Early Bird Registration for Conference Ends This Friday!
It’s that time of year again! Not only are we on the verge of spring (and the dreaded pollen season), but we are getting closer to the National Conference on Volunteering & Service! All are invited to join us in Chicago, June 18-20, for the world’s largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors. The conference is full of new opportunities for intimate, thought-provoking conversations about national service, social entrepreneurship and hands-on action.
Our annual event provides attendees with an opportunity to learn, connect and be re-inspired for volunteering through a wide range of exciting and informative plenary sessions, workshops, special events, service projects, exhibits, specialized corporate tracks and more. Attendees can look forward to an enhanced virtual experience, unique learning formats, more diverse content, incredible networking opportunities, and the much loved Exhibit Hall!
We’re thrilled to be headed to the Windy City- Chicago!
As Mayor Rahm Emmanuel said, “Chicago is not only the city of Big Shoulders, we are the city of big hearts.”
Chicago has a remarkable history of combining service with innovation. Continue to check back to read more about the city we’re so pleased to have hosting us and all it has to offer.
Are you ready to pave the way for a fresh approach to civic engagement? We’re looking forward to seeing you at Conference this summer!
I Get a Better Quality of Life Because I Give Quality to Life Through Service
Today’s turning point story is by Kelly Wessels, the chief operations officer at United Community Action Network (UCAN), a Community Action Agency in Southern Oregon.
A turning point indicates an intentional change in direction, momentum and impetus… and for me that happens daily. I come from a legacy of service – my mother was a VISTA, I have been a Senior Corps director, and now I am sponsor for a VISTA Team, AmeriCorps Team and four Senior Corps projects. I learned from childhood that we all matter, we all can serve, and our purpose is to be of service to people, to the environment, to other living things, because we were created to be interdependent to sustain our lives.
I am COO for a Community Action Agency in rural Oregon, and now, more than ever, I believe that service is an action that is powerful, changes lives and reminds us of the incredible potential we all possess. Our communities’ survival relies on service in action, from fulfilling the needs for basic life, to fulfilling the needs of the human spirit. The giver is the receiver when service is in action – I get a better quality of life because I give quality to life through service. Each face I greet, hand I touch, story I listen to and action I take to mobilize resources makes life better. Service should be an activity that is as much a part of our lives as brushing our teeth. We should do it because it’s good for us… and good for those around us.
Kelly and her family spend time together volunteering with music programs for youth, athletics, and activities that serve the homeless and provide advocacy for family wellness.
Change Notes: When University of Phoenix Employees Volunteer, Everybody Wins
Friends,
Points of Light is pleased to count University of Phoenix among its Leadership Partners. In 2011, its parent company, Apollo Group, and the University of Phoenix Foundation committed more than $20 million to local community initiatives with a focus on school and workforce readiness, community engagement and sustainability. Over the past three years, University of Phoenix has made significant contributions to advance the work and mission of Points of Light.
University of Phoenix’s strategic investments have mobilized volunteers across the country through innovative programming like the Road to the Gulf, which trained 6,300 service leaders and engaged 14,000 in community projects addressing education needs in just six months. It also developed and funded the Serve It Forward® scholarship program, encouraging community-minded individuals to pursue academic and personal development. As a top sponsor of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, University of Phoenix enables Points of Light to bring together the largest gathering of social innovators, cultivating new solutions for our communities’ toughest challenges.
In addition to its work with Points of Light, University of Phoenix partners with Everybody Wins! USA and we are excited to share the story of their work together.
Since 1976, University of Phoenix has created opportunities for students to reach their full potential. From kindergarten to college, University of Phoenix believes all students deserve a high quality, accessible education that starts with a love of learning and, more importantly, a love of reading.
To drive this love, the University of Phoenix Foundation presented a three-year grant to Everybody Wins! USA in 2010 to expand its proven literacy and mentoring programs in the communities in which University of Phoenix operates. Today, employees from across the country regularly volunteer during their lunch hour to read to their partner child.
“When I volunteer with the Everybody Wins! Power Lunch program, I feel like I’m making a lasting impact on a child’s life,” said Nancy Hennigan, director of strategic partnerships and Everybody Wins! Phoenix board member. “Seeing them grow their literacy skills and love of books week-to-week inspires me.”
