Theresa Rodie finished nursing training two years ago. She had studied the help-wanted ads to see where demand was before deciding nursing was her best bet for a secure income.

Then the economy started softening, and finding a job has been tougher than the single mother of five anticipated.

She's taken medical temp jobs - drawing blood, stitching wounds by the hour - to build her resume.

Willing to "demote" herself to get a foot in the door, she recently interviewed for a receptionist job with a home health agency.

She's not waiting for paying jobs. For the past year, she's created her own profession, albeit one outside medicine, and one without a paycheck: Ballet Idaho super volunteer.

She does "anything and everything" for the organization, she said.

That includes making fancy event invitations, working as a "dresser" who helps dancers change costumes during shows, and making cakes on her own dime to be auctioned off at ballet fundraisers.

Rodie is among Valley job seekers who are volunteering to keep busy, support causes they believe in and make connections. If the ballet offered her a job, she'd take it, she said.

Tim Leigh from the Idaho Department of Labor said he's met several people who started with their organizations as volunteers, then got hired when a paid position opened up, because they'd already built relationships with the people doing the hiring.

Rodie has been frustrated, she said, by the modern method of applying for nursing jobs, filling in exhaustive, impersonal, online forms.

"There's no face-to-face. People don't get to know you," she said. "You're just in a pile with hundreds of applications."

Volunteering can help job seekers past the computer screen, and drop them directly into the workplace.

NEW PARTNERSHIP: LABOR AND NONPROFITS

Leigh and counselors at the Department of Labor found themselves suggesting volunteer work to their clients so often, they decided to partner with the Southwest Idaho Directors of Volunteer Services and other agencies to host the Valley's first volunteer fairs last weekend.

The fairs in Meridian and Caldwell drew about 80 agencies with opportunities to offer, and about 100 attendees.

Jennifer Caprile, a department work force consultant, said the agencies participating made their volunteer sign-up goals. There's talk of holding another fair in the fall.

Matching volunteers with organizations that can best use their talents is an art, and a new one for the department.

Caprile recently played volunteer matchmaker between Debra Roberts, a job seeker with 15 years of clerical experience, and the Idaho Nonprofit Center, an agency (and co-host of the volunteer fairs), in search of a volunteer office assistant.

"I was doing everything I could do to find a job," Roberts said.

That included signing up with three temp agencies. She's also earned a little money as a hired picketer for a carpenters' union.

Caprile suggested volunteering, and Roberts agreed.

"The days get really long when you're not doing anything but looking for a job," Roberts said.

Volunteering for the Nonprofit Development Center is adding a new line to her resume and expanding her list of professional references, those who can vouch for her skills.

"I'm doing a lot of listening," Roberts added. "I haven't worked for a nonprofit organization before. I'm learning as I go."

VOLUNTEERING: BENEFITS TO BOTH SIDES

A rich pool of talented volunteers, made deeper by the recession and layoffs, is valuable to agencies facing their own financial challenges.

A recent Wall Street Journal article noted the trend of struggling nonprofits relying on talented volunteers they don't have the money to hire.

The Idaho Nonprofit Center recently surveyed 270 Idaho nonprofit organizations. Sixty-four percent reported a decline in revenue, along with an increased demand for services.

Cindy Busche, environmental education coordinator for the Boise Watershed Environmental Education Center, has also put out the call for volunteers. Her office participated in the fairs.

"We're part of the city of Boise, facing budget crunches like the rest of the world, and there is a hiring freeze," she said. "We're trying to get word out there and attract skilled professionals."

A grant to help the city develop the Hyatt Wetlands, a natural area near Chinden Boulevard and Maple Grove, means a search for biologists, conservation experts, even people skilled in interviewing to survey residents in the area.

The center, like lots of local agencies, offers a chance for job seekers to gain new skills - learning about water and giving public tours at the center, for example.

Caprile said she's worked with a number of people who are transitioning between careers, and using volunteer work to get work experience they couldn't get otherwise.

Volunteering doesn't jeopardize unemployment benefits. In fact, it can help.

Job seekers receiving benefits are required to make two job "contacts" each week, whether that's by phone, in person or online.

"Volunteering can give you that opportunity. You never know where your contacts might come from," Caprile said.

Anna Webb: 377-6431