school, local government, and business people participated in the second community health planning coalition meeting held in Johnson County. The first meeting was held in February 2000.

Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth Executive Director Shann Hauck reviewed the community health planning effort underway in Johnson County. A grant was received from the Wyoming Department of Health Maternal and Child Health Division to complete a five-year community health plan for Johnson County beginning with a needs assessment that was conducted in February. Health and social service providers, churches, schools and other nonprofits (i.e. Chamber of Commerce) and government entities were invited to respond to a request from a community health planning steering committee for information about local health needs and gaps in services, consumers served, and assets. The steering committee assembled and interpreted the information gathered at the February meeting and discovered that volunteerism in Johnson County, and specifically connection of people with places in need of volunteer services, is a local priority. An action plan is needed to find ways to generate more volunteer hours and to inspire volunteers to dedicate time and energy to nonprofits in need.

Wyoming Health Resources Network, Inc. (WHRN) provided the services of Community Health Resource Specialist Emily Quarterman to Johnson County to facilitate completion of an action plan based on the priorities established in the community needs assessment. Emily explained that WHRN is a public-private partnership partially funded by the Wyoming Department of Health to develop a statewide network of community health planning coalitions looking at local concerns and issues specific to health. There are currently 19 health planning coalitions in 18 Wyoming counties, including Johnson County. Health can be defined in a broad way to include social and economic indicators, as well as health status (i.e. causes of death, leading diseases and disabling conditions affecting local residents' health, health care access) indicators. Once a plan is in place for addressing Johnson County's key areas of concern, state resources may be available to assist in completing the action plan and Emily acts as a resource to communities interested in tapping into the technical assistance and grants offered by government. Emily acknowledged the work Shann has done in Johnson County to create the Community Resource Center as a mentor for other Wyoming communities seeking a hotline "best practices" model to implement. (Applause)

• Newcomers
• Newly retired people
• Those who are unaware of the need for volunteers in the community
• Unoccupied domestic engineers (housewives and househusbands whose children are in school and who are not employed outside the home)
• Men (volunteers are typically female)

• Head Start
• YMCA
• American Legion
• Game and Fish
• Bureau of Land Management
• Forest Service
• Grange
• Public Library
• Hospital
• Churches
• Food Pantry
• Crisis Center
• Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth
• Shut ins
• CASA
• Chamber of Commerce
• Scouting programs
• Schools
• Veterans Home
• 4-H
• Day care center
• Youth Home

• a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program
• a mentoring program
• transportation for people unable to drive who want to grocery shop, etc.

• Create a Key Club for high school students (a Kiwanis Club program that "grows" a new generation of community service-oriented young people)
• Community service class at the high school (contact Pat Lynch - a class may already be offered)
• Ask businesses to allow their employees to volunteer one hour per week, or one day per month
• Ask the Chamber of Commerce, realtors, and Welcome Wagon to promote volunteer opportunities
• Ask radio stations and the newspaper to run Public Service Announcements or editorials encouraging volunteerism (as a value and a community need) and promoting opportunities to volunteer (who, what, why, where, when)
• Create a centralized list of agencies needing volunteers and the type of work needed and hire a coordinator to locate, train and do background checks on volunteers who can then be "dispatched" (perhaps a volunteer "pool," can be created)
• Publish a list (in the newspaper?) of the agencies needing volunteers and the type of work needed
• Find out where court-ordered community service work is done and determine whether there are ways to maximize court-ordered community service workers in Johnson County (connecting them with agencies in need)

• Recruit and enroll an Americorps volunteer who can act as a coordinator for a volunteer directory and pool in Johnson County (Shann Hauck)
• Create a form (using the Connect Wyoming IRIS software) that nonprofits can fill out to have their volunteer needs and volunteer training capacity included in the directory (Peggy Roadifer, Margaret Wilde Meyer)
• Advertise the need for volunteers in Johnson County on a Web Page or via a listserv (Nadine, Chamber of Commerce Web page)
• Promote volunteerism person-to-person by inviting people to specific volunteer opportunities, telling them about the need for volunteers in Johnson County and talking about how fulfilling volunteerism can be (Ministerial Association/Steve Samples)
• Promote volunteerism and the need for volunteers on "Community Speaks" (a radio talk show) and in the newspaper (Tom Holt)
• Recognize people in the community who volunteer their time and energy to good causes (Ruth Martin, Margaret Wilde Meyer, Heather Dawson, Sara Beth Ramsey)
• Create a Key Club at the high school (Sara Beth and Heather)
• Find out what people who are court-ordered to complete community service hours are typically doing with their mandated time (Steve Samples)

Shann reviewed the capability of Connect Wyoming's software, piloted in Johnson County, to catalog and coordinate volunteers -- if the manpower is available to maintain the database. People assigned to completion of projects should prepare a report for the next meeting and consult with Shann if direction is needed.