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Plan Your Class Holiday Party - Easy!

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Snowflakes, Hot Chocolate, and Class Parties!

It's time to start planning for your class holiday party! Thanksgiving break is over and everyone's attention is now on the next big event, winter vacation! Start planning now in order to have a stress-free, festive and fun holiday party for the whole class.

Tips for a successful holiday class party:

• Celebration Check: Ask the teacher for school policy on what holiday or holidays can be represented at the party. Many public schools opt for inclusive "Winter-themed" class parties -- think snowpeople, sleds and paper snowflakes.

• Craft Projects: Plan a craft that can be easily completed in 10-15 minutes and fits with the suggested theme. Ensure the craft parent volunteer has EVERYTHING needed and brings full craft kits (glue, scissors, etc.), also a trash bag for clean up. Don’t assume the teacher will provide all items. Check out page 14 of our class party planner for winter party craft and game ideas!

 

• Gift Exchange: Instead of small presents, consider asking kids to bring a wrapped gently-used book to trade with their classmates during the party.

• Party Favors: Hand out colorful, themed pencils, holiday stickers or other school supplies as party favors or as prizes for games.

• Snacks: Keep it simple and portable and plan extras for the teacher, staff and parent helpers. Are there allergies or school guidelines to consider?  Popcorn, mandarin oranges, cheese sticks and hot cocoa are always a simple and healthy hit; and Cindy at FixMeaSnack has this awesome recipie for chewey granola bars (and it's nut free).

• Decorations: A colorful tablecloth, balloons, and hand-cut paper snowflakes are inexpensive and go a long way to making a room look festive. Add some fun holiday music to complete the mood.

• Memories: Pick a volunteer to take photos or videos of the party and share with the parents who could not come.

• Relax and have fun! Your kids love having you help in their class. School's out and it's on to winter vacation!

Here's to a fantastically planned class holiday party and a wondrous holiday season with your family!

 

You may also be interested in these articles:

7 Sign Up Sheets that Save Time and Help You Give Back

The Best Holiday Gift for Teachers: TIME!

Best and Worst Teacher Gift Ideas

Holiday Class Party Checklist

Your Volunteer Personality

By Lian Dolan

The volunteer season is here! There are opportunities galore at school. Or at any number of extracurricular activities that your child may be involved in—from cheer to football to dance. So, what’s your volunteer personality?

The Queen Bee 

You are going to be uber-involved anyway, so you might as well be in charge. You even have your own monogrammed clipboard to prove it. You love putting those management consultant skills to work, even if it’s for streamlining the ticket sales process at the family fair. You know everybody’s name, skill set and cell phone number. Your golden rule: always send thank you notes.

The Worker Bee 

You are reliable, easy to work with and always on time for your shift. You don’t mind set up, clean up or any other duties that involved getting wet, dirty, or covered in paste. You fill in where needed, but never, ever sign up to run anything. Your motto: do the work, then go home.

The Lone Ranger

You are willing to work tirelessly on behalf of the school or team, you just want to do it from your home computer. Alone. Even better if the position does not require attendance at committee meetings. Data entry, e-mail communication, endless hours updating scores and stats—that is idea of being involved.  Your keyboard is king.

The Creative 

You bring the zing to all the projects you touch. What’s that in your bag? It’s wired ribbon and a glue gun, of course. You turn a simple centerpiece into a statement and no decorative touch gets by you without bedazzling.  You make the costumes, supervise the art projects and put-together the year-end scrapbooks. Your role model? Martha, of course.

The Camp Counselor 

You  can herd kids like a cowboy herds cattle. All those teen summers with a whistle in your mouth and zinc oxide on your nose have really paid off in adulthood. You are the go to girl for coaching, reffing, and running the relay races at the school picnic. On your mark, get set, go volunteer.

The Accountant 

You never come out from behind the cashier’s table and that’s okay with you. You can count money, talk on the phone and ring up another sale simultaneously. While others shudder at the sight of the credit card machine, you have no fear. You’re the first one in with the change drawer and the last one out with the daily receipts. If cash is king, you are the true Queen.

 What’s your volunteer personality? How do you put it to use in your volunteer activities?

