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Volunteer to help a recent college grad!

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

With the plethora of graduation ceremonies I’ve attended recently, I began to think about how myself and others can hopefully help college graduates find jobs. I’ve compiled a list of five ways you or someone you know can volunteer your time to help recent graduates secure employment.

  1. Mentor a graduate student. Mentoring a college grad can include suggesting job openings, submitting a resume to someone in your organization with a job opening that your mentee may be interested in, reviewing and editing a resume, or simply providing encouragement. While college grads are excited about their recent accomplishment, the quest for employment can be daunting. Encouragement from a mentor can mean a lot to someone who has loss motivation and hope while searching a job. 
  2. Review and Edit Resume. While, there is no right or wrong way to write a resume, a college grad may need some assistance with adding their newly acquired education, formatting their resume, or help with the content for their qualifications and responsibilities of past jobs and activities.
  3. See a job opening? Since you’re mentoring an awesome college grad, they’re always on your mind. So, if you happen to come across a job posting that is applicable to your mentee, send it to them, whether it’s an email, pigeon, or the actual mail, get the word out to him or her. They may not have seen the posting or felt unqualified for the position. Additionally, remind them to keep their options open and to not discount jobs that may appear unqualified for.
  4. Help with the Cover Letter. Since, the cover letter is just as or maybe even more important as the resume; your awesome college student will be hopefully waving you down with all flags and flashing lights seeking your help with their cover letter. So, here’s what you can do: Set up a meeting or make edits with additional suggestions for their cover letter; provide cover letter samples.
  5. Advise your mentee to volunteer! Volunteerism is an excellent addition to a student’s resume. Since a college grad may lack work experience, they can make up for it with volunteering. We’re HandsOn Network are (surprise!) strong advocates for volunteering. And as a mentor, you can join them! Volunteering can be a rewarding experience for both you and your mentor, and an edition you can also make to your resume ;-)

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Posted in Economy, Education, Family Volunteering, Service | 7 Comments »

3 Ways to Use Your March Madness Bounty for Good!

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

Now that March Madness is over and the national championship has been decided, it’s time to celebrate all of the amazing things that are happening in April!

We at HandsOn Network are challenging you to give your March Madness bracket bounty to charities
April is National Volunteer Month, which means it’s a great time to honor the amazing service that volunteers have done in your community. One way to celebrate the awesomeness of volunteers is by sharing their story via  the Points of Light Facebook tab! Simply, go to , click on the National Volunteer Week tab (located below our cover photo), complete the form. This should take up too much time of your day, but hey we’re sure that volunteer is well worth your time! that promote awesome causes, recognize volunteers during National Volunteer Week, share a story to win an Alaskan cruise, and just be awesome!

  1. Give your March Madness bracket bounty to a great cause! Every parent knows that a hungry child is a disadvantaged child. He can’t grow, develop and learn like other kids. She has trouble focusing and getting along. They complain often of headaches, stomachaches and other ailments. They fall behind in virtually every way. It doesn’t have to be this way. Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® strategy provides that access to families all across the nation, so that every child, regardless of circumstances, can get the healthy food they need to thrive. Help the fight against child hunger by donating to Share Our Strength.
  2. Host a bake sale! In addition to donating money to Share Our Strength’s mission to end child hunger, you can also participate in the Great American Bake Sale and help a youth host a bake sale or host your own! The Great American Bake Sale happens all across the country, all year long. Awesome youth and caring adults sign up to hold bake sales and send their profits to Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength uses that money to end childhood hunger. You can schedule your bake sale whenever you want, but the National Challenge is April 20-22. It would be sweet if your bake sale won! The first 300 bake sale hosts to submit $275 or more from bake sales held on National Challenge Weekend will receive a Jay at Play’s Little Miss Muffin Pop N Flip™ toy!

Whether you’re donating your money to an awesome organization or celebrating volunteers, we are grateful for all of the philanthropic contributions and hope that you have fun celebrating all of the great generous service of those around you!

