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Time to "Fall"unteer | Ideas for Giving Back this Season

8 Fun Ways to Give Back with Family & Friends this Fall

Colder weather means even warmer hearts! Have FUN this Fall with these creative ways to give back and practice random kindness:

Pumpkins1. Ding Dong Surprise. Ding dong ditch some delicious, festive treats for your favorite teacher or school staff member by wrapping and leaving them - in secret, or at the doorway after you quickly knock and run.

2. Treat or . . . Treat? Wouldn't a new neighbor or old friend be wickedly surprised when you family comes to trick or treat and instead leaves a delicious treat or gift for them on Halloween? Get your kids involved and they'll be as thrilled for this surprise as that king size candybar.

3. Game Day. NFL Sunday & World Series viewing boasts good food, good friends and good . . . giving! Turn attendance to your game day party into a way to collect non-perishable food and goods to donate to your local food bank.

4. Warm & Cozy. You're kids new winter coats might look totally fab, but are their old ones still any good? Collect gently used cold-weather apparel with your kids in your own home and donate to a local charity story or family shelter.

5. Pumpkin Party. You're planning on a family night carving session anyways, so why not find a pumpkin to purchase to support a good cause. Google local Pumpkin Patch fundraisers in your area and reserve one today.

6. Halloween Candy Buy Back: Find a participating dentist in your area and let your kids cash in or swap out their Halloween candy for other goodies; the candy is donated for care packages to our troops overseas. More info here

7. Extra Dinner. Are the kids already helping you whip up a batch of your favorite squash and pumpkin seed soup? Make bonus servings and deliver to an elderly neighbor or local family in need.

8. Fired Up. Show your civil servants some appreciation this Fall. Get a group of families together to deliver warm cider and baked goods to your nearby fire or police station.

 

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted at 07:00 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: fall volunteering, fallunteering, family volunteering ideas, volunteer ideas

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Going Green & Doing Good

 

GoingGreenDoingGood
Only a fraction of office waste should be thrown away since as much as 90 percent of waste in the average workplace, school or office can be recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Is your school or non-profit failing at the task? Here's how to improve by implementing a successful recycling program into your workplace, school or non-profit.

Get Management On Board

If the top players in your school, non-profit or volunteer organization are supportive of and participate in the recycling program, it is more likely to be successful. Management endorsement will be essential when finding financial support to manage the program. Recycling bins must to be purchased and participants will need to be motivated. According to Jennifer Berry on Inc.com, there is a larger amount of success in corporate sustainability initiatives when the request comes from top management. “People tend to respond more strongly when it's come from the CEO, for example,” said the spokeswoman for Earth911, an Arizona-based company that hosts the nation's largest recycling directory.

Conduct a Waste Audit

Determine what is being put in the trash that could be recycled. Once you know what excess materials are being thrown out you will know what type of recycling services are needed. Ask your building management or municipal waste management program what can and can't be recycled and go from there.

Appoint a Coordinator

An energetic, green-educated coordinator will make all the difference in motivating your organization to participate in a recycling program. Choose a person to oversee the program who is keen on being green and wants to help everyone understand how they can make a difference. The coordinator should have access to funds, committees and materials needed to integrate the program into the office.

Start Small

Contemplating just how much stuff equals 90 percent of office waste can be a staggering thought. Start small by recycling the “no brainer” items to keep your teachers, parents and volunteers from being overwhelmed. Paper, soda cans and glass bottles are the easiest; once your group is comfortable recycling these products you can start adding ink cartridges, light bulbs, electronics and packaging materials to the recyclable list.

Clearly Label Bins and Have Instructions Posted

Recycling kids

One main reason people don't participate in recycling programs is because they aren't well educated on the topic and recycling bins aren't clearly labeled. Establish an ongoing education program to inform your office what changes have been made. Regularly remind parents and volunteers of the recycling program's mission and clearly list what can and can't be recycled. Consider having a Q&A forum where parents and volunteers can post questions about particular items, such as what to do with greasy pizza boxes or broken glass.

