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Dr. King’s Challenge: What Are You Doing for Others?

Friday, January 6th, 2012

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader whose actions sparked a national movement. The 13 years he dedicated to civil rights activities ignited concern and conscience within our country’s citizens. His courage and selfless devotion were undeniable, and for this his legacy continues to inspire Points of Light and volunteers around the world.

Just four days after the assassination of the civil rights icon, legislation was proposed to make his birthday an official holiday. It took nearly 20 years and countless politicians to gather enough public support to receive Congressional support, and the day was first officially observed in 1986.

Martin Luther King, Jr. SpeechDuring his lifetime Dr. King worked tirelessly toward a dream of equality. He believed in a nation of freedom and justice for all, and encouraged all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is a way to transform Dr. King’s life and teachings into community service that helps solve problems. MLK Day programs meet tangible needs, such as revitalizing schools and feeding the homeless; but also build a sense of community and mutual responsibility by spurring conversation. On this day, Americans of every age and background celebrate Dr. King through volunteering and unite to strengthen communities, empower individuals, and bridge barriers.

There are many ways to celebrate MLK Day in your community, whether you’re leading a local nonprofit, organizing an event with your family or an elementary school student looking to make a difference.

Inspired by the legacy of Dr. King, America’s Sunday Supper invites people from diverse backgrounds to come together and share a meal, discuss issues that affect their community and highlight the power each one of us has to make a difference. These family and community suppers unite individuals for dinner and dialogue in the restaurants, coffee shops, community centers, faith-based organizations, and homes across the country. Leading up to MLK Day, individuals will participate in a community-by-community, nationwide conversation about our country’s most pressing social issues related to hunger, homelessness, and poverty.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

When individuals reach across differences in economic, ethnic, racial, and religious identities, meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with neighbors can occur. A sense of community is gained by neighbors working together on projects, resulting in stronger civic engagement and bringing us all closer to Dr. King’s legacy.

How will you honor Dr. King with your service this upcoming MLK Day? Let us know in the comments below!

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Posted in Events, Faith, Inspire, Mobilize, Service, Social Justice, Volunteer Recognition, Volunteerism | 2 Comments »

Come One, Come All Host a Sunday Supper!

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

January 16 is the official day of celebration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King envisioned a world where people considered their community members to be their brothers and sisters. His idea of “brotherhood” meant that communities would not allow their members to experience hunger, poverty, or homelessness.

Does today’s world follow Doctor King’s vision? With constant facts and figures for levels of hunger, homelessness, and poverty on the rise it is hard to believe that Dr. King’s vision really has come true. Most people do not understand that these issues truly do exist in every community in more ways than one might think.

That is why we invite you to gather as a community to host a Sunday Supper. “What is this great Sunday Supper?” you may be asking yourself. From now until January 16, HandsOn Network and Points of Light are urging communities to invite their fellow neighbors to a discussion about issues that may affect them. Communities can register their Sunday Supper so that they may win a $25 gift certificate from restaurant.com. The idea being that hosting a supper may win you a supper; it is a way of recognizing the good your community is doing. You can also choose to host a community movie during your Sunday Supper.

What are some things you can talk about at your supper? Easy! The issues that were key to both Doctor King and your community members such as:

  • MLK Day is a “Day on, not a day off.” How are you going to make MLK Day “a day on?”
  • Dr. King once said, “We must work unceasingly to uplift this nation that we love to a higher destiny, to a higher plateau of compassion, to a more noble expression of humaneness.” How can you lift up your community?
  • What is one local organization for which you would like to volunteer? Why?
  • How can you encourage more people in your community, workplace or neighborhood to volunteer?
  • What is your local community doing to reach out to the less fortunate in your community? How do you think you could do more?
  • Does your community serve veterans? How are you helping them assimilate back into their daily lives once they return from their deployment?
  • What is one thing you would like to change in your community? What are tangible steps you could take to make that change happen?
  • What skills, resources or talents do you have that you could use to change your community?
  • Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “With freedom comes responsibility.” Is this statement true? If so, what responsibilities do we have as citizens?
  • What are the elements or characteristics of a healthy community? Does your community exhibit these characteristics? If not, what can you do to encourage these elements?

