This post is by Katie Greisiger, a writer, yoga teacher and social service professional in Phoenix, where she co-operates the blog phoenixhealthgeek.org.
Katie Greisiger
You care about helping your community and those who are less fortunate. But, how? What’s the first step? If you narrow down your ability of service to a niche like volunteering at an animal shelter, reading to the elderly or promoting AIDS awareness you may get up and move quicker than, say, someone like me who wants to just save the world and accomplish it all overnight.
When it comes to figuring out what you have to offer your community, or one agency in particular, a little self-reflection time should be first on your to-do list.
Think about how much time you can give. Before you can commit to volunteer work you have to determine what days and times you are available to make the commitment and for how long. Luckily we have the Internet and some volunteer work could be done remotely. Maybe you have some writing or website-building expertise and could help out a small nonprofit that’s lacking in the social media department. If web work is not an option, find a place that’s close to your job, home or school. You’ll be more likely to commit if your volunteer work is easily accessible.
Determine what you want to accomplish. It’s a heart-warming feeling to give to others but it doesn’t hurt to try to polish up the ol’ resume, too. If you’re working on developing a specific skill, such as event coordination or volunteer management, offer up those services. After all, the relationship you build with the volunteering organization should be mutually beneficial. Also, it doesn’t hurt to set up goals through your volunteer gig – help someone raise X amount of money or help develop relationships to build community gardens at schools.
Choose your top three volunteer gigs. Research a few organizations, programs or city projects that you’d like to join. AllforGood.org and www.handsonnetwork.org can provide a launching point. Narrow down your top three volunteer opportunities or organizations to approach, then pick up the phone or write an email. Because nonprofits can have small budgets and busy staffs, stay persistent and remember to be patient.
Now, get moving. Have some fun, meet new people, support your community and remember that you can’t do it all overnight. We might not be able to save the world tomorrow but we can start to make a positive mark by turning to local service today.
Already an ambitious volunteer or have some ideas? Share your experiences with Points of Light at [email protected].
When Schools and Businesses Collaborate, Students Win
This post is by Gayle Villani, vice president of programs for PENCIL, a New York-based organization that since 1995 has created innovative models of collaboration between businesses and public schools.
Gayle Villani
One of the most important trends in education this year will be how the business community continues to act on its desire to support our public schools.
Like most trends, this one has been building for some time: last year, during his State of the Union address, President Obama focused on Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-Tech) – a collaboration between the Department of Education and IBM – as a model for the future. That model is being replicated well beyond New York state, where it started – in Chicago, for example, they launched four schools built on a similar model.
The P-Tech model is an intensive one, and while it’s inspiring that IBM has invested so heavily in this particular model, not all companies have the resources to create brand new schools. The good news is that there are other models that enable businesses across the spectrum to have a deep impact on schools in their community.
Since 1995, PENCIL has been working at the intersection of school need and business expertise to foster stronger school cultures, engage families in their school communities and prepare students for college and career success: Last year, 9 of 10 principals engaged in our program said their PENCIL partnerships helped improve school culture, student performance or both.
But it takes much more than the willingness to volunteer to make a difference. Any school and business can take steps toward helping students reach their potential if they follow these best practices:
Align volunteer skills with school needs – Before partners begin to work together, they need to best understand how to align the business volunteer’s skills and good intentions with a school’s needs. In these cases, the business volunteer might offer a service that the school doesn’t really need. To avoid this situation, intermediary organizations must strategically match business volunteers’ expertise with specific school needs in the key areas that are proven levers for improvement in school and student performance.
Set clear expectations and realistic goals – Similarly, principals shouldn’t expect – and volunteers shouldn’t promise – more than they can offer. Both schools and businesses should commit to what they really can do – not what they wish they could do. These realistic goals make everyone feel successful, keep everyone engaged and motivated and, over time, lead to those dramatic, inspiring results everyone is hoping for.
Measure impact – Measurements abound in school and in business – firms ask themselves if they’re providing their customers with the level of service that they demand, and schools track student learning throughout the year. But when volunteers and schools come together, too often they forget about taking meaningful measurements.
Maintain ongoing and open communication – When volunteers join a school community, it’s the creation of a relationship. Both parties need to commit to maintaining regular and honest communication with each other, whether by email, phone or in person. When the program isn’t working, communication is about being open to the truth and determining what changes should be made.
Provide comprehensive support – While school-business partners who adhere to the above guidelines can produce great results, the reality is that schools and businesses are two very different worlds. Having an expert intermediary “translate” the realities of each and help both partners understand each other’s challenges – and the ways to address them – is an asset that maximizes school-business collaborations and their impact.
When you take those steps, you can make a tremendous difference. Watch this video to see the impact Morgan Stanley made at the Business of Sports School, where the company worked with school leadership and teachers to mentor students in college and career readiness skills.
By working together in a targeted, strategic and supported way, schools and businesses can find innovative new ways to invest private sector insight and intellectual capital in our students, and in our future.
