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Driving Diversity and Social Inclusion in the Open Source Corteza Project
By: Niall Mccarthy
Tags: Open Source, Board Of Directors, Inclusion, Diversity, Volunteering

With a university degree in Social Science, much of my early adult life was spent debating the equalities and inequalities of life with my fellow students. Admittedly, I wasn’t the student with the most erudite or succinct points of view (and probably never will be!), but one thing became crystal clear to me: While social inclusion can be the goal, it’s often useful to think of it as a discipline and responsibility to be constantly maintained and improved. Exclusion can be structural, but inclusion can be too.

When forming the board of directors of the Corteza project, we went out of our way to ensure that the board had a majority of women. We also recruited a proud member of the LGBT community. We set the bar high, with the criteria of prior proven leadership in their field being compulsory. In the end, we achieved our goal, something which is startlingly rare in open source projects — a board of directors not dominated by men.

However, let’s face it, though it’s a step in the right direction, this is still not a 100% socially diverse board. We have more work to do with regards to casting the net wider in our recruitment efforts. As Corteza attracts wider and wider audiences we intend to profit from this exposure and fulfill our responsibility.

Next on the agenda for the Corteza project is to recruit Chairs for our outreach programmes. These are roles which determine how the overall Corteza project meshes together from a strategic perspective and include the following categories:

Humanitarian

Ecological

Health

Locali(s)(z)ation

Accessibility

Commercial

Public Sector

Educational

Identity & Privacy

Compliance

Security

Digital Economy

Once again, we intend to drive diversity of representation among the programme Chairs and, once again, we will only recruit those who have proven credentials relevant to the specific programme in question. This is a voluntary role and the “give” is one hour of your advice per month to help determine a programme strategy and keep it on track.

If you think you or someone you know might fit the description, please don’t hesitate in visiting the Corteza Project community server at https://latest.cortezaproject.org and open a conversation with me there.
Art and Theatre for Therapy and Building Connections
By: Allies In Youth Development
Tags: Theatre, Volunteering, Giving Back, Orphans, Social Work

This blog was originally published in alliesyouth.org.

Earlier in the year during Allies’ first visit to the Shovgenovskiy orphanage, a group of volunteers from Krasdnodar planned a theatrical performance entitled “Panchinello.”

The story celebrates how each person is different and has different talents, and how you don’t need to compare yourself with others. It teaches, instead, to develop your own talents.

The performance was a big hit, and was a very unique experience for the children since they don’t make it out of the orphanage much, especially visits to the theatre. What also made it unique was the volunteers invited the children to participate in the play and be an actor or actress.

The children especially loved this. They were given costumes, reading their lines, and they tried to do the actor’s process and were able to showcase their talents. Many said they never had an opportunity to act like this, and were really grateful.

The arts is an especially powerful way to reach and touch children with difficult backgrounds. Many organizations use this as a form of therapy, whether it’s painting, drawing, or in this case, acting. The ability to escape reality for a while, only to come back to and process it with fresh eyes — perhaps through the guise of characters — helps in the healing processes.

One of the day’s volunteers, Margarita, has partnered with Allies in the work with orphans. She had been giving to these orphans both financially and with her time for many years prior to meeting Allies. Margarita’s compassion led her to adopt a nine-year-old boy many years ago, and though this was not smooth-sailing in the beginning, especially with his studies, she persevered because she wanted her son to have responsibility and aspirations.

Her son has now graduated with excellent marks and is now studying at a military college to become an officer. She says she’s always happy and is very joyful participating in volunteer work because she sees the impact it makes on each and every child. Margarita continues to help Allies by bringing clothes and books, as well as spending time with the children.

Like Margarita, you can also help these children by volunteering. Check out how you can volunteer here.
Millennials lean on volunteering instead of work for fulfillment
By: Genwhy Leaders
Tags: Millennials, Self Improvement, Business, Volunteering, Podcast

Written by: Maxlyn Wilbanks, Public Relations Intern for the

GenWhy Leaders Podcast

Pictured: Becky Haddican, Senior Marketing Manager, Global Transmission at Black & Veatch

Getting out of bed and going to work every day may not always be the most exciting thought for some, even if you are successful at what you do. It can seem repetitive or exhausting if you are not finding true meaning or fulfillment in your work. Becky Haddican found her own answer to this problem, volunteering.

In episode 044 of the GenWhy Leaders Podcast, Becky discussed what she has gained from volunteering for multiple organizations, including C3KC and Lead to Read. Volunteering helped Becky to no longer put pressure in creating meaning in every part of her job. Her day job did not have to be the only thing that defined her anymore. She found that volunteering prepared her to take the next steps in her career, as she was given opportunities at an early age that she would not have received in an office setting.

