Weekly Volunteer Management News

Archive for 2004 December-July (Current News)

26 Dec 2004: As promised -- which in itself is great news – the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor has provided its annual December update of “Volunteering in the United States.” The 2004 version is now available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.toc.htm and also in PDF form.

Some of the highlighted findings – which may surprise you or confirm your experiences – are:

About 64.5 million Americans did volunteer work at least once from September 2003 to September 2004. The proportion of the population who volunteered during the year held steady at 28.8 percent.
One-fourth of men and about one-third of women did volunteer work in the year ended in September 2004, about the same proportions as in the prior year. Women volunteered at a higher rate than men across age groups, education levels, and other major characteristics.
Among the different age groups, persons age 35 to 44 were the most likely to volunteer, closely followed by 45- to 54-year olds and 55- to 64-year olds.
Teenagers also had a relatively high volunteer rate, 29.4 percent, perhaps reflecting an emphasis on volunteer activities in schools. Volunteer rates were lowest among persons in their early twenties (20.0 percent) and among those age 65 and over (24.6 percent). Within the latter group, volunteer rates decreased as age increased.
Parents with children under age 18 were more likely to volunteer than persons without children of that age, 36.9 percent compared with 25.4 percent. Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (33.9 percent) than never married persons (23.2 percent) and persons of other marital statuses (22.9 percent).
Whites volunteered at a higher rate (30.5 percent) than did blacks (20.8 percent) and Asians (19.3 percent). Among Hispanics or Latinos, 14.5 percent volunteered. Among employed persons, 31.2 percent had volunteered during the year ended in September 2004. By comparison, the volunteer rates of persons who were unemployed (25.6 percent) or not in the labor force (24.7 percent) were lower.
Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities – 38.5 versus 29.6 percent.

When quoting any statistics, regardless of the source, be careful! There are so many variables to consider that all data can be misleading. But thanks to the Bureau for providing us with this annual guidepost to what’s happening in the USA.

19 Dec 2004: As always, the Christmas season elicits volunteering around the world in both traditional and innovative ways. Here are just a few examples of sites where you can read about:

the Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count in Arizona http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1217birdcount17.html

how volunteers are recreating a 1900-era Christmas in Minnesota:
http://www.hometownsource.com/2004/December/7christmas.html

the humorous greeting card designed for the UK’s Experience Corps by Saatchi & Saatchi, on the theme of “We want people to give themselves this Christmas”: http://www.experiencecorps.co.uk/xq/ASP/
id_Content.153/id_Page_Parent.4/qx/article.htm

efforts on behalf of the troops for “Operation Iraq: The Spirit of Christmas”: http://www.thespiritofchristmasusa.com/

how Conservation Volunteers Ireland is promoting the ecologically-proper way to dispose of old mobile phones once the new holiday gift ones are unwrapped: http://www.cvi.ie/cvi/web/DocumentView/did-135303782-amp-pageUrl--Global-navig-Home.html

the “Sharity Gift Box” of the Boy’ Brigade of Singapore: http://www.bbsgb.org.sg/index.html

the harsh reality of Christmas pain eased by Lifeline Australia: http://www.lifeline.org.au/article.php?id=4

the volunteer recruitment message from the UK’s Guardian newspaper, “ to balance the self-indulgent, consumerism of Christmas”: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian_jobs_and_money/story/0,,1365731,00.html

how one elementary school in Guam has chosen giving to those in need over pageants and presents: http://www.kuam.com/news/11934.aspx

Whatever your beliefs, may this holiday season bring peace and gladness to all. Volunteers certainly will be doing their part.

12 Dec 2004: Earlier this year Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary David Blunkett announced that 2005 would be the Year of the Volunteer in England . (Seemingly without any reference to the UN’s similarly-named event in 2001.) Now more details have been announced, including two themes: young people and employee volunteering.

Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and Volunteering England have both been appointed by the Home Office to run the campaign to promote and support Year of the Volunteer 2005. The Home Office has committed support to CSV to develop the campaign in England in partnership with a new network of agencies involving volunteers including Barnardo’s, MENCAP, BTCV and the RSPCA. CSV will be working with the network to establish a year of twelve themed months. These will be:

January: Health
February: Youth & Children
March: Older People
April: Justice
May: Environment
June: Recognition
July: Veterans
August: Sport
September: Ability
October: Citizenship & Community
November: Europe
December: Animals

Volunteering England has further formed a consortium comprised of the Media Trust, Youthnet UK , TimeBank, Business in the Community and Youth Action Network to deliver their part of the campaign. The focal point for the consortium will be Volunteers’ Week 1-7 June. The consortium’s programme for the Year will include a high-profile media campaign, promotional materials, grants, workshops and DIY kits for people to organise their own volunteering activity.

