Last week, Points of Light staff had the honor of participating in the Madrid Innovation Service Summit, the first global service leadership event of its kind, hosted by the Meridian International Center, the U.S. Embassy in Spain and the Rafael del Pino Foundation.
I was lucky to be joined by two other members of our team at the summit: Delores Morton, president of Programs, and Gared Jones, vice president Global Service. We traveled to Madrid to share the projects, tools and ideas that Points of Light uses now and our vision for the future of volunteerism with more than 200 corporate, nonprofit and government leaders from Spain and the United States.
Highlights Include:
A campaign to promote Spanish volunteerism was launched – Cuenta Conmigo, which translates to “Count on Me” – providing resources and online community for people to share their ideas; as part of the launch, communities are encouraged to submit their ideas for service projects to win a 10,000 Euro grant
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg congratulated Madrid on becoming the second international city to join the Cities of Service; this is a great accomplishment for Madrid, which joins more than 100 U.S. cities and London
U.S. Ambassador Alan Solomont directly connected the high unemployment rates in both Spain and the U.S. to the power of service and volunteerism by saying, “lives are fundamentally transformed by the experience of serving others”
Ambassador Stuart Holliday of the Meridian International Center said, “this summit will lead to greater cooperation between service leaders and volunteer leaders here in Spain and the U.S… we hope the ideas they generate here will make a tangible difference in their communities”
The list of attendees also included the Crown Prince of Spain, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, the Spanish Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality, the Mayor of Madrid and many other notables; having all of these leaders in attendance added to the conversation and value of the summit, specifically around the power of cross-sector collaboration
The Madrid Service Innovation Summit was a great success and benefited from the luminaries in attendance. We congratulate Meridian International and U.S. Ambassador Alan Solomont and Susan Solomont for its success. It connected major service leaders from the U.S. and Spain so that they could work together to deliver results. New ideas were generated, projects were started, collaborations have begun and volunteerism is on its way to the next level.
Sincerely,
Jackie Norris
Executive Director, Points of Light Corporate Institute
My Turning Point Happened As A Young Newspaper Reporter
Andy Nelson pictured bottom right with other Hands On colleagues
The theme for this year’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service is “Turning Point.” At Points of Light, we are highlighting turning point stories – stories about the moment or moments that inspired your service. Today’s turning point comes from guest writer, Andy Nelson, former Executive Director of HandsOn Greater Portland. Andy serves on the city of Portland, Oregon Parks Board and state of Oregon Commission on Volunteering, coaches his son’s sixth grade basketball team and ruins perfectly good walks outside by playing golf.
I listen with admiration, and a little envy, when I hear people in the HandsOn movement trace their motivations to their roots. They talk about growing up in families that gave back. They talk about coming up in communities that helped each other. They reference role models; giants of service they knew by name.
I listen with envy because this wasn’t my experience.
Not to say that I came up without values. They were different. Maybe it was the times. But doing good and helping others came with suspicion. Better to take care of your own. Government safety net services were there for those who couldn’t. Sure, we had newspaper and food drives, but nothing resembling the legions of people who today consider volunteering a way of life. Great things were happening back then. They seemed less well attended.
The turning point for me happened when, as a young newspaper reporter, I discovered what I had been missing. One cold, November evening 22 years ago in East Hartford, Conn., I discovered a make-shift soup kitchen started in a church basement. What a great story! Homelessness was still sort of a new thing, at least in the numbers we were beginning to see back then. I began interviewing some of the people in line when a hand tugged at my arm.
“What are you doing?” asked the woman, who was about my age and who I recognized as the person running the soup kitchen. “Please don’t talk to these folks and out their names in the paper. They will never come back.”
Stopped in my tracks.
It wasn’t necessarily this one incident. But it was seminal among many that led me to redirect my life to “doing good.” In many ways, I had no idea that one could actually do good as a life’s career. At least, it was really nothing that I had considered up until that point.
Things have changed, for sure, in the past 22 years. Clearly, not all for the worse. So many more young people are growing up with service. They are learning to do good as a way of life. They are many years ahead of me. For so many, there may not be such a defining “turning point” as there was for me. At least, that’s the goal I am working towards.
News Flash: One Week Left to Apply for generationOn Youth Advisory Council
There is just one week left to apply for the generationOn National Youth Advisory Council. The Council is a unique opportunity for 12 middle and high school students (13 to 18 years old) from diverse backgrounds across the country to participate in a service-learning and leadership development program within generationOn. Participants will contribute to and inform generationOn programming while acting as ambassadors and leaders for youth service in their communities.