Great! Now that you have got some questions to ask your fellow attendees at the supper, it’s time to get started! Learn more about hosting a Sunday Supper with our MLK Day Toolkit.

Let’s keep Dr. King’s legacy alive and make his vision become reality. Join thousands and volunteer to make your community a place of neighbors rather than strangers!

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Let’s Go #GoodSpotting this Holiday Season!

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Today’s post originally appeared on The Case Foundation. Jean Case is the CEO and founder of The Case Foundation, an organization dedicated to applying new technologies and innovative approaches to increase giving; catalyzing civic and business participation; and promoting innovation, collaboration and leadership in the nonprofit sector.

This week the holiday season really kicks into high gear. While we’re gathering with friends and family around the Thanksgiving feast, we’ll soon be thinking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, watching holiday decorations go up in our neighborhoods, and listening to classic seasonal tunes on the radio.

But if you take a closer look, you’ll see that the true spirit of the holidays is right in front of you: your neighbor shoveling his neighbor’s driveway, your daughter’s school hosting a canned food drive, or a friend running in a local 5K to raise money for charity. These are all acts of good. We’re sure you’ve done some good things lately, too.

And that’s why starting today, we’d like to invite you to go #GoodSpotting with us. To celebrate all of the good going on around us, we’re creating a huge, global image gallery of people, organizations and businesses doing good this holiday on our Facebook page – because we believe that #GoodSpotting is everywhere, and something everyone can do.

Here’s how you can get involved: snap a picture on your phone or camera and upload it to the Case Foundation Facebook page, or through another online photo-sharing service (Instagram, TwitPic, yFrog), and share on Twitter with the hashtag #GoodSpotting. If you need some inspiration, head on over to the gallery and check out some of the great photos we’ve got already.

And as an extra reward for getting involved in sharing the good this holiday season, you can enter our #Goodspotting sweepstakes for a chance to win up to $500 in holiday spending cash for yourself, and up to a $5,000 donation to the nonprofit of your choice.

To kick off the#GoodSpotting adventures, and to thank all of our partners and supporters that we’ve spotted doing quite a bit of good this year, we’d like to share a short holiday greeting with you – and hope that you’ll see how easy it is to do good and spot good. Happy holidays from all of us at the Case Foundation!

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5 Tips for Communicating Your Mission

Friday, October 28th, 2011

nonprofit communicationsYou know that publicity is important for spreading your organizations message to the world, but how exactly do you do it? The most important step in your communication plan should be start early, before the demands from your organization start pulling you in too many different directions. Here is a to-do-list that can make contacting the media about your projects less daunting:

Review your program and its goals. Go over your program’s focus points and problem areas to ensure that everyone is clear about the central mission of the organization. Be proactive and answer any questions that may not have been answered already.

nonprofit audienceIdentify your audience and set your organization’s priorities. Brainstorm a list of people that can help you accomplish your organization’s goals. Spend most of your time with the people who can help spread your organization’s message and diversify your audience more.

Develop what you want to say. This step is very important because this is how you will get people to actually participate. These points should be developed for the audience you intend to reach. Your points can be adapted into different formats including fliers, brochures, press releases, and speeches. These points should be simple and logical, answering the following four questions:

  • What issue is your community is facing?
  • What needs to happen for change?
  • Why does your organization work for this issue?
  • What can your organization accomplish through its unique mission?

Plan and develop communication tools. Develop a few basic tools to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed. Focus your efforts on a few simple tasks at a time such as designing a brochure that can be used in more than one way. Understand your communication template to effectively use it and tailor it to the intended audience.

Work with the mass media. Take a breath… you do not need to be an expert to complete your final step. Begin your work by writing a plan about your course of action. This plan should include strategies for getting media attention, a to-do list, and deadlines. This plan will keep your project focused on the intended mission. This plan can be used as a reference to help your team stay on task.