Publicize Progress

 

Track progress and let parents and volunteers know what they've accomplished to keep them motivated. Encourage parents and volunteers by setting goals and maybe even by adding incentives or rewards. Recycling helps the planet and can also generate a small amount of revenue for your company, which could be part of the incentive program. Staples electronics recycling program offers rebates for Staples products. In 2008, the company recycled more than 22 million ink and toner cartridges in the U.S., according to Inc.com.

 

 

Post Courtesy Of SocialMonsters.org - Author: Justin Greig A self-proclaimed "21st century hippie," Justin studied Journalism at Berkeley and freelances for many environmental publications. He has a special interest in conservation, and he and his wife recently added solar panels to their home.

Posted at 07:00 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: earth day, environmental awareness, environmental service project, non profit recycling program, recycling program, school environmental project, school recycling program

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Stand Up for Gender Equality When You Sit Down for Supper

You're always looking for opportunities to do GOOD work, right? With International Day of the Girl approaching, here is your next opportunity! Volunteer to host a CARE Social Supper on October 8th, where you can share and raise awareness about gender inequality - the conversation starts with you in your home and community, and it makes a difference for girls and women worldwide.

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Posted at 02:28 PM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering by the Season, Volunteering in the Community | Permalink

Tags: gender inequality, host a supper, volunteering

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4 Strategies for Recruiting School Fundraising Volunteers

When it comes to fundraising, the more the merrier, right? Get the extra and support you need to make this year's fundraising campaign a huge success! Here are 4 strategies to recruit volunteers from Clay Boggess, Senior Consultant at Big Fundraising Ideas.

Moms Volunteering Blog

Gala planning and hosting socials invoke glamorous images of volunteerism and philanthropy; school fundraising, not so much. Thus, when it comes to getting parents on board to help run them, it takes a little extra ingenuity to sell this as an impactful opportunity.

Parents, especially working moms and dads, already struggle to find time to make dinner. Breathlessly running out of the house with lunches, backpacks, and multiple kids with shoes untied is a familiar image for many. With such limited bandwidth to offer up, parents may choose to avoid assuming additional duties for a fear that they won’t be able to meet the demands of something like a school fundraiser.

Therefore, potential volunteers need major value propositions to consider giving up their time, which is already at a premium. As fundraising season approaches, start thinking about ways you can recruit (and hopefully retain) fundraising volunteers.

Be Social

Moms and dads, have you ever felt bad about going to that happy hour or Bunco night? Parents are the first to feel guilty when they take some “time off” from their most permanent role.

You might be surprised to know that researchers encourage you to take this time off and relish in it. Time away from the kids is something increasingly recommended, according to Washington Post, and it might even make you a more relaxed, happier, and effective parent.

Translate this into your fundraising by building in and highlighting a socialization component throughout the course of planning, carrying out, and wrapping up the school fundraiser. Find ways to make your “adult time” feel productive and fun. Consider these ideas:

  • Host a short kickoff breakfast that parents can attend when they drop their kids off for school. If you can wrap it up before 8:30 a.m., parents may be able to attend without missing any work.
  • Host an appetizer hour right after work and offer to provide babysitting. Find some high school students who can watch the younger kids, and eliminate a barrier to participation by ensuring parents are covered.

 Fundraising leaders will find that these opportunities to bring parents together will offer the dual appeal of time to unwind and the “warm and fuzzy” feeling of giving back. You’ll gain a captive audience where you can communicate your mission; get parents to sign up for specific roles; and inspire them with the unique energy and enthusiasm found in coming together for a common cause (and some tasty snacks).

Have Options for Commitment

School fundraisers are uniquely appealing as volunteer opportunities because they are generally short in duration.  Nonetheless, that does mean that some volunteer roles won’t require a couple months of commitment, or a lot of concentrated time during those few weeks. For example, if parents end up on a “planning and celebration” committee, they might have volunteer responsibilities before, during and after the selling period.

However, the modern parent may not have this kind of time, according to “We Are Teachers.” Their research found that uncertainty about what the school’s needs are coupled with too little time to volunteer are major hurdles to parent engagement. This may sound discouraging, but it also means your volunteer team has its work cut out and can strategize effectively to overcome these hurdles by breaking down big jobs into small, manageable tasks.  Ensure your tasks are:

  • Specific. Clearly define the expectations and completion time for tasks. Fill in as many blanks as possible. The less uncertainty a parent will have to overcome before signing up, the better.
  • Tied to larger impact. Small tasks don’t have to be insignificant. Communicate how even posting fliers can make a difference.