Further information can be found at the Web sites of all three coordinating bodies:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/active/item.asp?ID=84

http://www.csv.org.uk/Year+of+the+Volunteer+2005.htm

http://www.volunteering.org.uk/missions.php?id=941

5 Dec 2004: Colleagues Andy Fryar, Rob Jackson and Fraser Dyer have given our field the gift of a free electronic book, Turn Your Organisation into a Volunteer Magnet

(2004, 60 pp.). It offers essays from 18 contributors from Australia, the UK and the US on attracting the best and most diverse volunteers and then working with them successfully. It can be downloaded from Energize at: http://www.energizeinc.com/art/documents/VolunteerMagnet1.2.pdf

Starting by encouraging contributors to the OzVPM, UKVPMs, and CyberVPM online discussion groups to submit their writing, the three editors were committed to this goal:

There are many people who manage volunteers who are 'silent experts' – they have years of accumulated knowledge, insight and experience about how to run great volunteer programmes and bring the best out of their volunteers. Yet their expertise is not always seen outside of their organisation, and sometimes not even valued within it. It is like a vein of gold that runs through the profession which has not, as yet, been uncovered. Even if these silent experts wanted to share their insights (and too many don't even acknowledge their own expertise), it’s not always easy to break into the established volunteer management networks, conferences and journals to make one's voice heard.

With Turn Your Organisation into a Volunteer Magnet, we wanted to create a resource that gave an outlet to these silent experts. It wasn't important for contributors to be good writers. We even said they could simply give us outlines or list bullet points if they preferred and we would write their final piece for them. What we did want was The Stuff They Knew; their unrefined gold that – if necessary we would polish up so that its brilliance could be seen more easily. And for budding writers who really wanted to get published, here was an opportunity to submit something that would be accepted not on the basis of ‘who are you?’ but on ‘what do you have to say?’

Here is the table of contents:

Lead the way Rob Jackson
Magnets for young volunteers Kerrie Spinks
If it looks like a magnet… Andy Fryar
Reverse polarity and the volunteer magnet Steve McCurley
Customer service – it’s your call Gillian Hughes
Are you passionate about the work of your volunteers? Fraser Dyer
A company is known by the people it keeps Rosemary Sage
Hang on… there are a number of hoops to jump through first! Rosie Williams
They’re attracted – now what? Margaret Robertson
Now you’ve got ‘em, how do you keep ‘em? Adaire Palmer
Attracting the differently abled Peter Heyworth
Inclusive volunteering Kate Power
Building staff capacity Rick Lynch
Creating internships Ilhame Okda
Making friends with volunteers Donna Amos
It’s all about relationships Kim Sanecki
The best way is through the stomach Nikki Squelch
Balancing the needs of volunteer and project Martin J Cowling

28 Nov 2004: YouthLaunch (http://www.youthlaunch.org), a non-profit that empowers young people through service to their schools and communities, has unveiled a pioneering, youth-driven e-learning course, “The Next Big Thing.” It is designed to provide critical training to nearly 1100 Texas teens who endeavor to become “Teen Bigs,” participating as volunteers in Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) mentoring programs. The course leverages cutting-edge technology and rich multimedia to provide the Teen Bigs a training experience that will help them transform their lives and the lives of their “Littles.”

YouthLaunch and its partner, Enspire Learning, an Austin-based online learning company, hope that The Next Big Thing will establish a new standard for non-profit training, providing a learning experience that is driven not only by consistency and quality, but also interaction and fun. “The Web-based training is very user-friendly and volunteer-friendly,” said Armen Babajanian, Program Coordinator for BBBS, Alamo Area. “The information is relayed in an informative way, but also has a sense of humor.” The training course empowers teens by allowing them to set the pace of the training, track their own progress and evaluate the quality of the course.

A demonstration of the The Next Big Thing can be viewed at:
http://www.enspire.com/demo/youthlaunch
Username (case sensitive): press

20 November 2004: In response to the findings of the Urban Institute's national volunteer management capacity study and the input of volunteer managers, nonprofit leaders, researchers, funders and others, The UPS Foundation has provided seed support for the new Fund for the Advancement of Effective Volunteer Resources Management. This pooled fund will be housed at the National Human Services Assembly (www.nassembly.org).

