3rd Annual Volunteer Management for Nonprofits Conference

Volunteer Management Group presents the 3rd Annual Volunteer Management for Nonprofits Conference at University Settlement at the Houston Street Center on Friday, March 25, 2011, from 8:00 am to 5:00pm.

Join your colleagues, peers and leaders in the field of volunteer management for a day of educational workshops, professional development, personal motivation and inspiration, and networking.

This conference is geared towards a wide array of individuals: volunteer managers already in the field, individuals interested in joining the field, development professionals, college students, and individuals already working in a non-profit, whether in a senior or junior role, such as Executive Directors, Human Resource Managers, Volunteer Program Managers, Development Directors, and Program Associates.

http://volunteermanagementgroup.com/blog/volunteer-management/volunteer-management-for-nonprofits-conference-march-26th/

Microvolunteering

A new volunteer word has moved into our vocabulary, microvolunteering. "Mom used to bake cookies for the PTA and serve on committees for the church. Now she edits marketing copy for the local animal shelter while waiting for the bus and helps NASA identify craters on the moon during boring department meetings. Microvolunteering, the art of donating time in 20-minute increments, comes to us via our smart phones-which we also rely on to organize protests and tweet our bikeathon fund-raising totals."

Excerpt from January 3, 2011 article, "Philanthropy's 10 Favorite Buzzwords of the Decade Show How Nonprofits Are Changing" by Lucy Bernholz

Volunteer Book Review

Recently another blog posted a review of my book The Volunteer Book. The blog is Mel and Steve's Blog. Here is a little more about them:
Dr. J. Melvyn and Martha Ming and Steve and Ronda Mills are the founding partners of Leadership Development Resources LLC. After many years of collaboration in producing leadership materials and coaching church leadership teams, we formed LDR out of a commitment to a biblically based, Christ centered mission to develop leaders and empower churches. The focus of this blog is developing leaders and empower churches.

And now here is a link to their blog review of my book:
http://www.ldrteam.com/blog/volunteers/#respond
Here is a link to amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/TheVolunteerBook

LA aims to engage parents in schools with services

By CHRISTINA HOAG Associated Press
Posted: 12/18/2010 09:08:14 AM PST

LOS ANGELES—It's no secret that students do better in school if their parents are involved in their education, but getting them interested is a challenge that makes Haydee Escajera roll her eyes and sigh.
"It's very difficult," said Escajera, who recruits parents as volunteers at Manual Arts High School, located in impoverished central Los Angeles. "It's not just that they're busy, even parents who don't work aren't interested."

Getting parents involved in their kids' education is a steep uphill battle at high schools serving urban neighborhoods, where parents are often overwhelmed by the need to make ends meet.

But those are the parents who need most to be involved to steer teens away from the inner city's ready lures of gangs, drugs and dropping out.

The conumdrum has long plagued urban school districts like Los Angeles Unified, which are under federal mandate to involve parents.

District leaders now aim to try a new model—forming "Parent and Family Centers" that offer everything from self-esteem improvement to nutrition workshops to citizenship classes at schools.

The concept is that boosting parents will lead to a healthier home environment and ultimately higher student achievement, said Christopher Downing, LAUSD administrator of school family, parent, and community services... http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16892430