Creating roles of different sizes might mean that, as a leader, you’ll have to fight your fears of delegation. Accept as true that someone out there is good at and wants to do a task you personally loathe. If you’re investing time in building a committed volunteer team, you owe it to yourself to trust its members.

Connect Remotely

Social media and the smart-phone revolution is not just something for the kids; the power of rich, remote connectivity can be a powerful tool for parents on the go.

Find out what remote platforms the parents in your volunteer group are using by doing a simple survey at the first meeting, and make as much use of these tools as possible. Good managers in the workplace regularly talk about “playing in the same sandbox” as their audience, and this metaphor translates well for fundraising volunteers.

If your volunteers are already spending their free time on a site like Facebook, or are comfortable learning a new tool like WhatsApp, use these options to create efficiencies that will get business done. You can explore tips on how to take your fundraiser into the social space, as this is something student sellers and parent volunteers increasingly look for.

Of course, some folks will always prefer face-to-face interaction, so don’t forego the occasional traditional meeting. Being at the same table is still one of the most effective ways to work and create a sense of team spirit. But for those parents who still want to be a part of the action, explore forms of communication—such as Facebook or emailing—to update and inspire on a more convenient and regular basis.

 

About the author: Clay Boggess has been designing fundraising programs for schools and various nonprofit organizations throughout the US since 1999. He works with administrators, teachers, as well as outside support entities such as PTA's and PTO’s. Clay is a Senior Consultant at Big Fundraising Ideas.

Posted at 10:21 AM in Back-to-School, Fundraising Ideas, Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering at School | Permalink

Tags: school fundraising, volunteer recruitment

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Disaster Relief Resources

SignUp.com is Texas-proud, headquartered in Austin and we've been heartbroken watching the Hurricane Harvey disaster unfold in Houston and the Gulf Coast. We've also been inspired buy the huge local and national response for relief and recovery. From large government and national nonprofits, to local agencies, faith groups, and 'good guys in boats' - we've been (feeling warm and great) by the response and are proud to help in a small way by the many groups organizing volunteers and supplies with our platform.

 
We'd like to give a special shout to local nonprofits working to help our Houston and Gulf Coast neighbors get back on their feet - please consider these special places where your donation dollar can make a local difference: 

Disaster Relief

Teachers

Donorschoose.org created an outlet to help teachers at damaged schools rebuild their classrooms with materials like books, furniture, classroom supplies, technology, and therapy resources.

https://www.donorschoose.org/hurricane-harvey

 

Chefs and Cooks

World Central Kitchen is currently looking for volunteers with professional cooking experience to come to Houston to help them prepare meals for evacuees and aid workers.

http://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/cook-for-hurricane-harvey-victims-jose-andres

 

Military Family Support

Uncover where to get emergency prescription refills and the process for getting a referral requirement waived

http://www.pdhealth.mil/news/blog/managing-aftermath-hurricane-resources-make-difference

 

Translator Services Needed

Speak more than one language? Offer your help.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVA-hJ8hkECZhGEifzq0lzyKE0wbL_9_m_tpD5fpPCDq34wg/viewform

 

Hungry to Help

Just type in the city and check for specific volunteer needs and local service opportunities for that area.

http://justserve.org

 

Avoid Scams

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-harvey-insurance-scams-homeowners/

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/donate-harvey-charities-scams.html

Posted at 03:10 PM in Fundraising Ideas, Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering by the Season, Volunteering in the Community | Permalink

Tags: disaster relief resources, hurricane harvey volunteers, hurricane irma volunteers, volunteers needed

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Smashin' Summer Service Ideas!

 

What have you been up to this summer? Family vacation? BBQ block parties? Trips to the movies and the mall? If these are the same old activities you do every summer and you'd like to give back to spice things up, consider some summertime volunteering.

With August and Back-to-School here before you know it, save a few days of your last days of summer to volunteer as a family and teach your kids the joy and importance of giving back to the community. We have some special volunteer activities that will turn into surefire summertime traditions for your family and friends. These kid-friendly activities are fun and rewarding for all-ages, not just the kiddos, but will definitely bring out the kid in everyone!