The Fund will support sector-wide volunteer management priorities identified through research and input from the field, summarized in From Research to Action: A Unified National Responseto the 2004 Volunteer Management Capacity Study (released last month and downloadable at http://www.volunteerinput.org/). The study clearly indicated that, when it comes to building the capacity of nonprofit organizations through the effective involvement of volunteers, much work remains to be done.

UPS will provide up to $1 million over three years, and, along with partner funders, aims to grow the Fund by at least another $5 million to support volunteer management initiatives. To learn more about the Fund’s goals and methods, download the “fact sheet” available at www.VolunteerInput.org. This is also the Web site where ongoing news of the Fund will be posted.

13 November 2004: Imagine, started in 1988 (www.imagine.ca), is Canada’s national program to promote public and corporate giving, volunteering and support for the community. Two months ago they launched a new Corporate Citizenship Commitment initiative designed to provide a “powerful, practical and credible leadership platform for business.” Through this commitment, companies agree to support the principles for corporate citizenship and benchmarks for community investment established by Imagine. The Corporate Citizenship Commitment requires participating companies to agree to the following:

Donate a minimum 1% of their pre-tax profits to charity and to encourage employee giving and volunteering.
Follow ethical and environmentally responsible business practices.
Maintain at least one community investment project that is supported by the CEO and leverages a range of skills such as employee volunteers to make a difference in the community.
Publish a minimum one page report annually on its community investment activities that displays the Imagine logo.

The Web site provides information for companies wishing to sign on, including all sorts of resources on employee volunteering. The concept and the materials are definitely useful beyond Canada.

Further, because “good corporate citizenship begins with a commitment from the top,“ Imagine has also announced a new framework for leaders called Canadian Corporate Citizenship: The Leadership Challenge for CEOs and Boards. This downloadable guidebook assists top management to assure that the Corporate Citizenship Commitment moves from lip service to reality.

7 November 2004: The Advocacy Institute, supporter of social justice advocates and creator of the Leadership for a Changing World program, has created Advocacy.org, an email newsletter that features the lessons and useful practices drawn from their extensive conversations with social justice advocates. The newsletter is intended to be immediately useful on its own, yet also to link to supplemental articles on the Advocacy.org website. Each issue will contain:

Advocacy concepts and tools previously only available through the programs of the Advocacy Institute
Stories collected from advocates that illustrate how to put these concepts or tools into practical use
Requests for readers to share their own experiences or questions

The first issue is focused on the lessons from the Leadership for a Changing World program. You can learn about the Advocacy Institute and sign up for their newsletter at http://www.advocacy.org/enews/ .

31October2004: The Points of Light Foundation has announced the availability of the Neighboring Action Toolkit, a new online resource for increasing effectiveness in meeting community needs. Accessible through http://www.PointsofLight.org/Neighboring, this free online action kit (supported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation) is especially geared to suppporting low-income families and children using volunteering as a key strategy. Volunteering - neighbor helping neighbor - is a time-honored tradition, even in “tough communities.”

The Neighboring site offers many ideas, sample programs, and tools to help organizations and businesses mobilize mutual aid projects in low-income neighborhoods. While the language is very American, the concept can be adapted to many cultures. See this excerpt about the philosophy of the program:

We Are All Neighbors

Neighbors do help neighbors. Every day, they use their time and their gifts to keep their friends and families going. Many, especially those living in tough communities, work hard to deal with the challenges of communities where unemployment, violence, and drugs take their toll. In the face of these obstacles, community residents look for the connections to vital resources that would improve their odds of succeeding.

There may be no better example of the spirit of getting involved and volunteering than the time-honored American tradition called a barn-raising. From the earliest days of our country, neighbors would gather at a homestead and work together to build a barn, often in a single day. Neighbors lent a hand when they became aware of neighbors they could help. They took responsibility for one another. More than barns were built in the process. True bonds of community spirit were forged.

Points of Light invites everyone to become part of a movement to build strong families and communities with volunteering and neighboring at its center, and hopes that you will use these resources to enhance your work in communities.

24 October 2004: Still a best-kept secret in North America, many colleagues around the world have been celebrating International Volunteer Day (IVD) – 5th of December – since it was initiated by the United Nations in 1985. UNV’s World Volunteer Web site is the place to go to learn more about IVD, get great ideas for how to celebrate the day, and register to become a part of this global event. See: http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/dynamic/cfapps/ivd/index.cfm

The site provides you free official logos and templates to use in publications and posters, as well as sample materials from many different countries. You are also encouraged to share your ideas and resources with others.

