Episode Summary

Discover how vulnerability, human connection, and community service create real transformation. Ben Berard, founder of Volunteers of Vegas, shares his journey from small-town kid to nonprofit leader, revealing how authentic connection and removing barriers to service built a movement of 300+ volunteers in just seven months and how it's going national.

Key Topics Covered

• How to remove barriers to community volunteering and service

• Building authentic human connections behind professional titles

• Overcoming imposter syndrome and trusting your intuition over obvious choices

• The power of small gestures and micro-connections in creating meaningful relationships

• Strategies for rapid nonprofit growth through authentic mission and community support

• Why volunteering is one of the most selfish (and beneficial) things you can do

• Creating environments where people feel safe being their authentic selves

Notable Quotes

"My mom's always said that people want to do good. They just don't always know how. So I thought to myself, you know what? I'm gonna take a risk. I'm gonna see if she's right." - Ben Berard

"My bullshit's having a conversation with your bullshit. Thoughts go through my head. And then you have those bullshit filters, the imposter syndrome of what are they gonna think if I say this? Or what are they gonna think if I don't? And then I say something and then right after I say it, it's the, okay, how is this gonna land?" - Amber Fuhriman

"Volunteering is one of the most selfish things we can do because it releases euphoria, dopamine, serotonin, and it's not altruistic. I get 10 times what I give." - Ben Berard

"Behind all of those titles—there's a human, and if you can connect with that human being, everything else just dissipates and goes away." - Ben Berard

"I've learned that everybody else is taken, and I am so perfectly imperfect. I have so many flaws... but I've learned to embrace myself, and I've learned to show up for myself." - Ben Berard

Call to Action

• Book a free strategy call with Amber: https://calendly.com/amberfuhriman/connection-call?month=2021-05

• Join the Break Your Bullsh*t Box Community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/185xJ6KALu/

• Check out Amber's Speaker Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPj5OBvjrr0

Guest Info

• Ben Berard - Founder, Volunteers of Vegas

• Director of Membership, Green Valley Rotary Club

• District Public Image Committee Member, Rotary District 5300

• Website: volunteersofvegas.com

• Connect with Volunteers of Vegas to volunteer, request assistance, or explore national expansion opportunities. All social media platforms @volunteersofvegas

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