  • Summertime Storyteller: Volunteer as a storyteller at your local library with your kiddo as an assistant. Be extra animated with voices and costumes. Make sure your "helper" is involved and having fun too! Summer is a busy time for libraries since they are busy planning read-a-thons and other fun events for kids to grow their love of reading. Taking time to volunteer as a guest storyteller will give the library an extra hand and cultivate your own child's interest in reading. 
  • Snow Cone for a Cause: Raise money with a few friends selling icy snow cones at community centers or places of worship. Donate the money to a charity of your choice. Make sure to get approval from the place you'll be selling from first. 
  • Vacation Bible School Volunteer: If you're inspired, ask your church if they need help for Vacation Bible School (VBS) this summer. It takes A LOT to make VBS run smoothly and safely, so churches need as much as they can get. Other than being a VBS teacher, you can join the decorating committee, music committee, craft/food committee, volunteer recognition committee, and much more. This event is perfect for those who can help a little or a lot and involves parents and kids.
  • Community Garden Helper: Contact your local community garden and sign-up to volunteer. It's a great way to get your hands down and dirty for the community. This is a great opportunity to teach kids about teamwork and healthy living.
  • Park Preservation Vacation: If you're an outdoorsy person, gather your friends or family for a national park preservation vacation where you can rebuild trails, clean up trash and campsites, and remove non-native plants. You can spend your time in the great outdoors with your loved ones, while giving back to the environment. Organizations like Sierra Club host these vacations annually.

Give us a shout out and tell us what you did this summer to give back to your community in our Comments section.

Stay cool and do good this summer!

Posted at 10:28 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering by the Season, Volunteering in the Community | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: national park volunteer vacation, summer reading, Summer volunteering, vacation bible school, VBS, welcome troops

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5 Tech Tools to Organize Your Social Good Project

Make Doing Good Easier Than Ever

Want to put a little more good into the world this holiday season, but don’t know where to start? Try these mobile apps for size to organize your own fundraisers, drives or other service projects to fulfill those good-deed desires. Find a project that suits you and warm up some hearts in the meantime.

SignUp.com

Plan your projects and coordinate schedules like never before with SignUp.com's free, online SignUps and easy coordination solutions. Schedule deliveries and communicate all the required information needed through VolunteerSpot’s functions. Even send friendly reminders to make sure everyone involved is on the same page with the reminder aspect of as well.

Trello

Meet the ultimate planner that has everything for you in high-tech fashion. Say goodbye to misplaced post-it notes and endless spreadsheets that are difficult to read. Trello is a free software program made up of different customized boards that let you know what you’ve done and what you still need to do. Keep everyone in the loop with Trello!

Join.Me

Service projects take an immense amount of planning and making sure everyone sees the project for themselves instead of leaving visuals to the imagination. However, sometimes it’s hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time. Join.Me lets you have those meetings from the comfort of where you are. Share a screen with multiple participants and enjoy a meeting out of the office.

Dropbox

Delete those strenuous email drafts filled with content you want to share. Dropbox allows you to share content with the drop of a click to insert files to another user’s Dropbox account. Pictures, files or documents – share them instantly from your computer or phone anytime of day.

VolunteerMatch

Know you want to give back, but need a place to look? Visit VolunteerMatch to find your perfect project find to give back to your community. Search for volunteer projects in your surrounding area and choose which one you want to participate in. You can even find virtual projects to contribute to. 

Posted at 11:38 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering by the Season | Permalink

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Family "Caring" Ideas

National Family Volunteer Day | Nov. 19, 2016    

Looking for family volunteer and service ideas for National Family Volunteer Day? Practice kindness and caring with you kids this November with these easy, meaningful ideas from our friends at Create the Good. Check out an excerpt of their guest post below and the entire article over on SignUp.com, click here.

Caring-ideas-national-family-volunteer-day

Here are five ideas for ways families can care together to change the world!

