Independent Sector is a private non-profit which estimates the value of an hour of volunteer service, and does so by State. The value per hour in Massachusetts is $26.18.    

Month	Hours	Value
July, 2011	196.0	$5,131.28
August 2011	380.5	$9,961.49
September 2011	174.0	$4,555.32
October 2011	173.0	$4,529.14
November 2011	162.0	$4,241.16
December 2011	125.0	$3,272.50

The SHAR-MRC has over $300.00 in small raffle items, and all it takes to be eligible is set aside 20 minutes to set your MaResponds MRC profile to 100% (if it isn't already) and 2-3 hours for each independent study course you complete at home to get a chance to win a small prize. At our summer volunteer day, one lucky SHAR-MRC Volunteer will win a gift certificate to Home Depot.

Here are the rules for the Challenge:

1. Only SHAR-MRC members on the roster are eligible.

2. You must have your MRC profile at 100%. A photo is not needed, but otherwise your profile must be at 100%. You can check your MaResponds Profile at https://www.maresponds.org. If you can't access it, let me know.

3. You must complete any ONE of the online courses listed below between April 1, 2012 and April 30, 2012 and send me the certificate via email. Only courses completed in April will be considered. You cannot repeat courses done previously.

4. I will give you an additional chance for each course you complete - a limit of 3 extra chances will allowed.

5. The first week of May, I will draw the names of the winners.

6. Limit of one item per MRC member per MONTH.

7. I will not consider requests to substitute items.

I will be doing additional raffles on a random basis our classroom training meetings and on a monthly basis.

Good luck everyone!

Here is the list of courses which will be considered. If it is not on this list it will not be considered. Please remember, you have to complete the course between April 1 and April 30 for it to be considered!

Course #	Title
IS-22	Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
IS-26	Guide to Points of Distribution
NONE	Dealing with Stress in Disasters: Building Psychological Resilience. http://www.masslocalinstitute.org/?p=1546.
IS-3	Radiological Emergency Management
IS-10.a	Animals in Disasters: Awareness and Preparedness
NONE	Special Populations (Public Health Emergency Training Series) http://www.sph.umn.edu/ce/trainings/coursepage.asp?activityId=6389&stype=2
NONE	The Off-Site Care Facility-An Alternate Care Site: A Primer for Volunteers http://www.sph.umn.edu/ce/trainings/coursepage.asp?activityId=7373&stype=2
NONE	Oh, The Places You'll Go: Providing Care in Non-Traditional Settings During an Emergency  http://www.sph.umn.edu/ce/trainings/coursepage.asp?activityId=9418&stype=2
IS-11.a	Animals in Disasters: Community Planning
IS-29	Public Information Officer Awareness
IS-55	Household Hazardous Materials - A Guide for Citizens
IS-271	Anticipating Hazardous Weather & Community Risk
IS-288	The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management
IS-324.a	Community Hurricane Preparedness
IS-340	Hazardous Materials Prevention
IS-346	An Orientation to Hazardous Materials for Medical Personnel
none	Personal Protective Equipment (Public Health Emergency Training Series) http://www.sph.umn.edu/ce/trainings/coursepage.asp?activityId=6528&stype=2
none	Recognition/Assessment: Chemical and Biological Hazards http://www.sph.umn.edu/ce/trainings/coursepage.asp?activityId=9282
IS-366	Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters
IS-520	Introduction to Continuity of Operations Planning for Pandemic Influenzas
IS-559	Local Damage Assessment
IS-775	EOC Management and Operations
IS-909	Community Preparedness: Implementing Simple Activities for Everyone