* * *

Lian Dolan is a mother, wife, sister, friend,  daughter, writer, novelist, and talk show host. She is the creator of Chaos Chronicles, Satellite Sisters and the author of the novel: Helen of Pasadena. She can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Women and the Power of Congregation

By Carissa Rogers

On Faith and Sisterhood

The power of congregation and sisterhood creates a strong bond for women across the globe and practicing all types of religions. You don’t need to be an anthropologist to recognize that women are especially hard-wired for supporting and cultivating communities of other like-minded women.

Women’s groups at church and other religious organizations create a sense of belonging and encourage additional participation while reinforcing each person’s self worth. Many women’s faith groups involve various forms of volunteering and service to the congregation and beyond — from fundraising to send kids to vacation bible schools and camps, to rallying the troops to help serve a funeral meal to a bereaved family, to rounding up warm coats and school supplies for children in the local community.

If you have participated in a group effort with the women in your church, you know you gain more than just a good time spent with friends. Wisdom, shared experiences, inspiration and all kinds of parenting pearls are your reward for an afternoon in service with fellow sisters – I love the hours spent with friends doing good works.

Recently I organized an event for my church women’s group. The goal was simply to spend an evening getting to know each other a little better while learning a few fun, new skills. We called it a ‘Let’s Go Back To School’ event.

We met in ‘homeroom’ where everyone was given notebooks, pencils and a ‘schedule’. Our first class was Computers, we learned about our church’s new online system to look up information about the congregation, the activity calendar and list of phone numbers. Second we had an old fashioned ‘Home Ec’ class, where we watched the teacher demonstrate sewing a simple skirt. Then we headed off to ‘Seminary’ for a scripture chase competition. And we ended with ‘P.E.’ of course, where we learned to Zumba!

Dinner was called school lunch and served ‘cafeteria style’ complete with cafeteria trays, boxes of chocolate milk and hairnet clad servers.

It was a great evening and lots of fun, with the campy theme. However it was also a lot of work. There were 4 and 5 different instructors helping with each of the classes. And nearly 10 different people helping with the food preparation and set up. I didn’t have to do all the work but I did volunteer to organize it all.

Using VolunteerSpot was a great way to help alleviate the administrative work of planning a church event. Volunteers signed up to help on an online sign up sheet and VolunteerSpot sent automated confirmation and reminder messages to keep everyone organized. Even for my less techy members (yes, some still don’t have email), I was able to give them assignments manually and VolunteerSpot reminded me to give them a call when it was time for them to send in their potluck dish! Easy as ABC.

I proudly honor that special bond of women and faith and know that VolunteerSpot has my back when comes to organizing all our good works.

***

In a former life, Carissa Rogers was a molecular biologist. In her current life, she is the chief researcher of parenting dos (and some don’ts), new recipes, and for spice she pretends to be a photographer. She publishes  her  good & crazy thoughts on GoodNCrazy.com. She has 3 crazy kids and one good husband. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Volunteer Spotlight: Stephanie Silvers, Program Coordinator, Dress For Success

 

Founded in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization offering services designed to help clients find jobs and remain employed. Each client receives one suit when she has a job interview and can return for a second suit or separates when she finds work.

The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Today, our spotlight shines on Stephanie Silvers, Program Coordinator, Dress For Success, Twin Cities.

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Tell us about Dress for Success Twin Cities. How do you use volunteers?

Dress for Success Twin Cities is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged women in the Twin Cities by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Dress for Success Twin Cities is part of Dress for Success Worldwide, which has been in existence since 1997 and has 113 affiliate locations internationally.  By January 2010 we had secured space, trained volunteers, received clothing and other donations, and began working with clients at our location in Minneapolis.  Our ultimate purpose is to help women enter and thrive in the mainstream workplace.

In order to accomplish our mission, we rely heavily on our volunteers. Volunteers help suit clients, sort and maintain clothing donations, and help with administrative duties in the office. 

How did you get started as a volunteer leader?

I got started as a volunteer leader by being a volunteer myself. I had gotten involved with the organization and started spending more time in the office and helping manage the space. As I started to coordinate some of the volunteers I eventually took over the position as volunteer coordinator.

What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteer leaders out there?