  1. Care for your neighbor: Encouraging social responsibility in kids starts close to home, and there are opportunities for even the smallest of kids to help out there. If you have an elderly or infirm neighbor, your family can work together to spruce up her landscaping and lawn. Make a meal and take it to your neighbor.  Offer to take your neighbor’s trashcans to the curb. If your neighbor has a dog, offer to take it for a walk twice per week. If your neighbor doesn’t drive, offer to drive him to the grocery store periodically, and take the kids along to help put things in the cart and carry the bags out.
  2. Care for your neighborhood: Enlist the help of other families in your neighborhood for a Care for Our Park or School event, picking up litter and planting bulbs. Community ball fields often need restriping or help with fence or bench maintenance. Younger family members can help with raking leaves and picking up trash. This type of action instills a sense of pride among the people who live there, making your neighborhood less vulnerable to teenage pranks and vandalism.
  3. Care for your caregivers: Does your family know an exceptional caregiver who deserves acknowledgment and thanks? Show that person some love in November by entering them in the "25 Days, 25 Ways to Care" contest and sweepstakes from Create the Good. Submit a 1-minute video that illustrates how your favorite caregiver is making a difference, whether they are caring for an elderly parent, volunteering to take care of animals, or even showing great care for others in their role as a teacher or medical professional.  Your caregiver will be entered in a daily gift card drawing, and could even win the grand prize $2,500 donation for their favorite nonprofit. Read the rules and enter now >

     

Read the rest of the "Family Caring Ideas" article on SignUp.com, click here >>

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Posted at 04:30 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering in the Community | Permalink

Tags: caring ideas for kids, family caring ideas, family volunteering, national family volunteer day

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5 Things to Include in Your Community Impact Statement

Volunteer Impact Report

Whether you're recruiting volunteers, applying for a nonprofit grant, or simply updating your volunteer webpage with the latest and greatest news about your organization, there are a handful of key components to include that help illustrate your group's impact in the community:
 
1. Volunteer Hours: Tracking, measuring and sharing volunteer hours is vital to quantifying your nonprofit's community impact. Online tech tools like VolunteerSpot make it easier for organizers to schedule and track volunteers while hours reports are updated real-time with one-click access. Apps like RewardVolunteers also help volunteers report and track their service hours too. We love this impact report from Manna Food Bank in Western North Carolina that was direct mailed to supports, donors and volunteers >>
 
Community Impact Report
2. Value of Service: Did you know the national dollar amount placed on an hour of volunteer service is $23.56/hour? That's huge! VolunteeringInAmerica.gov revealed that nationwide in 2015 the estimated value of volunteer service was $184 billion, wow!Tracking your volunteer hours and capturing the value of that time, skill and talent as a dollar amount helps paint the picture of how your group is benefiting the community around them too.
 
3. Money Raised: Donations, contributions and money collected is a reflection on the both the impact your organization can have in the community as well as the loyalty and dedication of your donor base. Did you know volunteers are almost twice as likely to donate to charity than non-volunteer? When you're quantifying donations and community impact 
 
4. Specific Products/Services Given: As seen in the above example, Manna Food Bank illustrates how many pounds of food and produce was distributed, as well as how many food backpacks for resource-limited families were given out. Whatever your group is physically doing, sharing and distributing in the community, share it! Houses built, food distributed, kids tutored, meals cooked, you name it.
 
5. Testimonials: Your community impact story needs to be just that . . . a story. Interviews with willing volunteers and community members who have been affected by the GOOD work of your organization is a must for your community impact statement. Feature quotes and stories on your volunteer webpage, your nonprofit marketing materials and in follow-up appreciation letters to donors and volunteers.

 
Also see:

Nonprofit Fundraising Trends
 
Social Media in Event Management
 
5 Key Elements to a Volunteer Webpage
 
 

Posted at 04:30 AM in Tips for Non-Profits, Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: community impact statement, tracking volunteer hours, volunteer hours, volunteer impact statement

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4 Ways to Help Your Elderly Neighbor

Help Your Neighbor, While Teaching your Kids Valuable Lessons

Looking for opportunities to volunteer with your kids isn't always easy. Some organizations require orientations or time commitments that just don't work with your schedule. Instead of seeking out opportunities far and wide, why not help your own neighbors? Elderly neighbors especially can use assistance with even little things like errands and meals, but sometimes they don't have family close to help out or are too afraid to ask. Here are some ways your whole family can get involved (and learn a little too):

Helping Elderly Neighbors

1. Cook a Warm Meal

Everyone loves a good home-cooked meal, but a gourmet stovetop creation might not be feasible for your elderly neighbor. Prepare a healthy meal (with enough leftovers your neighbor can heat later), and either bring the kids along to deliver it or invite your neighbor over to dine with your family. Your neighbor will benefit from a healthy meal and the time socializing with others while your kids can learn important skills about interecting with and respecting their elders, sharing, and appropriate behavior around company.