Here’s How to Find Volunteer Opportunities – When You Want, Where You Want
Let’s say you love animals and want to volunteer your time helping abandoned pets in your community. Or, you’re looking for a way to give back this holiday weekend, to recognize the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
Try them out today to find volunteer opportunities near you that are meaningful to you. At AllforGood.org, you can search by your area of interest, keywords, and your city, state or zip code. The Huffington post writes, “The largest database of volunteer opportunities online, All for Good is the ultimate platform for finding ways to make a difference. Each month, the site hosts 150,000 local volunteer listings in major cities.”
And generationOn.org “gives young people the tools and know-how to create change in the world,” The Huffington Post says. “From veterans to the environment to bullying, generationOn gives young people concrete concepts and a how-to for ideas, such as recipes to make for families in need or holding a park cleanup.” See a list of projects here.
This post is by Ilene and Michael Berson, education professors at the University of South Florida and parents of Marc, a member of the generationOn National Youth Advisory Council, and Elisa, a Robertson Scholar at Duke University.
Volunteering together as a family teaches
kids about cultural differences. Above, the
Miscoes of Texas help at a food pantry.
Volunteerism and community engagement are critical components of our family life. Service experiences promote learning through active participation, provide structured time for all members of our family to reflect, create opportunities to use skills and knowledge in real-life situations, extend learning beyond the classroom and foster a sense of caring for others.
As a family, we discuss what we have learned from each experience about ourselves, the issue addressed and the people involved, including transformations that we each observe. Our children’s reflections on their experiences have been powerful, as volunteering has enhanced their awareness of culture, diversity and individual differences.
In our service work, we focus on comprehensive community-building efforts that seek to impact significant social issues by emphasizing the economic, social and physical transformation of an area. In order to build a healthy community, an active citizen base is needed. We believe that through such involvement, our children become empowered and engaged. They learn to build upon the skills, assets, networks, relationships and mediating structures of the community.
This approach teaches our children to value the wisdom of the community and creates shared responsibility and ownership to improve the health and well-being of community members. These hands-on experiences also actively mobilize our children as agents of social change, shifting power to them and recognizing that they have a voice that can be used to call attention to otherwise marginalized or underrepresented issues. They have come to realize that their knowledge as young people is valuable and can affect change.
In raising our children we have focused on building or strengthening existing social networks and support systems for their emergence as agents of community mobilization and action. As parents, we model for our children how to assume an active role in collaborative community-based partnerships that work toward the creation of safety and well-being for all children and their families.
This is based on our belief that inclusive interaction through service initiatives promotes in our children a heightened awareness of available social, emotional and financial resources; a commitment to overcome the barriers of rigid solutions in responding to complex issues; and a determination to participate in the interaction of systems of care that will better inform the development and implementation of policy, planning and service delivery.
Ultimately, this exchange exposes our children to diverse efforts to protect, defend and promote the rights and welfare of others, and challenges them to take action on behalf of those in need.
The Bersons took part in Family Volunteer Day, Nov. 23. Disney Friends For Change, a Disney initiative dedicated to inspiring kids and families to make a positive change in the world, was the presenting sponsor. Embassy Suites was a supporting sponsor. Find out how your family can make a difference this holiday season by visiting generationOn.org.
Festive, Active and Yummy – Keep Volunteering Fun for Your Family
This post is by Ann Saylor, a mother of three who blogs regularly for MommySecrets and TheAssetEdge. She and her family participated in Family Volunteer Day, Nov. 23.
The Saylor children, from left, Brendan, Daniel and Anna Kate,
pack toys to be distributed to kids in need.
My husband Dan and I are training our children to serve others thoughtfully by making it a priority to serve together. With our children being ages 11, 8 and 7, it’s challenging to find a place to serve together in our rural area, so we have worked to design service projects that we can do as a family. And the projects have happened in many shapes and sizes over the years!
We’ve done small projects, like helping with invitations, food and setup for a neighborhood party. We’ve done fun projects like a play-a-thon, for which we partnered with Hasbro to raise money for temporary housing for families displaced by Haiti’s earthquake.
We’ve done holiday projects, like our trick-or-treat charity bike parade. We decorated our bikes in Halloween style, and went “trick-or-treating” to collect healthy snacks to share with school children in need.
We’ve done big projects, like hosting a Rockin’ Readers Literacy initiative at our elementary school. We’ve done long-term projects, like helping at a mobile food pantry to collect, sort and distribute an entire semi-truck of food to needy families in our community.
We’ve done yummy projects, like partnering with Cupcake Kids to raise $300 for imprisoned children in Africa. We’ve done active projects, like the Pleasant View Kids Triathlon, where the children challenged their friends to complete a triathlon over the course of the summer.
It doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time. Find out what your kids love, and create volunteer projects that match with their interests, skills and passions. Eleven-year-old Daniel especially enjoys projects where he can organize. Eight-year-old Brendan loves raising money to give to favorite causes. Seven-year old Anna Kate loves projects related to arts and crafts. I enjoy finding out more about my children as we volunteer together.
And don’t be afraid to have fun while you volunteer – have a charity skate night, bake together at the Ronald McDonald House, host your own play-a-thon, build something for another family or do a fun run together. Volunteering can create great opportunities for making memories, building relationships and learning to love others.
