Economic Development and Opportunity Sessions at NCVS!

Jun 4, 2011

Today we are highlighting another important conference focus area, with sessions specifically about Economic Development and Opportunity.

Sessions in this category will focus on volunteer solutions that sustain economic development and opportunity faced by our communities. E

VISTA Coffeehouse (5660)
Monday, June 6, 2011 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Twitter Hashtag: #vista
Description: Stop by the VISTA Coffeehouse for a cup of coffee while you relax with colleagues, continue the dialogue after a workshop and catch up with friends. Record your story of service and be a part of VISTA’s history.

Building Economic Security through Volunteer Efforts (5072)
Monday, June 6, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Target Audience: Training staff
Session Level: Advanced
Session Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Rebecca Haase, Reyes Irizarry
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5072
Description: Now more than ever, there is a need for cost-effective, outcome driven, volunteer programs that improve the economic security of low-income families. The Community Service Society/RSVP has successfully created the Financial Advocacy Program which capitalizes on the skills of older adults while meeting urgent community needs. Volunteers are trained to provide education and support in the area of economic security for low-income families through financial coaching and public benefit counseling. The workshop will present the core concepts used to create and maintain these model programs which include a rigorous training and assessment process, and effective site development and volunteer placement.

Reclaiming the American Dream: How We Can Recommit to Being a Nation of Opportunity Through Service (5293)
Monday, June 6, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Intermediate
Session Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Kirsten Lodal
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #reclaimthedream
Description: A recent poll found that half of Americans no longer believe in the American Dream which suggests that if you work hard you’ll get ahead. This panel will examine why faith in the American Dream has waned and what role service plays in restoring that ideal. Using case studies from LIFT the panel will look at the ripple effect that investments in poverty relief have on education health and other low-income issue areas and how service programs can work together with public and private partners to employ simple solutions to strengthen our country’s economic recovery and continued prosperity.

Strategies for Engaging People in Service (5367)
Monday, June 6, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Target Audience: Project or program director
Session Level: Intermediate
Session Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Mimi Castaldi, Mary Tritsch
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5367
Description: Looking for new and creative ways to increase engagement in your cause? AARP will share the range of strategies the association has used to involve the 50+ community, and Americans as a whole, in the fight against hunger. These include innovative partnerships, statewide on-the-ground efforts, online outreach and even games and contests! While the examples provided focus on hunger, the strategies are easily transferrable to other issue areas.

VISTA Coffeehouse (5661)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Twitter Hashtag: #vista
Description: Stop by the VISTA Coffeehouse for a cup of coffee while you relax with colleagues, continue the dialogue after a workshop and catch up with friends. Record your story of service and be a part of VISTA’s history.

Engaging Resident Volunteers in Sustainable Neighborhood Revitalization (5382)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Intermediate
Session Type: Workshops Speaker(s): Laura Mellem
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #EngagingResidents
Description: Beacon of Hope Resource Center’s Neighborhood Revitalization MODEL- Mapping, Outreach, Development, Engagement, Leadership will be presented. The MODEL has been implemented in neighborhoods across New Orleans with more than 750 resident volunteers working to eradicate blight, foster rebuilding and repopulation, and improve quality of life in their neighborhoods.

Citizen Solutions for Economic Opportunity (5528)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Intermediate
Session Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Diahann Bilings-Burford, Jeff Johnson, Marta Urquilla, David Eisner, Gary Maxworthy, Kim Davis, Zach Rosenburg, Ida Rademacher
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5528
Description: Fostering and advancing economic opportunities in under resourced communities is a constant challenge. Several communities, however, are achieving strong results for their residents, drawing on existing resources and the power of volunteers. This session will highlight the practices of asset-based community development and will present examples of how some communities have effectively promoted new economic opportunities, focusing especially on the roles volunteers can play alongside nonprofit organizations and community members to effect change.

Pathways to Innovation: Reclaiming the American Dream (5561)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Beginner
Speaker(s): Kirsten Lodal, Richard French, Eric Schwarz, Elizabeth Irvine, Scott Miller, Amy Baker, Bethany Billman
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5561
Description: In this session several presenters will pitch innovative solutions to the challenges of economic development and opportunity followed by discussion. Included are: Painting Change; Circles of Opportunity, A New Solution to America’s Mortgage Crisis, Citizen Schools, A Garden in Every School.

VITA – Bigger Bucks for Your Community or Show Me the Money! (5161)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Intermediate
Session Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Karen O’Neil
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #bigbucks
Description: Extra cash in the pockets of low-income workers is a benefit not only to their families but to the community as a whole. Partnerships with the IRS through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program can have a positive economic impact on your community. VITA offers volunteer opportunities attractive to Boomers provides short term volunteer assignments yearly opportunities to learn new skills and improves or uses the volunteer’s computer skills. Learn how to show the impact of your VITA program to the community and your funders with verifiable outcomes based on hard data.

The Corporate-Nonprofit Partnership Model in Action (5681)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Beginner
Sponsor: Capital One
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5681
Description: Sponsored by Capital One, participants will visit Columbia Parc where the St. Bernard public housing development once stood pre-Katrina. This immersion learning session will explore the elements of a holistic community development model.

VISTA Coffeehouse (5662)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Twitter Hashtag: #NCVS5662
Description: Stop by the VISTA Coffeehouse for a cup of coffee while you relax with colleagues, continue the dialogue after a workshop and catch up with friends. Record your story of service and be a part of VISTA’s history.

Civic Pathways Out of Poverty Into Opportunity (5185)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Intermediate
Session Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Christopher Gates, Steve Patrick, Kara Carlisle
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #CivicPathways
Description: Service can and should be more purposefully focused on workforce development goals and post-secodary educational achievement for low-income youth and young adults. PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, has just published a white paper on this issue describing these ‘civic pathways’. This work was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the New World Foundation.

Developing Sustainable Economic Impact: Case Studies in Innovation (5197)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Target Audience: All roles
Session Level: Intermediate Session
Type: Workshops
Speaker(s): Michael F. Curtin
Sponsor: Chase
Twitter Hashtag: #dcck
Description: Persons who are unable to work, whose earnings are inadequate or for whom jobs are often require additional assistance in order to meet their basic needs for food. This session will provide examples of innovative programs that are designed to reduce poverty, promote self-sufficiency, and make communities and people more self reliant. It will provide case studies in economic empowerment that include meal distribution service, job training and development, and sustainable growing practices.


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