A number of years ago Nan Hawthorne led an effort to add “ International Volunteer Program Managers Appreciation Day” to the festivities of IVD. There was a Web site for this that is now defunct , but the Thanks Company still offers commemorative items at http://www.thankscompany.com/pages-volunteer/cards-vpm.shtml. [If anyone has more updated information on IVPMAD, please submit it to us so we can update our site.]

17 October 2004: The Russell Commission (www.russellcommission.org) has been set up by the UK Government to develop a new national framework for youth action and engagement, as part of a wider program to promote volunteering across society, and to encourage active and engaged citizens. Earlier this month it launched its “consultation” process.

The Russell Commission is committed to seeking the views of young people during its consultation. Its Young People's Advisory Group proposed that a “youth version” of the consultation document should be made available to young people throughout the UK, in order to test ideas and seek their views in a fun and relevant format. The result is a series of freepost postcards, designed and developed by the Young People's Advisory Group, which are available in both hard copy and online at www.russellmission.com. Here’s how that site presents its case:

Here's the idea: You wanna change the world, have amazing experiences, get career ideas and spruce up your CV, meet new people and have a damn good time. Volunteering has the potential to give you all this. The Russell Commission exists to make youth volunteering a whole lot sexier and more exciting. We have ideas on how to make this happen –- but we need your creativity, wisdom, experience and ideas to get it right. How? Simply click me and fill out the survey that bursts onto your screen. You could even win one of four shiny new iPod minis. What are you waiting for?

Stay turned for the results .

10 October 2004: United Nations Volunteers has just issued the invitation to join the World Volunteer Web Speakers’ Corner – a new online discussion forum to debate key volunteering issues in thematic sessions. The Speakers’ Corner is an online space for free and open debates on volunteering issues, especially about how volunteers contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The discussions will be held in thematic sessions, moderated by experienced volunteer sector leaders. It’s an initiative of United Nations Volunteers (UNV) in partnership with the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), Merrill Associates and OneWorld.net.

The forum aims to:

Help stakeholders from the volunteer community exchange ideas and opinions about the issues that affect their work.
Provide them with a platform to make their voices heard by policymakers in order to influence national, regional and global volunteer policies.

Selected topics will be critically analyzed:

…examples and best practices would be showcased; a discussion on challenges and opportunities could evolve; and need for policy changes, if required, would be highlighted. All the discussions will be condensed in a summary report each month and shared with the participants to the discussion forum as well as additional stakeholders in the voluntary sector to enable them to feed results of the discussions into national, regional and global strategies.

The summary reports will be valuable inputs to feed into the reports to the UN General Assembly sessions next year on the Millennium Development Goals and the post-International Year of Volunteers 2001 activities.

The forum kicks off this week to discuss its first topic: “What’s so special about volunteers?: Volunteers and environmental sustainability.” As an an open space for debate, anyone can join and participate in the discussions. Especially invited are those who are active in the volunteer sector in developing countries and communities.

Joining the discussion forum is easy and free. Simply send a blank email message to: join-VolunteerWeb@dgroups.org

In order to keep the forum secure and free from spammers, the sign-up process is not automatic. New members will be approved by the forum administrator. You may be asked to share brief information about yourself and your organisation. On successful sign-up, you will receive a welcome email message. After that, you will start receiving messages posted to the discussion forum. You can fully participate in the forum through email itself.

For more information about the forum, visit the WorldVolunteerWeb:

http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/events/ivd/participate/discuss.htm

For more specific information, contact Kanti Kumar, Editor, WorldVolunteerWeb.org, kanti.kumar@unvolunteers.org, United Nations Volunteers, Bonn, Germany.

3 October 2004: Joining the growing list of days of service designed to honor famous advocates for justice, National Gandhi Day (www.gandhiday.org) was established “ to inspire and empower people around the world through civic engagement and community service...through Gandhi's common values of equality, tolerance and nonviolence, regardless of ethnicity, racial or religious background.” It is also a project designed to mobilize participation especially by (but not limited to) Asian-American college students and is sponsored by the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT, www.saalt.org).

The event began in 1997 as a project of the Indian American Student Association at the University of Michigan and the idea spread quickly, going national in 1999. October 2 nd was selected because that was the birth date (1869) of Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi. One of this world-famous leader's best-known quotes seemed ideal as the theme for a day of service: "You must be the change you wish to see in this world."

This year 218 sites registered in advance as planning National Gandhi Day projects in 23 States and also in Canada and England . Check out your area’s participation at http://www.gandhiday.org/2004reg.asp and consider getting involved next year.

