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The Points of Light Blog
Nunn Honored for Service Leadership
Leadership Georgia honored Points of Light Institute CEO Michelle Nunn with the E. Dale Threadgill Community Service Award on November 13, 2009. Nunn was recognized by the
leadership program for her outstanding efforts in the service sector.
The award is presented annually to a Leadership Georgia member who has applied the principles from the program in his or her community. The award was first presented in 2004, and past recipients include Georgia State Representative Amy Carter and Lisa M. Borders.
The Leadership Georgia program consists of five, two-day meetings a year during which class members hear from state leaders and address issues facing the state. More than 3,000 people, including Nunn, have graduated from the program in its three-plus decades.
The award is presented annually to a Leadership Georgia member who has applied the principles from the program in his or her community. The award was first presented in 2004, and past recipients include Georgia State Representative Amy Carter and Lisa M. Borders.
The Leadership Georgia program consists of five, two-day meetings a year during which class members hear from state leaders and address issues facing the state. More than 3,000 people, including Nunn, have graduated from the program in its three-plus decades.
Entertainment Industry Commitment Gives Service Sector Unprecedented Opportunity
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) iParticipate Campaign in October was an unprecedented effort to bring service to life through entertainment and popular culture.
It comes at a time of great momentum and energy for the service movement and builds upon the bi-partisan passage of the Serve America Act and the Presidential call to service. I t went from an idea to get some Hollywood star power to call people to service, to a "roadblock" week with more than 100 shows featuring volunteerism. The initiative was generated through the passion and energy of key entertainment leaders like Lisa Paulsen and resulted in millions of people watching as the Parks and Recreation cast built KaBOOM! playgrounds or as Jay Leno interviewed the First Lady on service.
This entertainment industry embrace builds upon a long-standing effort to integrate service into the cultural norms of our nation. The modern national service movement has seen tremendous gains in this goal. In fact, over 23 million more individuals participate annually in 2009 than in 1989 and the number of young people volunteering has doubled. The entertainment industry is part of the next and highly exciting chapter of this on-going effort.
Like all change, it will be created over the long-term and importantly EIF has committed to make this a multi-year campaign. The first phase of the campaign, taught us some important lessons. It showed us that, as a sector, the technology interface for engaging volunteers must be flawless and that we have some work to do to ensure that we effectively channel the generated energy into volunteer opportunities. We also learned that specific organizational examples created more interest than a generic call to serve - people respond to specific opportunities to create change. We also learned that we need to temper our expectation of the translation between exposure and activation - we must create additional levers to spur engagement. We can and should think critically and be transparent about what lessons we learned as an agent of the entertainment industry's investment.
As the entertainment industry moves forward with its efforts to feature service and promote civic participation, we must meet them with a new level of partnership and collaboration. This must include critical thinking and putting as much attention on the back-end activation as we do on the front-end exposure. This piece of the partnership - activation - is the service community's opportunity to channel this extraordinary new public awareness into real results. In the next phase of the campaign, we can plan service projects that happen in real-time during periods of public exposure. We can create community-based gatherings for people to watch together to learn about issues, dialogue and take action. Finally, we should further shape the messaging with the expertise and experience of our sector that will result in the greatest good.
The entertainment industry has enormous power to shape our culture and the nonprofit community's opportunity going forward is to meet the originality and the passion of the entertainment industry with ingenuity and imagination for changing the world. We can and should create an alliance that creates long-term change and that activates millions of new volunteers around critical needs.
It comes at a time of great momentum and energy for the service movement and builds upon the bi-partisan passage of the Serve America Act and the Presidential call to service. I t went from an idea to get some Hollywood star power to call people to service, to a "roadblock" week with more than 100 shows featuring volunteerism. The initiative was generated through the passion and energy of key entertainment leaders like Lisa Paulsen and resulted in millions of people watching as the Parks and Recreation cast built KaBOOM! playgrounds or as Jay Leno interviewed the First Lady on service.
This entertainment industry embrace builds upon a long-standing effort to integrate service into the cultural norms of our nation. The modern national service movement has seen tremendous gains in this goal. In fact, over 23 million more individuals participate annually in 2009 than in 1989 and the number of young people volunteering has doubled. The entertainment industry is part of the next and highly exciting chapter of this on-going effort.
Like all change, it will be created over the long-term and importantly EIF has committed to make this a multi-year campaign. The first phase of the campaign, taught us some important lessons. It showed us that, as a sector, the technology interface for engaging volunteers must be flawless and that we have some work to do to ensure that we effectively channel the generated energy into volunteer opportunities. We also learned that specific organizational examples created more interest than a generic call to serve - people respond to specific opportunities to create change. We also learned that we need to temper our expectation of the translation between exposure and activation - we must create additional levers to spur engagement. We can and should think critically and be transparent about what lessons we learned as an agent of the entertainment industry's investment.