Thanks to the generous support of The Hasbro Children’s Fund, the Youth Advisory Council provides youth the opportunity to:
Engage in creative work with a nonprofit organization focused on youth and service
Partner with like-minded youth with unique perspectives from across the country
Inform generationOn programming while learning about approaches for engaging youth in community service
Act as a service-learning ambassador in their region by playing a leadership role in engaging youth in service and service-learning
As Points of Light’s youth service enterprise, generationOn inspires, equips and mobilizes youth to take action through generationOn service clubs, schools, youth organizations, campaigns and youth leadership initiatives. It works to infuse its programming with youth voice and creates replicable models of youth leadership for the field.
Youth interested in applying must meet the following criteria:
Be enrolled in middle school or high school (in grades 7 to 11) as of September 2012
Be 13-18 years old in September 2012
Be a resident of the 50 United States or District of Columbia
Be able to commit to a term from September 2012 to June 2014
Be available to travel with a parent/guardian chaperone July 31 – August 5, 2012, for a special, expense-paid, kick-off youth leadership training event in Washington, D.C.
Be available via phone for bi-weekly web meetings with fellow Council members
Be able to provide feedback and participate in program evaluations
Applications accepted now through Tuesday, April 10, 5 p.m. EDT.
If you know of a young person who is passionate about service and would make a great leader, visit generationOn.org to learn more about how to apply.
I Grew Up in a Culture of Service
Today’s turning point post is written by Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., who is the director of research and policy for Blue Star Families. In Vivian’s spare time, she volunteers as a member of the Board of Directors for the USO of Hampton Roads and Central Virginia. She also enjoys uncovering the nuances of LEGO building from her two sons. She is a Daily Point of Light recipient for March 20, 2012.
I grew up in a very community-oriented household. My earliest memories include going to vote with my uncle, who was a U.S. Congressman. By the third grade, I was the president of “Kids for Ben Jones,” the club we started in my neighborhood to raise money to donate to his campaign. He was a strong advocate for educational spending and promised to help us get more books for our school library. I know now our donations, pooled allowance money, probably didn’t end up buying us the books that ended up in our library shelves, but his letting us believe we had a place in the process was a lesson in and of itself. And, it got me hooked. There is no doubt that my family’s strong influence started me on the path of community involvement that has led me to where I am now.
In college I majored in public relations and political science. While my friends were hunting for Fortune 500 companies to work for, I was looking for a political candidate that I believed in to work with. I found that person in Gov. Roy Barnes. I worked in his press office and was there the day the Georgia Assembly voted to change our state flag to remove the “stars and bars.” The Governor had used some major political capital to push the initiative through and I saw firsthand how ordinary people, working together, can effect positive change. While I was working in the Governor’s office, another opportunity to serve presented itself to me and I was accepted into Officer Candidate School for the U.S. Navy.
I served in the Navy on both active duty and in the reserves. My husband is still active duty and has deployed four times in our marriage, most recently to Iraq. There are challenges that come with that, especially with regard to our children. However, I’m thankful they are growing up in a culture of service, that they see their dad and other service members giving of themselves for their country. I believe everyone should give back to our society – be it with the military or community service. We owe it to those who came before us and helped us to get where we are in life. We also owe it to the future generations who depend on us to keep adding to our country’s foundation. I contribute to several print and online military family outlets as a writer. I enjoy writing about the immense pride and honor I feel as part of a military family, as well as the challenges associated with supporting a military member.
Through my involvement with Blue Star Families, I have also met and worked with some phenomenal military spouses. Our leadership team, small but efficient, is full of women who I am honored to know and who have each taught me life lessons by their examples. Their ability to navigate and push an agenda for military families, while providing support to our team and their own families, has been awe-inspiring. I also work with spouses across the country, virtually, who I have never met in person, but who I trust implicitly and who have provided support to me when I needed it most. Together, we can see we are making a difference; all the while juggling deployed spouses, children, jobs, etc.
Assisting in developing Blue Star Families with a group of seven women into a national organization with more than 35,000 members is something I am very proud of. One specific idea I had, early on in the development of Blue Star Families, was to introduce our program Operation: Appreciation, a program where we collect cards of support for military family members – spouses, parents of service members and children (as well as veterans) from the civilian community and pass them out to our members. There are a lot of programs aimed at sending packages and letters to service members, but not so much their families. I came up with the idea while my own husband was deployed and one of my friends gave my oldest son a card, which just said something like “Good Job!” for being so good while his dad was gone. It’s a simple concept but we have been able to grow the program over time and now it is one of our most popular requests from community groups and private sector partners. And, I still love posting individual cards that we get on our Facebook page. To think it grew out of a few of us sorting cards in my living room with small donations for postage (or our paying for it ourselves) to what we have now, with governors, Hollywood celebrities and other high-profile companies participating, is just awesome.