Although getting media attention can be a daunting task, by staying organized the job can seem more manageable. The most important thing to remember is that your organization has an important mission to fulfill and with the help of media outlets that mission can be accomplished more quickly and efficiently.

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9 Tips for Managing Unaffiliated Disaster Response Volunteers

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

The efficient and proper management of unaffiliated, often spontaneous volunteers in times of emergency is crucial to being able to respond to the disaster. Here are some tips for managing the power and talent of those who want to support disaster recovery efforts.

Understand that volunteers are a community. Volunteering is a valuable part of h healthy community. Volunteers come from all segments of society and often provide essential services. Everyone has the potential to contribute their strength and resources in the aftermath of a disaster.

Volunteers can be involved in more than just immediate recovery efforts. There are valuable and appropriate roles for unaffiliated spontaneous volunteers in mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery – as well as in other aras of community need. The response phase provieds an opportunity to direct volunteers toward longer-term affiliation and community involvement.

Management systems. Volunteers are a valuable resource when they are trained, assigned, and supervised within established emergency management systems. Similar to donations management, an essential element of every emergency management plan is the clear designation of responsibility for the on-site coordination of unaffiliated volunteers.

Shared responsibility. The mobilization, management, and support of volunteers is primarily a responsibility of local government and nonprofit agencies with support from the state level. Specialized planning, information sharing, and a management structure are necessary to coordinate efforts and maximize the benefits of volunteer involvement.

Volunteer expectations. Volunteers are successful participants in emergency management systems when they are flexible, self-sufficient, aware of risks, and willing to be coordinated by local emergency management experts.

The impact on volunteers. The priority of volunteer activity is assistance to others. When this spontaneous activity is well managed, it also positively affects the volunteers themselves and thus contributes to the healing process of both individuals and the larger community.

Build on existing capacity. All communities include individuals and organizations that know how to mobilize and involve volunteers effectively. Emergency management experts and VOAD partners are encouraged to identify and utilize all existing capacity for integrating unaffiliated volunteers.

Managing information. Clear, consistent, and timely communication is essential to successful management of unaffiliated volunteers. A variety of opportunities and messages should be utilized in order to educate the public, minimize confusion, and clarify expectations.

Say thank you. Don’t forget to take the time to thank the volunteers who are showing up to help with disaster recovery. Many of them will likely be the same people who were affected by the disaster. Taking the time to say thank you and show that you care about them can help them to recover from their ordeal.

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Lenny Lend-A-Hand Asks YOU to Volunteer!

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Today’s blog post comes from Lenny Lend-A-Hand, HandsOn Twin Cities Mascot & Community Volunteer

Hellloo- Dolly! Lenny-Lend-A-Hand here representing HandsOn Twin Cities from the great state of Minnesota (I FINALLY was able to hang up my winter jacket, WOOT!).

Now that spring has sprung and spirits have been rejuvenated, it’s perfect timing to get out in the community and volunteer for National Volunteer Week.  HandsOn Twin Cities has been busy organizing over 60 projects, mobilizing over 1,000 volunteers in the metro area.

With the highest number of volunteers per capita, I’m proud to celebrate the great community members who make a difference here in the Twin Cities. Without our great volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish as much good as we do. Just one week isn’t nearly enough to squeeze in all of the thank yous we owe to our volunteers.

Since Earth Day is right around the corner, the majority of our projects are environmentally focused. There will be lots of rakes, gardening gloves, and mulch to go around! Staff will also be working with volunteers packaging food for local food shelves, as well as making hygiene kits and nutrition packs for families in need.

Personally, I’m looking forward to putting an artistic spin on community education by painting storm drains with the message “PLEASE DON’T POLLUTE! Drains to the Mississippi River!”  With the longest river in the nation rushing right between our Twin Cities, it’s our civic duty to engage, inform, and remind patrons to do their part in improving local water resources. (Plus with clean water, I’ll be even more excited to take a summertime dip in the good ole Mississippi!)

Speaking of civic duty, our nation’s President has called on the American people to not only appreciate their volunteers during National Volunteer Week (April 10th-16th 2011) but to engage in service as well.