Related: Volunteer Your Family Hobby

2. Help Around the House

Shoveling snow in the winter or cutting grass in the summer can be dangerous for the elderly, but keeping their yards and gardens neat is a favorite hobby for many. How can your family help? Pitch in with yardwork - raking leaves, mowing the lawn, digging holes for plants, etc. Occaional inside chores like dusting or vacuuming are super helpful too. Finish up your family day of helping out with shared lemonade and cookies with your neighbor. Your kids can take the lead on finding fun projects to help with and communicating with your neighbor about schedules while learning important lessons around compassion, dedication and time management.

Check out how one college student started a volunteer-powered lawn service for the elderly in his community >>

3. Run Errands

Have a teenager who can drive? A great service opportunity for them (and something to do while they're off school for the summer) is help an elderly neighbor get around. Grabbing groceries, prescriptions, pet food and other errands can be huge taks for an elderly person who cannot drive or who tires easily when shopping. Simple quick trips like this give your teen time to interact with another person who has lots of stories and experience to share too!

Related: 5 Lessons Teens Learn When They Volunteer

4. Don’t be afraid to ASK!

Sometimes the best thing you can do is just ask. You can’t really know what someone needs without asking and your neighbor might surprise you - maybe the best way to help them out is a simple trip, a short visit or a hand-drawn card from your kids, you never know!

 

 

Posted at 04:30 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering in the Community | Permalink

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5 Lessons Teens Learn When They Volunteer

Teen Volunteering and Service Ideas

Thanks to Lion’s Heart for this guest post!

Community service is becoming a pillar in the edifice of American teenagedom. While school, sports, and even camp can be tightly scheduled and scripted experiences for students, community service offers an authentic, unscripted experience in contrast. Whether it’s serving hours towards a volunteer goal with a school group, going on Mission Trips with their faith community, or simply helping others with friends or family, volunteering is a life-changing, life-prepping activity young people should experience. These key lessons and takeaways are the strongholds of why:

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1. Teens practice empathy: Putting one’s self into “another person’s shoes” isn’t always so easy for the teenage brain, especially in the fast-paced digital and social media environments they thrive in. Serving others and connecting with people of all ages and backgrounds in the “real world,” especially those in less fortunate circumstances, is an eye-opening experience. The ability to practice compassion in understanding and caring for another human being is a shared experience few activities like volunteering can offer your teen.

    Related: 5 Ways to Encourage Teens to Volunteer

2. Teens learn leadership skills: Teens are on a constant mission to find their voice and develop a lasting identity as they mature into young adults. Volunteering brings out the best in everyone, and for teens in particular, can give them the courage and confidence to lead projects and groups of people they never would have thought they could. Embracing the skills and talents your teen already has, leadership opportunities can quickly follow suit, i.e. does your teen love singing? Encourage them to lead a holiday caroling group in a nearby nursing home. Does your teen enjoy cooking? Help them find an opportunity to make a meal for a local children’s shelter.