Volunteers are SO important in the work that we do.  If you are a leader make sure you appreciate your volunteers and thank them for the work they are doing.  Our organization wouldn’t be able to run our programs without the help of our volunteers and I do my best to know what is going on in their lives and make it an inviting place where they want to come and feel appreciated.

Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

I found I needed a system to help schedule volunteers to come in and making the schedule manually was taking up too much time.  VolunteerSpot really simplified the process.  It also makes it very easy to send out messages and I love that it sends out reminders.

Anything else you’d like our readers to know about your organization?

Dress for Success is a worldwide organization so if you are interested in volunteering please feel free to contact your local affiliate.

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To learn more, visit http://www.dressforsuccess.org/home.aspx

We salute Stephanie and all the other volunteer leaders out there working to help women in need.  If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at [email protected]

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this special day we’re thankful for our volunteers, teachers, parents and team members for making a difference in their schools and communities every day!

Thank you for sharing your time and talents and choosing VolunteerSpot to help your good work.

Millennials are Paying Attention

By Meredith Dunn  Originally posted on ResonateorDie a blog by The Resonate Group, Inc., a full service strategic and creative house that helps ministries shape their vision and mission into meaningful and innovative brands that resonate.

Millennials may not be the most articulate generation, but we are the most aware. We may seem to have ADD, but really, we’re just overly observant. We may talk in “tweet” or “text” acronyms, but really, it’s just further evidence of how connected we are and how quickly we move. Time is precious and we can’t afford to literally say “by the way,” so we just leave it at “BTW.”

But we’re smarter than we sound and more interested than we look. Believe it or not, we’re listening in church and we remember your campaign. Our lack of action and commitment isn’t because we didn’t understand you; it’s because we don’t truly believe you need us. We’re not whole-heartedly convinced that you want our help, insight, and youth to feed your cause.

There are some who do though. And we love them. Why? Because they believe we can truly help save the world. And who doesn’t want to feel like a superhero?

Take for instance, any of the following organizations (*these organizations are examples of strategy and messaging and not necessarily endorsed by The Resonate Group)

• Invisible Children – The only qualification one needs to be a member of this global movement to end the war in northern Uganda is that they be passionate about justice and willing to use whatever outlet they have at their disposal to educate their peers.

• Charity Water – A $20 donation through Charity Water can afford a family living in poverty clean, safe water for 20 years. Never underestimate a Millennial’s ability to judge an organization’s fiscal responsibility either. Charity Water boldly states that 100% of their charitable gifts go to providing water to people who don’t have it, and they’re overhead and administrative costs are covered by private investors. Millennials don’t have a lot of money, we want it to go entirely to the cause.

• Mocha Club – “Mocha Club Director, Barrett Ward, was leading a trip of college students to Africa in 2004, and realized the frustration among many young people today who feel marginalized by their perceived inability to make an impact…” So what did they do? They proved people wrong by starting an organization that asks for no more than $7 a month and through that, changes lives all over the continent of Africa. For $7 a month, the price of two mochas, Millennials have overcome the stigma that age matters.

Why am I stating the obvious? Because I don’t see churches and religiously affiliated organizations catching the drift that ... Read the full article

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About Meredith

I recently realized that my life is somewhat of a beautiful mess. A “pollack-type-picture” if you will, of colors, experiences, and people that, despite the seeming disarray, is captivating & confusing; patterened & yet unpredictable. But most of all, it is mysteriously designed, purposed, and appointed. For what? I don’t know yet… but I’m learning as I go.

Read more by Meredith Dunn here and follow her on twitter @MeredithDunn.

 

What are You Thankful For? | Tidy Thursday

Thanksgiving is my ALL time favorite holiday! It's easy to understand why since it's the least commercialized and all about experiencing quality time with your loved ones. {can I hear a clutter free shout out???}

I know, I know ~ you're probably thinking "but April, you can't cook!". And you're right! But the silver lining of living with a fireman is his budding talent as an amateur chef!

So how do I prepare for my big day?

