MLK Day is over, but volunteering brings rewards all year

By Natalie Kessler, NeighborWorks VISTA Leader

Martin Luther King Jr. famously once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’ ’’ That sentiment, which so aptly reflects the focus of his life, is at the heart of Martin Luther King Jr. Day  -- the only federal holiday designed to encourage Americans to commit to a day of service. But volunteerism is a contribution – and a joy – that can and should be practiced throughout the year.  

Take me, for example. As a participant in the AmeriCorps VISTA program, when individuals ask what I do for a living, I could respond in a number of ways. I could say I help a diverse group of people accomplish tasks around the country. I could respond with a long-winded description of how I provide administrative support, resources and other assistance to individuals who are striving to make their communities a better place. My actual answer? “I volunteer.”

The inspiration for AmeriCorps VISTA dates back 50 years, when President John F. Kennedy first spoke about his vision for a national service program in 1963. Two years later, Lyndon B. Johnson made that dream a reality as part of the “War on Poverty.”  The VISTA program initially had only 20 members. Johnson said to them, “Your pay will be low; the conditions of your labor often will be difficult. But you will have the satisfaction of leading a great national effort and you will have the ultimate reward, which comes to those who serve their fellow man.”

VISTA member Emily Pohlman (second from left) from 
Neighborhood Housing Services in Boise, ID, volunteered 
with employees from a local credit union to sort and 
distribute warm clothes for children.

President Johnson was right. The pay is low (just a stipend for living expenses) and my tasks are challenging… but the results are incredibly rewarding and I’m getting great experience. I lead, assist and provide resources for approximately 95 NeighborWorks VISTA volunteers across the United States. These VISTA volunteers serve local communities by creating course curricula for financial education and home-buying classes, coordinate other volunteers to complete home repairs in low-income communities, write grants for neighborhood-beautification projects, run fundraising and youth literacy programs, etc.

However, you don’t have to be a volunteer full-time. There are many opportunities to contribute in “small batches.”

Why consider giving up even a little of your free time?

Direct service is satisfying.
Volunteering feels good! I volunteered on MLK Day because I wanted to be more involved in my new home city, Washington, DC. Yes, my VISTA position is classified as volunteer, but it is also my job. As such, it doesn’t generate quite the type of satisfaction that flows from direct service. Plus, it’s fun to I get out into in my community and interacting with others.

VISTA members (three on the left) work with 
NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley in 
Woonsocket, RI, to  paint a shed. 

You help causes you care about.
If you’re like me, you follow favorite local nonprofits on social media. Volunteering  offers the perfect opportunity to experience their work firsthand.

Nonprofit organizations rely on you!
Many nonprofit organizations rely heavily on the work of volunteers. They couldn’t fulfill their mission without the contribution of your time.

It’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Volunteering is a natural way to make new friends, and I’ve even heard of some people finding their “soul mate” that way. You can also learn new skills and broaden your knowledge.

A  report from the Corporation for National and Community Service found that one in four adults volunteered through an organization in 2012. Altogether, 64.5 million Americans volunteered nearly 7.9 billion hours. Why not join them? You can volunteer as much or as little as you like – whether it be a couple of hours a year, a month or every week. If you don’t have a favorite local nonprofit already, you can search for a service opportunity through any one of these three websites:

• AllForGood.org
• VolunteerMatch.org
• Idealist.org

What are your favorite ways to volunteer? Do you have tips for fitting it into your schedule?

Wisconsin group to transform old armory to indoor farm staffed by returning vets

When NeighborWorks Green Bay (WI) bought 815 Chicago St. in 2002, the organization assumed it would rehabilitate the building, like the others it purchased, into multi-unit housing. What wasn’t known at the time, however, was that the building, an old armory that long ago served the needs of local military families, had 14-inch-thick cement slab floors that made the cost of redevelopment prohibitively expensive. So the building sat vacant, waiting for the day when it would be demolished.

Workers clear debris from the old armory.

Today, after the better part of a decade spent in a holding pattern, there is budding hope that the old armory will get its long-deserved rebirth. As part of a partnership between NeighborWorks Green Bay and local green agro-businesses, the old armory is being assessed for its potential as Green Bay’s first indoor farm. The idea sprouted after Noel Halvorsen, executive director of NeighborWorks Green Bay, participated in a local social-innovation leadership program and learned about creative urban farming projects around the country. Shortly thereafter, Halvorsen was contacted by local hydroponics specialists who also saw potential in the armory.

Research now is underway to
determine what crops would
grow best in the "Farmory."

When completed, the “Farmory” – as it has come to be known – will not only supply food locally throughout the year but will also operate as an agricultural learning center with a focus on training returning veterans.

“We think converting the armory back into service as a training center for military folks returning from overseas would be a great life for the building and an asset for the neighborhood,” Halvorsen says.. The project is undergoing rigorous business planning and analysis to test its feasibility and the results to date are promising. NeighborWorks Green Bay hopes in the next few months to have a full business plan and training curriculum in place, with construction well underway in 2014.