Ann Saylor’s family, of Tennesee, again came together to volunteer on Nov. 23 for this year’s Family Volunteer Day. Disney Friends For Change, a Disney initiative dedicated to inspiring kids and families to make a positive change in the world, was the presenting sponsor of Family Volunteer Day 2013. Embassy Suites was a supporting sponsor. Find out how your family can make a difference this holiday season by visiting generationOn.org.
Five Easy Ways to Teach Your Kids Values
This post is by Kathy Saulitis, senior vice president of programs for generationOn, an enterprise of Points of Light that helps young people change the world through volunteer service.
The Miscoe family of Texas volunteers together often
at a local food pantry.
The holiday season is filled with opportunities for children to be caring and compassionate. And for parents, it starts with showing your kids how it’s done! Let your children see you helping elderly neighbors rake their leaves, being kind to those around you in crowded stores or collecting canned goods for the hungry.
Right before Thanksgiving, we celebrate Family Volunteer Day. On Nov. 23 this year, it is a day that showcases families making a difference in their communities and kicks off the season of giving. Here are five easy ways to teach your kids values – and do some good for others – on Family Volunteer Day and throughout the year.
1. Talk to your children about issues affecting your neighborhood, your community and the world. When my oldest son was in elementary school and was involved in a holiday food drive, he didn’t immediately see why people needed help at all. His initial reaction was, “They just need to go get a job!” In simple language, I explained about income versus expenses and how the very people we were helping to feed may be working several jobs but still are short for food. As a young problem-solver, he thought for a while and then suggested ideas for how our country might deal with hunger in new ways. He got it!
2. Use the dinner hour to talk about reaching out to others. Do you have a neighbor that may be sick or lonely? Are there struggling families in your community? Do you know someone in the service who is deployed? Talk to your children about how they feel about these situations and get their input on ways your family can help.
3. Appeal to your children’s interests. Does your family love the outdoors? Do your kids like to get their hands dirty? Try volunteering for a park or beach clean-up or help plant a community garden. The more you draw on your children’s interests, the more motivated they become.
4. Find a hands-on, family-friendly volunteer project. You can find family-friendly project ideas and resources at www.generationOn.org or check out your local HandsOn Network affiliate.
5. Start a family tradition of volunteer service during the holidays. The holidays are times of excitement, tradition and family togetherness. When our children were younger, we would make Holiday Hope Chests to donate to area homeless shelters. It was fun to watch the kids choose with care their special gifts for children they imagined opening the boxes on Christmas morning.
When the holidays end and the new year begins, remember every day is an opportunity to teach your kids to care and share, be compassionate and have an attitude of gratitude for even the smallest things in life.
This year Family Volunteer Day takes place on Nov. 23. Disney Friends For Change, a Disney initiative dedicated to inspiring kids and families to make a positive change in the world, is the presenting sponsor of Family Volunteer Day 2013. Embassy Suites is a supporting sponsor.
The Most Important Shopping List You’ll Make This Weekend
A flashlight with extra batteries. A first-aid kit. A three-day supply of water. Add these items – and a few others – to your weekend shopping list, and you’ll be taking a big step toward helping your family be more prepared should a disaster.
September is National Preparedness Month, and in communities across the country, volunteers are helping families prepare for disasters by participating in “Good & Ready” emergency preparedness kit-building events. Disasters can happen anytime, anywhere, with little or no warning. Research from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) found that 85 percent of Americans are not prepared for potential disasters.
Good & Ready is an online and on-the-ground emergency preparedness program led by Points of Light in partnership with Ready.gov, the American Red Cross and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, with support from Target and The Allstate Foundation. You can help your family and community be better prepared for, and recover more quickly from, disasters.
Visit www.GoodandReady.org to take an emergency preparedness quiz, download a checklist to build an emergency preparedness kit of your own, or find a kit-building event in your community.
And get Good & Ready this month!
Fall Volunteer Opportunities
Don’t have much time to give back, or want to do something easy and meaningful?
October and November months offer plenty of volunteering opportunities. Now that it’s fall and the weather is changing it’s a great time to clean out your closets and give back to goodwill. Before buying new fall clothes, take some time to give away items you don’t need any more. You have to clean out your closet anyway right, why not give your clothes to a great cause?
Find a
or donation site near you.
Another helpful project to set up is a community clothing swap. A clothing swap is also a great idea for swapping Halloween costumes to reuse them.Help others in your community get ready for the winter weather and get rid of your smaller jackets, mittens, scarves that you no longer use.
Have a great idea you want to implement in your neighborhood? Join in Make a Difference Day on October 27 and register your project on the
to recruit your volunteers. Join in the largest day of service with your community and make a positive difference at the end of the month.
Want to dedicate more time to a cause, and also benefit your fitness?
The weather is so nice out, now is a great time to partake in runs/walks for causes. Make working out more meaningful by raising awareness and funds to support worthwhile causes, such as disease research, children’s programs, military support, and more.