Ads for VolunteerSpot-03

Lion’s Heart makes it easy for teens to get involved in their communities and lead service projects! With tips, tools and best practices for getting started, Lion’s Heart provides a trove of localized volunteer resources for teens as well as shares rewards, free webinars, and scholarship opportunities. Find a chapter near you today and help your teen get involved with their cause of choice, just in time for summer break! Get started >

3. Teens step out of their comfort zone: Volunteering takes guts sometimes. Pushing boundaries and comfort zones is a vital lesson teens learn when pitching in in their community. Whether it’s getting up the courage to work building a home with a group of strangers, or getting to know a child with special needs in a mentorship role, stepping out of one’s norm is powerful in the context of safe volunteer environment. As teens start practicing independence and making decisions on their own, this embrace of the “new” will benefit them greatly. Give your teen the courage to succeed with a volunteer service that has their back! LionsHeartService.org is a go-to destination that gives teens looking to make a difference in the world the tools and connections they need to get started. Learn more >

ImpactofServiceLearning

4. Teens learn time management: Like any activity that requires your teen to be on time, volunteering is a great practice in accountability. Much like a team sport or part-time job, volunteering is a group activity where other people are counting on you, and your commitment and dedication is vital to the success of the event. As teens weigh their schedules packed with homework, sports and extra-curriculars, volunteerism will take serious consideration and dedication of time. These management skills will benefit them throughout the course of their life, especially at college!

    Related: Teens + Volunteering = Awesome | A Case for Youth Involvement

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5. Teens learn that positive actions reflect well on them:  Approximately 100 colleges and universities, including Ivy League Schools, are adopting a portfolio based app in place of the Common App.  Why the change?  While higher education institutions are interested in highly accomplished teens, they are becoming more interested in how teens use their gifts to make a positive impact in their communities. Lion’s Heart has a tool to help teens build their Volunteer Digital Portfolio for college, job, scholarship or internship applications. 

Lions Heart Volunteer PORTFOLIO-01


A little about Lion’s Heart:

Founded in 2004, Lion's Heart is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit teen volunteer platform available to 6th – 12th grade students. The organization instills the value of community service in its Members, providing meaningful life skills through leadership opportunities and philanthropic experiences. Over the years, Members have performed a combined total of more than 510,000 volunteer hours, which equates to more than $11,000,000 in societal value.

Headquartered in Southern California, has grown to 42 chapters across 11 states, and is actively expanding its reach by adding new chapters across the country. Groups have between three and twenty teens and are organized by gender, grade, and location. Though each group has a parent Class Coordinator, the teens elect their own officers, lead their own meetings, and decide how to serve their community – with no fundraising. For more information visit their website www.lionsheartservice.org.

Posted at 04:11 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: lions heart service, lions heart volunteering, service learning ideas, service learning lessons, teen volunteer ideas, teen volunteering, youth service projects, youth volunteer ideas

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Happy National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week | 2016

It's that time again . . . time to celebrate and honor the volunteers making a difference in your community!

VolunteerSpot-AARP-700x1100-Banner

Whether you're looking to lend a helping hand near you or simply searching for volunteer appreciation ideas, we've got you covered! Check out these resources from our friends at Create the Good, click here.

 

Also see:

30 Ways to Thank Volunteers

Volunteer Appreciation Ideas on Pinterest

Thank the Volunteers in Your Life

Posted at 03:30 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: create the good volunteer week, national volunteer week, volunteer appreciation, volunteer week

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Family Volunteer Opportunities

5 Youth Service Ideas for Spring

Springtime is the time for getting out and doing good with your kids! Here are a few key opportunities for kids and teens to pitch in and help someone in need this season:

Spring Family Volunteer Ideas

1. National Volunteer Week (April 6 - 10, 2016) > The long celebrated National Volunteer Week is a great time for families to connect with local organizations and causes they care about to support a specific volunteer project in their community. The week-long celebration also encourages volunteer appreciation and media coverage of year-round opportunities for volunteers to pitch in and help others. Learn more and access a free National Volunteer Week toolkit over on PointsofLight.org.

2. Global Youth Service Day (April 15 - 17, 2016) > With a special focus on the contributions of children and youth in their community, GYSD (sponsored by Youth Service America) is the largest service event in the world. It's easy for families to get involved > visit the Global Youth Service Day website and work with your kids to pick, plan, post and promote a service project that will impact their neighborhood or community.

3. Earth Day (April 22, 2016) > Earth Day falls on a Friday this year and what better way to engage children in stewardship of the environment than with service and volunteer projects that weekend? Whether volunteering at an Earth festival or celebration in your city, pitching in at the community or school learning garden, or simply beautifying the green space of a local nonprofit, there are tons of 'green' ways to get involved, see more here.