 

 

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Posted in Economy, Family Volunteering, Fundraising & Development, Kids, Volunteerism | No Comments »

5 Reasons you should support your local farmers

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

I don’t know about you but fresh locally grown food sounds super delicious and refreshing! The “local food” movement is characterized by citizens obtaining food from farmers in their local communities

Many Americans are accustomed to eating FDA-approved produce from across the globe, all year.  However, there is growing concern within the food industry that the rising costs of energy for transportation, unfair labor practices, and the negative impact of chemicals used to boost food production are becoming increasingly unsustainable.  One way that environmentally- and socially-conscious eaters are addressing these concerns is eating local produce or by becoming a “locavore.”

  1.  Buy from your local farmers’ market: Buying from your local farmers’ markets means that your food could costs less as a result of the farmers’ market buying locally or receiving direct shipments of fresh food without costly warehousing and distribution delays. The consumer ultimately receives the highest quality and largest variety of fresh and organic food products currently available.
  2. Locally grown fruits and vegetables have longer to ripen. Because the produce will be handled less, locally grown fruit does not have to be “rugged” or to stand up to the rigors of shipping.  This means that you are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them, figs that would have been smashed to bits if they were sold using traditional methods, and melons that were allowed to ripen until the last possible minute on the vine. Mmmmm, how yummy?
  3. Buying food locally supports local farmers! Why not support a local small business? When you buy local, you give those with local open space – farms and pastures – an economic reason to stay open. This keeps money in your community which stimulates your community’s economy. Since money remains in your community, your community becomes more desirable to potential residents and businesses.
  4.  Visiting a farm. Find a farm in your area and call to make an appointment to see the farm. The farmers are usually happy to show a family or a group around the farm. When you visit, ask the farmers what challenges they have had and why they choose to grow what they are growing. Be sure to take the kids along on this journey! This allows for great family bonding time and an awesome opportunity to learn about the hard work farmers put in to produce your food.
  5. Locally grown produce is fresher.  While produce that is purchased in the supermarket or a big-box store has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, produce that you purchase at your local farmer’s market has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase.  This freshness not only improves the taste of your food, but also improves the nutritional value which declines over time.

Purchasing local foods is beneficial to you, local businesses, your family, the environment, and of course your taste buds! (I’m already the deliciousness of a locally grown juicy tomato) Tell us how you and your family plan on participating in the local food movement in the comments!

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Posted in Economy, Environment, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Happy Hunger Games!

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Happy Hunger Games!!! This Friday is so special that it deserves a holiday!…hmm want to know what’s so special about this particular Friday? Well, today is the opening day for “The Hunger Games!” However, while you’re heading out to watch to watch “The Hunger Games” remember there are still people in this world who lack adequate nutrition or do not have access to food.

Here are ten facts about hunger to consider and inspire you to fight hunger in your community:

  1. For 1 in 6 people in the United States, hunger is a reality. Right now, millions of Americans are struggling with hunger.  These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days.
  2. Suburban poverty appears to have distinct regional patterns. Fourteen of the fifteen suburbs with the highest poverty rates in 2000 were located in the Southern or Western regions of the country. 
  3. Female-headed households were more than twice as likely to be among the working poor as male-headed households in 2008.
  4. Among families with at least one member working at least half a year, families with children were 4 times more likely than families without children to live in poverty in 2008.
  5. One in five kids in America struggles with hunger. Kids who struggle with hunger have a hard time learning in school and don’t get the nutrition they need to grow up strong and healthy.
  6. According to the USDA, over 16 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2010.
  7. 20% or more of the child population in 40 states and D.C. lived in food insecure households in 2009. The District of Columbia (32.3%) and Oregon (29.2%) had the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food.
  8. In 2009, the top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, & Texas. iii
  9. In 2009, the top five states with the lowest rate of food insecure children under 18 are North Dakota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maryland, & Massachusetts. iii
  10. Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children. 62 percent of client households with children under the age of 18 reported participating in the National School Lunch Program, but only 14 percent reported having a child participate in a summer feeding program that provides free food when school is out.

Additionally, our affiliate GenerationOn, is hosting “The Great American Bake Sale” in which awesome youth and caring adults sign up to hold bake sales and send their profits to Share Our Strength. Share Our Strength will use the proceeds to end childhood hunger.

