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Recognition Idea
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Volunteer Book Launching with Community
Celebration
Volunteer Nelson NZ has produced a book of
volunteer stories and photos. The book is to be launched at a cafe, with a
special guest (a NZ author). A Hip Hop Salsa group will perform and
New
Zealand delicacies will be
cooked and served by two local chefs - all generously volunteered to Volunteer
Nelson, and a very special event for all volunteers in our region.
"It's a
sign of mediocrity when you celebrate gratitude in moderation." Goooo
Volunteers!
- Submitted by Jude McNabb
Share Your Recognition Idea |
Volunteerism Quote
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If you don't believe one person can make a
difference, you have never been in bed with a mosquito. - Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop - Submitted by Pam Betz
Share Your Quote
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Online training for you or your entire organization to work successfully with volunteers!
Learn More
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Energize Volunteer Management Update
August 2008
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 August Hot Topic: The Yin and Yang of China's Olympic Volunteers
1.7 million Chinese have gone through a rigorous application, screening,
and training process to become Olympic volunteers, but much of the press
coverage to date treats this not as quality volunteer management, but as
suspect "government control." Susan challenges readers to watch
Olympics reporting carefully this month and report back on positives,
negatives, and contradictions revealed.
Read this Month's Hot Topic
Remember you can listen to the Hot Topic as a podcast, too!
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Announcing
a New Book by Marlene Wilson
 Energize, Inc. is proud to announce the upcoming
release of Visionary Leadership in
Volunteer Programs: Insight and
Inspiration from the Speeches of Marlene Wilson. Marlene,
one of the true pioneers of volunteer management, offers this collection of her
most memorable speeches from the 1970s to the present.
Building on her classic
book, The Effective Management of Volunteer Programs, in this
brand new publication, Marlene moves from the hows to the whys of
leading volunteer programs. She urges all who lead volunteers to move beyond
thinking of themselves as managers to thinking of themselves as leaders - those
who develop vision for volunteer programs and impart that vision throughout an
organization.
Projected Publishing
Date: September 1, 2008
Pre-order the book NOW and save!
Receive 20% off the price if you order before September 1st.
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Hawaiian Conference Lowers Registration Fee
We
announced this conference a few months ago, but it's worth noting again - plus
there's some good news. The Volunteer Resource Center of Hawaii has taken the lead in convening a
major conference in Honolulu on September 16-19, 2008: the first Asia Pacific Volunteer Leadership Conference. As of 18 July, in
response to the economic concerns of many, the conference fee has
been REDUCED to only $200 - read the press release for details.
Co-sponsored
by organizations committed to the common theme of international volunteer
management, the conference has four "Streams":
- international volunteer management
- opportunities for the aging
- disaster readiness and recovery
- pathways to peace and service
Speakers
have been invited from almost a dozen countries, including the US, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Attendees may choose to remain in
one Stream for the workshops or may sample workshops from different Streams. In
addition, everyone will take part in unique Reflection Pool sessions. There
will also be a day of site visits to multicultural Hawaiian volunteer programs.
This
promises to be an exciting and visionary event. Hawai`i is the ideal location for bringing
together people from the Pacific Rim who share a common focus in encouraging and strengthening
volunteer engagement.
If you are
located anywhere around the Pacific Rim (including the west coast of the USA), consider attending this special
conference. Check out the airfares before concluding it's too
expensive! There are some good deals out there!
For more
information and registration, go to: http://vrchawaii.org/APVLConference/.
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Susan's Tip of the Month:
De-mystifying
the Concept of Social Entrepreneurship
Words, as
we all know, can clarify or complicate. If you've been confused about the way
phrases such as "social enterprise" or "social entrepreneurship" are being
used, here's a quick primer on terminology.
Corporate Social
Responsibility (which
has been in use for a long time), is applied when a business considers its
"bottom line" to be more than financial profit and demonstrates tangible
concern for the environment, good working conditions for its employees, humane
treatment of animals, and/or other legal and ethical ways to be a "good corporate
citizen." Employee volunteer programs
fall into this category, as does financial philanthropy.
Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurship
are newer terms used to describe several different things:
- A company that is for-profit, but directs its business profits towards meeting social needs. Can include:
- Giving all or a percentage of profits to charity.
- Hiring or training people in need to be its labor force.
- Locating in places selected to stimulate economic development.
- Fair trade practices, without exploiting underdeveloped artisans or tradespeople.
- Sometimes recruit volunteers to help staff retail shops to increase ultimate revenues from sales that can then be directed to charitable work.
- A not-for-profit organization that runs a business enterprise in order to fund its work (cash income) or meet its mission (e.g., retraining the unemployed).
- A business or a nonprofit founded specifically to address a social need, in an effort to solve a community problem or demonstrate alternate ways of offering services - almost always employing the ethical principles of good corporate social responsibility. Examples:
- Renewable energy alternatives.
- Urban car- or bicycle-share projects.
- Recycling of used computers to give to the poor.
Which
brings us to the "entrepreneurship model" of volunteering. First, this includes anyone who founds or
runs any of the above types of enterprises.
Such "social entrepreneurs" are very often volunteers - at least in the
beginning. There's nothing new about
this, since all social innovation begins with activists willing to work hard to
establish something they believe in. But
now it has a name.
The second
- and perhaps more interesting - use of the term social entrepreneur refers to volunteers who want to innovate or
experiment with new ways of addressing needs.
Specifically, these people are looking for ways
- To be creative in approaching community or client needs - not to "fill a slot" of a job-like volunteer position description.
- To innovate - not to perpetuate traditional, possibly failed, ways of giving services.
- To be able to apply their skills, talents, and time to changing/improving the world, not just "helping" an organization.
While this
approach to volunteer work design has recently been extolled as the best way to
recruit both Baby Boomers and Millennials/Generation Y (who have quite a bit in
common despite the age gap), it really is a great way to get out of the trap of
considering volunteers as staff "assistants."
It presupposes that someone from the "outside" might bring a fresh
perspective to an organization's challenges and that volunteers who participate
in creating the projects they tackle will develop longer and deeper engagement
with the cause.
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About Us
Energize empowers and inspires leaders of volunteers worldwide. Our
specialty is creating and selecting the most relevant, innovative
resources in volunteer management. We're advocates for the power of
volunteers and for the recognition of the leaders who unleash it.
Energize, Inc.
5450 Wissahickon Ave. C-13
Philadelphia PA 19144
Phone: 215-438-8342
Fax: 215-438-0434
info@energizeinc.com
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