• much of the meal prep work is done the week before
  • chopping
  • dicing
  • mixing
  • thawing

However, there are many other things on my to-do list aside from food

• taking a final head count
• preparing rooms for additional guests
• bartering with the children if I need to "give their bed" to one of the guests
• making sure all the linens are clean
• stocking the bathrooms with travel sized items {ex: shampoo, mouthwash, pepto bismol}
• ordering in movies from netflix
• charging the cameras
• setting the vacation reply on my email
• pulling out favorite board games
• sending Hubby grocery shopping

and one other project that is a tradition at our holiday dinner table:

• creating my "I'm thankful this year for ... " answer.

As I'm sure you can imagine, we all go around the table sharing what we were thankful for this year. The bounty of the day, the love and health of our family, the ability to spend the day together appreciating one another. But for me, I take this tradition as an opportunity to show my personal gratitude to my husband and children.

I'm known for sounding a little cheesy when I'm grateful, that's just how it comes out for me when it's raw. In order to speak "guy" though, I need to polish it up a bit. There's the whole not embarrasing the teenager in front of Grandpa issue & the I'm a modest man my husband suffers from but I'm also not willing to sacrifice my opportunity to let them know just how much joy they bring to my life.

So each year I contemplate what I'm thankful for and just how I'm going to serve it up lovingly but with a punchline. This year's personal gratitude will sound something like this:

Pipsqueak:

I'm so happy you found your rhythm in middle school & your stride on the different athletic fields. I love how you recognize when I'm frustrated and try your best to help me feel better. I'm thankful you started doing your own laundry this year, I'm not sure I could handle your socks after a game any longer :-) and one of my favorite times of the week is when we cuddle up to watch a movie.

Teenager:

I'm proud of you for learning how to live in your own skin day by day. I'm grateful I haven't had to actually kill you yet, although you may have to pay for my next hair color appointment. I can hardly believe that this is our 16th Turkey dinner together, I'm not sure I'm old enough for that to be true! And I'm grateful for each parenting adventure we embark on, it ensures your little brother won't be able to get away with anything!

Hubby:

I'm thankful for having a husband who wakes up each day as a member of my team. Who has convinced me, on more than one occasion, to let the teenager live. And who is such an involved Dad. I'm grateful we have made it past our awkward phases and can now just be who we are within our marriage together. Now would you pass me the sweet potatoes?

Yup, that's how they receive their compliments, a.k.a. my gratitude. Heartfelt, optimistic and full of humor!

What are you grateful for this season?

Keepin' it Tidy, {and appreciative}

April

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April is a Mental Clutter Expert | Mom of 2 boys | Wife to 1 Fireman | Horrible Cook | Loyal Friend | National Public Speaker who gives you permission to be imperfect

Volunteering with Children | Ways to Give Back

For the month of November, VolunteerSpot will be featuring posts from guest bloggers on ways to give back. Today Stephanie Hansen of The Daily Blarg, discusses how important it is to give back to the community, and to teach your children to do the same .

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Giving Back this Holiday Season

By Stephanie Hansen

I am not sure about you, but it is the time of year when I start to think about all the things I have to do, buy, and find just to get ready for the holidays. I often forget to sit back and be grateful that I am able to provide so much for my family. Part of being thankful is giving back to the community. 

 

We are trying to raise our children to be loving, caring, and giving members of society. This can be difficult during the holidays when they are inundated with media talking about the “must haves” of the season. Children can easily be encouraged to “want, want, want” without regards for anyone else.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to participate in a Toys for Tots fundraiser with The Social Media Club of Salt Lake City. We were able to collect hundreds of toys for children in our local area. I was so pleased to have been given the opportunity to deliver the toys we collected with my family. I could tell by the look on my children’s faces how surprised they were that some kids would only be getting Candyland or a new Tonka Truck for their holiday celebration. 

I was able to share our family’s experience in collecting and donating the toys via Whrrl. 

More check-ins at Toys for Tots Donations

Powered by Whrrl

This year I am looking for new and creative ways for our family to give back. What are some traditions you and your family have around the holidays that encourage a spirit of giving?  Do you volunteer at a local shelter or food pantry?  Do you donate gifts to family’s in need? 

See VolunteerSpot's National Family Volunteer Day article for even more family friendly volunteering ideas!

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Stephanie Hansen quit the fast paced corporate world 4 years ago to focus on her true love, chauffeuring, also known as, raising teenagers. She blogs at The Daily Blarg and can be reached via Twitter and email.

