Janet Voldness was at a crossroads in her life. She and her husband had lived in Cache Valley since the 80s. She had recently retired from teaching kindergarten in the Logan City School District, and her husband had opted to keep working for just a few more years.
“I thought, ‘Okay, should I get a job?’ … No, because it would just be a couple more years, but I wanted to do something and get involved probably with the community," Voldness said.
She started chatting with her friend Amy Anderson, a Logan Municipal Council member and Warming Center board member, who said the newly-created center needed help coordinating volunteers. She was told the job would entail making a few phone calls to remind volunteers of their shifts.
“To make a long story short, I quickly went from just making a couple phone calls a week to being the volunteer coordinator," Voldness said. "It's a big job. Takes a lot of time, but it's very rewarding and it's giving me the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful, giving, caring people in our community.”
Thanks to the work from people like Voldness, over 100 people in Cache Valley volunteered at the William A. Burnard Warming Center in its first year in operation.
Now in its second year, the Warming Center aims to provide a safe, comfortable place for people who might not have another place to go during some of the coldest nights of the year.
The Warming Center opened Dec. 4 and will finish its seasonal services at the end of March. On a typical day, it opens the doors at St. John's Episcopal Church — located at 85 E. 100 North in Logan — starting at 7 p.m. and ends its daily operations at 8 a.m. the next morning.
Volunteers are largely the engine that drives the center. People are needed to set up and take down the center every day, as well as check in guests and remain at the center around the clock when it’s open.
Kathy Chudoba is one of those people. She volunteers in different places in the community, and said she first learned about the Warming Center through Cache Community Connections. She said the center always has at least two volunteers, with the early shifts starting before it opens.
“So we, the volunteers, arrive at 5:30 or 6:00, to make sure things are set up, get the intake table set up so that we can start accepting guests at 7:00. That was the shift that I would work, and maybe you'd work until about midnight.”
But if you’re not a night owl, or prefer to help the center in another way, the Warming Center has a number of different volunteer opportunities — and not all of them involve interacting with people face to face, Chudoba said.
“There are both guest-facing volunteer opportunities, and, if you will, back office opportunities, depending on what people's time availability is, what their interests are, what their mobility and what their commitment wants to be," Chudoba said.
For example, volunteers are needed to get food from the Cache Community Food Pantry to stock the snacks for the center’s patrons. You could also volunteer to pick up and drop off laundry, as each bed at the Warming Center gets fresh sheets every night.
But it’s not just the standard means of volunteering that the center can use. Voldness explained what a group of volunteers did last year to help the center.
“We had a group of young men that would come in if we had a big snowstorm, which we had several of those last winter — (they) would make sure that the parking lot was clear, and those who were out walking to the Warming Center had the sidewalk clear of ice and snow, and could get in and out of the Warming Center safely," she said.
For people in the community looking to donate used blankets, coats or other warm clothing, Voldness said to take those items to Deseret Industries or Somebody’s Attic — as the center has partnered with both to create a voucher program for clients.
But what’s the biggest need for the Warming Center?
Voldness said the center is always in need of pre-assembled hygiene kits, but the more crucial need is simply volunteers. She’s happy so many people dedicate their time to serve the less fortunate in the community, and hopes more will do the same.
“I'm really really happy that Logan has really stepped up and tried to help the problem instead of ignore it and push it aside," Voldness said. "It's not going to go away. It's here to stay, and we're all vulnerable to being in this situation. Our volunteers come from lots of different backgrounds and lots of different stories. They all volunteer for different reasons. They may have experienced homelessness themself. They may have a family member who is experiencing it. They might have a family member who is going through a mental health issue and as headed down that road. They may just have a big, kind heart and want to help in the community."
To learn more about the William A. Burnard Warming Center and what you can do to help, you can visit their website.