26 September 2004: The 2004 Alliance for Nonprofit Management Annual Conference was held in Washington, DC on August 12-15 with the theme of "Empowering the Nonprofit Sector." The event drew more than 500 nonprofit technical assistance providers, grantmakers, researchers and managers, to focus on ways to improve quality in nonprofit management for greater impact and power. The Alliance has just posted several of the major addresses delivered at the conference (http://www.allianceonline.org/annual_conference) for general review.

Of special note is the keynote address delivered by Wendy Puriefoy of Public Education Network. In “ A Role Beyond Service” ( http://www.allianceonline.org/annual_conference/keynote_wendy_puriefoy.file), Puriefoy presents a strong and well-articulated argument that the nonprofit sector is not exercising the power it ought to have based on its size and impact, especially in comparison to the way that for-profit businesses expect to influence politics and social norms. “Are we being as deliberate, as strategic, as focused in promoting our nonprofit values and principles as GE is in promoting its light bulbs?” she asks.

Acknowledging the very real record of accomplishment that nonprofit organizations have had in some critical areas, Puriefoy nonetheless observes:

We have no collective strategic plan; we don't use our collective power; we accept others' language instead of our own; we don't control our own currency; we're dependent upon foundations; perhaps most of all, and most dangerous of all, we don't control our own identity…Inmany ways, we don't have the language to articulate our accomplishments, and we don't have access to take our rightful place at the table as influential leaders of a democratic society; not just a nonprofit sector, but a democratic society.

She notes the importance of working together to support basic democratic principles. The bad news of the day – war, terrorism, genocide, poverty – require the attention of the nonprofit sector collectively, regardless of the specific service mission of each organization.

Many nonprofits come to the consultants in this audience and the people here to ask you to help them to get the technique right, and I would say to you, tonight, that part of your job is to help them get the spirit right... Guard the soul of your organization, so that it demonstrates humanity in its responsiveness to the needs and sensibilities of external constituencies.

The speech resonates for any nonprofit no matter anywhere in the world, but has special urgency for the United States as it faces the upcoming election:

Our job, the job of nonprofits, is the job of transformation. Transforming people from individuals into full citizens of these United States. Therefore, it is our job to empower every person who comes into the agencies that you either attend to or work in. Whether it's for daycare, healthcare, counseling, services, whatever – the most powerful thing is for these folks to vote…

Voting rights must not be viewed as an addition to the work of our organizations, but it is the price of doing business in our democracy.

Read this speech and consider its implications for what we ask volunteers to do, the priorities of our organizations, and the potential for our communities.

19 September 2004: Service Enquiry is a new international online publication exploring the impact of service on democratic values, citizenship and socio-economic development. Its first volume was produced in 2003 and a second edition is planned for 2005, for which contributions are welcomed. Service Enquiry is published by the Global Service Institute, USA in partnership with Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa (VOSESA), Johannesburg , South Africa . Free copies in English and Spanish are available at http://www.service-enquiry.org.za; print-on-demand copies can be ordered for a fee.

Service Enquiry seeks to e xamine the relationship between research policy and practice in the service and volunteerism field. The 2003 edition contains 16 articles organized under four sections:

Service and Volunteerism in the Global Context
Service and Development
The Language of Service
The Practice of Service

The scope of the various articles is both impressive and truly international. Sample titles are:

The Post-Cold War Environment for National Service Policy: Developments in Germany , Italy , Russia and China
Rethinking Community-Based Learning in the Context of Globalisation
Taking People Out of Boxes and Categories: Voluntary service and social cohesion
Senior Volunteers: Solutions waiting to happen
University-Based Community Service, Foreign Debt Relief and Sustainable Development
The Impact of Service Projects on Micro-Enterprises in Mexican Marginalised Communities
‘Servicio’ and ‘Solidaridad’ in South American Spanish Youth Service for Employment: The Umsobomvu Youth Fund initiative in South Africa
September 11, Service and Activism: A longitudinal study of American high school students
Service-Learning in Argentina

12 September 2004: CityCares, a growing alliance of innovative volunteer management and mobilization organizations, announced a new name and logo for the 12-year-old national nonprofit. Based on an enhanced strategic direction, CityCares is changing its name to become “Hands On Network,” effective August 30, with a new accompanying tagline of “Be The Change. Volunteer.” to reinforce its mission of transforming people and communities through volunteer service and civic engagement.

