Posts Tagged ‘Education’

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8 Great Lessons for Teaching Kids about Philanthropy

Friday, June 11th, 2010

One way to empower young people to make a difference in their school, their community and their world is to teach them about giving.

Learning to Give offers lesson plans, activities and resources to educate youth about the power of philanthropy — sharing time, talent, and treasure.

You can use these ideas yourself, or talk to your child’s teacher about incorporating them into next fall’s lesson plan.

1. Traditions
Grades 3-5
Students will learn the vocabulary of philanthropy, use literature to discover acts of philanthropy in the making of quilts, and participate in their own quilting bee.

2. Earth Connections
Grade 3-5
Students will expand their awareness of the earth through the study of some traditional Native American beliefs about the concept of “Mother Earth.”

3. Global Garbage
Grades 6-8
This unit is designed to promote an understanding of the adverse effects of the careless actions of people.

4. Environmental Groups and the Three Economic Sectors
Grades 9-12
Students will learn about the three economic sectors: profit, nonprofit, and government.

5. Watch Me Grow!
Grades K-2
The purpose is for students to see the interconnectedness of nature and its importance in their lives

6. Building a Mini-Park and Bird Sanctuary
Grades 3-5
Students will take an active role and gain pride in adding beauty to their surroundings.

7. The Four R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, RESPECT!
Grades K-2
Through four quick and easy lessons, this unit emphasizes the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling with a particular focus on the significance of respecting our environment.

8. Pitch In! – A Philanthropic Puppet Project
Grades 3-5
Students will study philanthropists and environmentalists through literature and research environmental issues.

Learning to Give units and lessons tie together service and learning, core academics, and real world learning.

These eight ideas are a small sample of more than 1,200 Learning to Give lessons correlated to state academic standards, that link learning and service.

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Posted in Education, Equip, Get HandsOn, Inspire, News & Links, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteerism | 2 Comments »

Our Voice, Our Country

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

By Jon Mann

If you are reading this blog, you are probably volunteering and working for a cause that addresses an urgent problem America faces today.

I’ve got a question for you…

If there were a way to bring Americans together everywhere, to present and choose a plan the majority believed would help solve a problem, would you want to know about it?

Here you go!

Our Voice Our Country is a new education-based, national website that engages the public in determining priority issues and achievable solutions.

The site combines relevant history, ethical decision making and free-flowing discussion which leaves you feeling as if your time has been well spent.

This website puts the ability to help solve America’s most urgent problems at your fingertips and I really think you would enjoy discovering it. And there’s a great way to do just that!

At the upcoming National Conference on Volunteering and Service,   Jon Mann (that’s me, I’m the founder/director) and Brian Nickerson Ph D (An Iona College Dean) will present a very interactive and useful workshop that introduces the site and engages attendees in hands-on use of its tools.

We’re scheduled to present on June 29th at 4:30 p.m.

Our workshop is called “Our Voice Our Country.org — Where Every Cause Can Make Their Case To The Nation,” and we’d love to meet you there!

If you can, please remember to bring a web-ready mobile phone or laptop. Its not required, but we’ll be doing some online inputting during the session, so having one would really help!

We’ve designed a workshop in which you can help clarify:

  • what the majority believe to be America’s three most urgent national problems; and
  • at least one expert in a relevant field with an achievable solution for each national problem.

You”ll also get a solid understanding of what Our Voice Our Country is, and how any cause or individual can tap into the power of this unfiltered, non-partisan system for positive change!

Ok, now that you know what this is about, I’d love it if you’d register today, while seats are still available!

Hope to see you then — or sooner!

Our Voice Our Country has had over 170,000 visitors since going online last year, and is now conducting its third National Scholarship Competition. This Competition is for college-bound high school seniors. By participating, these new voters are clarifying their priority issues, considering solutions and finding where others stand — all of which prepare students to make wise decisions when voting.

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Special Needs Youth Gain Job Skills through Volunteerism

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

by Barbara Blalock

Over the past year I have had the privilege of working with local High School students enrolled in a Job Skills program and this partnership has proven to be a win-win experience for everyone involved.

Every semester three to four students have volunteered in support of  my organization, Treasures 4 Teachers, to volunteer their time.

The student volunteers have a variety of special needs but that certainly didn’t keep them from making a difference!

When the students arrived they were always excited and eager to get to work.

I always let them know how important their service was and what a difference it made for teachers and students in the classrooms we serve.

Over the past year the students that have volunteered have completed the following tasks:

  • Sorting cards that come in all mixed up
  • Making bookmarks from the cards
  • Sorting black and white tile pieces
  • Making games from the tile pieces
  • Stocking the shelves
  • Cutting foam into shapes
  • Folding letters
  • Stuffing envelopes
  • Helping test kits that were being developed for classroom use

Some of the job skills the student volunteers worked on with us are simple, but still important.

