Sunday, November 9, 2014

iHeartVolunteers is for Who?

When we first came up with the idea of starting a dating site for volunteers, we weren't sure where to begin. As Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), Shelly and I started off thinking we would create a Peace Corps dating site. But, with a 63% to 37% girl to guy ratio we quickly decided to expand on who to include.

At first we had a very romantic notion of what we wanted our dating site to be. We had a lot of ideas. Initially, the plan was to focus on international volunteers, thinking they could meet all around the world and travel together. We contemplated on having only long-term volunteers who had served for over one year in an immersive program. At one point, it was narrowed down to five organizations. We thought it would be very exclusive.

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa - A fancy international travel date location we initially envisioned for our members.
Not long after, Shelly had brought up adding Habitat for Humanity to our exclusive list. Habitat does great work locally and abroad; they even have long-term programs lasting between 6-12 months. A short discussion later and we agreed Habitat for Humanity had made the cut.

After that, we added Big Brothers Big Sisters, because of how important it is for youth to have a mentor. Next, we added Children's Hospitals because of the impact they have had on our lives. We followed that up by adding volunteers for the Department of Veterans Affairs, because there is nothing better than serving the men and women that have defended our country.

Eventually, it became clear. We needed to accept all volunteer organizations and programs. Our company name is iHeartVolunteers, not iOnlyHeartSomeVolunteers. All volunteers contribute to important causes and make a positive impact on our communities, and that's what matters.

If volunteering is an important part of your life and you're looking for someone to share that with, sign-up!

Do good, together!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Launch Message

We are very excited to announce the soft launch of iHeartVolunteers, a dating site for people who volunteer! Join our community of like-minded people.

For all single individuals who have or who currently volunteer, we are offering our limited time launch exclusive , a free one year subscription! Why are we offering free subscriptions you ask? Well, let’s be real, who wants to be the first to sign up for a dating site? Free subscriptions will grow our community and create more opportunities for our members to make a real connection. It’s the least we can do for those who believe in our site and join our community from the start. If a free membership isn’t enough here are five reasons you’re going to love iHeartVolunteers...
  1. We have a community of like minded people who share similar interests. 
  2. We verify that our members are, in fact, volunteers through a simple screening process. 
  3. Our subscriptions are free for volunteers currently in a long-term immersive program.
  4. We donate 10 percent of profits to our members volunteer projects/organization.
  5. We promote volunteerism, which is awesome!
We invite you to check out our site & click the "Sign Up Now" button!

Do good, together!

Shelly & Chris Zenner
Co-Founders and fellow volunteers



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Friday, October 17, 2014

iHeartVolunteers Introduction

Welcome to the iHeartVolunteers Blog! I am Chris Zenner Co-Founder of iHeartVolunteers, the dating site for volunteers. As a niche online dating site, our blog will focus on a variety of topics including online dating, volunteering, health and wellness, and community engagement. Our goal is to connect like-minded individuals, help in creating lasting relationships, encourage volunteerism, and have fun.

For those of you who do not know, my wife Shelly and I came up with the idea for iHeartVolunteers after hanging out with some of our single volunteer friends. A friend expressed that she was having a hard time finding people to relate to; the guys she had met did not share the same ideals and were not remotely interested in volunteering. Shelly immediately quipped, "we'll make a volunteer dating website!". So here we are, making it happen.

We did not want to create just another dating site; we wanted to create a socially responsible company that encouraged community involvement and supported its members. We will do this by:

  • Verifying volunteer service
  • Encouraging volunteerism
  • Giving 10% of profits back to member volunteer projects or organizations 
  • Offering support to non-profits and the community

Our main purpose for verifying volunteer experience is to create a community of wonderful people. The major reason people volunteer is to give back and improve the lives of others and the communities in which they live.  By creating a network of single volunteers we are getting, what we feel, are the best kind of people.

It is pretty common knowledge that one of the pitfalls of online dating is the "creeper" factor. The shady people that are not looking for a relationship or who misrepresent themselves. Part of the purpose for the volunteer verification is discouraging "creepers", this will not necessarily eliminate "creepers" but it will make it harder for them to join.

Did we mention that we will be giving back to our members? Ten percent of our profits will be available annually to our members volunteer projects. We have a grant process in place for our members to apply and support their cause/project/organization.

We at iHeartVolunteers are committed to having a socially responsible company, committed to its members, and to continuous improvement. We pledge to do our best to give our members the best online dating experience possible. Check us out, click here and sign up as a guest user for free!

Do good, together!

Chris C. Zenner
Co-Founder

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