Volunteering affected Becky’s personal life as well. It helped bring balance into her life. She said it gave her a sense of calmness, capability and joy that comes with being engaged. It made her more confident in all aspects, not solely at work.

For many people, volunteering is something to do in your free time to help others. However, Becky has made it a way of life. She chooses organizations that do not interfere with her work schedule, and if they do, she blocks out time on her weekend. For her, the benefits are worth the time it takes.

An article from Thrive Global describes some benefits that Becky and other volunteers might experience. The article says volunteering can help to boost self esteem as well as improve your skill set which, “helps build flexibility, a highly sought after trait in many professional environments.” Volunteering shows that you can work in a team and problem solve. There are also proven health benefits of volunteering. People who volunteer are likely to, “lead longer lives and are less prone to diseases.” Studies have even found the likelihood of dementia to be lower in volunteers.

If you are not feeling completely content in your job, a solution could be to volunteer. It is a simple act that can make a difference for everyone involved. It is just one step you can take to add on to the definition of who you are and what you do.

Links:

GenWhy Leaders Podcast website: https://genwhyleaders.com/

GenWhy Leaders Podcast episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-genwhy-leaders-podcast/id1472592172

Becky Haddican: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-haddican-17a31242

Thrive Global article: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-benefits-of-volunteering/
Anthem Foundation Continues to Take Action, Addressing Food Insecurity Issues Facing the Nation
By: Anthem Foundation
Tags: Social Determinants, Food Insecurity, News, Volunteering, Giving Back

The Anthem Foundation continues to address one of the most pressing issues affecting our nation — food insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic is not only driving food insecurity rates to record levels, it is also disproportionately impacting our most vulnerable communities and exacerbating long-standing health disparities. Building on its year-round commitment to the issue, this September in recognition of Hunger Action Month, Anthem Foundation and Anthem associates will come together during Anthem Volunteer Days, its annual season of service, to lend their time to populations facing food insecurity.

In partnership with the Lions Club International, over 50 volunteer projects have been identified for Anthem associates across the country. Following state COVID-19 safety protocols, associates will help pack food at warehouses, harvest community gardens and volunteer at food distribution events. Anthem associates are also giving back through a virtual food drive initiative in partnership with Feeding America. Using a dedicated online website, associates will purchase food products that will be delivered to food banks with the greatest need in their states.

Anthem Foundation and its nonprofit partners are helping families in need gain access to heart healthy foods. With over $16 million in grants addressing food insecurity initiatives, the Foundation is helping individuals and families within our communities during Hunger Action Month providing a moment in time where we can take action, and bring further awareness around the crisis facing our nation.

The current state of food insecurity in America amid the COVID-19 pandemic has new strains on the food relief system. According to the NIHCM foundation, 98% of food banks reported an increase in demand, 59% of food banks reported having reduced inventory, and 37% reported an immediate critical funding shortfall. Additionally, many communities are disproportionately affected by chronic health conditions — particularly Black and Latino populations — and limited access to healthy food intensifies these disparities.

Our commitment to working towards a long-term solution to ending hunger across the country continues beyond our Annual Volunteer Days. Programs and services supported by the Foundation have been instrumental in bringing hunger relief to communities and its residents such as the expansion of ‘Food is Medicine’ program with Feeding America, the Mobile Markets program in partnership with City Harvest Inc., the Community Food Retail Program in collaboration with The Food Trust, and many more. In addition, the launch of the ‘No One Runs On Empty’ campaign, in partnership with Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, has already raised more than $1.6 million with a goal to provide 10 million meals to Hoosiers facing food insecurity.

Follow the Anthem Foundation on Twitter (@AnthemFDN), or the hashtag #AnthemCares to see highlights from Anthem Volunteer Days across the country.
How business skills make an impact and Catchafire!
By: Ian Crosno
Tags: Marketing, Volunteering, Impact, Consulting, Nonprofit

How business skills make an impact and Catchafire!

Recently, I was crawling through Patagonia’s website when I stumbled upon a link about putting your talents into real action to make a positive impact. That all sounded great to me, so I clicked and discovered a whole world of matchmaking for business professionals like myself, who want to lend their unique skills to non-profits in need on a project basis.

Catchafire.org matches skilled professional volunteers with nonprofit organizations to help them with their vast needs, all done virtually. The online platform gives nonprofits access to more than 100 pre-scoped projects like creating an elevator pitch, organizing your business plan, conducting a board assessment, and making a marketing plan. The platform works by helping nonprofits post a customized project, screen volunteer candidates, and match volunteers to projects. According to their website at the time of writing this article, they’ve successfully helped 6,000 non-profits on 20,000 projects, saving an estimated $100,000,000!

