107 years of volunteering services and leadership

1919 The Volunteer Service Bureau/Voluntary Action Center is formed to “better mobilize the latent volunteer forces in the community.”

1942 The Volunteer Bureau of St. Paul was also created in response to World War II needs to administer similar programs as those being delivered in Minneapolis.

2000 The Volunteer Resource Center was formed, combining the Volunteer Center of St. Paul and the Minneapolis United Way’s Volunteer Center.

2005 The Volunteer Resource Center joined the global HandsOn Network and was renamed HandsOn Twin Cities.

2007 Points of Light Foundation and the HandsOn Network merge to become Points of Light, creating the largest volunteer management and civic engagement organization in the nation.

2011 HandsOn Twin Cities was chosen as one of ten Innovation Hubs in the nation by Points of Light.

2019 HandsOn Twin Cities celebrates our 100-year anniversary with year-round activities, and publishing of the book 100 Years of Volunteers. In June we helped host the Points of Light conference in St. Paul.

2020 In March, the world stops as the COVID pandemic leads to a shutdown and HandsOn shifts to help nonprofits adjust their volunteer infrastructure and starts providing volunteer projects to people at their homes. In May, civil unrest unfolded after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. HandsOn helps co-create the Twin Cities Community Rebuilding Coalition and quickly expands pro bono programming to support small businesses and nonprofits.

2021 Seeking to realign strategic perspective, HandsOn Twin Cities partners with Creative Catalysis to begin a refreshed strategic plan in August.

2026 One hundred and seven years later, HandsOn remains the central source for volunteerism in the Twin Cities, as the oldest surviving - and thriving - volunteer center in the country.