Thanksgiving Party Ideas | ZiggityZoom

By Kristin Fitch

Thanksgiving is such an amazing holiday. It focuses to togetherness, being thankful, and feasting.There should be more holidays that focus on such positive things, instead of gifts or goodies. Many schools have Thanksgiving parties or feasts or Harvest parties. Whether you are coordinating a school class party or want a few ideas to do crafts or activities with your own children on Thanksgiving here are a few ideas for parties or to do at home.

 

First, we recommend that you pick 1 simple craft, 1 activity (ex. read a seasonal story or word search), and a small treat or food to eat. If you follow that process the party should be manageable. The other recommendation is to divide up tasks between several room parents if you are doing a school, or church party. Many or our school classrooms have 2-3 room helpers. One parent might be in charge of deciding on a craft and getting supplies, another parent may organize the treat or food. Whether you are planning the party by yourself or you have help, it is best to keep it simple and pick something that will let the kids put their unique spin on the craft, or activity.

Here are a few ideas to get your Thanksgiving ideas flowing.

Cute Decorate Your Own Turkey Twizzler Cupcakes- bring in iced cupcakes, twizzlers, and candy and let each child make their own turkey to gobble up!

Thanksgiving Word Search- entertain kids during a party with a holiday word search.

Thanksgiving Maze- let kids find their way through the turkey maze

Turkey Coloring Page by Kathy Barbro, an art teacher in CA- print this turkey outline, and let kids decorate their own turkey.

Write a Turkey Tale, let kids draw a picture and write a story about their favorite part of Thanksgiving.  Use this blank story page or give kids construction paper and let them draw on the front and write on the inside of the paper (fold in half).

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat, let kids make a Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat for a school party or the day of Thanksgiving while at home. 

Turkey Puppet, let kids make an easy turkey puppet out of colored construction paper and brown paper lunch bags.

Fall Leaves Drawing by Kathy Barbro at Art Projects for Kids

Hands and Feet Thanksgiving Turkey by Kaboose

 

Serve a mini-Thanksgiving feast, offer the kids a few easy versions of the food the pilgrims ate

Read a Thanksgiving or Harvest Story, bring in props to show while reading the story in an animated way.  Kids love to hear a story that is truly performed and there are so many great Thanksgiving and turkey stories to choose from  

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Kristin Fitch is a parenting expert, author, educator and mom of three beautiful boys. She is also the CEO and  E ditor of Ziggity Zoom, LLC which hosts several crafting, parenting and activity sites including Mommie911.com, ZiggityZoom.com, and CuriousBaby.com, among others. Kristin writes articles and how-to videos for ZiggityZoom.com, as well as many other parenting related websites as she encourage parents to find ways to spark kids' imagination, creativity and to explore the world around  them.  Kristin can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Join National Family Volunteer Day & Give Back with your Kids

Our VolunteerSpot community is a powerfully awesome one of parents, students and caring do-gooders that improve the lives of others every day. We invite you to make service a family-affair by joining in National Family Volunteer Day, this Saturday, November 20th. It’s the perfect opportunity to set aside family time for ‘giving back’ to a cause you care about before the chaos of the ‘getting’ season sets in!

Why volunteer as a family? Helping others together builds positive communication and strengthens family bonds in ways no other activity can. Children learn to recognize their good fortune and blessings while discovering that even kids can make a positive difference in the lives of others – and that feels powerfully good. As an added holiday bonus, family memories made volunteering together will last long after new toys are long forgotten.

Ready to get started? Check in with your local HandsOnNetwork Volunteer Center to see volunteering activities planned for Saturday, November 20^th. Or start your own family service project to celebrate National Family Volunteer Day in a way that’s most meaningful to you.

10 Simple service activities for kids of all ages:

 Younger Kids can...

• decorate reusable grocery bags and fill them with their favorite non-perishable food items.  Feeding America offers a  Food Bank locator, searchable by zip code. 
• stuff new, warm socks with water bottles and granola bars to give to homeless men and women you pass on street corners. 
• decorate holiday cards for soldiers overseas. Red Cross-sponsored Holiday Mail for Heroes will deliver letters postmarked before Dec. 10, 2010. 
• box up their gently used clothing to donate to your local charity thrift store or family shelter.

