Today’s post comes from Delores Morton, Vice President of HandsOn University and provides strategic direction and vision for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.
Having attended the National Conference on Volunteering and Service for at least the last seven years, I’ve observed first hand its continuing growth and evolution. As we begin to put the final touches on the 2011 conference, scheduled for June 6-8 in New Orleans, Louisiana my own excitement is gaining momentum. Some of the treats that 2011 participants can look forward to are:
1. An enhanced VIRTUAL experience—this year we have really upped the ante on our virtual conference and are including conference mobile applications, live streaming, and a virtual exhibit hall.
2. Unique LEARNING FORMATS—we are introducing a series of “mini-sessions” in the 2011 conference, which allows us to showcase a multitude of innovative programs and practices.
3. Limited ACTIVITY BLOCKS—to maximize exposure to some of the leading thinkers in creating change, and preparing leaders for the future, we have designated one block that will have only a few sessions from which to choose. We are excited to elevate these sessions and anticipate a packed house! Keep an eye out for our Forums and Signature sessions on the conference website.
4. More VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT—we have listened to attendees and know that we need to increase the available content on effective volunteer management. This year’s volunteer management track is the largest content area, and boasts many advanced sessions for the seasoned volunteer manager.
5. Return of the EXHIBIT HALL—we are excited to bring back the Exhibit Hall in 2011, and look forward to providing networking space, demonstration opportunities, and connecting attendees to new products and services that will benefit your work.
Finally, I’m thrilled that we are heading to The Big Easy—New Orleans!! It is a city that has been a living laboratory for service and truly tells the story of how people can come together to create lasting change. Continue to check out the conference website, so that you can take advantage of early bird registration rates in the coming week. We look forward to seeing you there.
Congratulations to Karen and Ray Stark, Winner of Our Facebook Tribute Contest
As the date for “All Together Now – A Celebration of Service” approaches, we are thrilled to announce the winner of our Facebook contest, Karen and Ray Stark of Edmond, Okla.
Looking for a way to support U.S. troops and improve their quality of life as they complete their important mission of freedom, Karen and Ray found their own mission when they created The HUGS Project in May 2004. This nationwide troop support group creates cooling neckties, nicknamed “hugs” since they go around the neck. These neckties can reduce body temperature by five degrees or more, effectively saving many of our troops from heat stroke deaths. As a bonus, they can also be heated in winter to make reusable hand/pocket warmers.
In the winter, The HUGS Project volunteers crochet, knit, loom and sew warm wool hats, neck warmers and fingerless gloves for the troops. They also make and send colorful hats, small stuffed bears and bags filled with school supplies that service members can share with Iraqi and Afghani children. To date, the HUGS Project and its dedicated members have sent more than 818,000 “hugs,” more than 175,000 “kisses” (helmet coolers) and more than 346 tons of care package items.
Today, The HUGS Project is in every state of our nation and more than 49 other countries, with 2,700 online members and thousands more who do the project either individually at home or through 4-H Clubs, home school groups, quilting circles, Sunday school classes, etc., as well as “group hugs” held nationwide.
The Starks and members of the Oklahoma City group have donated 20 sewing machines to a prison outreach program so that the inmates can help by making items such as neck pillows and Christmas stockings. The HUGS Project even manages to serve as a lifeline for military families who report that sewing cooling neckties or knitting warm items make their loved ones’ deployment a little more bearable.
Karen said that by being involved with The HUGS Project, many military families are able to focus their energy on creating something tangible to help the troops and, in the process, help themselves.
Entertainer line-up for Tribute event on March 21st: “All Together Now- A Celebration of Service”
Today we announced a star-studded line up for the upcoming Tribute event “All Together Now – A Celebration of Service” on March 21st, celebrating President George H. W. Bush’s leadership in promoting the value of service and volunteerism in American life. Taking place at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the program willfeatureperformances by Sheryl Crow, Cee Lo Green, Reba McEntire, Sam Moore, Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Darius Rucker and Carrie Underwood.
“We are excited about the terrific line up for this historic event. These talented performers, as well as NBC and Samsung, are enabling us to pay tribute to President Bush and showcase Points of Light Institute’s mission to inspire, equip and mobilize people to create change”said Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute.