We can all contribute to the national dialogue on what it means to serve by continuing to discuss our personal roles in encouraging the public service ethic and cultivating the valuation of national and community service and civic participation within our own personal spheres of influence. Civic engagement and volunteerism should go beyond voting and complaining about elected officials. Volunteerism is what sustains this country and allows us to see past our differences to our commonalities as human beings. Through volunteerism we continue to learn, grow and give back to the communities that have given us all so much.
Celebrate Volunteers for National Volunteer Week!
The Great American Bake Sale
Today’s guest post is written by Jessica Bomberg, the manager of Great American Bake Sale, involved in Grassroots Fundraising and Youth Engagement at Share Our Strength. Jessica truly enjoys helping volunteers across the country give back to a cause that everyone cares about.
There is one staggering fact that drives people to get involved with Share Our Strength; there are more than 16 million kids in America struggling with hunger. It can’t be ignored. I am proud to say that there are volunteers across the country who have said they won’t stand to see kids go hungry. I have gotten to know so many of our Great American Bake Sale volunteers and I have to say, some of our most dedicated volunteers are kids!
I don’t have to tell you about the power of kids and their ability to make a difference, I get to see it every day. Kids of all ages hosting bake sales in their communities with their friends and families. They put together incredible events that bring attention and raise vital funds for a cause they care about. To me there’s nothing more powerful than kids helping kids.
Here’s a story from one such kid, 11-year-old Kate from Naperville, Ill. Kate and her entire family hosted their first bake sale last year and I want you to hear all about it:
“My mom came up with the idea of having a bake sale for Share our Strength and I loved it. For one, it would benefit the children in America who really are starving and in need of food, and, I would be able to give back while doing one of my favorite activities: baking.
While I really love to bake, I knew I wasn’t just baking for fun. There are kids in America, one in five, who are not getting the nutrition they need to be healthy. From the very beginning, I knew that by baking and selling goods, I would be able to help make a difference to those who need food. I have always been blessed to have enough and my heart goes out to children who don’t have enough. The whole experience of giving to others has been incredible.
The reaction from people in the neighborhood was really immense. We had more than 30 families and businesses donating goods or supplies. We had volunteers helping with set up, clean up, delivering goods to the sale location, and my entire family worked the sale. We raised more than $2,200! Our sale was so large that a reporter interviewed us.
My experience with the first sale has motivated me to serve more. The Share our Strength organization is incredible, and I am really happy to know that people care about others who have less than we do. If you are considering doing a sale but you’re not sure if you can, just try a small one because every dollar you raise can really make a huge impact on the children in America who don’t have enough food to eat every day.”
Thanks to Kate and kids just like her, Share Our Strength is making strides in the fight to end childhood hunger in America. You too can play a part by hosting a bake sale of your own. Signup today as part of the GenerationOn national team and together we can bake a difference!
News Flash: Nominate Your Woman of Worth and Let Us Celebrate Her Story
You know a future L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth. She’s an inspiring volunteer, an outstanding achiever and a beautiful person who’s making a difference in her community. Nominate your Woman of Worth today.
Through Women of Worth, L’Oréal Paris will award 10 Women of Worth Honorees a $10,000 donation toward the nonprofit of their choice, as well as national exposure for their efforts. One Honoree will be selected via public vote as the National Women of Worth Honoree and will receive an additional $25,000.
Last year, women were celebrated for their work ranging from fostering under-served youth to finding groundbreaking cures for pediatric cancer to helping women veterans at home. Learn more about their stories and be inspired to recognize a stand-out change maker in your community.
Nominations will be accepted from April 2 – May 31, 2012.
Change Notes: Congratulations to Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS
Friends,
Last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Wendy Spencer as the next CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The Points of Light extended family is thrilled to have her stepping into this critical leadership role.
Wendy Spencer is a terrific choice to lead the Corporation for National and Community Service at this important time. She brings deep experience in mobilizing national service resources and volunteers to meet the critical needs of our communities. Her energy, dynamism and history of working across the political divide will serve the Corporation well as it makes its case for continued and extended funding.
Wendy takes the reins at CNCS at a juncture when service is making a greater impact than ever before. People are using all their resources – their time, talent, voice and money – to create positive change in their communities. We look forward to working with her to create innovative new ways for people to serve and continue to play a critical role in solving our nation’s problems.
She is enormously respected in her home state of Florida for getting things done and she has played a vital role as a national leader for the service movement. Wendy’s leadership is exactly what we need and we look forward to supporting and partnering with her.
