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

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

National Survey of Volunteering Issues

Posted: Monday, December 6, 2010 - 14:42 by ProBono News

People who volunteer feel an increased sense of belonging to their community, and a significant proportion of volunteers say volunteering provides pathways to paid employment, according to an Australian survey.

The 2010 National Survey of Volunteering Issues, carried out by peak-body Volunteering Australia, found that 83% of volunteers say their work as a volunteer has increased their sense of belonging to their community.

The survey highlights the important role volunteering plays in providing opportunities for people to learn and gain skills useful for paid employment. 80% of respondents say their volunteering has provided them with opportunities to learn and 26% say training they have received as part of their voluntary work has helped them acquire an accreditation/qualification.

Read complete report...
http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2010/12/national-survey-volunteering-issues

Snow Storm Volunteers

Across the region, family members, neighbors and volunteers have stepped in to help older people cope with cold homes, snowdrifts and empty cupboards. One family waded through deep snow on an unplowed street in Silver Spring to get a man to a car that could take him to a hospital for dialysis. A woman in Northeast Washington was thankful for a delivery of meals from volunteers as she shivered under blankets in a house with a broken furnace. She had kept her oven and stove on for warmth.

Four-by-fours rumbled over snowy streets to neighborhoods in Anne Arundel and Howard counties, bringing extra food to shut-in residents.

Some programs that assist the elderly have redoubled their efforts because of the storms. But many were unable to staff programs or deliver food and aid on icy roads or in neighborhoods where snow hadn't been cleared.

Most area Meals on Wheels programs had to suspend operations Tuesday, said Michael Flynn, director of communications for the organization. While many were able to deliver extra food Friday before the first storm, officials were not sure when they would be able to start restocking cupboards and freezers again.

Some programs were using four-wheel drive vehicles to deliver meals, said Enid Borden, president and chief executive of the Meals on Wheels Association of America. "This is a very serious situation," she said.

Many older people were thankful for conveniences unavailable in previous storms: assisted-living communities where some staff members stayed, sleeping on air mattresses, to keep services going; pharmacies and grocery stores with delivery programs; and neighborhood e-mail lists that made it easier to ask for help with shoveling or running errands.

In Springfield, Mary Anderson, 81, said several neighbors showed up to shovel her driveway, porch and front steps. On Tuesday, other neighbors were digging trenches to ensure that melting snow would drain away from her home and to prevent driveways from becoming slick with ice.

Taffy and Frank Schwelb were grateful that five or six neighboring families in Northwest Washington pitched in, helping to dig them out, keeping an eye on their cat, Bumper, when they checked into a warm hotel and bringing them a gallon of milk they couldn't have carried home.

From The Washington Post blog "In Washington snowstorm, neighbors, volunteers take care of area's elderly"

Volunteering Up!

Both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate rose over the year ended in September 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 63.4 million people, or 26.8 percent of the population, volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2008 and September 2009. In 2008, the volunteer rate was 26.4 percent.

These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement to the September 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS). The supplement was sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. Volunteers
are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization.

Volunteering Among Demographic Groups
The volunteer rate of women increased from 29.4 percent in 2008 to 30.1 percent in 2009, while the volunteer rate for men, at 23.3 percent, was essentially unchanged. As in previous years, women volunteered at a higher rate than did men across all age groups, educational levels, and other major demographic characteristics.

By age, 35- to 44-year olds and 45- to 54-year olds were the most likely to volunteer. Their volunteer rates were 31.5 percent and 30.8 percent, respectively, in 2009. Volunteer rates were lowest among persons in their early twenties (18.8 percent) and those age 65 and over (23.9 percent).

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, whites continued to volunteer at a higher rate (28.3 percent)than did blacks (20.2 percent), Asians (19.0 percent), and Hispanics (14.7 percent). Of these groups, the volunteer rate of blacks and whites rose in 2009. Among blacks it rose by 1.1 percentage points, driven by an increase in the volunteer rate of black women.

Volunteer rates were higher among married persons (32.3 percent) than those who had never married (20.6 percent) and those with other marital statuses (21.5 percent). Parents with children under age 18 were substantially more likely to volunteer than were persons without children under 18 years of age, 34.4 percent compared with 23.9 percent.

Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment were more likely to volunteer than were those with less education. Among persons age 25 and over, 42.8 percent of college graduates volunteered,compared with 18.8 percent of high school graduates and 8.6 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.

