Children and Youth in Service

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Creating a Legacy of Giving

Submitted by Tristan Dahn
on Thu, 12/20/2012 - 20:16

Around this time of year, a number of us take the time to step back from our normally busy lives and examine in what ways we feel we are able to give back. The holidays are known for bringing out the charitable spirit in people, whether that spirit is in the form of a monetary or in-kind donation or a service project such as volunteering at a food bank or children’s hospital. This is truly fantastic, but a question this always brings up for me is, in what ways can we harness this spirit year-round and use it to create a legacy of giving?

Orchids, Smiling Strangers, and Sleeping Students: Volunteer Life in Singapore

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Wed, 06/06/2012 - 20:19

I recently had the privilege of spending an intensive four days with volunteerism colleagues in Singapore (my fifth visit since 2001) on behalf of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVCP) there.  Singapore is a small country, but amazingly multicultural and multi-lingual.  Over the last decade, NVCP has focused on encouraging more intentional giving of time and money in both formal and informal ways.  I learned about many interesting things during my most recent stay, and want to share three of them here.

May Hot Topic: Three Things Volunteer Managers Can Learn from the Social Media Revolution

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 14:42

Guest commentator Rob Jackson draws three critical points from recent social media data that have direct relevance to leaders of volunteers – and gives tips for responding. Are you keeping up with how fast things are changing?

Why Global Youth Service Day is Important to All Volunteer-Involving Organizations

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Thu, 04/05/2012 - 19:18

Even though Canada and the U.S. are gearing up for their National Volunteer Weeks on the third week of April, and the UK and Australia’s special volunteer weeks are not far away, Energize is challenging all volunteer-involving organizations to carve out time and focus on Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), celebrated April 20-22, 2012.

March 13, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 15:05

13 March: On Thursday, March 24, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. EST, the YEF Institute and the National League of Cities (NLC, www.nlc.org) will host a free, hour-long, audio conference on "Community Attachment and Civic Engagement: Key Lessons and Opportunities for Municipal Leaders." Speakers on this call will highlight effective civic engagement strategies, with particular attention to innovative technology approaches, youth involvement, and promoting inclusion and civility. Register online.

The call will draw upon ideas from two of NLC's new action guides, "Beyond Civility: From Public Engagement to Problem Solving" and "Authentic Youth Civic Engagement: A Guide for Municipal Leaders." Both free documents offer practical information on how to implement “civic engagement,” with many real-life examples. The youth guide is especially interesting in its advocacy for genuine, meaningful roles for teenagers in community decision making and activity.

NLC has produced other thoughtful and helpful

February 13, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 02/13/2011 - 20:57

13 February: Global Youth Service Day (www.GYSD.org) is an annual campaign that celebrates the millions of children and youth who improve their communities each day of the year through volunteering and service-learning – and mobilizes thousands of service projects during the weekend it runs each April. Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world, and the only day of service dedicated to children and youth. GYSD is celebrated each year in over 100 countries. In 2011, Global Youth Service Day will be April 15-17.

In 1988, Youth Service America (YSA, www.ysa.org) and the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL, now part of Idealist.org) organized the first National Youth Service Day, then called, “A Day in the Life of Service.” Nearly 1,000 programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. By 2000, YSA adapted the United States model to go international and founded Global Youth Service Day.

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