As the entertainment industry moves forward with its efforts to feature service and promote civic participation, we must meet them with a new level of partnership and collaboration. This must include critical thinking and putting as much attention on the back-end activation as we do on the front-end exposure. This piece of the partnership - activation - is the service community's opportunity to channel this extraordinary new public awareness into real results. In the next phase of the campaign, we can plan service projects that happen in real-time during periods of public exposure. We can create community-based gatherings for people to watch together to learn about issues, dialogue and take action. Finally, we should further shape the messaging with the expertise and experience of our sector that will result in the greatest good.
The entertainment industry has enormous power to shape our culture and the nonprofit community's opportunity going forward is to meet the originality and the passion of the entertainment industry with ingenuity and imagination for changing the world. We can and should create an alliance that creates long-term change and that activates millions of new volunteers around critical needs.
Submit a proposal for National Conference on Volunteering and Service
Make plans now to attend the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the world's largest gathering of volunteer leaders, June 28-30, 2010, in New York City as
service takes center stage. Come to the city that never sleeps in the Empire State as we take service and volunteering to the next level!
The National Conference on Volunteering and Service, convened by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service and locally convened by NYC Service and New Yorkers Volunteer, provides you with an opportunity to:
We are now accepting proposals for presenters for immersion learning sessions, workshops and forums at the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Please visit www.volunteeringandservice.org for more information and to submit your proposal today! The deadline to submit proposals is December 11, 2009.
Visit http://volunteeringandService.org for more information about the 2010 conference. You can also become a fan of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service on Facebook, follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ncvs or join the mailing list to receive the latest updates on the conference.
The National Conference on Volunteering and Service, convened by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service and locally convened by NYC Service and New Yorkers Volunteer, provides you with an opportunity to:
- Learn best practices, trends and news
- Connect with change agents and experts from across the country
- Be inspired to shape the future of volunteering and service
We are now accepting proposals for presenters for immersion learning sessions, workshops and forums at the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Please visit www.volunteeringandservice.org for more information and to submit your proposal today! The deadline to submit proposals is December 11, 2009.
Visit http://volunteeringandService.org for more information about the 2010 conference. You can also become a fan of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service on Facebook, follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ncvs or join the mailing list to receive the latest updates on the conference.
Your Review Requested – Reimagining Service Report
For the last several months, I have worked with a group of national leaders in the nonprofit, government, philanthropy and business communities on the Reimagining Service Task Force, and now we need your help! With the growing momentum behind American’s commitment to serve, this Task Force is focused on increasing the impact of those who serve. Our work is targeted against all sectors with the goal of positioning volunteers to drive real, positive outcomes that address our communities’ toughest problems.
We aim to convert good intentions into greater impact.
As a first step, we have created a report outlining our specific ideas for Reimagining Service, along with suggested strategies for implementing the ideas. The report is accessible on our Web site: www.ReimaginingService.org. The Web site also includes an online opportunity to provide comments for all of the identified ideas, as well as add others for the group's consideration.
Please visit the site, review the Report, and provide us with your input on our ideas and strategies by November 20th. We are interested in your thoughts on making the ideas actionable, your experiences in the field, and your lessons learned.
We look forward to your feedback and ideas on Reimagining Service.
Presidents Engage in Dialogue on Service, Inspire New Generation
View the Presidential Forum on Service Summary and Resources Page
History was made Friday evening, October 16, at Points of Light Institute’s Presidential Forum on Service at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
President Obama joined President Bush in honoring individual service and celebrating volunteerism’s tremendous gains during the past two decades under the Points of Light leadership. The unique gathering highlighted the immeasurable value of service and served as a moment for President Obama and former President George H.W. Bush to inspire a new generation to serve.
"In the end, service binds us to each other and to our community and to our country in a way that nothing else can," Obama said.
Bush, introducing Obama, said he “is absolutely right. There isn't a more important time than now for us all to get involved."
During the forum, Mallory Meyers of Texas A&M was presented a Daily Point of Light Award for organizing more than 1,500 service projects involving 13,000 students in a single day. Approximately 150 of more than 4,000 other past Daily Point of Light winners attended the forum.
Points of Light Institute orchestrated a Service Leaders Roundtable earlier in the day during which Points of Light Institute CEO Michelle Nunn announced a goal to increase national volunteerism to 100 million people a year by 2020.
Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of The Aspen Institute, chaired panels at the Service Leaders Roundtable and Presidential Forum. Panelists included Gregg Petersmeyer, who implemented Points of Light as staff member for President Bush; Harris Wofford, former U.S. Senator and former CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service; Stephen Goldsmith, Corporation for National and Community Service; and Sonal Shah, head of the White House Office of Social Innovation. Their discussion led to innovative ideas such as using new technology in service, utilizing the increasing number of retirees in the population and helping children improve their performances in math and science through new program for teachers.
Other speakers included Bobbi Silten, chief officer of the Gap Foundation and Robert Marbut, Jr., Board Chairman of OneStar Foundation.
The legacy of President George H.W. Bush was honored at the event, as well as the inspirational ideas of President Barack Obama. The event served as a key moment in time to look back collectively and be inspired and enthused about the future of service.