In my case, having a strategy and marketing background, it was easy to find plenty of impactful and intellectually stimulating challenges that my skills could solve a hard-to-fill gap in several non-profit’s organizations. It was surprisingly easy to create a profile and start browsing the hundreds of curated projects available. Initially, it was hard to choose just one, but I wanted to test the waters and not over-extend my capacity since I was also working full-time as a management consultant.

Once I heard back and landed the gig on a marketing plan for a nationally recognized organization that needed a marketing plan for a new volunteer leadership program. We had our first call with the person leading the project who outlined the background and objectives the marketing plan needed, and we were off!

My experience was terrific, the organization was grateful for my help and I was equally honored to be able to contribute in such a way to an impactful cause. I learned a great deal about balancing the needs of all the stakeholders involved in non-profits and ultimately helping to launch an exciting program that has gone on to make a tremendous impact on local communities. Since many of us are hunkered down at home and in need of something to keep us challenged, I would recommend taking a look at the vast array of projects that may spark the excitement in you to lend a hand.

By Ian Crosno

About the author

Ian Crosno is a strategic business leader and implementation expert with hundreds of successfully completed projects during the past 20 years with roles in management consulting, multinationals, start-ups, and non-profits. Striving to lead with humility, Ian works with business leaders around the world who want to establish lasting and meaningful impact on their business, the environment, their workers, and the communities where they operate.
FHighting Hunger, Together
By: Isabelle Valentine
Tags: Food Insecurity, Public Relations, Volunteering, Communications Agency, Boston

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected all aspects of our lives. Unfortunately for some, these impacts were far more drastic than adjusting to Zoom meetings and virtual Happy Hours. With millions of Americans out of work, one of our nation’s most hidden problems has gotten exponentially worse — food insecurity.

Food insecurity is described when a household is not able to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy life. And as one of the most widespread effects of the pandemic, many people are experiencing this issue for the very first time in their lives.

Prior to the pandemic, 1 in 10 U.S. households experienced food insecurity at some point in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. During the pandemic, estimates show that food insecurity more than doubled, affecting as much as 23% of households.

Unfortunately, the problem is far greater in our home base of Massachusetts.

According to Feeding America’s food insecurity projections, Massachusetts has seen the greatest increase in food insecurity in the country due to the pandemic — a 59% increase. The problem is even worse for children, as estimates show that 1 in 5 children live in a home that is food insecure — a 117% increase from last year.

Knowing that this issue impacts our local community so much, our team at FHBoston wanted to get involved by volunteering at The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB). GBFB is the largest hunger relief organization in New England and is among the largest food banks in the country. Last year, GBFB distributed 98.8 million pounds of food to people in need. This year, with food insecurity on the rise, GBFB is committed to increasing food distribution to provide three meals a day to every person in need in Eastern Massachusetts.

To help work towards this goal, members of our FHBoston team spent three hours on a Friday afternoon volunteering at the GBFB warehouse. Together, we sorted over 5,000 pounds of donated bread and packaged it to be distributed to local food pantries.

We had an awesome time — not only giving back to our local community — but seeing each other in person for the first time in over a year! It was a great afternoon filled with teamwork, positivity, and gratitude. We’re looking forward to continuing to volunteer with The Greater Boston Food Bank in the months to come.

By working together, we’re helping to end hunger. As our GM John Isaf would say — time to get this bread!
Volunteering Insights!
By: Natural Is Beautiful
Tags: Beauty Standards, Ngo, Volunteering, Mental Health, Nonprofit

Many NGOs are creating mental health awareness, including NiB, but what makes NiB stand out is that it fights against the hyped stringent beauty standard that society has created for us…

Beauty lies within; one’s actions and behaviour towards each other define beauty more than the physical appearance; this was my reason for joining NiB.

There was an event in which I had interacted with acid attack survivors. I must say the energy and positivity they brought despite all the hardships they face daily define their true beauty.

Under the umbrella of NiB, and all that it does, helping make the world a better and inclusive place, all I want to gain at the end of this is to positively affect at least one life!

People would forget your words, but they would not forget how you made them feel. So why not make them feel good… Generously touch someones’ life and let him/her continue to spread the goodness…

Each one is beautiful in their own way; staying happy and healthy by choice is needed, but trying to fit into an unrealistic beauty standard is the kind of disrespect we show ourselves…

Just accept yourself and be your own kinda beautiful!!!
WORK AT COVID CELL
By: Fuad Saneen
Tags: Volunteering, Covid 19

As the second stage of covid-19 started people we unaware of it. By chance i’ve got an opportunity to work with covid control cell in kozhikode.

as i have registered as a sanadhaseva volunteer . I just need to do something that i can for our society

on 22 nd April my work in the civil station with other volunteer’s and many officials have started. we’ve got the duty of contact tracing . where we need to call the covid positive patientsand collect the details as much we can/

we are group of around 20–30 volunteers, where some of them and me are regularly working with them. As by working in it i really got shocked by hearing the cases day by day.

