Today is a BIG day for youth service! “Why?” you ask. July 2nd is the beginning of generationOn’s summer youth service campaign, Community Action Heroes. In partnership with Hasbro, generationOn wants parents to teach their kids or teens the importance of serving their communities.
Summer is the perfect time to get kids involved in volunteerism with all the extra time they have on their hands! GenerationOn will rally thousands of youth volunteers to become active heroes within their community.
How does it work? Interested parents and youth can access the Community Action Hero app
lication through the generationOn website. Kids can choose a challenge team and project ideas. Once a pledge is made, kids can also challenge their friends to be heroes through the use of social media. Once the challenge is met, kids can share their projects through video, essays, or pictures to inspire other youth. All participants will receive a certificate of completion after the project as well!
What issues can your kid pledge to volunteer for?
- Animals: Five to seven million animals are rescued by shelters annually. Your child can help animals in the community by donating cat or dog food, bathing and playing with shelter animals, cleaning a dog park, raising money for guide dog training, creating emergency preparedness packs for pets, raising money for animal shelters, etc.
- Literacy: Although summer is a great time to catch up on a new book, many kids do not have access to reading materials in their community. Kids can make a big difference for their neighbors by writing letters to policy makers asking to make education a priority, reading to other children, holding a book drive, organizing a book fair benefit, etc.
- Health: Summer is a great time to be active outside, but unfortunately not all kids are healthy enough to play outside. Your child or teen can be a hero for sick children by making a lemonade stand, making books to make a smile, bingo at a senior home, anti-bullying posters, toy drives, etc.
- Environment: No matter your age or size, we all have the power to improve our environment. Your child or teen can learn the value of helping the environment by getting his or her household to use eco-friendly cleaner, cleaning up a park or nature walk, hosting a green thumb party, cleaning up a lake or river, starting a recycling program, etc.
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Homelessness: 770,000 homeless children are currently enrolled in United States public schools; the summer time is even harder because they do not have the safety of a
school. Your child or teen can get involved in solving this important problem by making a work of art for a shelter, making a pillow buddy, hosting a princess party to collect fairytale books, making health kits, collecting school supplies boxes, advocating for the homeless, etc.
- Hunger: Although summer is a special time for certain seasonal meal favorites, many kids do not receive their proper nutrients because they do not get school lunches in the summer. Your child or teen can be a hero for hungry children by participating in meals on wheels, making lunches, sharing extra food from their garden, hosting a fundraiser event to tackle hunger, etc.
- Military: Our military men and women volunteer their lives daily to better our country, Your child or teen can show his or her gratitude to military servicemen and veterans by making care packages, sending letters, sending them fun items to bring a smile, hosting a veterans’ dinner, interviewing and sharing a veteran’s story with the Library or Congress, etc.
- Emergency prep: Summer is a time to relax, but is also a time for many heat related disasters and emergencies. Be a hero in your community and get others prepared by providing hurricane victims with essential items, collecting smoke detector batteries, making and delivering first aid kits, raise awareness about summer emergencies, providing homeless shelters with evacuation plans, etc.
The world needs more action heroes, are you up to the challenge? We hope that your children will make the pledge to accept one of these eight hero challenges to better his or her community!
Check out generationOn, the youth volunteer enterprise of Point of Light, to learn more about the Community Action Hero Challenge.
Yikes! It’s hot outside. We are expecting record high temperatures this summer. Who wants to go outside into the heat and humidity when there is an air conditioner on the inside?
These are both great ways to volunteer without leaving the air conditioner because you not only get some cleaning done, but you can also largely help your community.
HandsOn Network is engaged in a focused field investment strategy called Innovation Hubs (iHubs), designed to dramatically accelerate the growth, effectiveness and impact of our network. Through iHubs we are engaging a cohort of our strongest, most progressive market leaders to formulate innovative approaches and pilot best-in-class initiatives with the intent of scaling the most impactful opportunities to benefit the entire network, and ultimately, the communities we serve.
more than 70,000 nonprofit partners and millions of volunteers.
s between donors, volunteers and causes. Their innovative concept is to develop an integrated service model that brings together groups of investors and creates unified teams to seed, lead, staff and support projects from concept to evaluation.
One of the more provocative iHubs projects comes to us from 
Are you a recent graduate looking for a new job? Maybe you are someone who is looking a for a new career path to develop some skills? Volunteering is the best outlet possible to do all of these things!
organization’s board or advisory council, participate in a focus group, or help write a group’s vision.
nteers is an unrealistic goal.
are able to serve again. Keep in touch with them to let them know that you care about their well-being.
mean more because they are not paid to give it.
It is important to provide inclusive projects for both your volunteers and your staff members to guarantee retention. When volunteers feel their work is both meaningful and fulfilling, they are more likely to return.
Summer vacation is here, that means it is time to volunteer! Whether you are an individual wanting to volunteer, or a family, summer is the perfect time to introduce community service into your life. Why? Summer means great weather, better moods, and less hectic schedules. It is a great time to be outside being proactive in your community or inside enjoying the air conditioner and helping your neighbors.
Individual and family volunteering makes a huge impact on the community. Employee volunteering will not only make an impact on the surrounding community, but also on the work environment. Employees who volunteer together will feel more connected to the community in which they work, and also closer to their coworkers.
volunteer program started today!
employee committee who can dedicate themselves to greater participation. Develop written policies about employee participation in service events (i.e. how many project must staff members participate in). Learn best practices of employee volunteer programs so that you may implement them into your program.
ntacting your local newspaper article. By reporting your results, the community will look more favorably at your company, and other companies may be more enthusiastic about starting a program of their own!
the comments sections below!
the project around that.
Your garden will be a great way to celebrate the month of May while improving your community’s overall well being. Gardens contribute to a better ecosystem, overall.
Although today marks the finale of National Volunteer Month, it is time to carry volunteer recognition year-round! Did you have fun recognizing your volunteers dedicated work during National Volunteer Day? Want to know how you can do this more often? Answer these 10 questions and your recognition program will come to life before your eyes!
National Volunteer Weeks is a time to “celebrate people in action!” Volunteers contribute so much everyday to the community, with little or no recognition for the work that they do. The 
It is important to show your volunteers how much your organization appreciates the work that they do. We hope that you will take a minute and recognize them for their commitment to service this week and beyond!