May the odds be in your favor, volunteer as Tribute and watch this video!

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Posted in Economy, Events, Family Volunteering, Kids, Volunteering | No Comments »

10 Ways to Fight Poverty in America

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

January is awesome! Why is January awesome?! Because January is Poverty in America Awareness Month. While poverty has plagued our society for decades, attention should be given to the poverty rate increase from 13.2% in 2008 to 14.3% in 2009-the biggest statistical increase since 2004. Similarly, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, between 2000 and 2008, the number of poor Americans grew by more than nine million. Now that you have been inspired to fight poverty in America, we have ten ways to fight poverty in your community and throughout America:

  1. Support a local or family-owned business. Small businesses keep communities together, while also pumping money back into the community and ultimately fighting poverty. These small businesses also often have interesting or unique items, which is always a bonus. 
  2. Plan a vacation around a learning or helping experience. Vacations are always fun; however, consider the communities around your vacation destination and the potential poverty within those neighborhoods. Take a few hours out of your day while you’re on vacation and volunteer.
  3. Donate to your local food bank. Hunger is a year-round issue, and forces people to choose between food and other expenses.
  4. Shop for good. Choose stores or services that support local groups. Buy local, it can be better for your health and wallet.
  5. Organize a food drive in your community. A food drive will provide a family food, while also bringing your community together and hopefully motivate other community to do more to fight poverty.
  6. Do a fundraiser! Plan a walk-a-thon, yard sale, lemonade stand, or benefit concert to raise money for a local organization. Why not have fun with your fundraiser while supporting a good cause?! These activities will surely be exciting and worthwhile!
  7. Research! Become aware of local policies and programs that affect low-income families. Find out where poverty is focused in your city, how widespread the poverty stricken areas are, and how you can help. 
  8. Share your research! Voice your concern and tell your community members that it’s Poverty in America Awareness Month so that they are also inspired to improve the community or will spread the word about this awesome month.
  9. Always show respect to people working at minimum wage. Be courteous and respectful of their efforts or just greet them with a simple smile. You never know how much a smile can improve their day.
  10. Use public transportation whenever possible. Your support helps to insure that public transportation remains available for us all.

We hope these tips have inspired you to support Poverty in America Awareness Month! Tell us what other community service activities you plan on doing to commemorate Poverty in America Awareness Month.

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Posted in Economy, Environment, Equip, Family Volunteering, Impact, Inspire | No Comments »

Serve for a Cause

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Anyone can be great because everybody can serve.” It can be easy for a volunteer to question the difference they can make. What can really change in an afternoon of volunteering? A lot.posed girl on ladder paints

Points of Light’s MLK Day of Service is just one example of how the community can change in one afternoon. On Monday, January 16th thousands of volunteers of all ages, races, ethnicity, religion and gender will band together to make one movement that will leave a huge impact on our nation. This year we have approximately 300 service projects that will cover a wide range of impact areas such as environment, education, homelessness and hunger, and disaster relief efforts.

US Poverty Rate ChartWith the declining economy and 46.2 million people living in poverty in the United States (according to the US Census Bureau, the need for volunteers is greater than ever. MLK Day of Service engages over 220,000 volunteers in just one day. One hour of volunteer labor is worth $21.36 in the United States (as estimated by The Independent Sector). This MLK Day of Service, volunteers will contribute approximately $14.1 million worth of service back to communities.

The impact that our volunteers will make on Monday will mean more than just money. It will mean a warm meal in an empty stomach, a more beautiful park for our children to enjoy, smiling senior citizens at a retirement home, a new home for a family that dreamed of one, a day of fun for children, and communities joining together to help one another.Martin Luther King, Jr.

That is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. meant when he said anybody can be great. It is easy to look at an afternoon of volunteering as just one afternoon, but that one afternoon could mean the world to someone in need.

How will you celebrate that contribution this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Let us know in the comments below!

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Posted in Economy, Events, Inspire, Service, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

How Much Are Your Volunteers Worth?

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

We all know volunteers are valuable, but now you can calculate exactly how much!