President and CEO Michelle Nunn noted the nonprofit organization’s exponential growth during the past three years. Starting with only three volunteer organization members, Hands On Network has grown to 35 organizations, with 10 new affiliates expected to join the fold by 2005. “The goal is to double the number of Hands On Network affiliates around the world during the next three years, meeting the needs of communities and expanding the capacity of nonprofits through volunteer service,” said Nunn. “The new name and logo is built upon our past successes, yet is aligned more intentionally with our strategic goals – expanding the network and reinventing volunteerism by bridging direct service to long-term civic action.”

Read the announcement of the name change and more about Hands On Network’s affiliates and work at http://citycares.org/. Note that recently new affiliates have been successful Volunteer Centers which want to be part of this growing international network.

6 September 2004: The 18th World Volunteer Conference promoted by IAVE (International Association for Volunteer Effort) and on this occasion organized by FCVS (Federació Catalana de Voluntariat Social), was held in Barcelona from August 17 -21 2004. The Conference was attended by 1500 people from dozens of countries. The event aimed to:

Use this occasion to make the world aware of what volunteer work represents;
Carry out an in-depth discussion of the ethical framework under which the IAVE will move forward, and the nature of volunteer commitments in the defense of values such as justice and human rights.

The first reports from the conference have been posted to the Web at http://www.iavenews.org/custom/index.php, where a variety of delivered speeches and personal commentaries can be read.

The Web site shares some of the themes that emerged throughout the conference, including:

How do we construct an all-inclusive society that improves the lives of marginalized groups while respecting and preserving diversity?
The information and social divides separating the North and South receive frequent media attention. However, sometimes we forget that there are similar divides much closer to home, even in developed countries, that separate urban and rural communities.
Volunteerism has an integral role to play in making the world a better place, cooperating with governments, NGOs and corporations. More can be achieved by working together, but care must be taken so that volunteers are not used for political or commercial gain.
Particularly in cases dealing with human rights, such as in conflict areas, volunteer training is of utmost importance in order to protect the well-being of both the persons receiving assistance as well as for the volunteers themselves.
We all have a responsibility to society. While it is important to occasionally strategize and analyze, sometimes we just need to go out and do something!

29Aug2004: A new survey from Community Service Volunteers in the UK says volunteering not only cures most illnesses but also helps in fighting obesity and cutting down on smoking. Initial findings of the survey show that nearly half of the respondents say volunteering has improved their physical health and fitness. Read the report at:
http://www.csv.org.uk/News/Obesity+research.htm.

22Aug2004: Action Without Borders, sponsors of the wonderful Web site, Idealist.org (www.idealist.org) is running the First Annual Idealist Nonprofit Design Contest. This international competition seeks to promote excellence in design in nonprofit sector and to reward and acknowledge those designers (often volunteers) “who take limitations and move beyond them to create works that are functional, aesthetically powerful, and promote the social good.” But the deadline for entering is August 31 st, so act now.

Winning entries will be showcased in an online gallery on the Idealist.org website and in an exhibition in New York City . In addition, winning entries—gold, silver, bronze, and student in each category—will receive donated prizes, including laptop computers and iPods.

Entries can be any work implemented for a nonprofit (anywhere in the world) that fits in the categories of web, print, and multimedia, and was completed between January 1, 2003 to August 31, 2004 . For all the details, see: http://www.idealist.org/competitions/design.html.

15Aug2004: There are three types of major events at which you can count on volunteers being front and center, and all three are in the news this week: assisting in the aftermath of natural disasters (Hurricane Charley); working on presidential and other election campaigns (need we say more?), and every four years at the Olympics.

The Athens Olympics once again has gathered together thousands of volunteers, who are even getting the recognition they deserve. The opening ceremonies alone saw 2,400 costumed volunteers in the extravagant celebration. And they were profusely thanked by the officials in the opening speeches.

The Olympics recruits volunteers to assist at every venue for every sport, including medical professionals for emergency aid. Volunteers act as tourist and information guides, interpreters, and support to the athletes in countless ways. Of the 45,000-person security force in Athens (the largest in Olympic history), 5,000 will be volunteers.

Visit the official Athens Olympics Web site (http://www.athens2004.com/en/Volunteers/indexpage) and read about the many areas of volunteer involvement, see a photo gallery to be kept updated through the 17 days, and get acquainted with the diversity of the volunteer force through the profiles section. If you want to see all the different uniforms for volunteers, go to http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/page/imagegallery?
lang=en&cid=3d18d946db0ccf00VgnVCMServer28130b0aRCRD.