Volunteering By Employment Status
During the year ending in September 2009, 29.7 percent of all employed persons volunteered. By comparison, the volunteer rates of the unemployed (22.9 percent) and those not in the labor force (22.6 percent) were lower. Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities—33.7 versus 28.7 percent.

From 2008 to 2009, those employed full time showed a large increase in their volunteer rate—from 27.8 to 28.7 percent. This was led by women employed full time, with an increase of 1.4 percentage points in their volunteer rate. Among men, the largest increase in the volunteer rate was among the unemployed; it rose from 17.0 to 18.2 percent over the year.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Report link

Gift Wrapping Skills Raise Money for Cancer Society

Here is a great idea:
BIG FLATS -- Many holiday shoppers dread the idea of wrapping gifts, but Teresa Smith of Corning loves it.

In fact, Smith devotes several hours each Christmas season to wrapping gifts for total strangers.

Smith is among an army of volunteers who man the American Cancer Society gift-wrapping booth at Arnot Mall in Big Flats.

"I enjoy it, for one thing. I'm retired and I think it keeps you young by volunteering," Smith said. "I like to wrap. I've been doing it for five or six years. I signed up for eight (shifts) this year."

The American Cancer Society could use more people like Smith.
It takes 400 to 500 volunteers to keep the booth running because it's open seven days a week during the holiday season, said Louise McIntosh, the society's community executive for Chemung, Steuben and Schuyler counties.

For a donation of $1 to $5, depending on the size of the package, harried shoppers can let Cancer Society volunteers handle the wrapping.

Those donations, in turn, help fund a myriad of programs and services.
"It goes for patient services, research programs, transportation and things like free wigs for chemotherapy patients," McIntosh said.

The American Cancer Society could use about 200 more volunteers to ensure that its Arnot Mall booth is staffed throughout the shopping season, McIntosh said. Shifts are about four hours and volunteers can sign up for one shift or as many as they want.

Pat Schooler of Big Flats helped man the booth Sunday along with her daughter, who volunteered as part of a high school health class project.

"I encourage anyone to come out and volunteer. There's still a shortage," Schooler said. "It's a great way to teach kids how to volunteer and give to the community.
By Jeff Murray •jdmurray@gannett.com • November 29, 2009

Volunteerism in American Key Findings

• In 2008, 61.8 million Americans or 26.4 percent of the adult population contributed 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth $162 billion, using Independent Sector’s 2008 estimate of the dollar value of a volunteer hour ($20.25).

• Despite the challenges of a tough economic situation, the volunteering rate held steady between 2007 and 2008, while the number of volunteers slightly increased by about one million.

• Over 441,000 more young adults (age 16-24) volunteered in 2008 than 2007, representing an increase from about 7.8 million to more than 8.2 million.

• Neighborhood engagement levels have risen sharply since 2007,with a 31 percent increase in the number of people who worked with their neighbors to fix a community problem and a 17 percent increase in the number of people who attended community
meetings.

• As the economy slows and nonprofit organizations struggle to provide services on smaller budgets, volunteers become even more vital to the health of our nation’s communities. Between September 2008 and March 2009, more than a third (37%) of nonprofit organizations report increasing the number of volunteers they use, and almost half (48%) foresee increasing their usage of volunteers in the coming year.1 Almost no nonprofit organizations are showing a decrease in their volunteer usage.

• Volunteers were much more likely than non-volunteers to donate to a charitable cause in 2008, with 78.2 percent contributing $25 or more compared to 38.5 percent of non-volunteers.

Source:
http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/index.cfm

Volunteer Needs

Here is a list of few volunteer needs.Check out the first one. Eat chocolate for a year. Oh yea!

Volunteers To Eat Chocolate Every Day for a Year:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/5892215/Wanted-volunteers-to-eat-chocolate-every-day-for-a-year-in-the-name-of-science.html

Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers Needed:
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20090803/VALLEYNEWS/908039993/1074

Senior Meal Delivery Needs Volunteers:
http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20090803/NEWS/308039983

Volunteers Needed for Buddy Walk:
http://www.aikenstandard.com/Local/0803-buddy-walk-promo

Mining Information Volunteers Needed:
http://www.entropiaforum.com/forums/mining/158166-need-some-mining-info-volunteers.html

If you have volunteer needs email me to have them listed. blessingmeadow@sbcglobal.net