 Call to Action |
| 12 Days of Giving, VolunteerMatch-Style |
| By Shannon Boren, VolunteerMatch Communications Intern |
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| With a recession eating holes in everyone's pockets, this holiday season is a critical time to make volunteering a priority -- and VolunteerMatch is your resource for making change, helping others, and spreading good cheer. |
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| Here's a helpful tip for making your volunteer experience great: Imagine you’re at a holiday dinner party. Your host may be harried and busy. The "menu" might contain some surprises. But if you’re willing to lend a hand where you can and be appreciative of the impact of everyone’s work, it will be a time to remember. |
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| To inspire you, we’ve put together a tongue-in-cheek survey of 12 fun, holiday-friendly ways to get out and do good this season -- without spending a dime: |
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12 Drummers Drumming -- The Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York, NY, needs a drum instruction volunteer. |
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11 Pipers Piping -- Senior Help in Omaha, NB, needs fix-it volunteers with piping experience. |
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10 Lords a Leaping -- Literacy for Every Adult Project (LEAP) in Richmond, CA, needs volunteer tutors to help adults develop better math, reading and writing. |
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9 Ladies Dancing – Zenon Dance Company and School, Inc., in Minneapolis, MN, needs board members to help oversee the organization. |
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8 Maids a Milking – Hammer in Wayzata, MN, needs maid volunteers to assist those with developmental disabilities. |
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7 Swans a Swimming – The National Ability Center in Park City, UT, needs swim volunteers to help the disabled with recreational activities. |
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6 Geese a Laying – Diabetics/Disabled Anonymous needs a tile laying volunteer to help with wall and flooring jobs. |
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5 Golden Rings – Tabitha Health Care Services in Lincoln, NB, needs volunteers to help ring up sales in their gift shop. |
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4 Calling Birds – The Club for Boys in Rapid City, SD, needs a bird watching instruction volunteer. |
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3 French Hens – Salt Lake County RSVP in Salt Lake City, UT, needs French speakers to transport patients to medical appointments. |
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2 Turtle Doves – The Catawba Science Center in Hickory, NC, needs turtle care volunteers to help with diets, cleaning and record keeping. |
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And a Partridge in a Pear Tree – Urban Harvest in Houston, TX, needs volunteers for its annual fruit tree sale. |
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In the spirit now? Great. Start your holiday volunteering search today at VolunteerMatch.org.
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| Change Worth Believing In |
Get Ready for The King Day of Service, 1/19
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| For the last several years, VolunteerMatch has encouraged volunteers to learn about the King Day of Service. This year is no different -- the Day of Service, which takes place on January 19, 2009, is coming up. Make it day on, not a day off, by following the inspiration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and finding a great place to serve your community that day. |
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| So what is different this year? In a word: everything. |
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| Changing Times, New Energy |
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| Where to start? The economy, for one. This year, the news is filled with stories about mountainous social and environmental issues in our communities. Who will solve them? Answer: all of us, if we work together. |
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| Then there's the recent election. A zeitgeist of hope, energy, and collaboration has opened up for millions of us who have discovered our voice and strength as members of the community. This spirit cuts across age, gender, class, and race, and it's beautiful thing to behold. |
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| But perhaps the biggest difference is history. |
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| The day after the King Day of Service, Americans will join with the world in inaugurating America's first black President. As a product of mixed racial and national heritage, as a member of the middle class, and as a person of tremendous ability who has often put it to the service of others, the President-elect is a living, breathing embodiment of King's dream of a "Beloved Community." So emotions and the desire for action will be higher than ever. |
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| How to Get Ready for the Day of Service |
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| VolunteerMatch has partnered with our friends at MLKDay.gov to give volunteers the resources you need to be inspired to commit yourself to service for 2009. When you're ready to find an opportunity, log on to www.volunteermatch.org. |
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| The key is keywords. Use the Keyword field in Search to find keywords like "MLK," "King Day," "Day of Service," "Martin Luther King," or "I have a dream." Those are the opportunities that are mostly to be a great match for King Day of Service. |
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| Hello Boomers |
| Amazing Ways to Be a Skilled Volunteer |
| By Sarah Christian, VolunteerMatch Director of Strategic Partnerships |
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 With the economic upheaval taking place, millions of boomers are reassessing our finances. Many are considering encore careers, transitioning back into the workforce, or delaying retirement. Others are simply trying to find the best use for extra spare time now that they've decreased work hours. |
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| This holiday season, I'd like to suggest you seek out an organization in need of your skills and expertise. For boomers, there's never been a better time to become a skilled volunteer. Not only do we all have wisdom to share, but now, more than ever, organizations that are doing important work in our communities really do need our help. |
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| Skilled volunteering is an ideal way to connect to others and give purpose and meaning to our lives. It also helps keep us sharp professionally and opens the door to the development of new skills. |
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There are as many volunteer opportunities are there are kinds of holiday cookies. Here are just a few examples: |
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Database Whiz, San Francisco Ocean Film Festival
The SFOFF uses film to increase public awareness of the environmental, social, and cultural importance of marine resources and to foster a spirit of ocean stewardship.