Older Kids can...

• donate their gently used books and DVDs to a local children’s hospital.  
• make holiday decorations and cards and then sing carols for nursing home residents. Call ahead to schedule a visit. 
• engage a team of secret friends to clandestinely rake leaves or shovel snow for an elderly neighbor for a whole month. 
• collect used towels and pet toys for the local animal shelter. 
• host a hot chocolate or cider stand and donate the proceeds to a charity of their choosing. 
• adopt a family for the Holidays through a local business or faith group, and have your kids help shop for that family. (Hint: VolunteerSpot's free online sign up sheets make it easy to ask friends, colleges and class parents to contribute to a Giving Tree/ Adopted family.)

Making it a Habit

Volunteering as a family while kids are young develops a positive service habit that sticks long into adulthood. Use the following four tips to help ensure your kids understand the impact of their good deeds. 

• Celebrate your service! Take pictures and post them in prominent places. Publicly praise your kids for their generosity in front of family, friends and neighbors.
• If donating goods or money to a local charity, deliver the items with your kids in person so they can better internalize how they helped make a difference.
• Be sure to talk about your family’s service experience. Discuss what you did, why you did it, how it felt, and what you learned. 
• Build on your kids’ enthusiasm and right then choose your next service project together.

More Ways to Give Back

 

 Family Friendly Volunteering: Ideas from A-Z  — a free eBook by VolunteerSpot

Serve on Veterans Day | November 11th

By Ross Cohen, Director of Mission Serve
 
 

This Veterans Day, ServiceNation: Mission Serve is leading a nationwide effort to turn our support for our military communities into action.

On November 11, civilians around the country will serve alongside service members, veterans, and military families as we honor and celebrate Veterans Day. Mission Serve is coordinating more than 20 coast-to-coast signature service projects with leaders from across America that will celebrate and honor our military communities on this day.

This is an important moment - a moment to act on our words of support for our men and women who volunteer to protect America, and for their families.

Visit their brand-new Mission Serve website and find opportunities to serve this Veterans Day.

Since their founding last year, Mission Serve has continued to show what's possible when civilian and military service communities join forces to make a positive difference in people's lives.

“There is a sea of goodwill out there, made up of people, places, programs, all eagerly seeking and serving those in need. Our challenge, however, lies in connecting these programs, not only to those who need help, but to each other. And you’re doing that… That is why ServiceNation is so important.” – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen

Whether they are fostering partnerships between civilian and military service organizations, compiling a national database of military-connected service opportunities, or renovating a veterans' retirement community with First Lady Michelle Obama, their coalition is uniting millions of people -- both in and out of uniform -- to strengthen our country through service.

“ServiceNation was inspired by the potential of bringing together the civilian and military service sectors... And thus Mission Serve was born.” – Founding Mission Serve Chair Colonel (Ret.) Rob Gordon, Currently Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy

Veterans Day is a centerpiece of this effort. November 11 is about more than just reflecting on the heroism of our men and women who have served. It's about actively putting into practice the ideals we all share: service to our country and service to our communities.

“Jill and I helped launch Mission Serve – a national network that brings civilian and military service groups together to help support our troops and families.” – First Lady Michelle Obama

Their new website makes it simple to join in. Take a look, learn more, and find opportunities to serve this November 11: www.missionserve.org   Also look for Do-it-yourself “Serve and Celebrate” toolkits that are posted online so that all individuals can volunteer on behalf of our military communities. Click here to find a toolkit that is right for you.

 

Make-a-Wish Foundation | Ways to Give Back

For the month of November, VolunteerSpot will be featuring posts from guest bloggers on ways to give back. Today Dwan Perrin, author of Momma DJane, shares how she and her son helped out an organization that they truly believe in.

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Make-a-Wish Foundation Toy Room Makeover

By Dwan Perrin

On Thursday Noah and I volunteered at the Make-a-Wish Foundation office of North Texas. We have been involved with the Make-a-Wish Foundation since Gabby’s Wish Trip before her brain surgery. We participate in their 5K every year and various activities throughout the year. I truly love the cause they support. Knowing they put many smiles on little kids and sometimes for the last time is inspiring to me and means a lot since they created very special memories for my family. Their organization pulls a heart string for me.