Many of the people dont know from where and how they have got the covid. we couldn’t trace out any reason for that

by now i’ve completed 13 days of working , I’ve got many friends and got chance to meet many higher official like teachers, doctors,and other govt. staffs, The doctors took us a class on how important was the need of precuations to be made to be free from the corona virus.

Anyway thanking GOD for keeping all us safe.
FreeAgent volunteers support education in Malawi
Tags: Accounting Software, Volunteering, Edinburgh, Charity

One of our ongoing objectives at FreeAgent is to make our company the best possible place to work. We believe our mission of putting small business owners in control of their finances is meaningful and makes a real difference to people. By introducing a FreeAgent volunteering day, we can now help charities in our local community. We’re also building an ever-growing list of staff benefits and perks, as well as flexible and remote working. We also like to think we have the best office in Edinburgh, with unrivalled views that never seem to get old.

Exhibit A:

Bringing people together

One of our newer policies is the charity volunteering day. All FreeAgent staff have the opportunity to take an additional day off and spend it working with charities in the local community. It’s a great way to gain hands-on experience with the day-to-day work of charities, bringing colleagues together from different teams who may not normally work together. We have over 170 full-time people at FreeAgent and as we continue to grow it becomes harder to get to know others outside of our dedicated teams. We’ve introduced more initiatives like this, along with other team-wide events, to retain our small company vibe.

The Turing Trust

This week, five of us took advantage of our volunteering day and spent it with The Turing Trust in Edinburgh. The Turing Trust was founded by James Turing (the great-nephew of Alan Turing) and supports education in sub-Saharan Africa by reusing unwanted computer equipment from the UK and improving teacher training using ICT. The charity has a warehouse on the outskirts of Edinburgh where they receive equipment donations from companies as well as individuals. A hard-working team of volunteers then sort, audit, test and prepare all the equipment for shipment to Malawi.

Peter with a mountain of monitors!

Our team’s mission was to take a mountain of PC monitors, test each one and then box them all up for shipment. The scale of the task was daunting but after learning the ropes from operations manager Neil, we got stuck in with preparing boxes, testing the monitors, and carefully stacking the finished boxes onto pallets.

The Turing Trust labels each piece of equipment with unique identifiers, so it’s possible to track everything to its destination. The team will know which donated computer is being used by which school in Malawi — it’s pretty amazing.

Six hours, 350 monitors, 92 boxes and seven pallets later, we completed our task! It was definitely hard work (made harder with the cold,unforgiving Scottish winter blowing into the warehouse) — but it was an extremely rewarding experience and great fun to spend a day in a new environment with colleagues…even if we did end up spending the day staring at screens as usual!

If you or your company would like to donate time or equipment to The Turing Trust, you can read more about the process on their website.

Olly Headey is co-founder and CTO of FreeAgent, the UK online accounting software made specifically for freelancers, small business owners and their accountants.
Volunteer at the next CodeNow NYC workshop!
By: Mike Mcgee
Tags: Coding, Education, Software Development, NYC, Volunteering

CodeNow volunteer trainers are passionate about technology and sharing their knowledge with the next generation of leaders and doers. By working side-by-side with CodeNow volunteers, teenagers are transformed into coders, designers, and entrepreneurs.

Workshop Overview

Students working with CodeNow volunteers at our December 2016 intro workshop at Rise New York.

The CodeNow NYC workshop will take place on February 16th & 17th, and March 2nd & 3rd at Rise New York. Volunteer trainers will lead a small group of students (about 4–6) through product development presentations, learning activities, and coding tutorials during these sessions.

Volunteer Requirements

Weekend 1 (Saturday, February 16 — Sunday, February 17):

Volunteers should have a working knowledge of design thinking, product management, and an intermediate understanding of HTML & CSS (JavaScript is a plus).

Weekend 2 (Saturday, March 2 — Sunday, March 3):

Volunteers should have programming experience in any language. One-third of our volunteers do not know Ruby (or the Ruby on Rails framework) before taking part in the workshop and have found the experience of picking up a new language rewarding.

What’s the time commitment?

The commitment for each volunteer is a single Saturday and single Sunday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Do I need teaching experience?

Teaching experience is helpful to have but not necessary. We provide all our volunteers with a training session, the CodeNow Handbook, and unlimited access to our online learning platform in preparation for guiding students through the workshop curriculum.

What are a volunteer’s responsibilities?

Volunteer responsibilities include attending an instructors’ virtual training session (using Amazon Chime), reviewing the curriculum, instructor’s guides, and reading the CodeNow Handbook beforehand (accessible on our learning platform).