The Power Lunch program brings groups of adult volunteers into low-income elementary schools each week for one-on-one read aloud sessions with students. Last August, University of Phoenix donated $20,000 to the Chicago and Connecticut affiliates to expand the Power Lunch program.
“The Fairfield County Campus is thrilled to participate in the Power Lunch program. For our employees, giving up an hour each week to read to a child is not a sacrifice – it’s a privilege,” said Nancy Pluzdrak, campus director. “We’re proud to join Everybody Wins! in its efforts to bring the love of reading to our low-income schools and to support our community.”
In addition to staff community engagement, Executive Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Tammy Fernandez and Des Moines Campus Director Chris Mason sit on the National and Des Moines boards of Everybody Wins, respectively. University of Phoenix’s in-kind giving team is developing curriculum to bring the Power Lunch orientation to the web this year.
Seeing a child fall in love with a book is the motivation to do more and be better in the community. University of Phoenix believes it is its obligation to challenge illiteracy and make education possible for all students through the power of volunteers.
Points of Light’s Leadership Partner Program recognizes and engages companies and business leaders whose social responsibility investments have resulted in significant advancement of its mission to inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world. One partner organization will be highlighted each month.
In service,
Michelle Nunn
CEO. Points of Light
Going Green at Conference in June
Yesterday was Earth Day, so using the theme that we should be taking care of the environment, here are tips to stay green and sustainable for our National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Remember to sign up for the early bird special this week before the deadline on Friday! Today’s guest post is written by Curtis Clark, our event coordinator at Points of Light.
It’s been a while since my last installment of a Day-In-the-Life Series, so I thought I would incorporate a little bit of what I’ve been working on here at Points of Light. I’ve been heading the Green Initiative for the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service and have learned a tremendous amount concerning the things we do on a daily basis that effect the environment. It’s amazing what we could do differently, through little changes, to conserve energy and water thus leaving much less of an impact on the environment. We’ve come up with some ideas and – with the help of a few of our friends at PricewaterhouseCoopers – the green theme of REDUCING, REUSEING and RECYCLING for NCVS 2012.
Following these tips will take a collaborative effort from all of us. If we each try and limit some of the things we do on a daily basis, everyone benefits. With that said, here are some ways that you can help reduce the carbon footprint we leave at this year’s conference.
When you travel
:
Purchase a carbon offset for your flight
Utilize airline e-tickets and smart phone applications instead of paper tickets
Pack your own amenities instead of using hotel amenities to eliminate additional waste
Bring your own water bottle to refill at water stations
Don’t rent a car and utilize public transit
At your conference hotel:
Follow hotel guidelines on re-use programs (i.e. hanging towels so they aren’t replaced)
Unplug your phone and computer chargers from wall when not charging (chargers when plugged into wall and not device still pull electricity from socket)
Request to not have a newspaper delivered to your room
Turn off the TV, coffee maker, lights, heat and AC when you are not in your room
Participating in conference:
Utilize the shuttle transports provided to you from conference hotels to McCormick Place
Take only the brochures, program books or maps necessary – return others to the brochure stand or recycle in appropriately marked containers
Donate your conference bag back to the conference
Use your own stainless steel water bottles to refill at water stations, reducing water bottle waste
Refer to conference materials on-line to reduce your own paper use
If conducting your own meeting, refrain from using printed materials
Upload your schedule to your calendars instead of printing your schedule
Eating:
Eat at farmers’ markets, organic eateries and restaurants that feature local ingredients
Avoid room service and carryout
When offered individual packages of condiments, take only what you’ll use
Choose to eat on china instead of paper plates or out of paper bags
Working on the Green Initiative has been a great learning experience and has definitely broadened my horizons. It’s been a pleasure working on this project and I look forward to more exciting future opportunities here at Points of Light.
Curtis recently graduated from Georgia State University with his Masters of Science in Sports Management.
Make A Difference Day Luncheon Today in Washington, D.C.
Today in Washington D.C. we celebrate 14 inspiring honorees to show the extraordinary impact they make through service.
The luncheon celebrates their outstanding contributions made on last year’s Make A Difference Day (October 22, 2011). They will be awarded with $10,000 grants from Newman’s Own for the charity of their choice.
The Make A Difference Day Luncheon is fitting to have during National Volunteer Week, a time when people are celebrated for the extraordinary impact they make through service. Established in 1974, National Volunteer Week focuses national attention on the impact and power of volunteerism and service as an integral aspect of our civic leadership.