Two weeks ago, I contacted our local office to see if they needed anything and the items on their wish list were shelves and filing cabinets. Their Wish Kid toy room wasn’t completely organized and they had a lot of toys stacked up on the floor and tables waiting on shelving. When a child is granted a wish they get to go into this room and pick out a toy, this is usually what is done while the parent is signing paper work to receive the granted wish. This room is also where the Wish Granters will go to collect various items to help complete a wish, such as princess toys for a princess party. Of course I wanted to help make this room complete since it is very special to the children.

I was so proud of Noah for helping. We had a discussion before leaving the house all about how we were going to be picking up toys and helping clean a room but we couldn’t play with the toys and it wasn’t a store therefore they weren’t for sale. Surprisingly at the age of 4 years old, he understood. He simply responded that he is ‘mommy’s big helper‘. He did an amazing job helping me organize the toys in categories and putting items on the shelves. We worked hard for two full hours.

Although two hours wasn’t enough to complete the room, we had to leave to meet Gabby after school.  We hope to go back again soon and try to accomplish more. I felt great being able to help give back to the Make-a-Wish Foundation! Sometimes I think volunteering your time is worth more than money.  Especially with non-profit organizations such as this one.

 

Check out our progress!

Shelves when we first put them up

Shelves upon completion
 

Table when we arrived – with toys underneath as well

Table when we left – cleaned underneath

 

This week Noah officially completed his first two hours of community service at the age of 4 years old.  I thought that was kind of cute and somewhat funny. He enjoyed his time with mom as much as I enjoyed it. I think we made a pretty good team.

This is the second post in Dwan's 12 Weeks of Giving series, to view the rest of the series go here.

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Dwan Perrin is a single, work from home mother of three. After being thrown from the corporate world to care for her daughter with disabilities she began to write. Thus started MommaDJane's Blog.

Volunteer Spotlight: Jenny Lawrence Viars, Program Coordinator, Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind and A Brighter Path Foundation

 A Brighter Path Foundation is a nonprofit supporting entity for Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, funding innovative programs for people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. 

Today, our Volunteer Spotlight shines on Jenny Lawrence Viars, Program Coordinator for Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind and A Brighter Path Foundation.

Tell us about a Brighter Path Foundation and your volunteer needs.

A Brighter Path Foundation is the supporting foundation for Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind (IFB). IFB is  primarily a manufacturing facility, and over 75% of our employees are legally blind. In order to support our employees and the community, we have established programming for persons who are blind or visually impaired, through A Brighter Path. For adults, we offer art and computer classes; provide support for a Toastmasters Club and a new on-site Lions Club; and provide meeting space for support groups, the Grito Book Club, and the IFB Community Choir, among other activities.

In 2007, we established programming for students who are blind or visually impaired, called the Student Enrichment Experience (SEE). Since 2007, we have grown from seven students to 21, and we host a 5-week summer day camp and other activities throughout the year. All activities, including camp, are free for the students. As you can imagine, all of these programs require a lot of volunteers to be successful!  For summer camp this year, we had 31 volunteers for the 15 camp days, with a 1:1 volunteer-to-student ratio. Many of our volunteers are dedicated teenagers who attended almost every day. Besides camp, we also need volunteers to help at fundraising events, complete office work, drive employees to the store or the doctor, and to work in our audio library, and in other capacities as needed.

How did you get started as a volunteer leader?

For a long time, we have had an unofficial volunteer program, with a few individuals that would help out as necessary. With the success and growth of both SEE and other A Brighter Path programs, we decided to formalize the volunteer system about two years ago.  Since I work closely with the SEE program, which uses the most volunteers, it made sense for me to work with the volunteers, as well.  However, all of the Foundation staff work closely to help achieve our goals, and being involved with the volunteer program is no exception!

 
What’s one piece of advice you have for volunteer leaders out there?

Communicating with your volunteers is the key to a successful volunteer program, whether it’s through email, VolunteerSpot, letters, or Facebook.  We try to make sure the volunteers know how much we value their time and service, and that we are interested in them as individuals. I think that even simple updates about upcoming volunteer opportunities are a great way to keep volunteers interested and engaged with the organization. After all, they are a huge part of the success of all our employee and community programs.