Although it is difficult to put a dollar amount on volunteer time, as they provide many intangible benefits; this may be as close as we get. This value is only one way to show the benefits volunteers bring to an organization.

Independent Sector estimated dollar value of volunteer time for 2010 is $21.36 per hour. The value does vary by state, as you can see below.

State Values for Volunteer Time Map

From Independent Sector

Note that 2009 is the last year for which state-by-state numbers are available. State volunteering values are one year behind the national value due to a lag in the government’s release of state level data.

Volunteering in America provides some context to these numbers with detailed information about the number of volunteers and volunteer hours per resident in the United States.Number of Volunteers Chart

As you can tell, volunteering in America has reached the level of a full-time job for many!

Volunteer Hours Per Resident

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, about 63.4 million Americans, or 26.8 percent of the adult population, gave 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth $169 billion in 2009.

Let your volunteers know just how priceless they are to you during this holiday season. To find ways to thank them, check out our previous articles on that very subject!

Six Tips for Recognizing Volunteers

Eight Tips for Writing the Perfect Thank You Note

Nine Basic Rules for Volunteer Recognition

UPDATE: Today’s post has been updated since it was published. Some information was incorrectly cited.

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Posted in Economy, Impact, Volunteerism | No Comments »

6 Tips for Smart Giving to Charities and Nonprofits

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

November 15 is National Philanthropy Day. It’s a day set aside to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropists have made in our lives, our communities, and the world.

Etymologically, philanthropy is the love of humanity. In a modern context, it is an individual’s private support of what they consider to be the public good and the improvement of people’s quality of life.

A lot of people think of names like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates when they think of philanthropy, but it’s important to understand that a smart gift is just as effective in supporting the public good as a large gift is. If you’re looking to support your favorite cause through a donation, here are some tips for making sure your donation can have the greatest impact:

  • Piggy bank of philanthropic giving.Include philanthropic giving in your budget. You don’t have to give away thousands of dollars for your gift to have an impact. You can do a lot of good with a smaller gift every month, or a gift once a year. Set up a budget for giving and time frame to make a donation.
  • Know what cause is closest to your heart. Your gifts can be most effective if you set a plan for giving to the cause that is most important to you. Having a set plan for giving makes it less likely that you’ll respond to pressure to give from every nonprofit that asks.
  • Do your homework. Just a little bit of research lets you know how your gift will be used. You can find out what percentage of your gift will go directly to a cause, and what percent will be used for administrative costs through the CharityWatch rating guide, or review the nonprofit on Guidestar or the Better Business Bureau.
  • Include your whole family in giving. Just like it’s never too early to get kids involved in volunteering, it’s never too early to teach kids how to support causes they think are important. Learning to Give has some great tips for teaching the importance of philanthropic giving to different age groups.
  • Be proactive in your giving. Don’t wait to be asked to make a donation. Take control of your philanthropy by researching causes, finding stable and effective charities, and by investing in making the world better now and for future generations.
  • Giving a gift is important, but knowing when to say ‘no’ is important, too. For your own sake, and for the sake of a nonprofit that might be asking you for a donation, it’s better to say ‘no’ than to say ‘maybe.’ Don’t feel bad about saying ‘no.’ You can only support a few (or maybe just one) causes. If you don’t say no, the nonprofit may continue to ask you and you’ll feel bothered, and they’ll spend time asking you instead of other potential donors.
Do you have a yearly giving plan? How did you decide how much to donate or where to donate? Let us know in the comments!

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How To: Add Your Volunteer Experience to LinkedIn

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

 

Today’s post comes from Michael Nealis, Interactive Strategy Coordinator for Points of Light Institute.

Last week,  added the ability to include your volunteer experience to your resume.

This is a great addition to LinkedIn! Millions of professionals volunteer in their communities, and it’s a real benefit to include volunteer experience on a resume whether you’re just out of school and looking for your first job or if you’ve been in the work force for a while and are looking for a new job.

Your volunteer experience on your resume gives potential employers more information about who you are and could get you recognized in the sea of candidates for a position.

