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Volunteer River Counties

Launched in September 2025, Volunteer River Counties is an online hub connecting people in Lancaster, Middlesex, and Northumberland counties with local volunteer opportunities and enhancing regional organizations’ ability to recruit volunteers of all ages.

Explore the hub

Whether you’re a resident in the region, planning a vacation to the River Counties, or interested in learning more about local volunteer hubs, here are ways to learn more:

Volunteer River Counties was initiated through planning efforts led by Serve Virginia, the Virginia Service Foundation, and the River Counties Community Foundation (RCCF), with funding from the Robert B. Lantz Foundation.

“Volunteer River Counties promises to create lasting, transformational change for local organizations that rely on volunteers,” says Jill M. Sears, Development Director for the Foundation for Historic Christ Church, Inc. 

“As a community member, I am thrilled to join with Volunteer River Counties anchor partners in launching Volunteer River Counties. This hub has the potential to change the way we volunteer in the River Counties, for the better, and we welcome all our neighbors aboard as we undertake this exciting new journey,” says Serve Virginia director Kathy J. Spangler. 

Pictured left: Volunteer educator at Deltaville Maritime Museum

Volunteer River Counties focuses on four priorities to build volunteer capacity across Lancaster, Middlesex, and Northumberland counties in Virginia: 

  1. Build a stronger culture of service, volunteerism and civic engagement by implementing the Virginia Community Engagement Index (VCEI) in the region and building awareness of and access to close-to-home volunteer opportunities across the River Counties, utilizing best-in-class technology to support volunteer engagement. 
  2. Unite a more robust, integrated, and aligned network of cross-sector partners to coalesce around common strategies and best practices resulting in the effective use of volunteer capacity to serve the needs of the community.  
  3. Create a more robust infrastructure through evidence-based practices and shared resources that will support organizations and individuals in volunteerism efforts.   
  4. Complete a strategic plan for long-term sustainability of volunteer capacity

Pictured above: Smith Point Sea Rescue

For more details about this project, please contact Elizabeth Richardson, Volunteer River Counties Project Coordinator, at elizabeth@volunteerrivercounties.org, or Kathy J. Spangler, Director of Serve Virginia at kathy.spangler@dss.virginia.gov.