Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ben Berard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ben, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I have always enjoyed giving back – my “love language” is Acts of Service.. so joining civic groups who are invested in my local community has always been a passion of mine. I recently moved to Las Vegas and as I was looking for civic clubs to join. I had found a club that I liked and when I went to apply it was $300 for the application fee and then $146.00 a month.. that’s ludicrous!

Even more ludicrous, when I asked this club for assistance (A club that gives scholarships to students and gives funding to India for heart transplants) they had no formal resources to assist people to become members who can’t afford it aside from from members going into their own pocket).

I asked for help and I was told no. Within that same minute I decided that I would create my own version of that club but I would make it accessible to anyone who wants to join – it’s completely free. Turns out, now we’re bigger and more active than that other club and we’re just getting started. My mom says, “People want to do good, they just don’t always know how” and that’s been proven again and again.

Ben, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Benjamin and I live in Las Vegas where you can often find me either volunteering or doing something “Business Travel” related. As the Partnership and Brand Manager for drvn, a global transportation logistics company, I am often attending events related to travel, technology and meetings. Through years of meeting incredible people who have encouraged me to continue being authentic and confident, I’m at a place in my life where I believe in myself enough to think I’m actually capable of something work talking about, which wasn’t always the case.

I truly believe there’s no such thing as “coincidence” and though it’s hard to see in the moment, everything that happens to us is helping us get to where we need to be. You’ve heard “when one door closed another door opens”.. turn out, at least in the case of VOV, a door wouldn’t open UNTIL that other door closed – I’m thankful for closed doors.

I’m also thankful for risks – I’d argue that I wasn’t the obvious choice when drvn was looking to hire someone and they took a risk on me. Without drvn taking a risk on me, I might not have taken a risk on me – I can’t thank drvn enough.. I’ve worked for incredible companies in the past but never have I grown in the ways that I have here. Get this.. drvn believes in VOV so much that they are now our partner, helping us expand our reach and efforts.

VOV is unique in that we serve the Volunteer themselves – not the organizations we’re volunteering at. We want to build up the volunteer so that they can give back to their community. Its hard to pour into another cup when you’re empty, so we work on keeping the volunteer cup full.

In addition to volunteer opportunities (because well.. volunteers like to volunteer..), we also provide services for volunteers like discounted notary services along with providing other resources for those that need them (located on the “resources” tab on our website). We also hold a monthly event just for volunteers where we can grow personally.. we’re also going to be holding finacial literacy classes and other content sessions to help our volunteers grow intellectually.

Further more, we host our own events where we clean parks, pack kits for the unhoused, we have a volunteer thinktank to generate ideas of impact and we have a letter writing station to help those who are lonely or working on the front-lines.

Additionally we’ve collected over 150 costumes for the kids of Robert Taylor Elementary school that we’re going to donate through the Green Valley Rotary club. We’ve developed a board of people who live in Las Vegas and are equally as passionate about Clark County who have been a tremendous help in taking us forward – I couldn’t do this without them and a huge thank you to Monica, Salome, Jessica and Holly!

We’re so thankful to work with organizations such as the Natural History Museum, Opportunity Village, Hospice, FEAT, Spread the Word Nevada, the Mats Project (I’m heading there with my Dad right after this interview – we’re helping to turn plastic bags into mattresses!)

I can’t tell you what I’m most proud of because each and every day I get chills with the impact we’re making and the outpouring of love and support we’re receiving. I’m not used to being recognized from our online presence but I’m flattered when someone from the community comes up to me and shares how our story has impacted them in some way.. our reach is extensive.. far bigger than I had thought!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Tiktok is the reason we’re successful. I couldn’t believe how quickly Tiktok get VOV exposure.. I simply opened an account with our name and I used Chat GPT to create a quick logo. I then made a video telling the community what I wanted to do and immediately I had people starting to follow and connect with me.

I had no idea that Tiktok would propel us to where we are – 99% of those who volunteer with us find us on Tiktok. 99% of those who tell us they need volunteers find us on Tiktok. The Las Vegas community is stronger than any community I’ve ever been part of and it’s inspiring to see people come together so quickly.

Not only has Tiktok helped us on the volunteer side of things, but also several companies have reached out wanting to help support us as well which is unimaginable as we’re still less than 6 months old.

One of the coolest partnerships that Tiktok brought to VOV was the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary – where Jenn has been so kind as to provide all of our volunteers with a complimentary ticket to tour Gilcrease, see the animals and enjoy time in nature.

Our content is simple – we don’t know how to edit videos all that well so we just record and post and seems to be appreciated! I think that in a world of AI taking over.. authentic human responses and interaction is appreciated

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

This might be slighty off topic, but I feel it’s worth mentioning:

1. Managing and leading are two different things – be a leader (I’ll expand shortly).
2. Delegate – we all have trust issues – get over it and delegate (do as I say, not as I do).

We’ve all had boss’s we’ve liked and didn’t like for different reasons but I’ll say that the boss’s I like are the boss’s I respect. In Rotary, we have a four-way test, I encourage you and your readers to look that test up – I carry a little card with it in my wallet and when I see someone abiding by those four points, I tremendously respect them.

The things you do when no one is looking show your character. Managing is a skill that can be taught, and YUM! Brands does a great job of this – they invest in you learning about you.. because when you know who you are, you can teach authentically rather than playing a role (acting). When you’re authentic and you teach sincerely – you can lead.

Leaders who do the right thing when no one is looking.. now that’s mentor potential right there!

Also delegate.. once you have a process and you have someone who wants the task, let them have it! If you are a LEADER, people will want to help you.. allow them to.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.volunteersofvegas.com
• Instagram: volunteersofvegas
• Facebook: Volunteers Of Vegas
• Linkedin: Volunteers Of Vegas

Image Credits

My headshot was taken by https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavofernandez/
I took all of the other photos
If you want names of everyone in the photos, I can provide those