    Related: 6 Eco-friendly Service Ideas

Youth Service Ideas

4. Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2 - 6, 2016) > This treasured week to recognize and thank teachers is a great way to involve kids in acts of kindness and generosity. Handwriting thank you cards and creating giftbaskets or baking sweet treats for the teacher together are simple ways kids can take action in showing their appreciation. Check out more teacher appreciation ideas here.

5. Hasbro Community Action Hero Award > Know a young person already making a difference in their community? You can nominate them for the Hasbro Community Action Hero Award, a program of GenerationOn. With nominations opening soon, it's a great time to think about the outstanding children (5 - 18 yrs) who you know that are making an extraordinary mark on their community through service, advocacy or innovation. Learn more here.

 

Also see:

10 Tips for Volunteering as a Family

5 Summer Volunteer Ideas for Teens and Tweens

How to Encourage Teens to Volunteer

10 Family Service Ideas

 

 

Posted at 04:30 AM in Tips for Non-Profits, Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination, Volunteering by the Season | Permalink

Tags: family service ideas, family volunteer ideas, family volunteering, global youth service day, kid volunteer ideas, national volunteer week, spring volunteering for kids

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Volunteer Management Ideas

How to Prevent (and Handle) Last-Minute Volunteer Cancellations

An all to real situation volunteer managers have to face when coordinating a busy schedule for lots of volunteers is last-minute cancellations. Not only can this seriously affect the support your volunteer event so vitally needs, but it can cause undue stress and lead to further scheduling complications. Check out these 5 top tips for preventing and handling last-minute volunteer cancellations:

Volunteer management Ideas

1. Coordinate volunteers online: Free, online volunteer scheduling systems like VolunteerSpot afford volunteer managers the capability to rely on comprehensive online tools to schedule, manage and communicate with volunteers (to avoid last-minute cancellations). An easier alternative to paper sign-up sheets and 'reply-all' emails, free, online sign-ups from VolunteerSpot ensure all your volunteers the convenience of checking out available spots to get involved from their computer or mobile device; as well as captures contact information for the organizer and issues automated confirmation and reminder messages. Try a free demo

2. Ask volunteers to swap: Establish a 'swap' policy with your volunteer group where if someone cannot make their shift, they're in charge of swapping their spot with another volunteer who can cover them. *Note: VolunteerSpot's unique "Swap" feature makes it super easy for volunteers to message and swap spots with one another, right from the online sign-up. Learn more

3. Share a 'sub' list: If the total spots for your volunteer event filled quickly, but you still have interested individuals, ask them to serve as subs or alternate to be on call if someone cancels. Build your substitute list in VolunteerSpot as a "no date" sign-up, or share with your volunteer group using Google Docs or Dropbox, free cloud storage tools.

4. Invite volunteers to bring friends: When recruiting volunteers for your school or nonprofit, encourage individuals to come in groups or with friends. Volunteers may be less likely to cancel last minute if they have both a commitment to the event and to another person they're going with.

5. Use group messaging tools: Find easy ways to communicate with your entire volunteer group quickly in case of a last-minute cancellation. VolunteerSpot's online sign-ups come with free messaging tools that help leaders email volunteers in seconds as a group or by status (i.e. signed up, invited, etc). Apps like Voxer and Facebook Messenger let you text, message, or live voice chat with your volunteer group wherever they're at on any device.

Also see:

10 Ideas for Volunteer Recruitment

8 Ways to "Reach" Volunteers

Free Twitter Volunteer Recruitment Images

Volunteer Incentive Ideas

Maintaining a Successful Volunteer Program

 

 

Posted at 04:13 AM in Tips for Non-Profits, Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: volunteer cancellations, volunteer management ideas, volunteer management system, volunteer scheduling

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Quotes of Kindness & Peace

Motivation & Inspiration

Pin and share these messages of kindness, compassion, helping others, and peace! And make sure to follow our board on Pinterest!

Be Kind

* * *

Be the change

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Kindness

* * *
Helps Others

* * *

Peace

* * *

Kind words

* * *

Journey

Posted at 04:50 AM in Volunteer Action - Motivation and Coordination | Permalink

Tags: kindness quotes, peace quotes, quotes about helping others, quotes about kindness, quotes about peace

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