It is this kind of creative thinking that characterizes NeighborWorks Green Bay’s success in the northeast region of Wisconsin it serves. The organization, which is celebrating its 20th year as a member of the NeighborWorks network, started out as a small-scale local initiative that offered tool lending, homeownership preservation and small “scrape-and-paint” projects. Over the years, the geography it serves has grown, as has its local partnerships and programming.

For example, another creative local project that NeighborWorks Green Bay is spearheading is a volunteer time bank.  The time bank, led by a team that the organization sent to NeighborWorks America’s Community Leadership Institute two years ago, is an online system for recording and rewarding volunteer exchanges, enabling local “Samaritans” to capitalize on their skills. For example, one person can exchange an hour earned walking a neighbor’s dogs to get his or her home repainted. The plan received initial support from a CLI planning grant and is in a test phase this winter to evaluate the software platform. Next February, NeighborWorks Green Bay plans to launch it publicly in select neighborhoods before hopefully introducing it community-wide in the summer.

By bringing together unique local assets through innovative projects and programs, NeighborWorks Green Bay is building a better community.

Written by Lydia Wileden, program specialist for community stabilization at NeighborWorks America. 

NeighborWorks Prepares for MLK Day of Service

By Nikki Perez
NeighborWorks America VISTA leader

The NeighborWorks VISTA Program was established in 2009 to increase the capacity of local NeighborWorks organizations by adding full-time VISTA members in critical areas, such community stabilization, resident engagement and others. The program helps organizations facing increased demand caused by the foreclosure crisis and reduced resources due to the recession. The program also helps attract and retain new and diverse talent to the community development field while providing meaningful service opportunities for those who wish to support their country and their communities.

On January 21, 2013 millions of people around the nation will come together in volunteer efforts in honor of The MLK National Day of Service, making it "a day on, not a day off." In support of this national call to serve, the NeighborWorks VISTA Program has encouraged VISTA members and NeighborWorks organizations to assist their communities through acts of service. This year, some planned Martin Luther King (MLK) day activities include:

Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation 
Ventura, California

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C.
Creative Commons photo by The Uprooted Photographer

VISTA member Victor Espinosa will facilitate a community dialogue on the meaning of Martin Luther King’s words and actions. The discussion will include topics such as race, equality and social justice in Ventura County. Rather than viewing Dr. King’s legacy of racial, social, and economic justice as a historical victory, this event seeks to connect his legacy to an ongoing social justice struggle, recover critical, yet less-examined facets of King’s words, and connect them to current local social justice movements. Additional event details on the Presidential Inauguration Committee's National Day of Service website.

Neighborhood Housing Services of Richland County 
Richland Center, Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Ph.D. candidate, Simon Balto will give a free civil rights talk. VISTA member Robert Johnson will provide the introduction to the lecture and include some information about the earned income tax credit. This discussion will be advertised in the community with all encouraged to attend.

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven 
New Haven, Connecticut

On Saturday, VISTA members at Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven will be sanding the living room floor of a former Visiting Nurses Association nurse who due to a stroke, has physical limitations and cannot go up stairs and uses the living room for her bedroom.

On Sunday, VISTA member, Joey Rosenberg of Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven will be volunteering with the Yale Peabody Museum for their MLK Environmental and Social Justice Event. The event will help children learn about MLK Jr. and ways to save the environment through stage performances and learning booths. Many organizations in the area will have having booths and Joey will be serving at the United Community and Family Services booth.

On Monday, VISTA members at Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven are planning to volunteer with the Veterans Affair making welcoming baskets. These baskets are filled with household items for formerly homeless veterans who are moving into new apartments.

NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley 
Woonsocket, Rhode Island

This year for NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley’s MLK Day of Service event the MLK Community Service Committee are collaborating with community members to create murals dedicated to MLK’s message and the community’s cultural diversity. The murals will be painted at the Woonsocket Police Station, Woonsocket High School and the YMCA in downtown Woonsocket. There will also be a neighborhood cleanup effort on the same day. Read more about the event here.

Want to join an event? Visit the Presidential Inauguration Committee's National Day of Service website to find an event near you. 

5000 Starbucks Volunteers Help Fifth Ward CRC Make a Better Houston

By Gary Wolfe
District Director, Rocky Mountain Region

How do neighborhoods go from declining to improving? Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (Fifth Ward CRC) has used partnerships to help turn around Houston’s Fifth Ward.  Most recently, Fifth Ward CRC partnered with Starbucks, during their Global Leadership Conference in Houston, to make a positive difference in the lives of the Fifth Ward residents.

Starbucks "Team Blue" built a playground

In early October, more than 5,000 Starbucks employees volunteered with community members to make a tangible impact.  Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said to KHOU 11 News “When I walked through the Fifth Ward and saw the conditions of the houses and really the people in need, I just thought this is where we need to be.”