For an “up close and personal” diary of one volunteer’s experience, you can read the blog being posted by Alexandra Protopapas of Parsippany, NJ for the Daily Record online: http://www.dailyrecord.com/sports/pro/sports2-081304column.htm.

And relish how often you’ll hear the word “volunteer” in the next two weeks!

8Aug2004: A press release issued last week by TimeBank in London announced both the results of a survey and a new campaign responding to it:

The survey of more than 500 black and minority ethnic (BME) Londoners, commissioned by TimeBank and the Ethnic Media Group, found that 62% of respondents thought their local area needed improving, particularly with regards facilities for young people and safety. And, incredibly, the same number said that, if asked, they would be willing to volunteer their time to effect these changes, yet more than half did not know where to go or who to ask about voluntary work.

Read the entire press release at http://www.timebank.org.uk/media/releases/mind_the_gap.html. Among other survey results reported:

81% of employers in London hold a positive view of employees with voluntary experience; whilst two-thirds of London 's employers thought young people were unprepared for entering the workforce and lacked key skills such as budgeting, time management and teamwork. 68% of employers believed that volunteering increased these skills, especially in the areas of teamwork, communication and organisation. And 43% stated that employees who undertook voluntary work had a better chance of promotion and earning a higher salary.

Nearly three quarters of BME respondents believed volunteering would improve their career prospects and 60% would volunteer if they knew they could gain skills and experience. 56% said they would volunteer if it would help their community and 44% if they met new people. However, 54% said they did not have time to volunteer, reinforcing the lack of awareness about volunteering as a commitment.

In light of all this, TimeBank has inaugurated the cleverly-named "Mind the Gap" campaign (for those who have never been to London, "mind the gap" is a warning announced and written all through the London Underground to make passengers look down at the space between the platform and the train). It's a joint venture between TimeBank, the Black Neighbourhood Renewal and Regeneration Network, and Greater London Volunteering to encourage more people in London to volunteer. See its Web site at http://mindthegap.timebank.org.uk/index.php .

Mind the Gap aims to raise awareness among BME communities about how to volunteer as well as the benefits of giving time - for the individual, local communities and society as a whole. The campaign is promoting the message that volunteering is one of the best ways to gain new skills and get a foot in the door, increase employability and help local communities whilst doing something you enjoy. It aims to connect people with volunteering opportunities across London .

1Aug2004: CityCares (www.citycares.org) affiliates, known as "Cares" or "Hands On" organizations, engage over 300,000 volunteers in direct service to communities each year, with 34 CityCares organizations in the US (five new ones added this Spring). It has its first international organization, Hands On Manila, in the Philippines and CityCares also partners with the UK's Business in the Community, which has 20 member organizations based on the CityCares model for volunteerism.

CityCares is making news by issuing a challenge to the US Congress and the field to end the divide between the "two camps" of the volunteer world. In a press release widely circulated, CityCares executive Michelle Nunn and former USA Freedom Corps director John Bridgeland explained their position under the title "In tandem, volunteers can do more." This was published as an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on July 1st. Read the full article at: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0704/01nunn.html. You may need to register (free) to gain access.

Highlights of the article include Nunn and Bridgeland's assertion that "The world of national and volunteer service seems oddly divided into two camps, too often around party lines."

One camp is dedicated to enabling more Americans to serve for one or more years through programs such as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps or Senior Corps, but often with little attention to those volunteers who serve locally without government support. The other camp supports traditional volunteers, but often opposes any federal investment in national service programs. For the sake of strengthening our country, it is time for the two camps to join as one.

They go on to note the discrepancy between political rhetoric supporting volunteers and the reality of funding:

What's disappointing is how difficult it has been to create these opportunities for so many Americans who simply want to serve their community and country. In the midst of this debate, we are losing the opportunity to engage millions of additional Americans in service. Many Americans would be surprised to learn how hard it has been to increase the number of Peace Corps volunteers, which only number 7,500 today, despite more than 200,000 Americans who have expressed interest in the program since Sept. 11..

The AmeriCorps program, despite its widespread popularity in local communities, is the subject of a divisive debate in Washington every year. Even today there are efforts to dismantle or severely cripple AmeriCorps, despite tremendous support for programs like Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America and Hands On Atlanta , which are populated by AmeriCorps participants.

They end by issuing a call to action, with unusual - and much needed - emphasis on infrastructure funding for volunteer centers and other intermediary groups, including CityCares:

Opportunities exist to support volunteer service among Americans in community and faith-based organizations around the country that are not within reach of AmeriCorps. We call upon the Congress - those on both sides of this issue - to resolve the conflict over national service and invest in volunteering as well. There should be a significant federal investment in our volunteer centers and intermediaries, matched by local community resources, competitively administered and accountable for results, to increase the capacity for Americans to volunteer.