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Business Mentor, MicroMentor
Leverage your volunteer and pro-bono work to directly impact the lives of emerging entrepreneurs, their families and their communities while supporting sustainable, community-based economic development. |
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Resource Detectives, Multiple Sclerosis Association of America
Volunteer from your home by using your own computer, conduct research using the internet and through other sources on resources to help the MS community. |
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Account Director, Taproot Foundation
An Account Director volunteer has managed team leaders, feels comfortable negotiating executive or board-level relationships, and has experience directly related to one of our grant areas (i.e. marketing, database/IT, or human resources).
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Writer/Editor, Villa Ezperanza
A nonprofit organization providing financial support to nonprofits in Latin America. |
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Chefs, Covenant House
Volunteers share their love of cooking or baking with shelter youth and are encouraged to prepare cuisines that may be unfamiliar to shelter residents. |
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Try your location and a keywords to describe what kind of skilled volunteering you want to do. We’re always amazed at the variety of volunteer opportunities. We know you will be, too. |
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| Volunteer Spotlight |
| Nancy Peyton, Cheerful Givers |
| Remember when you turned eight? Try to recall it. Surely you were filled with excitement about the family, friends, cake and most importantly birthday presents that awaited you! |
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Now imagine receiving nothing -- not because you’ve been bad or you don't deserve to celebrate, but simply because your family can't afford it.
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| Today, in a society that has so much to give, thousands of children who live in poverty don't receive any gifts at all on their birthdays. |
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| This is where Cheerful Givers steps in. By providing toy-filled gift bags to food shelves and shelters, the organization is working to ensure that every child receives a gift to make their birthday special. |
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| Since 1994, Cheerful Givers has distributed over 286,000 birthday bags to children and families in need. It's a lot of work, but they get it done with the help of selfless volunteers like Nancy Peyton. |
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Peyton came to VolunteerMatch looking for a flexible volunteer position she could do from home -- what we call virtual volunteering. After searching, she found a role soliciting in-kind donations to fill gift bags for Cheerful Givers.
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| "I love seeing results, having a purpose and a focus, and knowing that I'm helping others," Peyton said. "Also, because I'm a 'virtual’ volunteer, I can do my work at midnight or stay in my pajamas all day if I want to!" |
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According to Karen Kitchel, president of Cheerful Givers, the match was perfect. By using her free time throughout the day, Peyton has made a huge impact for the organization.
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| "In the last six months, Nancy has volunteered 25 to 30 hours each week and has become our Lead Volunteer," said Kitchel. "Because of her targeted research, great communication skills and excellent follow-up, she has raised over $100,000 in in-kind donations." |
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| "VolunteerMatch has taught us that we don't need to limit our volunteer recruiting to people who live in our community," she added. "Virtual volunteers have responded and been able to address a wide variety of needs." |
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| Are you searching for a flexible opportunity that matches your talents and abilities? Log on to VolunteerMatch.org today and find virtual opportunities in an area that interests you! |
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