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Dear Special Olympics Ontario community,
Last November, an email was sent to our membership detailing the frustrations that we, and you – our valued volunteers – were experiencing with the National Membership Portal.
We heard you loud and clear, and we have been working diligently to provide a solution that removes the heavy administrative burden from our volunteers that will now in turn, allow you to focus on what’s important: our athletes!
Over the past year we have worked with Special Olympics Canada and a focus group of dedicated SOO volunteers to address the issues our members have encountered, and now we are pleased to share some exciting developments.
This week we have launched an Ontario-specific registration and verification process aimed to enhance ease-of-use for all members. Along with this Ontario-specific solution we have been able to address a number of issues and concerns found in the SOC portal, some key improvements and updates include:
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Date of Birth Format: Updated to YYYY-MM-DD, displayed as “May 8, 2000”. This change ensures accurate entry and reduces the creation of duplicate records during registration.
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Best Contact Phone: Allows members to indicate their preferred contact number (Home or Cell), improving communication efficiency.
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Home Community Field: Each member is now assigned to a home community that pre-filters the programs shown to them during registration, making it easier to show relevant programs based on the member’s area.
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Portal Email Address Update: All members can now update their own portal email addresses. Similarly, the portal email address can be updated by Data Admins. This change saves time, and helps prevent issues that arise from outdated/multiple email addresses of the same member.
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Login with Member ID: Members can now use their Member ID as an alternative to their email address for logging in. This provides greater flexibility and can help members who may have trouble accessing their email addresses.
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SMS Texting for Forgot Password and Member ID Validation: Members now have the option to receive password reset and Member ID validation links via SMS, in addition to email. This is particularly beneficial for members who prefer text messaging or do not have easy access to email.
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Improved Duplicate Detection: The enhanced duplicate detection system, which now includes the “Home Community” field, helps to identify and prevent duplicate records.
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New Family Admin Page: Centralizes all Family Admin functions into a single page, replacing the Family Admin menu.
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New Members page: Combines Active Participants & Volunteers pages with added filtering options and links to add new members or enrollments, eliminating redundant menu items.
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New Enrollments page: Includes filtering options, consolidating the Active & Inactive Enrollments menu options.
Along with changes to the Portal, we are excited to be launching an Ontario specific Registration and Club Verification process. The new process is built directly into the National Database, but it mimics the Get Involved process we've been using for the last six months.
As for next steps, we'll be working closely with Community administrators to implement the new registration and verification process. We will also host virtual training sessions to answer/address any outstanding questions/concerns that exist.
Thank you for your patience and continued support as we move forward with these positive changes. Volunteers are the lifeline of our movement, and our promise is to continue supporting you as best we can in order to provide the highest quality experience with our amazing organization.
Best Regards,
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