Bravo to CityCares for being willing to voice their opinion and champion their cause.

25July2004: Announcing the opening of the OzVPM Online Bookstore, the first official affiliate of the Energize Online Bookstore, serving the Australasian region: www. ozvpmbookstore.com. Andy Fryar, Director and Founder of OzVPM, has been working hard for many months to create this vital new resource for Australia and the other countries in that corner of the world. His announcement says:

The bookstore features nearly 40 books and over 150 volunteerism articles in both hard copy and electronic formats from all corners of the world. Many of these have never been available in the Australasian region before now!

Energize site visitors will find the OzVPM Online Bookstore very familiar, and it has the same feel and procedures as our Online Bookstore, but of course with OzVPM logo colors and everything shown in Australian dollars (and Australian spelling, too!). Many of the books will also be the same in each store, though each site will have some titles of special interest not available in the other.

It’s important to note that the existing free OzVPM Web site (www.ozvpm.com) will continue to operate unchanged – and is well worth a visit if you have never explored what it offers. The Australians are really thought leaders in volunteerism, and the Internet allows them to share their ideas and materials with the rest of the world.

18July2004: Inspire Your World debuted as a glossy, 80-page, full-color magazine in April/May. Billed as the “first consumer magazine on volunteering and philanthropy,” the target readership for this publication is the general public. Its slogan is: Celebrating the people, companies and causes that inspire us to give back.”

Through 2004, Inspire Your World is being distributed in the Northeast of the USA and by subscription, with plans to go national (and monthly) in 2005. The debut issue was wonderful – intelligently written, anti-stereotypes about volunteering, and upbeat. Now the editor, Angela Harrington, wants to hear from the field what would make the magazine even more appealing and useful. If you go to http://www.inspireyourworld.com/, a pop-up screen will take you to a brief survey. Responding will get you a free copy of the next issue…and the editor’s appreciation! Then you can browse the rest of the Web site to see the magazine’s approach.

If you are located in the Northeast, Inspire Your World offers a FREE section for advertising volunteer opportunities to any nonprofit organization. Take advantage of this publicity option. When the magazine goes national, this will be open to organizations everywhere in the country.

Further, there is an “Inspire Your World Charity Rewards Program" that provides incentives to advertisers — and to nonprofits to find advertisers. Gary Schneider, Inspire Your World's CEO and publisher, announced that 5% of each net advertising sale will go to the charity of the advertiser's choice. "This program is another way for Inspire Your World to show the significance of corporate giving," said Schneider. "Each of our advertisers support their communities, and with our program, we can help their communities as well."

In the debut issue, ads highlighted the public service and philanthropic efforts of large companies, as well as services to nonprofits. Know anyone who should advertise here?

11July2004: Changemakers.net is an initiative of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public (www.ashoka.org), a global non-profit that finds and supports outstanding individuals with ideas for far-reaching social change. Its mission is to provide inspiration, resources, and opportunities for those interested in social change throughout the world.

This month it is focusing on "Generating Volunteer Networks" in its library, listing 39 different Web sites from around the world to recommend for their useful content for social entrepreneurs. See http://www.changemakers.net/library/index.cfm and browse this interesting collection. We’re delighted to note that e-Volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community (www.e-volunteerism.com) is one of the sites included in this feature.

Check out the rest of the Changemakers site (http://www.changemakers.net/index.cfm) for more valuable resources.

4July2004: We all keep saying that volunteering is fun, but our recruitment messages tend to be on the serious side. Not in England! Check out the new approach of Do-It.org with their new online quiz, the “Attract-o-meter”: http://www.attract-o-meter.com. After completing the form and getting a personality “reading,” visitors are taken to the Do-It Web site (http://www.do-it.org.uk) to learn about volunteer opportunities that will enhance their attraction to others!

Do-It was launched in 2001 with the first (and still the only) national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK. It is part of the registered charity YouthNet UK (http://www.youthnetuk.org), an innovative and extremely popular Web site offering access to “good quality, impartial, information and advice” for young people. [Note: The YouthNet Web site is being revised, so scroll through the currently-available “slide show” to see what they offer.]

Since their parent organization focuses on youth, it seems natural that Do-It.org takes a youthful approach to its volunteer recruitment campaigns. But this is a service for people of any age and they do a great job of challenging any remaining stuck-in-the-mud perceptions about volunteering today.

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