The line-up will bring together some of the biggest acts in country music, soul and rock in a unique program celebrating the powerful role voluntary service can play in overcoming the challenges our communities face in the 21st century.
A limited amount of tickets are now available to public. To find out how to attend click here.
For a seating chart of the Opera House, click here.
**Ticket donations will benefit the Points of Light Institute Service Generation Campaign that will ensure that President George H. W. Bush’s legacy continues to result in innovative solutions to the needs of our time.
NBC will broadcast the celebration on Monday, March 28, from 8 to 9 p.m.Samsung is a supporting partner for the event.
Encore.org Awards Creative Community Problem Solvers
Today we thought we’d highlight a great group of Americans who are doing amazing things in their communities.
The first ever Launch Pad contest awarded grants to people who created innovative solutions to problems facing their communities. The winners represent our great American diversity and both in their backgrounds and in the impact they generate.
From 30,000 nominations, winners of the Encore Launch Pad contest were selected by the public through a month long online voting period.
Points of Light Institute congratulates the five winners!
Anne Cheung, 59, from South Amboy, New Jersey. Cheung will work to develop a cancer support group that will provide information and support to Chinese speaking patients in New York City.
Anthony Genia, 68, from Lauderdale, Minnesota. Genia will create a culturally-responsive entrepreneurship curriculum to orient preteen Native Americans to the U.S. economic system and business world.
Linda Grotberg, 66, from Wimbledon, North Dakota. Grotberg will help local farmers make sunflower oil fuel to support renewable biofuel production which will help increase and maintain small farms and rural communities.
James Robinson, 47, from Huntsville, Alabama. Robinson will provide independent living services to LGBT youth in Alabama at risk for homelessness.
Janine Vanderburg, 57, from Denver, Colorado. Vanderburg will train corporate salespeople in nonprofit fundraising in an intensive fundraising program to help boomers with sales backgrounds transition to nonprofit fundraising.
All five will receive $5,000 each, plus resources and support from the larger Encore.org community to pursue their causes.
“The winners – and the tens of thousands of votes they collectively received – show that growing numbers of Americans in the second half of life are eager to put their ideas and experience to work for the public good,” says Alexandra Céspedes Kent, director of the Purpose Prize, another prize in conjuction with encore.org.
Click here for more information about the finalists and winners.
Who is making a difference in your community? Pay tribute to them here.
Is Managing Volunteers a real job?-Reflections on AVMI
As an international consultant for the community sector, I regularly cross borders. I have many tales of the difficulties and amusements of crossing into countries to present at Conferences on Volunteerism and Service Learning.
In 2008, one Immigration agent raised himself up to his full height and demanded to know whyI was going to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service:“what do we need someone from Australia to tell us how to mange volunteers. All you do is tell them to turn up and they turn up”
Clearly this was someone who did not understand there is significant work involved in turning volunteer time, skills, talents and passion into effective service.
He’s not alone. There is significant skepticism toward those of us who manage volunteers. In the 2008 Global Volunteer Management Survey, 35% of managers said being taken seriously, was one of the most significant issues facing them.
There appears to be a belief that with a couple of hours of training, anyone can manage volunteers. My concern is that putting an unskilled person in charge of volunteers is akin to throwing them into the Australian surf after one swimming lesson. While many will learn “on the job”, they would be more effective, if they were properly equipped for thisrole.
How do we challenge the myth that Volunteer management is “not a real job”?
The 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service theme was “its up to you”. I believe we cannot wait for someone else to do it. We, who manage volunteers must educate each other, the sector and community about the skills, knowledge and strategic thinking required to manage volunteers.
This is why I have been part of the Advanced Volunteer Management Institute held in conjunction with the National Conferences. As an AVMI facilitator, I have four goals:
to affirm volunteer management leaders who can feel very isolated,
to encourage managers of volunteers and the sector to value long term involvement. The 2008 Global Volunteer Management Survey found that 43 % of managers of volunteers have worked in volunteer management for less than five years and 20% less than two years,
to provide teaching and knowledge at a level that is not always found in the wider conference (although I would like to see as much volunteer management material in the broader conference)
to learn and listen to the issues in the sector
I know we didn’t succeed in these goals with everyone who attended the 2010 Advanced Volunteer Management Institute. For some we exceeded expectations. For others, there was a feeling that there needed to be room for even more growth. Both views gave us material to reflect on for the future.