Ok! I’m ready to become a CodeNow volunteer! What’s the next step?

You can start the registration process by completing our Volunteer Information Form!

Is it ok for my co-workers to be volunteers too?

We thought you’d never ask! Of course you can. And if you don’t have anyone that immediately comes to mind…

…Please share this opportunity with your network!

The more voices, perspectives, and brilliant minds we can put together with our young students, the more amazing the experience will be for all!
Volunteer Work in High School
Tags: Education, Volunteering, Volunteer

High School students are required to do X (usually 30–40 hours) amount of community service in order to graduate. The idea of having volunteer work be mandatory is still a debate, but in the meantime, let’s talk about how having mandatory volunteer work is a benefit, and how we at ConnectFor can help!

The benefits of a community service project extend far beyond the classrooms of a school. Students who tend to make a commitment towards volunteering gain exposure to people from around the world. Students will gain life lessons, and gain a better understanding of what it’s like to live in a society with various kinds of people. Projects like these help students build confidence, promote community involvement, and enhance happiness.

Volunteering work is an extra set of credentials that adds to a student’s resume. Getting involved in volunteer work may lead you to meet people you wouldn’t have otherwise. There’s a lot of value in getting involved outside of your school. The more people you meet, especially while doing something worthwhile like volunteering, the more contacts you’ll have when you’re ready to move on in your career. Finding an NGO to devote your hours to, can be tricky. So many options can be hard to chose from! That’s where we come in.

In the past, ConnectFor has connected students to NGOs that best suit their needs. For example, students from Jai Hind wanted to volunteer 30 hours so we connected them to Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust. Students who volunteered at this trust were responsible for book sorting. Sounds simple right? But, not quite. There are so many things that we take for granted, one of them is having access to education. Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust’s main goal is to help children and youth who are in the under resourced communities by providing them access, materials, and resources to education (in different forms). People from all around India can donate books (used or new). Students who were a part of this project devoted their hours by sorting books.

Additionally, ConnectFor has also connected students from ISDI to Angel Xpress. Students from ISDI wanted to donate their quilts to this organization. Angel Xpress works to transform the lives of underprivileged children throughout regular access to educated adults. They provide a platform for adults to fill the education needs of children who can grow up and make responsible choices.
Thank You To Our Extraordinary LLS Volunteers
By: The Leukemia, Lymphoma Society
Tags: Volunteering, National Volunteer Week, Volunteer, Cancer

You may have driven an important project to the finish line or reached a new fundraising goal. Perhaps you comforted someone in need, greeted families with a warm smile or raised your voice to influence change. I hope we get the opportunity to meet one day (if we haven’t already), but until then: our heartfelt thanks go out to you, our incredible volunteers.

You are at the heart of our quest to find cancer cures, and our gratitude to you runs deep because you are truly the driving force behind our mission.

Teri Johnson, Senior Vice President, Volunteer Engagement & Strategy at LLS

National Volunteer Week gives us the perfect opportunity to share how much we appreciate you and everything you do to help us beat cancer. Your tireless partnership with us makes a difference in the lives of patients and families — and we’re so touched when we hear stories of how you went above and beyond to help.

No matter how you choose to volunteer with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), you are creating impact and this impact saves lives. In fact, since we started 70 years ago, generations of volunteers have embraced our mission, helping us invest nearly $1.3 billion in cutting edge cancer research and driving forward lifesaving patient support and advocacy efforts.

Today, volunteers support every facet of our organization — from supporting chapter efforts to raising critical funds to providing support to patients and families and advocating for policy changes at the state and federal level. Without the partnership of dedicated volunteers like you at every level of our organization, we cannot achieve the mission of LLS. Your passion, time and talent are crucial to beating cancer.

While we’ve made significant progress, there is much more work to be done. The fight against cancer needs compassion, relentlessness and most of all, commitment. You have these qualities in droves. You are our champions, our big thinkers and our game changers, and you inspire us all to work toward our mission each and every day.

When your family, friends and colleagues ask you why you are volunteering with LLS, instead of any number of other things you could be doing, please tell them: “Because I’m curing cancer.” Because you are!

When you need encouragement or inspiration along the way, remember this: you are not alone. You are part of a vibrant community of supporters across the country who care deeply about our shared vision of a world without blood cancer. Together, we are changing cancer treatment and care.

Here at LLS, we believe cancer can be cured in our lifetime. We can say this with confidence because you are fighting alongside us. Thank you for your extraordinary partnership.

In honor of National Volunteer Week, we created a special thank you video for all of our amazing volunteers.