Some of the skills the students learned from the experience included:

  • Completing an application
  • Touring the facility and meeting other volunteers
  • Signing in and out each day
  • Taking appropriate breaks
  • Organization skills
  • Completing tasks
  • Following directions
  • Communicating with each other
  • Team building

Without this program these students might never have had the opportunity to learn these skills.

At the end of the school year the students proudly presented me with a handmade card signed by each of them telling me how much they appreciated the opportunity of volunteering and all that they learned.

Needless to say, I had tears in my eyes and warmth in my heart.

I want to encourage other non-profit organizations and volunteer managers to try and find ways to engage young volunteers with special needs in volunteer programs.

It has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience for me.

About the Author
Barbara Blalock is the Executive Director and Founder of Treasures 4 Teachers, Inc. a non-profit organization in Tempe, Arizona that provides vital materials to educators and students through proactive, environmentally-friendly programs. Treasures 4 Teachers seeks out and collects unwanted, but reusable materials and turns these materials into usable classroom resources.

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Posted in Cultural Differences, Equip, Inspire, Mobilize, Service, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Change Notes: AmeriCorps Week 2010

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Friends,

National AmeriCorps Week, which ended last Saturday, was an incredible time of service, celebration, bonding, and impact for AmeriCorps Alumni across the country. Points of Light supports and leads AmeriCorps Alums in our portfolio of programs to inspire, equip, and mobilize citizens to create change. More than 36,000 active AmeriCorps alumni engage through 100 chapters nationwide. Thousands of them participated in projects on land and in cyberspace, highlighting the effect that national service has had on their lives and on their communities.

Here are a few highlights:

Planned projects in Nashville, TN., were literally washed out by the flood, so AmeriCorps members and alums waded in to help with the recovery efforts. Austin, TX., accomplished 12 events in six days, including a “Walk for Change” to the Capitol, a flash mob, and Conan O’Brien as a guest speaker!

Portland, ME., one of the newest AmeriCorps Alum chapters, built a nature trail, while Portland, OR., restored river banks, including building 300 feet of split rail fence. Washington D.C. held an AmeriCorps night at the Nationals MLB game, cleared neighborhoods of debris left by record snowfalls this past winter, and held a “speed networking for good”.

The Philadelphia chapter kicked off the week with a large rally with the mayor at city hall, and Chicago organized service projects in community gardens to mobilize community members, no matter their age or abilities. Detroit showcased the power of AmeriCorps to impact the entire city, with mural painting, a free carnival, 40 blocks of neighborhood cleanup, playground rehabs, and rummage giveaways. The Sacramento chapter made Congresswoman Doris Matsui an honorary AmeriCorps member for a day to highlight its work.


Since 1994, more than half a million members have given more than 770 million hours of service, and that total counts just the years they were in the program. From service on MLK Jr. Day to creating more than 3,000 Disney Give A Day Get A Day projects, AmeriCorps Alums are actively engaged year ’round. The ideal of AmeriCorps is the lifetime engagement of national service alumni as a transformational force for change in America’s communities, from youth through old age, and AmeriCorps Week highlights the impact of that ideal.

This past weekend, I had the honor of addressing the graduating class of Wesleyan College in Macon, GA. Service to the community has been an integral part of the Wesleyan experience since the college’s founding in 1836. Two-thirds of Wesleyanstudents are involved in community service and, since 2002, its Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service has helped ensure that service learning is a major part of the school’s environment. To read my thoughts to these graduates about their power to change the world through service, please click here.

As students and AmeriCorps members graduate this spring and become alumni, they enter a world of extraordinary need. They also embody a new generation of citizenship and a passionate commitment to service. It is exciting to imagine the possibilities that they will bring to the critical national and international needs and priorities of our time.

Yours in Service,

Michelle Nunn

CEO, Points of Light Institute

Co-Founder, HandsOn Network

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A Youthful Passion for Change

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

“A youthful passion for change is afoot in America” shares writer, Kari Henley, in the article Finding Inspiration In Our Youth: The ‘Lost Generation’ Takes a Stand.

Today, on Global Youth Service Day, I celebrate and commend the youth making positive change in their communities and mobilizing others to meet community needs through service.

We recently celebrated the announcement of 10 University of Phoenix Volunteer Leader Honorees who motivate others and are true catalysts for change in their communities.

One honoree, 18-year-old Sejal Hathi, inspired me for her demonstration of leadership, vision, creativity and generosity at a young age.  She is on a mission to empower girls.

When she was 15, Sejal was diagnosed with anorexia.  She was shocked and in denial.

In the aftermath of recovery, she realized that thousands of girls who suffer do not have confidence in their power as individuals.  She made it her lifelong mission to empower them.