Yours in service,
Michelle Nunn
CEO Points of Light
The Worm Selling, $4.25 an Hour Lessons that Changed My Life
Today’s turning point post is written by ShawnAnderson, best-selling author national speaker on “maximizing potential and going the extra mile.” Shawn is also the Founder of ExtraMileAmerica.org, a non-profit that led the charge in encouraging 228 U.S. mayors in all 50 states to declare November 1, 2011, as Extra Mile Day…a day to acknowledge the capacity we each have to create positive change in our families, organizations and world.
At my core, I’ve always been an entrepreneur. At age 10, I started my first business selling nightcrawlers (you know, those jumbo-sized worms) to fishermen. I would flood my Reno, Nev., backyard during the day, and later when the worms would rise to the surface, I would pluck them up one after another. Then on Saturdays and Sundays, I would rise before dawn, sit in my front yard, and sell those worms by the dozens to fisherman who would respond to an ad I had run in the local paper.
That’s where it began. That’s where I learned that an idea combined with action could buy a whole bunch of baseball cards.
Since then, the “dream it…then do it” attitude has served as the core foundation for everything I have accomplished. From starting a seven-figure business to publishing five books (soon a sixth), the basic realization that I have the power to create has been one of the two biggest turning points in my life. It is that action-oriented mentality that has continually allowed me to get back up, even after life has thrown a few body blows my direction.
But if you noticed, I said it was one of two turning points. And although that experience shaped my understanding that I can translate thoughts into something concrete, the second experience shaped my attitude and carved a mark into my very being.
After graduating from U.C. Berkeley, I had big-time trouble getting a job. I temporarily fell into financial survival mode and after four years of studying, I forgot about the whole “entrepreneurial thing.” My situation back then was not pretty. I had moved to San Diego with less than $300 in the bank. I had no car and quickly learned the bus routes all over town. Because I had little money, I could only afford to live in a one-bedroom apartment with two other guys and one million cockroaches. But while I was looking to find my “perfect” job, I was forced to work full-time at a corner 7-11 from 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. for $4.25 an hour. That allowed me the chance to buy dozens of packs of Top Ramen noodles, and interview during the day for a job more appealing to my pride.
With few customers coming in, it was during that midnight and early morning shift that I started reading every motivational book and biography I could find. And it was there in the quiet of the store that I truly cemented into my brain the power of what having a positive mental attitude can do for elevating one to a higher level of accomplishment. I learned the power of really believing “I Can!” I learned what it meant to never give up. I discovered the secret of going the extra mile. It was all right there in the books written by people whom I never met, but who became guiding lights to enable me to discover myself and my potential.
Those two experiences – the early worm biz and those long, late hours reading at 7-11- have served me in leading a life dedicated to producing results and making things happen. They are the columns in which my now deep-seated confidence began to rise. More importantly, those two experiences have afforded me the luxury to live my passion everyday and dedicate myself to pursuing my personal life mission: To empower 1,000,000 people to lead a more passionate and purposeful existence.
And once you learn a couple of cool secrets about how to create a life you’ll love, you definitely want to share them. Right?
News Flash: Just Released: Trends in Excellence – Innovations in Employee Volunteering
Innovations in Employee Volunteering is available as a free download today. This latest volume focuses on key innovative practices displayed by excellent EVPs, such as making service a celebration, offering microvolunteering and positioning volunteering as an HR tool. The research findings indicate innovative practices that EVPs seeking greater participation, effectiveness, and societal and business impact should consider. Findings suggest EVPs should:
Customize EVP policies that encourage targeted volunteering and draw on company skills and competencies to achieve higher impact
Maximize the quality of volunteer contributions through volunteer preparation, training and other support
Fold volunteering into the workplace experience to strengthen the HR benefits that accrue from volunteering and improve volunteer recruitment
Select nontraditional causes that resonate with the workplace culture and corporate character
Extend EVP messaging to wider audiences, including those that may not be interested in employee volunteering by communicating volunteer opportunities through other business functions and linking to business functions, such as performance reviews and onboarding
The report is based on information from the 2011 Points of Light Corporate Engagement Awards of Excellence finalist companies. Download the report today and learn more about innovations in employee volunteering.
The Points of Light Corporate Institute enables companies to engage their employees and customers in service in the communities in which they do business. It is the go-to organization providing resources, consulting services and on-the-ground activation to companies around the world seeking innovative, multi-channel engagement in employee volunteer programs, skills-based volunteering and hands-on service.
For additional information or for assistance with developing or enhancing your EVP, contact
The Council is a unique opportunity for 12 middle and high school students (13 to 18 years old) from diverse backgrounds across the country to participate in a service-learning and leadership development program within generationOn. Participants will contribute to and inform generationOn programming while acting as ambassadors and leaders for youth service in their communities.
Today’s turning point post is written by Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., who is the director of research and policy for 
Today’s turning point post is written by