Local nonprofits and other organizations utilizing volunteer work are invited to join the initiative

WINCHESTER, KY, February 14, 2025 — A new service designed to match volunteers to community organizations looking for help will launch soon in Winchester—and organizers are asking local groups needing volunteers to make their needs known.

Two Clark County organizations, WinCity Media, Inc. and the Humanists of Winchester, are teaming up to create “WinCity Helps’” a website and database that will be a “one-stop shop” for volunteers seeking opportunities and organizations seeking help.

Ron Kibbey, one of the organizers of the project, said, “We looked for gaps in our community—needs that were not being fulfilled. There are too many needs to duplicate existing services. We believe WinCity Helps will fill a need for matching potential volunteers with the many great organizations in our community that depend on volunteer labor to deliver their desperately needed services to the area.”

According to the website and data developer, Pete Koutoulas, the project is currently collecting data from organizations in Clark County about the type of projects they pursue, the skills they are looking for, and the frequency of need for volunteer help. He said the organizations he and Kibbey represent were inspired by a similar service in Lexington called LexHelps (lexhelps.org).

“A big shout-out to LexHelps for inspiring us. We were having discussions in our Humanist group about how we could get involved in volunteering. We discovered that there is no central clearinghouse for volunteers seeking opportunities to assist. We looked for such a service and found LexHelps serving Fayette County. We aim to do something similar for Winchester and Clark County.”

Koutoulas said they hope to launch the website within the next few weeks. They are currently gathering data from local nonprofits and other organizations that rely on volunteers to carry out their mission. Emails have gone out to known organizations in the county. Other local organizations wishing to participate should go to www.wincityhelps.org, where they can register their organization and sign up for an email list to keep abreast of progress on the project.

Kibbey, a retired social worker and community activist, pointed out that the missing link in Clark County is matching people to volunteer opportunities.

“Many [organizations] rely on volunteers to help in their service provision. And our community has many opportunities to assist others and programs that are desperate for assistance.”

Both Kibbey and Koutoulas are active in WinCity Media—which publishes a local e-zine, WinCity Voices, and Humanists of Winchester, so the collaboration was a natural fit for them.

“We want to do this for Winchester and Clark County,” said Koutoulas. “This project fits perfectly with the values of both WinCity Voices and the Humanists of Winchester.”

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For more information, contact:

Pete Koutoulas
petek@wincitymedia.org
(859) 576-2596

Ron Kibbey
rkib@earthlink.net
(859) 744-0566

More about Humanists of Winchester

Humanists of Winchester is a fraternal and community service organization based in Winchester, Kentucky. The group formed in late 2023 and currently boasts some 25-plus active members. As an official chapter of the American Humanist Association, the group subscribes to the values of the “Ten Commitments of Humanism,” which include altruism, critical thinking, empathy, environmentalism, ethical development, global awareness, humility, peace & social justice, responsibility, and service & participation.

The group meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 6 PM at the Clark County Library. More information can be found at www.humanistsofwinchester.org.

More about WinCity Media Inc.

WinCity Media is a nonprofit media organization based in Winchester, Kentucky, dedicated to using various forms of communication to help make our community more inclusive, welcoming, and just.

From our contributor-driven website, which offers a variety of story forms, to our podcast and YouTube channel, weekly newsletter, social media connections, and live storytelling events, WinCity Media is helping to give voice to the unheard in our community. Thanks to our generous benefactors, everything we do is 100% free to the public.

Our original and still our flagship product is WinCity Voices, a daily e-zine offering insightful commentary on local, state, and national issues, features, fiction, poetry, photography, and other written and visual storytelling. (https://www.wincityvoices.org/)

Approximately once a month, our podcast hosts chat with members of our community who are shaping the present and future of Clark County on “The Voices of Winchester Podcast.” The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts or at https://www.wincityvoices.org/podcast.