Sarah Zehr had two weeks between jobs when she moved back to Champaign-Urbana several years ago, so she decided to do some volunteer work.

Her charitable intent didn't pan out. The logistics proved too daunting and the timetable too short.

"I couldn't get anything set up in those two weeks," said Zehr, an assistant dean and director of career services for the University of Illinois College of Engineering.

What the community needed, she thought, was an online repository where volunteers with time on their hands could be matched up quickly with agencies that need help.

Welcome to her vision: http://www.cuvolunteer.org.

Working with the United Way of Champaign County and several UI units, Zehr created a site that will connect nonprofit organizations in need of volunteers with people in the community who want to help.

Actually, the website already existed but focused mostly on volunteer opportunities for UI students. The revamped site, with a communitywide focus, was set to debut today.

"This way you can connect directly to the organization and sign up right online," Zehr said. "It kind of streamlines the whole thing."

The official launch party is 5 to 7 p.m. July 28 at the Enclave on the fourth floor of the M2 building downtown. The public is invited and can hear a brief program and try out the new site. Food and drinks will also be available.

Zehr said her vision for the project was ChicagoCares.org, a service organization that sponsors volunteer projects and allows people to sign up online.

She consulted with the UI Office of Volunteer Programs and the United Way of Champaign County, which coordinates volunteer work for its member agencies and helped set up the original cuvolunteer.org website several years ago.

Sue Grey, United Way vice president for community impact, said her organization was interested in expanding the reach of the website to the broader community. It was originally seen as a way to tap into the vast pool of student volunteers on campus, but "as time went on, we kind of lost that community piece of it."

It's also become harder for the United Way to coordinate volunteer opportunities because of its own staff reductions. The new website should expedite the process for anyone who wants to volunteer, she said.

"Our nonprofit partners rely so heavily on volunteers, from board members to story readers to someone who wants to paint the walls and clean the windows," Grey said. "We know what a critical role volunteers play."

To redesign the website, Zehr worked with a senior design team in a UI computer science class, who took on the project as part of their coursework.

The Office of Public Engagement, which oversees the university's public service responsibilities, agreed to maintain it long-term, she said.

The cuvolunteer.org website was to be live today for a meeting of nonprofit directors, and a full list of volunteer opportunities should be available closer to next week's launch date, officials said.

Zehr, a Champaign native, received her undergraduate degree at the UI and an MBA from Northwestern. She formerly worked for the Chicago Public Education Fund, a social-investment mutual fund that raised money for a program to improve leadership in public schools.