Sejal founded Girls Helping Girls (GHG), an international nonprofit organization that partners girls in the United States with girls in schools and community organizations in developing countries.

The girls jointly identify problems in their communities and develop programs to create positive change.  GHG channels the power harvested from the girls’ collaborative service projects to eradicate poverty, increase access to education, improve health, and – most important – promote peace.

Today, GHG volunteers have trained more than 5,000 girls to launch their own social-change projects. The girls are from more than 15 different countries.

The volunteers have also raised nearly $40,000 to provide basic necessities, educational opportunities and social-change workshops to hundreds of deserving but impoverished girls around the world.

When increasing numbers of girls began to approach Sejal asking how they could create programs of their own, she saw the need to connect this growing network of young changemakers. She decided to amplify GHG into a larger movement by founding The Sisters 4 Peace Network, a social-change forum that provides one-on-one mentorship and resources to girls aspiring to create change.

Sejal believes that every girl “has something deep, tangible, and worthwhile to offer” and that we can help even the most destitute recognize their own power and ability by educating them about their condition, making them aware of their potential, highlighting the example of others, and offering training and tools to help them redefine their future.

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Who Will Be The Mayor of The LEAD Summit?

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Because we’ll be exploring ways to use social media for social good at the LEAD Summit in Washington, D.C. next week, we thought we’d experiment and have a little fun with foursquare during the event.

We’re curious about how foursquare might be used to mobilize people to take action, but since many of us still aren’t using this mobile application, we thought the LEAD Summit might be a good excuse to download it and give it a try.

LEAD Summit participants can “check in” at the event and compete to become The Mayor.

I realize that technically the LEAD Summit is an event, but we’ve entered it in foursquare as a place.

[Because this is an experiment.]

I also understand that Mayoral status is awarded to the person who “checks in” at a foursquare location most frequently and this might mean that those interested in becoming The Mayor of LEAD will have to cheat by repeatedly checking in.

[Did I mention this was an experiment?]

This will probably mean that participants vying to be The Mayor will be bent over their smart phones checking in over and over again and not paying attention to the speaker…

[I know, I know,  there are a few sticky places in this experiment.  It's a leap of faith.]

Twice during the summit, we’ll call out the reigning Mayor and, each time, he or she will receive a $100 gift card from DonorsChoose.org.

DonorsChoose allows you to select a worthy education related project to which you can donate the full value of the card.

[These make excellent gifts you know. Just sayin'.]

If you’re planning to join us at the LEAD Summit in DC next week, I hope you’ll play along on this one.

May you become The Mayor of the Lead Summit!

More information on DonorsChoose.org

Founded in 2000, DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit Web site where public school teachers describe specific educational projects for their students, and donors can choose the projects they want to support.

After completing a project, the donor hears back from the classroom they supported in the form of photographs and teacher thank-you letters. To date, 88,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to secure funding for $30.3 million in books, art supplies, technology, and other resources that their students need to learn.

Through DonorsChoose.org, individuals from all walks of life have helped 1.8 million students.

Follow them on Twitter and Facebook and read their blog!



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Posted in Inspire, News & Links, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 4 Comments »

Service Learning, It’s Not Just for Kids!

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Usually service-learning refers to volunteerism used as a tool to enhance the teaching of K-12 curriculum.

At HandsOn Network, we also use the words to describe the way that service experiences change people,  even adults.

Service is a journey, right?

Each of us is transformed by the experience of giving.

Sometimes this happens quickly in cataclysmic ways, and other times it happens slowly, over time, like a rock being smoothed in a river.

Being an impatient person, I always want things to happen quickly.

[And efficiently because I am a Virgo, but that is another story.]

It is a tremendous privilege to help facilitate the awakening that happens for people as they get involved in serving others.

Here are a few easy ways to sprinkle a few transformation accelerators into your community project.

Posters: place posters above each project task area with a quote and/or a comment relating to the work volunteers are doing.

Graffiti wall: place a large piece of paper on the wall and ask volunteers to write or draw something representing service or their experience at the project.

Think Tank: Challenge volunteers to act as a “think tank” to address specific challenges the organization or nonprofit faces.

Discussion groups: if time and space permits, facilitate a discussion with your volunteers at the end of the community project – maybe at a nearby restaurant!

Discussion Overview

  • Ask volunteers the “WHAT” question, i.e. What happened today?
  • Ask volunteers the “SO WHAT” question. i.e. What are the consequences of the day’s actions?
  • Ask how the group’s contribution of time does (or doesn’t) address the central need or core issue (i.e. poverty, education, homelessness, etc.)
  • Ask volunteers the “NOW WHAT” question. i.e. What can we do next to generate more impact?
  • Encourage participants to share their experience with others.  Friends, co-workers, and family members will be inspired to get involved.

