April 21st, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments
Today’s guest blogger is Jonathan Wallace, Manager of Youth Volunteer Corps at the Volunteer Center of North Texas. All Collin, Dallas and Tarrant County residents who are interested in volunteering are welcome to contact the Volunteer Center of North Texas for more information on the opportunities that are available to them.
Every week is National Volunteer Week at the Volunteer Center of North Texas (VCNT). With more than 1,400 member agencies across North Texas, we play matchmaker every week to citizens looking for ways to serve in their community.
No matter what your age may be, or why you are choosing to serve, volunteering is one of the most important things a human being can do. By taking the time to serve someone else, a volunteer helps to provide basic needs to others and to their community. These acts of service pave the way for positive change in relationships, homes, neighborhoods and communities.
Volunteering can be performed in different ways and does not always have to involve a long-term commitment. Due to the busy schedules of people today, the VCNT finds that more and more groups want to volunteer through a short- term project, typically on a weekend. When an individual inquires about volunteering, we guide them towards the best opportunity that fits their desire and focus. Utilizing HandsOnNorthTexas.org as the online outlet for finding volunteer opportunities throughout the North Texas region, more than 79,500 referrals are provided annually. The VCNT also reaches out to the next generation through Youth Volunteer Corps of North Texas, sponsored by State Farm Companies Foundation. Youth Volunteer Corps of North Texas is a civic engagement and leadership development program that promotes service learning for students in middle school and high school.
While volunteering is critical and important, so is recognizing them. Volunteers give their time, energy and skills to tasks that usually would not be completed without them. They are critical to moving the missions of our organizations forward. The very least we must do to sustain the efforts of volunteers is to take the time and recognize their achievements. At the VCNT, we recognize our volunteers in several ways. From a random hug and “Thank you” in the hallway, to putting on our cowboy hats, belt buckles and spurs so that we can celebrate them with a Lone Star Salute!, our tri-county event honoring volunteers who served in their community the previous year. Our first Lone Star Salute! of 2010 will take place during National Volunteer Week on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at the Plano Centre in Collin County. We will hold Lone Star Salute! events for Tarrant and Dallas County residents later this year.
In addition to holding Lone Star Salute!, we will also be celebrating National Volunteer Week through our Student Engagement Department’s promotion of Global Youth Service Day on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world, engaging millions of youth in more than 100 countries. With more than a dozen Global Youth Service Day projects occurring throughout the North Texas region, there are plenty of opportunities for volunteers to engage in service!
Because of volunteers, children are mentored and nurtured, the hungry are fed, those in pain have a shoulder to cry on and communities that once were broken begin to be healed. Volunteers recognize that it is not a choice to give back to their communities, but rather a civic responsibility. With this attitude, join others during National Volunteer Week to create positive change in your community.
Tags: Civic Engagement·National Volunteer Week·Texas·Volunteer Centers·Volunteerism·Volunteers
April 20th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments
Imagine a world without volunteers.
So much depends upon volunteers—each of them. Every day, volunteers help to provide social services to Texans. They are a crucial part of nonprofits’ efforts to solve community challenges. If there were no volunteers, the world—our world, yours and mine—would be a very different place.
Because of volunteers, many crucial social services are provided, including food delivery, student tutoring, self-sufficiency programs for the homeless, college application assistance, health and wellness information and so much more. Because of volunteers, people receive assistance in rebuilding their lives. Volunteers engage in many different activities, depending on the organization they work with; but they all have that in common—they help to rebuild lives.
Because of volunteers, 556.6 million hours of service were given by 4.1 million Texans from September 2007 to September 2008. Roughly 23% of Texans—nearly one in four people—chose to help fellow Texans by volunteering1.
Here is our challenge to you: Imagine a world in which you are volunteering. What will you do? Who do you want to help? Which lives will you help rebuild?
National Volunteer Week is April 18-24, 2010. Will you join your fellow 4.1 million Texans and be a part of changing your community for the better? Your local volunteer center can help you find the right opportunity, as can the following online volunteering resources:
Imagine what can be done because you are a volunteer. Then, make it happen.
1 These statistics can be found in the Corporation for National and Community Service’s “Volunteering in America” report.
Tags: Civic Engagement·National Volunteer Week·Nonprofit Organizations·OneStar Foundation·Texas·Volunteerism·Volunteers
April 15th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments
Teisha-Vonique Hood and Jon Bon Jovi
We just got this amazing story from Teisha-Vonique Hood, an AmeriCorps*Texas member with Central Dallas Ministries and a member of the AmeriCorps*Texas Leadership Council. She told us about her experience promoting national service at a Jon Bon Jovi concert, and about snapping an “I AM AmeriCorps” photo with him!
Volunteers from AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Corporation for National and Community Service distributed hundreds of Soul Foundation/JBJ Fan Site photocards and Serve.gov information cards throughout the American Airlines Center. One “hot spot” for distribution was the area where women departed restrooms and met their waiting guests outside. There, one woman to stop by the United We Serve table and learn how her organization can better assist underserved youth. As a result, our organizations are planning future collaborations. Concertgoers could also contribute to Soul Foundation (Jon Bon Jovi’s nonprofit) by purchasing “One Soul At A Time” t-shirts with all proceeds benefitting the organization, or by texting a donation. The service message was continuous throughout the arena, including in videos shown on monitors throughout the arena—even in the bathrooms! It was definitely evident how Bon Jovi is dedicated to service.