WATCH HERE
MACCS Befriending Companions: Being there……an opportunity to serve
By: Amma Uk
Tags: Ma Centre Uk, Humanitarian, Volunteering, Mata Amritanandamayi, Covid 19

On 7th November, Swami Shubamritanada Puri spoke to the 35 volunteers of MACCS Befriendind Companions. His heartfelt words have inspired and motivated the dedicated volunteers during these difficult times.

Here is a small extract from Swamiji’s talk:

‘Let me assure you, the service is something that is so close to Amma’s heart. We all know what Amma does for the world. Apart from all the humanitarian work, she is available for each and every person;

that feeling that I am here for you…don’t worry you can come to me, whatever are your problems, your sorrows just unburden it and I will take care of it.

That is such assurance and has changed so many lives in the world and has really given them so much peace and solace. So in one way we are trying to be an instrument in this process we are trying to do whatever we can from our part reaching out to all those who need help.

And I always remember a small quote that Amma says quite often “Not everybody gets the chance to serve”. To hold on to that and say that …. Somehow Amma has been kind ….., God has been kind to give me this opportunity. Why should I let it go? It’s such a thing to get an opportunity to serve as they have said the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service of others, that’s when you really find yourself.’ Swami Shubamritanada Puri 2020

If you would like to become a befriender to help someone who feels lonely and isolated; there is a training weekend for the MACCS Befriending Companions on 16–17th January 2021. Please contact Vargini at vargini28@gmail.com
Interest in joining Britain’s volunteering army skyrockets during 2020
By: Do It
Tags: Community, Society, Volunteering, Covid 19, 2020

Do IT has seen an increase of 69% in sign ups to the platform in 2020 - people all looking to help and connect with their communities in what has been one of the most challenging years this country has faced.

When the pandemic hit in March organisations across the voluntary sector saw a surge in people wanting to give their time to help those hit hardest in their communities.

Here at Do IT we saw new weekly registrations reach 7000 at the start of the crisis as people looked for different ways to volunteer their time. Not limited to the first wave - this trend has continued throughout the year with every month since March 2020 seeing a substantial increase in registrations over 2019.

New sign ups to the Do IT platform for 2019 and 2020

It’s been incredible how local communities have responded to the crisis, with people of all ages organising themselves into local groups to meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable people in their area: delivering shopping, collecting prescriptions, offering emotional and practical support, often ahead of central government strategies.

As we face a tough winter of further social restrictions, and strained voluntary and community sector resources, it’s now more important than ever to have flexible networks that allow people of all ages to support and engage with their local communities.

Here at Do IT we are committed to continuing to work to do everything we can next year to engage and support both the volunteers and the communities and organisations that need help in 2021 and beyond.
Veteran-Led Team Rubicon Volunteers Return to Moab
By: Steph Bishop
Tags: Disaster Response, Fire Fighters, Volunteering, Veterans

Moab, UT — On June 12th, 2018 at 5:45 p.m. a man-made fire in the adjacent Pack Creek area, burned through the densely wooded and tinder-dry area engulfing nine homes. Team Rubicon responded to the community’s calls for help. Since the fire, the community has developed a keen interest in wildfire reduction and mitigation operations. The community has identified a densely wooded corridor on private and public land that has similar demographics and topography to the terrain encountered during the fire.

Team Rubicon volunteer responded to June 12, 2018 fire.

In March 2019 Team Rubicon volunteers returned to Moab to assist with wildfire mitigation operations helping reduce fire risk along Mill Creek. This four-day operation brought 62 volunteers from Utah, Grand Junction, CO and Durango, CO. The volunteers logged 2,000 hours removing 144 trees and clearing 23,000 cubic yards of debris. The efforts of Team Rubicon resulted in a volunteer labor impact and community cost savings of approximately $60,000.

Team Rubicon volunteers doing fire mitigation operations in March 2019.

In March 2020, Team Rubicon volunteers will return and assist in ongoing fire mitigation efforts, a response expected to last eight days. Team Rubicon’s volunteers will provide debris management, sawyer operations, volunteer organizations active in disasters (VOAD) integration, heavy equipment operations, training and education, and spontaneous volunteer management. These efforts will be in coordination with local and state authorities.

“We are humbled to have another opportunity to serve the community of Moab and continue to develop long-lasting relationships with residents, emergency management officials, and local community leaders,” said Stephanie Bishop, Northwest Territory Public Information Officer.

Team Rubicon boasts a 100,000-strong, highly skilled volunteer force that helps communities stabilize and recover after a devastating natural disaster. Since its inception following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Team Rubicon has responded to nearly 500 disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Michael, and Dorian. Locally, Team Rubicon recently responded to fire mitigation efforts in Benton County in 2019.