Why did you decide to use VolunteerSpot?

As my volunteer database started to grow, I was seeking an easier way to communicate with volunteers about our needs and to track our volunteer use. There are many complicated and expensive programs out there for that purpose, but I was looking for something simple for our relatively small group of volunteers. Thankfully, I stumbled upon VolunteerSpot earlier this year, and it has been such a time-saver. VolunteerSpot is simple and straightforward for me to set up and schedule activities, and the site makes it easy for the volunteers to sign up for those activities.

Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

IFB is also dedicated to increasing awareness about blindness and low vision for the sighted community, through Sensitivity to Blindness classes and other outreach events. If you’re ever in the Triad area, I encourage you to contact us for a tour – we love to share with others our myriad activities and programs!

To learn more, visit http://www.abpfoundation.org/

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We salute Jenny and all the volunteer leaders working to help others and support the causes they care about. If you're using VolunteerSpot, write and tell us about what you're doing, and give us a chance to shine our Volunteer Spotlight on you!! Just email us at [email protected].

7 Sign Up Sheets that Save Time and Help you Give Back This Holiday Season

It’s always heartwarming and inspiring to see the creative ways VolunteerSpot is put to use. During the holiday season, it’s especially so. 

We wanted to highlight some simple sign up sheets that make it easy to ask for help during the holidays. Whether you’re organizing a class giving tree or holiday party, a community meal or toy drive with your congregation, a coat drive or 5K with a local nonprofit, or helping neighbors and friends in need -- asking for help lowers your holiday stress level and gives others an opportunity to feel (really) good as they can easily contribute to your good work.  

Whatever you’re organizing this holiday season, we hope VolunteerSpot’s free online sign up sheets make your life a little easier! Try VolunteerSpot now.


Sign Up Sheets: Save Time, Free and Easy for the Holidays
 

Adopt a Family / Giving Tree Sign Up Sheet

 
 

Class Party Sign Up Sheet

 

 Community Meal / Soup Kitchen Sign Up Sheet

 

 

Caring Circle Signup Sheet (Visiting Elderly Neighbors/Relatives)

Holiday Show Sign Up Sheet

Winter Carnival Sign Up Sheet for Volunteers

 

Congregation Potluck Sign Up Sheet

  

What are other ways to use VolunteerSpot's signup sheets? Let us know how YOU use VolunteerSpot, write a comment below to share your volunteering efforts.

Here's to a joyful and (hopefully) stress-free holiday season!  Thanks for Doing Good!!

 

Snack Sign up Sheet : Free and Easy Snack Signups for Teams, Classes and Scouts

Snack Sign up Sheet Templates, Examples, and Healthy Choices

The snack schedule works best when all parents sign up to help. VolunteerSpot’s free and easy sign up sheets make it simple to ask for help, simple to sign up, and automated reminders help everyone keep their commitments. (Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than being the parent that forgot the snacks!) Get started now at VolunteerSpot, click HERE

Online Snack Schedules: Easy as 1-2-3

 
  I love VolunteerSpot, you make my life as the team mom so much easier! Not a single parent missed their turn bringing snacks this season!

~ Carol Y., soccer and Little League mom of 2, Pasadena, CA

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Volunteer Snack Schedule Signup Example: Volunteers access the signup on their computer, smartphone or tablet via the invitation or signup link provided by the coordinator. Parents click Sign Up by the shift they prefer and Save!

Want to see more? Take a free demo today, click HERE

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Already have a printed snack schedule sign up sheet? No problem!  Enter the names and assignments manually in VolunteerSpot and we’ll remind each parent when it’s their turn…automatically! See how to HERE

While we’re talking snacks, let’s keep it healthy!  When it’s your turn to feed the crew, check out these simple ideas in our free eBook or visit Fix Me A Snack, a blog written by a creative mom and filled with fresh, healthy, easy snack ideas. 

 

Other eBooks you may enjoy:

Sign up Sheet Examples for Youth Sports

Room Parent's Survivial Guide

Back to School Sign up Sheet Examples