In the meantime Its “up to us” to show the value and importance of volunteer management. Hopefully we can get my immigration agent to be more affirming about volunteer management!
See you next institute in New Orleans.
Martin J Cowling is a leading global consultant on not for profit and volunteer management. In 2010, he was nominated by Philanthropy 411 as one of the 67 most “dynamic and engaging speakers” on philanthropy in the world.
Reflections on African American History Month February 2011
Today’s post is written by Chelsea Murphy an External Affairs Coordinator at Points of Light Institute, a sports enthusiast, appreciator of the arts, and a recent graduate from Emory University.
This month Points of Light Institute began creating a galaxy of light by highlighting 1,000 “Points of Light” through tributes displayed on The Points of Light website Tribute Wall.
The Tribute Wall is a place to highlight individuals making a difference in communities everywhere.
Facebook users can share tributes on our Facebook Contest page for a chance to win a trip to Washington, D.C. (These posts will automatically also appear on the website Tribute Wall.)
Because African American history month is dedicated to celebrating and remembering the history, accomplishments, and triumphs of African American culture, I decided to specifically honor African Americans who influenced our nation.
To me, Dikembe Mutumbo is the essence of a “Point of Light,” one who has committed himself to improve health, education, and the quality of life of others.
He has been called the most generous athlete in the world for a reason. Not only is he extremely talented in basketball but he also formed the Dikembe Mutumbo foundation to help eradicate childhood diseases in developing countries. His foundation built a hospital in Congo, Africa, which has saved countless lives.
2011’s theme “African Americans and the Civil War” recognizes the efforts of people of African descent to destroy slavery and inaugurate universal freedom in the United States. The theme, chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, urges all Americans to study and reflect on the value of their contribution to the nation.
In theme with the Civil War, I recognize Harriet Tubman as a renowned “Point of Light” of her time, a humanitarian in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, whose actions saved lives and as an abolitionist and spy put her life in danger to aid those who needed help.
Maya Angelou, a civil rights activist, poet, actress and another “Point of Light” in my mind, used her voice to lead others. She once said, “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” I love Maya Angelou’s sentiment and recognize those who have volunteered for the benefit of others and thank those who have given something back in their life.
Won’t you join me in creating a galaxy of light and recognize someone in your own life or to a famous icon like this video tribute to Carter G. Woodson who is honored as the “Father of Black history” on the Points of Light Tribute Wall.
President George H. W. Bush to be Honored at the Kennedy Center March 21st 2011
George Stevens, Jr., who is responsible for the Kennedy Center Honors and Christmas in Washington programs, will produce the event, along with his son, Michael Stevens. This event will honor the volunteering movement and continue to spark action for further civic engagement as we head into National Volunteer Week in April.
Michelle Nunn comments:
This remarkable coming together of individuals from across the political spectrum is conclusive proof that, while partisanship divides us, people at every level want to find opportunities to unite to make differences in their community without regard to party or politics.
You can unite with us and join Americans from across the country to recognize individual Points of Light in your communities through their words and actions. Today we are launching an innovative website that collects these Tributes and turns them into a virtual community committed to the power of service. Points of Light Institute is also holding a Facebook contestas another vehicle to honor individual Points of Light in communities across the country and to drive voluntary service.
Click here to write a Tribute to a Point of Light in your life on Facebook that will be posted to our virtual Tribute wall as well.
If you don’t have Facebook click here to honor a Point of Light on our virtual Tribute wall.
You can immediately begin helping your communities by signing up for local volunteer opportunities. Through the power of the Internet and the innovative access to information and organizing, we can each make a difference.
By making this event as much a call to action moving forward as a retrospective on a unique American life, we are paying ultimate honor to President Bush’s legacy.
Two “Points of Light”
Recognizing someone who has made a difference in your community has never been easier. Who inspires you with the way they serve others? Who makes your community a better place to live because of their voluntary efforts?
Points of Light Institute’s CEO, Michelle Nunn, recently recognized two “Points of Light” in her life.
