‘Voluntour Kentucky’ sheds light on non-profits

September 30, 2018 | 3:14 am

Updated September 30, 2018 | 12:13 pm

Homeless encampment at Exit 0 | Photo courtesy of Randy Lanham

Randy Lanham’s name tends to bring to mind two things for the Owensboro faithful, bluegrass music and Volunteer Owensboro.

As co-founder of Volunteer Owensboro, Lanham not only provides the resources for how people can be paired up with local non-profits, he has also served as host of a daily show on Spectrum for the past three years. Lanham took viewers behind the scenes so they could “learn more about the organizations and what they do as Randy walked in the shoes of a volunteer for a day.”

After three years on Spectrum channel 8, the station closed and will no longer be airing “Volunteer Owensboro.”

Around the same time, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) approached Lanham about filming a new series entitled “Voluntour Kentucky,” asking that he continue to highlight non-profits in and beyond the Owensboro area.

“The idea for the show is to bringing more awareness and opportunity around the state and (I hope) people would be inspired to volunteer and to serve,” Lanham said.

KET will air 12 episodes of the weekly series on TV and online, beginning in January 2019. Lanham said six of those episodes have already been filmed including a volunteer fire department, the Red Cross, Hospice, a food pantry, Habitat for Humanity, and Exit 0 Homeless Outreach.

“I’ve worked with the homeless for years,” Lanham said. “I’ve never gone to an encampment before.”

Lanham hopes the show goes beyond the channel’s desire to educate and also serves to inspire others to reach out in their community and serve.

“It’s one thing to learn something, but it’s another thing to put it into action and do something,” Lanham said.

As for how Lanham felt about transitioning from Volunteer Owensboro to Voluntour Kentucky, he was optimistic.

“This is like the greatest job in the world,” Lanham said. “I wish I could do this every day.”

September 30, 2018 | 3:14 am

Share this Article

Other articles you may like