Through a strong communications infrastructure supported by our cutting-edge technological solutions, Team Rubicon volunteers efficiently and effectively respond to natural disasters and help families return to their homes as soon as possible. By giving military veteran volunteers the opportunity to continue their service through disaster response, Team Rubicon provides them an avenue to gain a renewed sense of purpose, community, and identity.
Making Change on the Company’s Dime: EverCheck Unveils New VTO Benefit
By: Caroline Johnson
Tags: Volunteering, Giving Back, Work Culture, Employee Benefits, Volunteer

Being a great place to work takes work. That’s why it’s best practice to evaluate what you feel makes your company unique and see where there’s room to grow. Over the years, EverCheck has implemented important employee benefits policies like fully paid parental leave, subsidized fitness memberships and organic produce delivery, and more. Evolving your company to continue being someplace that people want to be is a journey.

This year, EverCheck’s rolling out a brand-new policy: Volunteer Time Off (VTO). When our leadership began considering what new benefits made the most sense for FY 2020, it became obvious — our team was already taking personal time to support local causes that mean the most to them.

Our Boulder team, for instance, has volunteered with Isabell Farm planting and harvesting crops, and our Jacksonville Beach team coordinates beach cleanups to keep our office’s backyard free of cigarette butts and seance remnants (true story). What’s important to our team is obvious — spending time giving back. And even for those team members who aren’t familiar with volunteering, this new benefit encourages them to experience the fulfillment that comes with helping and being present in the community.

EverCheck’s new VTO policy gives employees 16 fully-paid hours per year to volunteer their time to the causes that mean the most to them. Our team can become a Big Brother/Big Sister, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, serve on a nonprofit board, and so much more. With EverCheck’s new VTO policy, giving back no longer means giving up valued personal time or time outside of work.

“Volunteer opportunities are intended to connect our employees with the communities in which we all live — whether that community exists on a local level or is part of a global effort — while also demonstrating our company’s core values.” - Bonnie Cobb, Human Resources Manager at EverCheck

For more information on EverCheck’s benefits and what it’s like to work here, visit evercheck.com/jobs.
30 Resources for the Community During Coronavirus
Tags: Community, Volunteering, Support, Resources

FROM OUR COMMUNITY

Aunt Bertha ➜

Search for free or reduced cost services like medical care, food, job training, and more.

Kinedu ➜

Kinedu is offering free access to all of its 1,800+ science-based activities for kids 0–4 until April 15. Any family, in any setting, will get the full Kinedu experience to continue supporting their child’s development from home.

Empower Work ➜

Stressed, uncertain, worried about work right now? You’re not alone. Empower Work provides confidential, immediate, and free support. Trained peer counselors are a text away: 510–674–1414 or start a web chat at www.empowerwork.org.

UPchieve ➜

UPchieve is a nonprofit that provides free, online math tutoring to low-income high school students. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UPchieve is working around the clock to make sure eligible schools can give their students access to UPchieve for free in as little as 24 hours.

Kidappolis from LitLab ➜

Kidappolis is an app that enables parents to use screen time as deep learning time, through interactive, caregiver-led early learning opportunities. They are giving it away for free for six months.
It’s all about caring for one another, people!
Tags: Shelter In Place, Self Quarantine, Remote Volunteering, Volunteering, Coronavirus

During this mandatory “Shelter in Place” or possibly a “Self Quarantine” period depending on where you live, you may have some family, friends, or neighbors who are in need of assistance.

First, pick up the phone and either call or online chat to check in on them. Not all of these people are tech-savvy, you may need to actually knock on their door to check in on them.

Second, many single self-reliant people are reluctant to accept help. Ask questions! Such as:

Do you have enough food and supplies to last a week or more?

Do you have someone helping you?

Are you well enough to prepare meals and do the day to day basics?

I realize many people feel like this might be too intrusive, but it is better to overstep the bounds a bit, then find out later something worse happened to them.

Many folks might be totally prepared and self-sufficient but may not be okay with being isolated during the time period. Set up a schedule for people to call or online chat with them to let them know they are not forgotten.

If you realize someone needs assistance:

Step 1: Find more people/neighbors to help and do not shoulder all the responsibility.

Step 2: Organize by creating shared calendars that have a reminder and contact lists.