Her first tribute is to President George H. W. Bush. recognizing him for his extraordinary life of service and for inspiring the “Points of Light” service movement that has been used by each President succeeding him.
She also recognized Richard Goldsmith who has tutored children on Saturdays at Park Lane Elementary School for twenty years and established the Discovery program which has been implemented in other schools.
You and the person you pay tribute to will have a chance to win airfare, lodging, and two tickets to the Points of Light Tribute event honoring President George H. W. Bush in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2011. (Contest Ends March 07, 2011 @ 11:59 pm EST.)
SUBMIT: Either an essay, a photo, or a photo and an essay that pays tribute to either President H. W. Bush or a Point of Light in your life.
SHARE: Your tribute with friends and encourage them to go to the POLI Facebook page and like your tribute. The tributes that receive top 3 likes on Facebook will be eligible to win an expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. and attend the Tribute Event.
VOTE: Your favorite tributes submitted by others.
A panel of Tribute Committee members will choose the submission that they determine best inspires a commitment to volunteer action from the three entries that receive the highest number of votes.
Inspire others to serve by recognizing someone who makes a difference in the world.
George P. Bush honors Grandfather, President George H. W. Bush, in USA Today
son and the grandson of President George H. W. Bush. The piece also highlights the upcoming Tribute event, which we will officially announce to the public next Tuesday morning, February 22nd. George P. Bush honors President George H. W. Bush’s extraordinary leadership in the American voluntary action movement and discusses his own inspiring path to service that started at a young age.
When I was 12, I went to Washington, D.C., to spend the summer with my grandparents in the White House, and one of the first things my grandmother did was to take me to volunteer at a soup kitchen in downtown Washington. Like any 12-year-old, I was reluctant at first, thinking that playing sports and hanging out with my friends were more important than volunteering. It was only later, when my passion for baseball combined with my family’s call to public service, that I understood the profound rewards of giving back.
George P. discusses the impact that his grandfather had on him personally with service and how he was inspired to join the Navy as well.
For me, the moment when I realized it was my turn to do my part for our country came on Oct. 7, 2006. That day, I witnessed my grandfather become the first living president in U.S history to participate in the christening of a warship named for him: the USS George H.W. Bush. . . Gampy’s remarks that day — a rare, personal window into his heroic service in World War II — affected me deeply. . . I knew then that I needed to do more. Soon afterward, I phoned my grandfather to let him know that I intended to follow in his footsteps and join the Navy. Several months later, I began my naval training.
Yesterday, in Washington, President Barack Obama highlighted the impressive achievements of the 2010 Presidential Freedom award winners at the White House. President Obama said, “This year’s Medal of Freedom recipients reveal the best of who we are and who we aspire to be.”
President Obama pointed out how one person can make a difference: “Generations from now, when parents teach their children what is meant by courage, the story of
will come to mind: an American who knew that change could not wait for some other person or some other time.”
Through the award winners President Obama shared strong American individual attributes that make up our nation:
When you look at the men and women who are here today, it says something about who we are as a people. When we award this medal to a Congressman John Lewis, it says that we aspire to be a more just, more equal, more perfect union. When we award it to a Jasper Johns, it says we value the original and the imaginative. When we award it to a Warren Buffett, it says we’d all like to be so humble and wise. . . And when we award it to former President George H. W. Bush, it says we celebrate an extraordinary life of service and of sacrifice.
George H. W. Bush was recognized for his impact on civic engagement as a person who has devoted nearly 70 of his 86 years to public service, starting on his 18
th
birthday the moment he joined the Navy. President Obama praised Bush saying:
His life is a testament that public service is a noble calling. . . I would add that, like the remarkable Barbara Bush, his humility and his decency reflects the very best of the American spirit. Those of you who know him, this is a gentleman; inspiring citizens to become “points of light” in service to others.
To honor George H. W. Bush or highlight a Point of Light in your life
As the date for “All Together Now – A Celebration of Service” approaches, we are thrilled to announce the winner of our Facebook contest, Karen and Ray Stark of Edmond, Okla.
Today’s post is written by Chelsea Murphy an External Affairs Coordinator at Points of Light Institute, a sports enthusiast, appreciator of the arts, and a recent graduate from Emory University.