On any given day, we have an average of five volunteers working overseas. Winrock International will join communities across the country in celebrating the contributions and achievements of U.S. volunteers during National Volunteer Week, April 18-24. Since 1991, more than 1,200 Winrock volunteers have completed 2 to 6 week assignments working with private businesses, farmers, and nonprofit organizations on projects that range from farming and food processing to ecotourism and forest management. These Americans have collectively volunteered more than 800 months of time in 25 low-income countries around the world.
Volunteers are a tremendous resource.
For example, a Winrock volunteer in Uzbekistan helped two local women's business associations identify new opportunities, develop business plans, and prepare loan applications. Loans have been made to 10 of the 60 women who participated. Seventy-five Arkansas volunteers have completed 98 assignments over the past eight years. More of Winrock's volunteers have come from Arkansas than any other state. Last October, Searcy resident John Griffin, an economic development specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration in Little Rock, traveled to the Russian Far East to conduct marketing training.