Skilled Volunteer Mike Halsema has been assisting Apparo and our nonprofit partners since 2023, contributing his expertise to a wide range of needs
Mike’s journey as an Apparo volunteer began with the nonprofit Village Heartbeat Inc, where he provided guidance on Microsoft PowerBI throught Apparo’s Tech Therapy program. This initial engagement set the stage for many more impactful projects to come.
Mike has volunteered with 4 nonprofits, presented 2 Nonprofit Bytes + Insights webinars, and delivered cohort education, which accounts for 145+ hours of volunteering, and delivered $20,261 of value since 2023.
In 2024, Mike volunteered with Apparo for another Tech Therapy project with Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region. He trained the Habitat team on essential Excel skills that would assist the team in managing and analyzing their data. Using his Excel skills, Mike then presented a 2-part Nonprofit Bytes + Insights webinar series on organizing, editing and analyzing data. Both webinars had over 240 registrants – providing free nonprofit education to organizations across the country.
Mike continued his volunteer work with a Community Impact Project with HealthMPowers, a nonprofit in Georgia that promotes healthy habits by providing physical education and nutrition programs in schools. In this data business process assessment, Mike assisted with identifying gaps in the nonprofits current data management processes and created an actionable roadmap with specific recommendations to eliminate their pain points. With the roadmap, HealthMPowers estimates reducing their manual workload by 50%.
Mike recently completed work with Apparo and United Way of Greater Charlotte’s 7th Technology Foundations 101 cohort. Mike used his Excel expertise to teach the cohort of nonprofits Excel spreadsheet basics. He is currently working with Carolina Migrant Network in a Tech Therapy program to assist with data cleanup in their CRM.
When asked about his experiences with Apparo, Mike states “I enjoy volunteering with Apparo because it gives me the chance to use my professional skills in a way that creates a ripple effect—helping people who are out there helping others. Every project reminds me how much small nonprofits accomplish with very limited resources. I get a front-row seat to both the challenges they face and the creative ways they bootstrap solutions. It’s inspiring, and it makes me a better problem-solver in my own work too.”
Mike as a volunteer, makes a difference, for our Charlotte community.
Anaise Quirindongo of HealthMPowers shared of Mike, “Mike was a fantastic addition in supporting our Community Impact Project at HealthMPowers. From the very beginning, Mike was intentional about questions he asked and insights he made in a way clearly showcased a desire to understand as much as he could about our organization and our processes to offer the best and most impactful solutions. Mike’s dedication to our project was deeply appreciated and because of his approach and intentionality, our actionable plan laid our clear steps we can incorporate into ongoing plans and Mike was absolutely key in its development. Thank you, Mike!”
Interested in becoming involved as a volunteer at Apparo? Find out more here.