Being able to include your volunteer experience lets you show what you’re passionate about, and gives you an opportunity to showcase your talents. If you’re actively searching for a job, volunteering can help show your talents to a peer group that could connect you with people that are looking for employees. You never know who you might meet when you’re volunteering.

Adding your volunteer experience to your resume and your LinkedIn profile can help you get noticed. The most successful people in the world dedicate their efforts to a cause that extends beyond themselves and employers are well aware of this. Volunteering not only provides you the opportunity to showcase your talents and experiences, but it also allows you to demonstrate compassion and commitment.

It’s easy enough to add your volunteer experience to your LinkedIn profile. First, log in to your LinkedIn account, and click on ‘Profile’:

 

Scroll down to the end of your Experience section to the Volunteer Experience & Causes section. To add your volunteer experience, click on ‘+Add a volunteer position’:

You’ll be taken to a screen that lets you add your volunteer experience, one cause or organization at a time, to your LinkedIn profile.

When you’ve finished adding your volunteer experience to your LinkedIn profile, you’ll have a better description of who you are and what you can do! this can make your profile and resume stand out above other candidates’ resumes!

Has listing your volunteer experience on your resume helped you to find a job? Let us know about it in the comments!

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Posted in Economy, Volunteerism | 7 Comments »

Volunteering is Awesome

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Today’s blog post comes from Michael Nealis, Interactive Strategy Coordinator for Points of Light Institute.

Umair Haque writes for the Harvard Business Review, and I’ve been reading his articles for the past year and trying to apply them to volunteering and nonprofit work.  He wrote a post about moving away from an innovation-based economy to an economy based in awesome.  An awesomeconomy, if you will.

But what does it mean to move from innovation to awesome?  He says innovation is a negative form of development; that innovation relies on structured obsolescence and stale ideas in flashier packaging.

Being awesome, on the other hand, is ethical.  It gives you the opportunity to create insanely great stuff.  Awesome and love—or dedication—walk hand in hand.  Awesome creates value.  Not by adding features, but by adding meaning and usefulness that makes people better off than when they didn’t have an awesome thing.

Volunteering is pretty awesome.

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a volunteering opportunity that doesn’t help to promote some kind of good.  Whether it’s working to reduce pollution, helping to end substandard housing, helping people to better understand technology, or working to help students achieve, volunteering helps to support the work of organizations that are trying to address social problems in their communities.  I think we can agree that’s a good thing.

Volunteers love the work that they do.  They’re dedicated to the causes that they support.  Sure, everyone has probably had a bad experience or two volunteering at one point or another, but we either give it another shot or move on to something that better fits our abilities and what we want to do.  I know it took me a few tries to find something I love doing, and the warm fuzzies can only get you so far—I know for sure that they’re not enough to get me shingling a roof in Atlanta in August.

Go ahead and ask a volunteer what they do.  If they don’t answer the question with where they volunteer, I bet they’ll tell you that they volunteer when they’re done telling you about what they do for their job.

Volunteers create value for the organizations that they serve with.  Each year, Independent Sector estimates the value of an hour of volunteer work.  In 2009 (the latest estimate available) an hour of volunteer time was valued at $20.85.  According to a report from the Corporation for National and Community Service, in 2010 Americans gave 8.1 billion hours of service valued at $169 billion.  That’s a lot of services that would otherwise have to be purchased.  The dollar value reflects services, but volunteers are also the best advocates for an organization and can help to recruit more volunteers to an organization.  Volunteers build value on top of value.

Volunteers can add meaning and usefulness to people’s lives.  There are a lot of nonprofits that are entirely, or nearly entirely, run by volunteers.  These organizations add meaning to the lives of the people they serve by making parts of their lives a little bit easier to deal with.  Volunteers, in general, add meaning to their lives too.

Volunteers are powerhouses of awesome.  If you don’t believe me, find a place near you to volunteer.  Spend some time building a home for someone who couldn’t purchase one on their own, help a student with their homework, code a database for a nonprofit that doesn’t have an IT department.

There are a lot of opportunities for you to find your own kind of awesome by volunteering.

How is the volunteer work you do, or support, awesome?  Let me know why you think volunteering is awesome in the comments!

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Posted in Economy, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

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