Be Someone Else’s Hero Today and Volunteer Online

To learn more, visit www.sparked.com

Be Someone Else’s Hero Today and Volunteer Online Via Sparked
RACHEL ROSSITTO | 2011-06-06 03:00:43

We know you have a lot going on … and that’s why you have not gotten around to volunteering at the local homeless shelter, or even cleaning out your closet to drop off the clothes you were planning to donate, even though it was on your list of New Year’s resolutions.

Despite spending over 700 billion minutes a month on Facebook and watching more than 3 billion YouTube videos a day, if it can’t be done while procrastinating in front of a computer, we all seem to fall back on the excuse that there are just too few hours in a day.

What if you could take a few minutes waiting at the doctors office, 10 minutes after work or a half hour before bed and volunteer online or through your phone? Today we’re featuring a website that can help you volunteer without leaving your computer.

Sparked is the world’s first micro-volunteering network that makes it convenient for busy professionals to use their skills to help nonprofits. The website matches individuals based on their interests with organizations in need. Nonprofits will post “challenges” to the network like, “Can you help us design a new logo for our organization?” and micro-volunteers can respond.

Check it out!

Take a Chance

In two weeks I am heading out for LA. I am getting in my car and driving across the country to take a chance. I am doing an internship with a charitable foundation that The Cheesecake Factory started. There I will be working with the Director learning how to start and run fundraising events. I made a commitment to myself this year that I was going to help others more. I have started and continued this blog. I have rode a bike for MS. I have done many volunteer "jobs". I have collected shoes for the people of Haiti. I have collected soda tabs that turn into money, and more. This I believe to be my greatest commitment thus far.

When I return from LA, I will be working on projects to raise money for groups such as The Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and more. I have never done this before but believe that we can all do a little more to help others. And wether or not you realize it, when you are helping others, you end up helping yourself too.

Take a chance and volunteer. Just one day a month is a great place to start. Below is a website where you can go to find somewhere to help others. Make it fun and bring the family.

Members Project / TakePart Social Action Network: Important Issues, Activism, Environmental, Human Rights, Political News
http://www.takepart.com/membersproject

Thanks for Listening!
Sheryl

It's not all about you.

Hey everyone! I found a few websites for everyone to look.

www.charityhappenings.org
You can find events to attend in your area to help others. If you have an event that you are hosting and would like to post for others to see, you can post it on there as well.

www.tonic.com
Find programs and people who care about helping others. Share in their stories, be inspired and get ideas on what you can do to help those less fortunate not only around you but far away.

www.citizenyou.org
This site is about how active citizens can bring about social change. Jonathan Tisch wrote a book and is helping to change the world. He is sharing his secrets with us. You can post your story and also find places to volunteer.


It is important to remember that while volunteering makes us feel good, it is not about us. It is about those in need. If you find a cause that is important to you, ask them what they need help with the most.

Thanks for listening!
Sheryl

Hospital Volunteer Work

Helping Others at a local hospital is a great opportunity! Not only are you Making A Difference, and gaining personal satisfaction, you are contributing to the community. You can also learn new skills and make new contacts. A few things that hospitals need help with are:

* Support staff in the caring of babies

* Taking photos of newborns

* Working in the gift shop

* Delivering flowers

* Transporting/escorting patients/help with wayfindng

* Visiting and cheering patients

* Assisting and supporting patient families

* Helping at the information desk

Go on to your local hospitals website and find out what they are looking for. There is always rooms for more people to help.

Thanks for listening!

Sheryl

The United Way is Helping Others and Making A Difference

Not only does the NFL give their time and volunteer with The United Way but you can too!! Read the information below and click on the link to put in your zip code to find out what needs to be done around your area!

http://national.unitedway.org/volunteer/

Volunteer Motivation and Motivating Volunteers

Earthquake in Haiti. Hurricane Katrina. When human suffering and widespread destruction are highly visible, caring people are motivated to act…to actually go and help or to send or raise money, supplies, and other support for those in need and working on the ground to bring relief.

But what motivates volunteers to serve our communities in equally important ways—to tutor a child, to work a shift at the food bank, or to advise a low-income family on their options with Earned Income Tax Credit? Volunteer motivation has been studied* extensively. Many of the top reasons why people volunteer will be familiar to United Ways.

And three reasons why people continue to volunteer?

· They were ASKED!—A number of studies consistently conclude that a majority of people will volunteer—if simply asked. This is consistent throughout the world. The best way to recruit volunteers is to ask them—intentionally, deliberately. People want to "help out" if they can and if there are ways for them to be effectively engaged.

· They make a difference—People want to make a difference in the lives of others or in the community. Opportunities with impact are critical.

· They enjoyed the experience—Volunteering provides a variety of personal benefits and satisfaction to the volunteer, in addition to the benefits received by charities and society as a whole. People are more likely to volunteer for a second time if their first experience was satisfying.

Volunteer recognition programs, like United Way Chittenden County's Hometown Hero of the Week and Month are a great way to thank and motivate volunteers in a very public way.

Wondering how to not motivate a volunteer? Josh Pedersen, United Way of Northern Utah, offers these humorous but useful tips in How to Lose a Volunteer in 10 Days:

· Don't ask —Failing to ask appropriately is the first step in losing potential volunteers

· Give 'em Sunglasses—Blinding your volunteers to their role in your organization will certainly limit their engagement with your organization

· Be a Terrible Trivian—Giving your volunteers meaningless and trivial tasks will help them find substantial work elsewhere.

Read seven more ways to lose a volunteer, and the sequel!

*Studies include Volunteer Functions Inventory by Clary, et al;, Theory of Needs, McClelland; 3 Categories of Motivation, Fitch; Six Aspects of Adult Motivation, Wlodkowski; Volunteer Motivation Inventory, Esmond & Dunlop.

Volunteering and Haiti

Since the earthquake rocked Haiti, people around the world are asking to volunteer their time. Because of conditions on the ground, United Way is not currently sending volunteers to Haiti.

If you have prior disaster relief experience, have fluency in Creole and have expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications logistics, water/sanitation engineering, we encourage you to register with the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI.org) volunteer database.

As Haitians enter the United States as repatriates, refugees, and adoptees, United Way will work to provide for immediate needs such as emergency shelter, food and clothing, as well as services such as emergency health care and family reunification.

Longer-term support includes transitioning refugees from emergency shelters into appropriate housing and establishing a system of social services to help refugees settle in the community of their choice and achieve self-sufficiency. Please use the opportunity finder below or contact your local United Way directly to find out about these types of volunteer opportunities.