Nancy Cordes as keynote speaker, along with Kevin Bacon, Gannett, Newman’s Own and Points of Light executives, Members of Congress, families and guests of the honorees will join today to celebrate the spirit of volunteerism.
Today’s Turning Point comes from guest writer, Tracy Thomas, Manager of Visitor Experience at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, N.Y. When not coordinating volunteers, Tracy enjoys hiking, kayaking, and hanging with her dog, Cade, in the Adirondacks.
I don’t recall a specific turning point that led me to volunteering or being a manager of volunteer programs. My story is as much a tale about my parents as it is about me.
I was raised in a very small town in Northern New York. It was the type of place where neighbors help neighbors without asking for anything in return. A place where you shovel someone’s driveway when you are doing your own, offer to pick up groceries for the elderly woman down the street, and jump in with support and casseroles when a family is in crisis. My mother and father sought to foster this spirit in my brother and I, knowing it would have long-term, positive impacts for both of us. The words “Tracy will do that” or “I will send Todd right over” were commonly heard in our household.
Their efforts to raise community-minded, caring children were my turning point. I learned from a young age that helping others had benefits in the way I felt about myself and the world. I also learned that when you are willing to put yourself out there to help those in need you will find that other people are willing to help, too.
In high school and college my service focus changed from helping in a neighborly way to formal volunteering, with dog walking at animal shelters and bingo at nursing homes added to my activities. I joined the co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega in college and became an officer, striving to help our organization reach more people. I still took great enjoyment, however, in the basic level of volunteering – jumping in to assist those around me.
Today, as a certified volunteer administrator and someone who has made a career in the field of volunteerism, I still strive to work with people who are looking to help in both formal and informal ways. One of my favorite definitions of volunteering remains “being aware of another’s needs and doing something about it.”
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.
A Womens Studies Class Was My Turning Point
Today’s Turning Point story is written by Bee Nguyen, president of Athena’s Warehouse in Atlanta, Ga.
When I was a child, I often heard the Vietnamese phrase “ngu long cong chua” or “five princesses of dragons,” as people looked at my parents and their five daughters. According to the Vietnamese culture, having five daughters or “princesses” is a sign of luck in the family.
Ironically, none of us girls were ever raised as “princesses” because with only one man in the household, we were taught to fend for ourselves. While our friends were allowed to stay out late, date boys, and attend sleepovers, we were raised in a fairly traditional Asian household. Every summer, my sisters and I played with each other, memorized five vocabulary words in preparation for an oral quiz given by our father and conned our mother into taking us to the mall where we would share slices of pizza and bury our noses in books at Walden books. Ceiba: a silk cotton tree. Where would we ever use that word?
We were raised as traditional females in one sense; we were forced to wear dresses in our tomboy stages, clear the kitchen table and join the women in the kitchen at parties. We were not allowed to jump fences, spit, or wear pants to church. But my parent also reinforced the idea of being an independent woman by prioritizing one thing: education. My parents taught us that education was essential, non-negotiable, and our opportunity to be a self-sufficient individual. Our parents’ expectations of us were never lowered because of our gender. My older sister can hang light fixtures, change headlights, and jump start a car; my mom spent a day installing burglar bars at the family home; and last month, my little sister called me to change her flat tire.
It was not until I took a women’s studies class in college that I experienced my turning point. Suddenly, the value of being a woman was glaringly obvious and wildly beautiful and not just a representation of growing up in female dominated household; not only did I have parents who taught us to be ambitious, self-sufficient women, but I had four sisters who were my rock. I promised myself that I would celebrate women by supporting other females and by surrounding myself with other women who both needed and provided support. As a commitment to myself, I have followed through, building a strong network and support system; the women in my life are dynamic, courageous, interesting, and fun, but best of all, they cherish being a woman.
When I started Athena’s Warehouse in 2009, I knew without a doubt that the organization would focus on the idea of empowerment for young women. Women are warriors, not princesses — and to remind other females of that, we started a prom dress program for high school girls in the Atlanta area. The program provides a dry cleaned dress to each student in exchange for three hours of community service. By requiring the service hours, we relay to the young women that they can not only earn a dress, but they can also contribute to their community. No matter how little we may have, we will always have the time to give.