Yesterday, I was asked by my colleagues at Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) AmeriCorps to join them at their latest housing development project downtown during Jon Bon Jovi’s visit. I made sure to wear my “United We Serve” t-shirt from Saturday evening in hopes he would recognize it. Boy, did he ever. However, our AmeriCorps director had an additional mission: capture an image of Jon with the “I AM AmeriCorps” sign to show his dedication to service.
Part One
Jon finished his meetings in the morning with the CDM CEO and other partners, then proceeded to walk down a hallway for a television interview. As he walked back, he started smiling and waving slyly to rejoin members of his crew. I thought for a moment, “He surely is not waving at me?!?” As I checked around no one else was returning his wave, so I half-heartedly waved back. After his brief meeting, he walked towards the elevator, where my colleagues and I were positioned, and began to get on the elevator. But before he stepped on the elevator, he outstretched his hand to me, between two CDM employees engaged in conversation. I paused for a moment and had to look at his hand, look back up at him, then look at his hand, again thinking, “He surely is not outstretching his hand for me?!?!” Indeed, that gesture was directed to me. When I returned the handshake, he made sure to note, “I love your shirt.”
Part Two
My colleagues and I went to the first floor near the exit to try to capture the photo we desired before Jon’s departure. Prior to his return from the tour, we asked his crew if it would be possible to take a quick photo with him, and were kindly declined due to his tight schedule that day. As he walked towards the exit doors, we all positioned ourselves to capture a quick image, but our views were obstructed from his crew. We looked on patiently as they each offered their goodbyes, but I wasn’t defeated. I looked for an opportunity and found it in a five-second window when Jon already said his goodbyes and was waiting for his crew to complete theirs. I then walked around his crew, approached Jon directly with the “I AM AmeriCorps” sign and asked to capture a photo with him. The attached is the resulting image. To note, he was so kind to take the photo but even more gracious by repeatedly asking “Did you get the shot? Is it all right?” Mission accomplished.
Tags: AmeriCorps*Texas·Jon Bon Jovi·Nonprofit Organizations·OneStar Foundation·Texas
April 14th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments
Global Youth Service Day is only two weeks away; and according to Youth Service America, Texas is one of the top states to register Global Youth Service Day projects! As of today, 75 Texas projects are listed on GYSD.org. Only Ohio (with 110), Minnesota (with 104) and Pennsylvania (with 85) are currently ahead of us, so registering your organization’s project might push Texas up to the top!
Registering will ensure that your organization’s project is counted in the official grand total. And with 63 countries currently represented and a total of 1,164 projects registered, every project counts!
You can find instructions for registering here.
Do you know what you will be doing for Global Youth Service Day? To get you thinking, here is an example of a project: one of our AmeriCorps grantees, Easter Seals Central Texas’ program ASSET AmeriCorps, will be building a community garden. (More information about their project can be found here.) If your organization is planning a project, spread the word about it in the comments section!
Tags: AmeriCorps·AmeriCorps*Texas·Global Youth Service Day·Nonprofit Organizations·Volunteerism
March 18th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments
We raked and bagged leaves at LifeWorks’ Transitional Housing Center.
Here at OneStar, we recognize the importance of service as a strategy to tackle community challenges. We also recognize the value of collaboration, and the importance of strong working partnerships to help strengthen the nonprofit sector. So every few months, OneStar employees get together with two of our national service partners—the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) State Office, and Texas Center for Service Learning—for a day of volunteering and discussions.
Our most recent meeting was Friday, March 12, 2010. We spent the morning at LifeWorks, an Austin nonprofit that provides counseling, education and housing services to youth and families. We raked leaves, planted bushes, scrubbed doors and cleaned out rooftop gutters at their Transitional Living Services facility, which provides housing and case management to young adults who have aged-out of the foster care system. We truly enjoyed working on the facility, making it more welcoming for its residents. Thanks go out to Susan Akin, Steve Bewsey, Mitch Weynand and all the LifeWorks staff and residents, who made us feel so welcome during our project.
In the afternoon, our partners and several OneStar staff members listened to a fantastic presentation from Fred Lugo, Director of Travis County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), and Graham Duncan, a Travis County RSVP volunteer. Their program connects people ages 55 and over with volunteer opportunities that utilize their skills and their interests. They discussed the program’s success, stressing the importance of effectively matching volunteers to the right opportunities while also offering volunteer recognition events. Their program has around 1,100 volunteers at any given time, which they credit to positive word-of-mouth referrals.
After the Travis County RSVP presentation, three representatives from College Forward spoke: Emily Steinberg, Associate Director; Adriana Gomez, AmeriCorps*VISTA leader; and Max Arzola, AmeriCorps*State member. Steinberg talked about the origins of College Forward, and how much of their program’s success can be attributed to its unique collaboration between AmeriCorps*State and AmeriCorps*VISTA members. With 99% of its participants getting into college—a full 100% of those who have applied were admitted to four-year schools—College Forward is having tremendous social impact in the Central Texas region.
We’d like to thank everyone from Travis County RSVP and College Forward who took the time to meet with us in the afternoon. We learned a tremendous amount during both our service project and our afternoon presentations. We truly appreciated the opportunity to celebrate our partners’ successes while also getting involved and helping directly!
(Go here to view more pictures from our service project on Facebook!)
Tags: AmeriCorps·AmeriCorps*Texas·Civic Engagement·Communities·Community Service·Nonprofit Organizations·OneStar Foundation·Texas·Volunteerism
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