Tips for Getting a Conversation Going

  • Introduce yourself and establish your role as facilitator.
  • Explain the purpose and structure of the conversation.
  • Ask open ended questions. Be sure participants have to give you more than a one-word answer.
  • If one participant dominates the conversation, take a comment they make, turn it into a question and ask another quieter participant to respond.
  • Make eye contact with the participants and listen to their answers.
  • Relax and let the conversation flow. Don’t feel to pressured to keep the structure rigid.
  • If  the conversation gets off track but you think the comments are useful then let the conversation continue in that way. Don’t feel pressured to stick to a script or plan. That said, if the comments aren’t useful, then use some portion of the comments to get back to your original questions and purpose.
  • Give the participants something to think about, the conversation doesn’t have to end that day.
  • Thank everyone for participating

Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

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Posted in Equip, Get HandsOn, Inspire, Service, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Project Development, Volunteer Reflection, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

House Hunting in Haiti

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Today’s post comes from Haiti where Brian Leftwich, a staff person at HandsOn Network, is currently volunteering.

I went house hunting in Haiti yesterday with my new colleague Junior.

We began our quest around 9:00 to find a potential house to run a volunteer center out of.

My company, HandsOn Network, has been gracious enough to pay for me to stay an additional 10 days, and I am stoked on networking with all the people making a difference here.

One hour later, we picked up our “real estate” agent on a corner in the market.

He had a killer 8 bedroom for rent and wanted to take us to see it.

We made it back to his office to find out it was no longer available.

Thirty minutes later we met a Canadian Haitian at the office, who had a house for rent.

His car broke down at the office so he hopped in with us.

The starting price for an 8 bedroom, 3 bath, unfinished house on a hill was $9,000 a month.

In my search I have found out that Haitians love to put bathrooms under the stairs.

The door starts at 6’, but the toilet is around the 4’ mark with a sloping ceiling.

A bathroom for hobbits I suppose.

I looked at four other homes that day, with two additional agents in various parts of town and in various conditions.

The agents never left the car, we would just put them in back of our two door Tracker.

Junior, my translator, had diarrhea the whole time, so every house went to, he “checked” the functionality of the toilets.

Our last house was unscheduled as we were flagged down by a guy on the corner who said he had a house for rent.

It was perfect, if you are into pit bulls, stolen aid gear, 6 shirtless dudes pumping iron, some weed, 2 BMW’s and a Foosball table.

I guess protection would not be an issue.

The day ended well with a meeting at US AID.

I realized quickly that things move slower in Haiti and it comes down to who you know.

Junior, my guide and translator, had actually grown up with the man we were meeting.

“It’s a small island after all, it’s a small, small island…”

They were working with street youth and teaching them trades.

One of their inventions was a 20 oz soda bottle LED flashlight/desk lamp. Solar rechargeable and unbreakable.

They were also recycling paper into biscuits that would heat stoves.

PVC pipe, paper, and a floor jack was all they needed.

Haitians are some of the most innovative people I have ever met.

ReCycle/ReUse is a necessity, not a cliché saying on a grocery bag in Boulder.

We ended the day at Le Delicas, the local hamburger shack.

As Junior and I munched on fries and burgers, it seemed like a normal day in Haiti.

We could still here the UN trucks roll past, but in this brief moment, all was well in the world.

Haiti is home to wonderfully gracious people.

At times I feel awkward at how accommodating they are to me.

Meals, laundry, and such, as if my comfort was of the utmost importance to them.

It always seems those with the least, give the most.

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Michelle Nunn – Stories from the Road

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Recently, Michelle participated in the Gulf South Summit at the University of Georgia.

While there, she learned about the Stop Sex Trafficking Project (STOP) and later told us about it.

STOP is an initiative that grew out of a required first year course at Mercer University called “Engaging the World.”

Class participants studied Judeo-Christian ideas of ethics and justice and read authors such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr., and Abraham Heschel.

The students also read from the Bible and found resonance with the call to “loose the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, and let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58:6); and to Matthew 25:40,  “Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”

Their readings led them to view their own community through new eyes and to talk about the injustices they saw.

Exploring the issues of poverty, education, and race, they noticed the excessive number of billboards on the nearby interstate advertising for massage parlors.

After extensive research, they discovered the voiceless women and children who, lured by fraud, deception, and coercion, were enslaved as prostitutes in their home town of  Macon, Georgia.

The students wrote essays, pamphlets and blog posts about the injustice and soon realized that their efforts were larger than a class project. Real women were suffering.

The Mercer students believed they could help.

Their movement quickly grew to include additional students and, ultimately, their efforts enabled the release of six women who had previously been enslaved.

Theirs is a powerful and inspiring story.

When people believe they can make a difference, they do.

After hearing about these students, I found myself thinking about their professor.

How might each of us inspire a similar confidence in the young people we influence?

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