Paid Leave for Community Service

My idea consists of offering paid leave to state employees to be used for volunteer community service at a 501(c) (3) organization within the state.

I envision the following details: An employee volunteers for a 501(c) (3) on his own time for 7.5 to 15 hours. Up to 15 hours of paid leave per calendar year may be earned for additional volunteer service following documentation that an employee has donated an equivalent amount of his own time. Leave may be earned in 7.5 hour increments. Leave may be used in hourly increments, and must be used within the same calendar year in which it is earned. This leave may be used for volunteer service at no more than two organizations within one calendar year.

My idea as outlined above equates to up to 30 hours of volunteer service per employee, 15 hours of which would be paid for by the state. If all state employees in New Hampshire took full advantage of this benefit, more than 500,000 volunteer hours could be anticipated. This would have an enormous impact on our communities.

Encouraging volunteer service by offering paid leave will enable the state to underscore the importance of community involvement as part of public service. This benefit could become a powerful employee recruiting and retention tool. Volunteering strengthens an employee’s sense of well-being and community, leading to a more well-rounded and personally satisfied employee with an enhanced understanding of quality public service. According to an article in Entrepreneur (September 2000), companies with volunteer programs have “increased employee retention and better teamwork and morale.”

Everybody truly wins when public employees become more involved in their community.