Important Events

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Why We All Need to Take a Ride on VolunteerSpot's #TinyCars Campaign

Submitted by Cara Thenot
on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 21:22

On Tuesday, January 24, 2012, VolunteerSpot launched a “Tiny Cars” campaign to fight for support of H.R. 387: Charitable Driving Tax Relief Act of 2011.  Passage would mean an increase of the measly $.14 per mile tax deduction rate for charitable driving unchanged by the U.S. Congress since 1997. That’s compared to the 50 cents per mile deduction for business use of a personal vehicle in 2011.  And the new bill would also no longer count such reimbursement to volunteers as gross income.

Volunteer Journalists Capture Recent European Volunteer Centre Conference

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 12/09/2011 - 21:15

On October 19-21, the European Volunteer Centre (CEV) sponsored a symposium in Berlin on "Volunteering and Active Citizenship: Two Sides of the Same Coin?"  I had the opportunity to participate in this event which was being videotaped by a team of volunteer journalists. The director and editor, Brian Christopher Griffin, just let me know that two videos have been posted to YouTube.

November 20, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 11/20/2011 - 00:00

Emergen (http://emergen.com.au) is an online community for "emerging young leaders" in Australia, made up of over 1000 professionals aged 20-35. Along with online and in-person learning opportunities, it provides participants "the opportunity to develop their professional brand and reputation. Members can do this through blogging, being interviewed for Emergen TV or participating in our Awards program." They even provide Bloggers Training online.

One of Emergen’s projects is "Blogging for a Cause Ebooks," the latest of which is a Tribute to the International Year of the Volunteer. This 60-page, graphically elegant document (using the issuu publishing platform) offers first-person accounts of different volunteer experiences, as expressed by volunteer bloggers. The contributors are diverse in all sorts of ways: culturally, ethnically, degree of involvement in volunteer work, and the types of causes they support.

The essays even tackle negative perceptions and controversies about

November 13, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 11/13/2011 - 00:00

As the European Year of Volunteering draws to a close, a flurry of conferences and special events have been taking place, including some for special audiences. On November 10-11, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which promotes and coordinates Catholic charity, brought together about 160 bishops and representatives of charitable organizations from 25 countries to discuss volunteering in conjunction with the European Year of Volunteering. Speaking at the event’s closing session, Pope Benedict XVI said:

Through volunteer work, Christians become signs of God's love in the world . . . Especially at a time of serious economic crisis, moral uncertainty and social tension, Christian volunteers show "that goodness exists and that it is growing in our midst" . . . The pope thanked the European volunteers and "the millions of Catholic volunteers who contribute, regularly and generously, to the church's charitable mission throughout the world."

As he wrote in his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas

International Volunteer Managers Day is November 5th!

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Mon, 10/31/2011 - 04:00

 2011 has been a busy year for volunteering – it is IYV2011+10 and the European Year of Volunteering 2011, to name just two high profile campaigns.  And now once again we’ve come to International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMD) – 5 November – which has been building its own momentum.  Andy Fryar, chair of the steering committee for IVMD, reports:

 Already I am hearing of plans for events to mark the day and discussions online about how the publicity for the day can be used to help promote the importance of effective leadership and management of volunteers.  It is in this context that we (the steering committee) see 2011 as a year of consolidation for International Volunteer Managers Day. We have no major developments planned for 2011. Rather we want to concentrate on promoting what is already happening to mark the day and sharing that to keep the profile high.

You can participate by doing some concrete things:

  • Follow the day on Twitter and promote your plans by mentioning @IVMday in

October 23, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 00:00

No matter your political persuasion, looking at the Occupy Wall Street movement from a volunteer management perspective is an intriguing exercise. With images in the media of tattoos, piercings, and strange costumes, it’s easy to pooh-pooh protestors as slackers with no direction.  But look again. This uprising has similar features to the volunteer driven origins of many of today’s main stream organizations.

  • Influenced by highly skilled, highly educated volunteer: Every social change action requires someone to get the ball rolling, whether it be the Tea Party, the March of Dimes, or the revolution in Egypt. David Graeber doesn’t claim to be the initial instigator, but he appears  to have laid the “ground rules.” There is also a YouTube video where David Graeber recounts the first night of protest as quite organized and not just “a few college students” getting together and deciding to camp out.
  • Financial structure in place: Funds are managed at a central location by volunteers with

August 28, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 08/28/2011 - 00:00

Sewa Day (http://www.sewaday.org), scheduled for September 25th, is an international day of volunteering "where thousands of good-hearted people across the world come together to experience the joy of giving (sewa) in its truest sense."  As the Sewa Day Web site explains, sewa, also spelled seva, is a word in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit that means “an act of kindness without expectation…The term invokes a spirit of community and selfless service for a just and fair society.”
 
It is a bit hard to trace the origins of this day of service.  The international site is sponsored by Sewa UK but you can select from a long list of other countries also commemorating the day.   Throughout the site are references to “Be the Change” (seemingly unconnected to the U.S.-based organization of the same name).  “Be the Change” was an annual event sponsored by SAALT (South Asian Americans Leading Together) to foster leadership and community engagement.

April 24, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 04/24/2011 - 00:00

24 April: Last chance to advocate for FY11 volunteering and service-learning!  Let the White House and Congress know your disappointment that most anything that is not stipended service has been slashed from the Corporation for National and Community Service budget.
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Enormous thanks to Paula J. Beugen, Minnesota colleague who has long served as our field’s legislative watchdog, for the following summary of what is happening on the Hill. A federal government shutdown was averted on April 8, 2011 when a seventh short-term continuing resolution was passed by Congress. Subsequently, a FY11 spending plan was passed in time for the April 15 continuing resolution end-date. FY11 ends September 30, 2011.

According to an April 12, 2011 article by Suzanne Perry, in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "In addition to specific funding cuts, all non-defense programs would be trimmed across the board by 0.2 percent." Later in the article Perry wrote, "The budget for the

April 10, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 00:00

10 April: Volunteering Ireland has partnered with abstract artist Máiréad de Bláca to exhibit a series of paintings based around the concept of volunteerism. The exhibition, “Volunteering Is” opened on April 7th at European Union House in Dublin. Proceeds from the exhibition will go to Volunteering Ireland, the national coordinating body for the European Year of Volunteering (EYV 2011).  This is only one of the creative events being held in Ireland during EYV2011.  See more at http://eyv2011.ie/whats-happening-during-eyv/. 

For information on all EYV events in participating countries across the continent, start at http://europa.eu/volunteering/.   Follow the European Year of Volunteering 2011 on Facebook, too.

March 20, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 03/20/2011 - 16:56

20 March: Energize normally posts news related only to volunteering, but the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan is of such magnitude that the immediate need is for money. As with all such disasters, the affected area first needs people skilled in search and rescue and emergency relief. Mounting that effort is costly and donations now will help keep the necessary supplies and equipment coming. Later, when rebuilding starts and continues for years, volunteers of all sorts will be most welcome.

GuideStar (www.guidestar.org), the organization that gathers and publicizes information on American nonprofit organizations in order to inform prospective donors, has just posted a special Web page for Giving to Disaster Relief and Recovery in Japan. They list legitimate relief organizations committed to helping Japan in the current crisis – with links to enable online donations.

The page also provides sensible “Tips for Giving to Disaster Relief and Recovery” that are worth

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