“During National Volunteer Week, we celebrate the profound impact of volunteers and encourage all Americans to discover their own power to make a difference.  Every one of us has a role to play in making our communities and our country stronger. I call upon all Americans to observe this week by volunteering in service projects across our country and pledging to make service a part of their daily lives.”

– President Barak Obama April 7th, 2011

I couldn’t have said it better myself! So come on nation of do-gooders- go that extra mile, support your favorite cause, and Lend-A-Hand this week! Together we ALL can make a difference!

Cheers to Volunteers!

Lenny Lend-A-Hand is HandsOn Twin Cities Mascot & Community Volunteer. He can be found at volunteer projects around the Twin Cities. You can read about the work he’s doing at his blog.

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LikeMinded: Connecting You to Ideas for Local Change

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Today’s post comes from Arthur Coddington, Director of Online Programs, Craigslist Foundation

As we celebrate National Volunteer Week, it’s amazing to think of all the ways we can serve our community. Volunteering is one essential opportunity in a gigantic menu of possible ways to make a difference. We can take on public service positions, or operate community-friendly businesses, or be an active voice in community decision making – or simply be a good neighbor. Whatever we choose, we should feel good knowing we’re actively involved in making the world around us better.

At Craigslist Foundation, we’ve been thinking about all these different flavors of service, specifically whether people are finding out about all the great local projects happening across the country.

The result is LikeMinded, a project we’re launching today to help stories of great community projects get told. LikeMinded aims to help these stories travel far and wide so we can inspire one another into action.

The premise is this: if you do something for your community, and if I share a similar concern in my community, I should hear about what you’ve done. I should be able to build off your work instead of starting from scratch.

We would love to hear your stories. If you’ve done something cool for your community, share it on LikeMinded so others can know about it.

Seeing problems in your neighborhood and not sure where to start? Chances are, someone has had a similar experience and created a solution. We’d love to connect you to that solution.

A great way to get started on LikeMinded is through one of our short video tours or by checking out some of the great HandsOn stories shared already.

Give it a try and let us know how LikeMinded can best serve you.

You can also get our latest updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Arthur Coddington leads LikeMinded at Craigslist Foundation. He is currently in service as an advisor to photography org Open Show and is also current world champion in a sport called Freestyle Frisbee.

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Four Benefits of Employee Volunteer Programs

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Yesterday, the Points of Light Blog looked at emerging trends in the workplace and their potential impact on the amount of time people can volunteer.

The outlook looks positive. With businesses starting to move towards a decentralized office and workers working from their homes on flexible schedules, more time can be made available for workers to spend with their families and in their communities.

The move to a decentralized work place will require traditional employee volunteer programs to adapt to new working conditions. Employee volunteer programs will have to adapt to the 21st century volunteer who gives not only of their time and talent, but lends their voice and dollars to the causes they believe in.

While community volunteering will likely remain an important part of employee volunteer programs, payroll giving programs and fundraising opportunities should become part of a business’ social responsibility planning.

Businesses with robust employee volunteer programs gain more than just a boost to their public relations. A strong employee volunteer program can make a company develop employee skills, develop customer loyalty, improve relationships with the community, and spur innovation and creativity.

When a company invests in a community through its employee volunteer program, employees gain access to new networks and perspectives that help them keep in touch with rapid social change. The company can gain insight into new market needs, explore different ways of working and encourage employees to use their initiative and foster inter-departmental cohesion by enabling new teams to work together and create a sense of common purpose.

The public expects companies to give back to their communities, and often has a negative view of companies that don’t actively support the communities around them. In the long run, community investment helps build community capacity, creating a stable, sustainable and healthy local community that will often supply a large proportion of the company’s employees and customers.

As the price and quality of products and services become increasingly standardized across many industries, community investment can help to differentiate a company from its competitors and make for more loyal customers. Consumers are increasingly using their dollars to support causes, not only through direct donations, but by purchasing products from companies that support causes that they are passionate about.