As we started our work with the ladies, we realized that they needed more than just dresses —they needed female role models, guidance, and resources for real life issues. We started Be Awesome, Be Aware, a series of life skills workshops focusing on issues such as self-esteem, exercise, domestic violence and teenage pregnancy prevention. This year, four of our students reported using resources from our safety workshop to help themselves, a family member, or a friend; says one of our girls, “safety and self-defense was personally the most touching workshop for me because this helped me realize that being in an abusive relationship is not normal.”
Through the young ladies that we serve, I am continuously reminded that it is my personal commitment to serve and support women both through Athena’s Warehouse and my own life. I was fortunate to have two parents who taught me values that have allowed me to be successful in my life and in my career. Sometimes, though, like many other women, I need the support of another woman — to remind me of my strength when I am low; to encourage me to take care of myself when I am sad; to tell me to keep moving forward when I am discouraged; to be honest with me when I cannot be with myself; but mostly to give me the friendship and companionship that every woman needs. And that is what I am here to do for the young women in our community through the work of Athena’s Warehouse.
In Bee’s spare time, she enjoys running, reading, dining, biking, spending time with her two poodles and bonding with her family and friends. She is currently working on her MPA at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State.
My Turning Point Happened After An F-4 Tornado
Today’s turning point story is written by Natasha Colkmire, special markets national sales manager for Motel 6. In Natasha’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering at her church, working out through running, yoga and rock climbing.
April 27, 2011, is a day that I will never forget. It was the day that my small town, Ringgold, Ga., was torn apart by an F-4 tornado.
I had heard there were tornadoes hitting the south, and that they were moving my way. I went to my mom’s house since both my husband and my dad were out of town. It was just me, my mom and my little sisters, Makayla (14) and Malia (6). We had discussed that if the storm got really bad, we would move under the house into the crawlspace. Around 8 p.m., my mom opened the door and told me to come and look at the sky. She was looking up and to the right. As I approached the door, the wind picked up. Our power had just gone out and it was very dark and hard to see. I looked up and over to the left, and then I saw it. The tornado was only about a half-mile away from us and headed in our direction. I started screaming for my mom to get the girls underneath the house. Once we were in the crawlspace, we just kept praying for our own safety as well as our friends and neighbors.
Finally, we decided to get out and assess the damage. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. The tornado did not actually come into our subdivision, almost as if the gates that surround us would not let it in. Everything else was destroyed though. The whole town was just mangled as if it were a piece of paper that had been balled up and thrown away.
The next few days, week, and months were completely devoted to restoring our community. We helped so many people cut down trees, remove debris from their yards, provide warm meals, and pray for their emotional and physical healings. We felt that since we were so blessed to have been protected by God from the tornado, it was the least that we could do. It wasn’t just us though. There were so many people who were doing the same thing all throughout Ringgold. April 27 was such a terrible day felt by many all over the south; however, you can always find something good out of the bad things that you go through. Just as there are rainbows after a storm (and there was a double rainbow in Ringgold the day after the tornado), something good is to come from trials. In a time of need, our community came together to provide for those who had been effected. Nothing mattered at the time except for caring for each other. We get so wrapped in our day to day life that most of the time, we forget to be a neighbor when we should be caring for one another on a daily basis. I think all were humbled by our experience, those who were helped and those that helped. I know it humbled me.
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.
It’s that time of year again! Not only are we on the verge of spring (and the dreaded pollen season), but we are getting closer to the National Conference on Volunteering & Service! All are invited to join us in Chicago, June 18-20, for the world’s largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors. The conference is full of new opportunities for intimate, thought-provoking conversations about national service, social entrepreneurship and hands-on action.
Today’s turning point story is by Kelly Wessels, the chief operations officer at 
on school and workforce readiness, community engagement and sustainability. Over the past three years, University of Phoenix has made significant contributions to advance the work and mission of Points of Light.
Yesterday was Earth Day, so using the theme that we should be taking care of the environment, here are tips to stay green and sustainable for our 
Today in Washington D.C. we celebrate 14 inspiring honorees to show the extraordinary impact they make through service.
Today’s Turning Point comes from guest writer, Tracy Thomas, Manager of Visitor Experience at 
Today’s Turning Point story is written by Bee Nguyen, president of 
Today’s turning point story is written by Natasha Colkmire, special markets national sales manager for Motel 6. In Natasha’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, volunteering at her church, working out through running, yoga and rock climbing.