In the Fifth Ward, the day began when the thousands of Starbucks volunteers took a bus from their downtown hotels to staging grounds at local churches. There, they ate lunch, learned about the Fifth Ward neighborhood and grabbed the tools they needed to paint homes, install pocket parks and community gardens, clean up vacant lots, put up community artwork and the like. Fifth Ward CRC projects focused on the Lyon’s Avenue Corridor, a 22 block area which encompasses the community’s “main street” and comprised of residential, commercial and public spaces with a unique blend of historical markers reflective of the community’s native sons and daughters. 

In total, more than 9,000 Starbucks employees who attended the Global Leadership Conference participated in volunteer projects across Houston. On average, the Starbucks employees volunteered between four and six hours at each project for an impressive total of more than 42,000 hours of community service over the three days of the conference.

Lyons Avenue Renaissance sign with
numerous partners listed

For the Lyon’s Avenue Corridor area, the volunteering was just one piece of the ongoing revitalization work. Fifth Ward CRC is committed to a complete community renaissance, which will include not only great homes and clean streets, but also new jobs and opportunities. Michael Emerson, Chairman of the Fifth Ward CDC told KHOU 11, “This is an image for us of what Fifth Ward is going to be,” said “We’re creating an economically diverse, ethnically diverse, economically strong, new neighborhood here in Houston.” Fifth Ward CRC has formed partnerships not only with Starbucks, but also with the City of Houston, Rice University, University of Houston and the American Regional Institute of Architects to change the landscape and future of Fifth Ward. With the help of collaborations like these, Fifth Ward CRC can return to being a “neighborhood of choice.” 

To learn more about the Starbucks-Fifth Ward partnership, view this news video or click here to see more photos.

Make Your Volunteer Events More ‘Social’ Via Online Networks

by Tom Austin, web content development manager, NeighborWorks America

If you’re not already integrating social media into your volunteer events, now might be a good time to start. After all, it's National Volunteer Week (April 18-25), which draws attention to the huge contributions made by volunteers in communities.

Whether your neighborhood project is a fix-up, paint-up, plant-up or even a fundraising event like a 5k race – online social networks are where people are hanging out in growing numbers, and not just tech-savvy teens and 20- or 30-somethings, but older folks too.

These websites not only include popular channels like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, but also websites that match volunteers to opportunities.

What I find most promising for NeighborWorks and other local community development nonprofits is the potential to attract more people, particularly those starting their careers, to local activities that are transforming communities, and that includes engaging volunteers on service projects through social networks.

Here are a few ideas for using social media before, during, and after your volunteer events. If you’ve had some good luck using the tools mentioned below, or other social tools, please share your comments below.

Before Your Volunteer Event:

• Even if you don’t have that many Facebook followers yet, put your “Wall” to work by promoting your events, and in an inviting way that encourages comments and “thumbs-ups” from your followers.


• Some local nonprofits are beginning to create their own customized social networks on Ning that can easily be used to rally volunteers, but it does take some time to set up and engage a community in this kind of multifaceted website.


• Create a short video about your organization and event for upload to YouTube, then include the video on your website, Facebook page, or blog.


• Promote your volunteer events on a few of the many social network websites that match volunteers with volunteer opportunities. AllforGood is the result of a major collaboration between nonprofits and tech companies like Google and Craig’s List and integrates well with other websites and social media. MeetUp is another popular site to gather a group of people quickly, around affinity interests, including volunteering. Some of the other reputable websites that match volunteers with the organizations that orchestrate volunteer events are http://www.volunteermatch.org/; http://www.handsonnetwork.org/; http://www.dosomething.org/; http://www.craigslist.org/ (volunteers category); http://www.servenet.org/; http://www.volunteersolutions.org/.


• Post your event photos on websites created by your local television station. Also, be on the lookout for other online social networks that post volunteer events, such as those sponsored by civic associations, libraries, and local government community affairs offices.

During Your Volunteer Event

• Capture your event with video for posting to YouTube or photos for posting to Flickr. You can link to these from your website. Once you have the images posted, your volunteers may share them on their own social networks, attracting even more volunteers to your events.


• Encourage use of Twitter during your event. Twitter also has ways to share photos, which work well with snapping shots of volunteers from Smart Phones. You may want to even take your Twitter tweets and make a scrapbook out of them to promote future events.


• Does your organization have a blog? Consider a live blog of your volunteer event. Better yet, have one of the volunteers do a “guest blog” on their volunteer experience.


• When your volunteers register, give them the opportunity for them to share their email, so you can follow up with them by sending them links to photos, video, blog posting, or other content relevant to your event.

After Your Volunteer Event

• Show your online followers and fans who did not volunteer what they missed by posting photos and video, etc.


• Use your social network to thank those who participated in the event by sharing photos, videos, etc.
  

There are obviously lots of possibilities for nonprofit project managers willing to experiment. Which of the tools do you see working best for your organization?

Also, if you’re looking for more on trends in volunteerism, check out the upcoming symposium, hosted by NeighborWorks America in Phoenix in May at www.nw.org/volunteers.