Many employee volunteer programs can help to increase employees’ skills. Volunteering and other forms of employee involvement can help to develop a variety of competencies, including teamwork, planning, communication, project management, problem solving, budgeting, listening skills and customer focus. Volunteering can challenge employees by taking them outside the confines of their usual 9-5 job, encourage innovation and creativity, promote respect for difference and affirm their personal contribution and confidence.

 

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Tips For Community Engagement in Rural and Urban Communities

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

On March 23, the Points of Light Blog asked questions about what makes a group of people a community and what is it about a community of people that makes them successful as a group of volunteers?

We’ve talked about technology communities and how communities can support individuals’ action. Today, we’re going to look at some differences between communities in rural and urban settings.

While we mentioned that with the rise of communication technology, community is no longer restricted strictly by geography, geography still plays a role in how communities come together. Rural communities can be different than urban communities simply by virtue of the type of life that happens in them. If you’re approaching members of these communities about volunteer opportunities, here are some thing to keep in mind:

Rural Communities

  • Take it slow and easy; don’t barge right in. Take the time to get to know the community and its members.
  • Find someone who can introduce you to other community members, you’ll get farther with their help than you will on your own.
  • Community meetings and one-on-one asks can be effective methods for recruiting volunteers.

Urban Communities

  • Make sure staff have worked with the community or have taken the time to get to know the community.
  • Focus on direct messages-don’t run around the subject.
  • Use the internet, email, and other forms of outreach together

There are tips that work in urban and rural communities when it comes to engaging a community. They include:

  • Knowing your objectives and your time frame for action.
  • Getting to know the community before reaching out to them.
  • Know who the influential members and opinion leaders are for the community.
  • Listen to the community members.
  • Be flexible and able to adjust your ask on the fly.

Ultimately, whether you’re approaching an urban or a rural community, they’ll want to know what’s in it for them. Why should they support your feral cat TNR program? What’s so great about a youth mentoring program? Why should they take part of their free time and spend it collecting canned goods? Being able to answer the “what’s in it for us?” question is probably the most important part of approaching different communities for volunteers.

Have you had to recruit volunteers from different communities? Did you have to adjust your approach because of it? What did you learn from doing outreach to different communities? Let us know in the comments!

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Stand Up to Save Service

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Today’s post comes from Whitney Soenksen, External Relations Manager for AmeriCorps Alums

Early on Saturday, February 19th, the US House passed HR 1, a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of 2011.

In an attempt to reduce the national debt, cuts to many federally funded program are proposed in this bill, including funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The bill proposes a complete defunding of the Corporation for National and Community service, which engages more than five million Americans in service through AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, Senior Corps, and United We Serve—a nationwide service initiative that helps meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn.

When Caleb Jonas, an AmeriCorps Alum, heard about the legislation, he looked back on his year of service and decided that something needed to be done.

Caleb started the Save AmeriCorps Petition and the Stand for AmeriCorps campaign which became the official campaign for AmeriCorps Alums.

Caleb’s experience volunteering started long before his AmeriCorps service term.  In high school he spent his summers working as a teacher and tutor for low-income students.  In college he volunteered on political campaigns, but couldn’t see how his work there helped create positive change in the lives of the neediest families in his community.

After graduating, he joined AmeriCorps*VISTA and built a city-wide partnership of tutoring programs in Saint Paul.  Because of his work, students in Saint Paul received more effective and better targeted support for their work, and were made stronger connections to what they were learning.

If the Corporation for National and Public Service is defunded, then thousands of programs across the country that work with people who need support the most will lose the AmeriCorps members, people just like Caleb, that help them to thrive.

What can you do to help support AmeriCorps?

Sign the Save AmeriCorps Petition and lend your voice to support national service.

Join the Stand for AmeriCorps campaign and share your story of service as an example for why AmeriCorps programs need to continue getting things done for America.

Call your Senators to let them know that you support AmeriCorps and national service.  You can find your Senators’ contact information at Congress.org.

Show up for a District Day event through saveservice.org.  On February 25, supporters of service around the country will be visiting their Congressmen’s district offices to show their support for national service.  You can find your Congressmen’s district office here.

Thanks for your support of national service programs!

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