Lyndsey Bohall (center) and Alexandra Ellison, VISTA (left), speak with Kristin Pickard, Volunteer Coordinator for Northern Nevada Hopes (right), about the nonprofit's volunteer needs. Northern Nevada Hopes is Northern Nevada's premier center for HIV/AIDS treatment and care.

How do you keep a volunteer initiative going once it gets off the ground? That is the major question facing Lyndsey Bohall, our Reno 2011 Summer Associate VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) for the Nevada Volunteers higher education initiative this summer.

Lyndsey is just beginning her sophomore year at the University of Nevada, Reno, and she already has a solid head on her shoulders as well as a tech-savvy perspective on this sustainability question. As part of the Honors Service Council and the UNR Alternative Break Club, she has become familiar with the challenges of connecting college students to service opportunities. Collecting current, in-depth information on who needs help is crucial to matching students to appropriate nonprofits according to areas of interest and skill level. (more…)