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Connect America Resources & Announcements
New Surveys Provide First-Ever Portrait of Vital, Often Overlooked Youth Workforce
A new report released by The Next Generation Youth Work Coalition, a project of the National Collaboration for Youth/National Human Services Assembly, provides the most complete picture ever of the estimated two to four million youth workers in the United States. These individuals work in youth centers, after-school activities, camps, prevention programs, recreation centers, arts organizations and more. Titled Putting Youth Work on the Map, the report is based on findings from two major studies conducted of more than 5,000 youth workers across the nation, incorporating their voices and perspectives in an effort to illustrate the challenges and aspirations of these critical, but often overlooked workers. For more information, visit www.nydic.org/nydic/staffing/workforce.
“Operation Safe Place” Provides Help for Displaced Children
HOPE worldwide – Gulf Coast, a branch of HOPE worldwide, Ltd, initially began working in the gulf coast region in September 2005 during the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An organized team of volunteers from across the country were recruited and episodically deployed to the devastated areas to establish a program called “Operation Safe Place.”
The premise of Operation Safe Place was to provide a caring and safe place for children at local FEMA Centers while parents rebuilt their lives and homes during a difficult transition. As the needs grew, the call to serve never ended. Through assistance from the Points of Light Foundation Volunteer Centers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, HOPE worldwide began serving in New Orleans to help residents restore their homes and began supporting a partnership with the National Wildlife Federation(NWF). Together the organizations cleaned New Orleans' City Park and planted trees to replace those damaged by the storm. Currently, HOPE worldwide – Gulf Coast has partnered with Habitat for Humanity and Camp Hope to engage volunteers in disaster relief efforts such as gutting homes, rehabbing homes and new construction. So far, more than 1,800 homes have been gutted and 50 homes built in 2006 through this partnership.
Individual volunteers and volunteer teams are welcome throughout the upcoming 2007 year. For more information, please contact Frank Dowd, director of Community Affairs and Volunteer Relations for HOPE worldwide – Gulf Coast at (225) 288-6662 or frank_dowd@hopeww.org. To learn more about Camp Hope, visit www.camphopeonline.com.
Spread the News: Gulf Coast Volunteer Recruitment Campaign
Volunteers of America is launching a volunteer recruitment campaign for New Orleans and the Gulf Coast states of Alabama and Mississippi. Volunteers of America encourages groups to consider volunteering for a week during the coming year. Volunteers of America's work is about empowering people and uplifting the human spirit — helping those who need help the most in the Gulf Coast to reestablish their homes and move forward in their lives. For more information, please visit the New Orleans Volunteers of America Web site at www.voagno.org or call (504) 483-3557, or visit the Alabama and Mississippi Web site at www.voase.org or call (251) 344-4500.
Congratulations! First Book, Hands On Network, and Citizen School Recognized for Work
First Book was recently honored with the 2007 Outstanding Social Entrepreneur award from the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, while First Book, Hands On Network and Citizen Schools all received 2007 Social Capitalist Awards by Fast Company magazine.
First Book focuses on the distribution problem behind the literacy problem: 80 percent of preschool programs serving low-income kids don't have age-appropriate books. Initially, it launched a special catalog of discounted first-run children's books for the literacy organizations First Book serves. Then First Book enlisted publishers to donate their children's books. Now, First Book is testing an online marketplace venture that aggregates the buying power of community-based literacy organizations to secure special print runs of children's books from publishers. Since 1992, First Book has put 40 million books into kids' hands.
Citizen Schools recruits more than 2,000 professionals to provide after-school apprenticeships to low-income middle-school students. During 11 weeks, kids work with these volunteers to create professional-quality projects, from a solar-powered fountain to a mock trial. Citizen Schools serves 3,000 students in 15 cities. In a longitudinal study, 72 percent of its eighth graders enrolled in college-track high schools, more than double the norm.
Hands On Network links national corporations and local nonprofits to fuel volunteer efforts in community service projects. For big companies, Hands On Network can provide the employee-service equivalent of an IT contractor or office-supplies vendor — a partner that delivers consistent service to multiple locations under a single contract. Hands On volunteers coordinate work on the ground, make sure things happen on schedule, and report back on results — including data on which employees volunteer most. Last year, Hands On marshaled 168,000 employee-volunteers from 51 companies to work more than 1.4 million hours, at 48,538 projects — a 65 percent increase from 2002.
Hands On and First Book are also two of five “Prime Partners” featured, recognizing tremendous corporate partnerships created to advance their work.
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship selects one Social Capitalist Award winner each year to join its network of Schwab fellows — and to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Social Capitalist Awards are given annually by Fast Company and The Monitor Group to recognize nonprofits that combine creativity and ingenuity with business solutions to address social challenges. Other winners include City Year, Civic Ventures, Jumpstart, Heifer International, and Teach for America.
For more information, visit www.fastcompany.com/socap/.
TIAA-CREF Launches $100 Million Global Microfinance Investment Program
TIAA-CREF, a New York City-based provider of retirement savings products and services in the academic, medical and cultural fields, has announced the creation of a $100 million Global Microfinance Investment Program (GMIP) to invest in selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) around the world.
The program, which is housed in the company's recently launched Social and Community Investing Department, also announced its first investment — a $43 million private equity stake in ProCredit Holding AG, a leading MFI headquartered in Germany. The Social and Community Investing Department works to develop socially oriented products, formulates policies around important social issues, and manages community investment programs. For more information, visit www.tiaa-cref.org/about/press/about_us/releases/pressrelease184.html.
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Connect America Partner Calendar
Thanks to all who have contributed to the Connect America Partner Calendar! Please continue to send events and updates for the calendar to ConnectAmerica@PointsofLight.org. To view the calendar, visit www.pointsoflight.org/networks/connectamerica/calendar.cfm.
Connect America Teleconferences
Monthly Connect America Teleconferences will be held the first Thursday of each month from 2 to 3 p.m., except for the months of January and July. Please visit the calendar to view the topics and presenters for each month. For more information, e-mail ConnectAmerica@PointsofLight.org.
Keep Us Posted! Keeping Connect America Partners Connected
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