Helpful Organizational Tools:

Care Calendar: https://www.carecalendar.org/

Give in Kind: https://www.giveinkind.com/

Lots of Helping Hands: https://lotsahelpinghands.com/

Meal Train: https://www.mealtrain.com/

Take Them A Meal: https://takethemameal.com/

Immediate Meal Services:

Caviar: https://www.trycaviar.com/

DoorDash: https://www.doordash.com/

GrubHub: https://www.grubhub.com/

Postmates: https://postmates.com/

Grocery Services:

Instacart: https://www.instacart.com/

Amazon Fresh: https://www.amazon.com/

Costco: https://www.costco.com/my-life-costco-grocery-online-delivery.html

Long Term Solutions:

Meals on Wheels https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org

Feeding America https://www.feedingamerica.org/

Lastly, if you don’t know anyone who needs help but you want to donate time and or volunteer remotely to help folks, please consider:

All for Good: https://www.allforgood.org/

Campaign to End Loneliness: https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/volunteer/

Catch Fire: https://www.catchafire.org/

Idealist: https://www.idealist.org/en/

Serve: https://www.nationalservice.gov/serve

Volunteer Match: https://www.volunteermatch.org/

Volunteers of America: https://www.voa.org/

Operation Warm posted a 2018 blog post with great resources:

https://www.operationwarm.org/blog/25-volunteer-jobs-to-do-from-home/

As a long time volunteer to the people I care around me, I am hoping this small posting will inspire you to volunteer now, and/or even when no crisis is at hand.

Volunteering is community building.

Better societies start with the actions of individuals.

Be the change.
People are volunteering in record numbers in the face of COVID-19
By: Alfred Johnson
Tags: Organizing, Volunteering, Health, Volunteer Management, Virtual

COVID has changed every aspect of our lives. People have lost their jobs by the millions and the structure of our society has been fundamentally altered. The acute threat of a virus has forced us to physically separate, but it has also contributed to a surge in volunteer activity. People want to make a difference — they want to help each other in this moment of need.

At Mobilize, we’ve seen almost a 4x increase in volunteering since March. Our platform is used by mission-driven organization to connect and engage their supporters.

We’ve also seen a surge of interest among volunteers to directly assist organizations on the front-lines of COVID relief. To meet this need, we launched www.volunteerfromyourcouch.com — a website that specifically curates events from organizations doing critical work to support vulnerable communities through this time (See FastCompany).

So far this year, volunteers have signed up for nearly 6 million actions using Mobilize. While these volunteers have contributed enormous value to the organizations they support, they’ve benefited too. A 2012 study in the journal Health Psychology found that regular volunteer work correlated with living longer!

You can signup to help thousands of organizations by visiting mobilize.us. If you operate an organization and want to join our network, get started today.
Live Simple. Dream Big. Be Amazing. Give Love.
By: Mfdf Editor
Tags: Volunteering, Covid 19, Star Wars, Covid 19 Crisis, Ppe

Why do you volunteer?

It feels good to help others. When the pandemic began, there was a lot of talk about the lack of supplies and help was needed from the public making masks and I decided that I wanted to get involved. Like so many others in the service industry, I lost my job due to the pandemic, but it gave me the time and opportunity to help others in need.

Did you set a personal goal for making masks?

I started with a goal of 200 masks, thinking it would take me a few months to complete. The more masks I made, the more requests I received and in a few weeks my goal was met. The need for masks was growing fast and I wanted to help as much as I could. I’ve been keeping track of how many I’ve been distributing, and the numbers grew quickly, and recently I have surpassed 1,000.

What are some of the highlights of volunteering?

The most memorable memories I have are from the smiles or notes I received after making a delivery. I’ve met so many amazing people delivering to local shelters, police officers, a veteran’s home, nurses, grocery store employees, and family and friends.

How do you inspire others to volunteer with you?

Our costume clubs have amazing members and many build their own costumes. Each club is very focused on helping our communities, and once the idea took off, it spread and grew. Whether they made a little or a lot, every mask helps. It gave all of us a sense of purpose when we were home and worried about what was coming next. We have all bonded sharing patterns, fabric, elastic and any supplies needed to get the job done. Six months later, we are all still sewing.
Story by Maha Jahangir
By: Childlife Foundation
Tags: Pediatrician, Pediatrics, Volunteering, Health, Life

In ChildLife Resuscitation Room — Civil Hospital, a beautiful blonde haired girl, Ajwa struggling for life where doctors are giving her immediate care and attention, while the mother outside the resuscitation room is crying, panicking and beating herself; it looks like she is losing her senses. She expected the condition to worsen and she might lose Ajwa.

She ingested a bottle of mercurochrome, which is an antiseptic for burns. As soon as she ingested, she started with fits and uprolling of eyes. She was immediately resuscitated. Gastric lavage with activated charcoal was performed and then initial management was provided by the Pediatric ER specialist.

Ajwa fighting for her life

As Ajwa’s condition became stable, her mother felt happy to hold her in the arms and looked relieved. Ajwa was kept under observation for the next 4 hours before discharge. Mother was counselled to take care of the baby and keeping such poisonous chemicals out of reach of the children.

She was highly satisfied with the treatment and care given to Ajwa and thankful to the doctors working round the clock at ChildLife’s ER to save many like Ajwa.