Volunteers FirstHow CareNote Makes Care Ministries Thrive
See how Susan transformed Cornerstone Church's pastoral care ministry using CareNote, creating a sustainable volunteer-led program that touches hundreds of lives.
Active Volunteers
- 60Dedicated team members providing care
Care Visits
- 2,000Personal visits completed
Lives Touched
- 175Congregants receiving care
Monthly Cost
- $78Affordable, sustainable solution
The Challenge
Before 2016, care requests at Cornerstone Church came through a maze of channels—hurried conversations after Sunday service, scattered emails, text messages, and hastily scribbled notes. Congregants would share their needs, but with no central system for intake or follow-up, these heartfelt requests often seemed to disappear into thin air. People began to lose faith that anyone was truly listening or cared about their struggles.
This was the broken system Susan inherited—a fragmented approach that left both care-seekers and volunteers feeling disconnected and discouraged. The church had willing helpers, but no effective way to connect them with those in need.
Key Obstacles:
- Communication Breakdown
Care requests came through multiple channels—casual conversations, emails, texts, and paper notes—with no systematic way to capture and track these important needs.
- Ineffective Assignment Process
Without a central coordination system, matching willing volunteers with care needs was like solving a puzzle with missing pieces—time-consuming and often unsuccessful.
- No Accountability
The lack of follow-up mechanisms meant care requests could fall through the cracks, leaving congregants feeling overlooked and volunteers uncertain about their impact.
Susan stepped in with a vision for change. She knew that creating a sustainable care ministry wasn't just about managing tasks—it was about restoring confidence and building lasting connections within the church community. The system she built with CareNote has now successfully served the congregation for over a decade, proving that the right tools combined with dedicated leadership can transform a church's care ministry.
The Solution
CareNote provided Susan with an intuitive platform designed specifically for volunteer-led care ministries. The implementation focused on three key areas:
1. Care Coordination
- Centralized dashboard for managing care requests with automated volunteer matching and notifications
2. Care Request Workflow
- Structured process from intake through assignment, delivery, and reporting with full visibility
3. Visit Tracking
- Mobile-friendly tools for volunteers to log visits and updates, keeping everyone informed
How It Works
The key to CareNote's success was its comprehensive workflow automation. Each care request followed a clear path: from initial intake, through volunteer assignment and acceptance (or rejection with reason), to care delivery and final reporting. Volunteers could easily request reassignment if needed, ensuring no care needs fell through the cracks.
What truly transformed the ministry's efficiency was the notification system. Instead of manually following up with volunteers, Susan received automated notifications at each stage of the care process. Her daily care report provided a clear overview of all ministry activities, pending assignments, and completed visits.
Key Benefits
- Automated volunteer matching saves hours of manual coordination
- Real-time SMS notifications improve response rates
- Built-in accountability with visit tracking and reporting
- Seamless reassignment process for declined requests
CareNote Volunteer Assignment Process
New Care Request
John Smith needs a hospital visit at Memorial Hospital, Room 302.
1. Receive Care Request
Volunteers receive care requests via email with basic information about the need.
2. Accept or Reject Request
Volunteers can accept the request or reject it with a message explaining why they cannot help.
3. Receive Visit Details
After accepting, volunteers receive detailed information needed for the visit.
4. Deliver Care & Report
Volunteers complete the visit and submit a brief report about the care provided.
Game-Changing Impact: When CareNote introduced SMS notifications for volunteer assignments, the ministry saw a dramatic improvement in response rates. Volunteers could now instantly accept or decline care requests right from their phones, significantly reducing the time between care needs being identified and met.
"CareNote has improved how we deliver care in our church. Our volunteers love its simplicity—assignments are clear, SMS alerts keep them on track, and submitting delivery reports is effortless with one-click links. The administrative tools simplify managing reassignments and follow-ups, making it easy to handle incoming care requests as well as rejected or overdue assignments, ensuring they are promptly updated and reassigned to another volunteer."
Susan Mitchell • Care Ministry Coordinator, Cornerstone Church
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