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VISTA Volunteers: 50 Years of Taking on Poverty

What do more than 80 United Ways and the 36th President of the United States have in common?  A not-so-secret weapon for combating poverty: the AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program. President Lyndon B. Johnson initiated the VISTA program in 1965 as a domestic complement to the Peace Corps to combat poverty through national service.  Since then, the program has recruited and mobilized 190,000 full-time, year-long volunteers to serve with organizations on capacity-building projects addressing poverty.

Volunteers and Valentines

United Way Fox Cities recently combined volunteers and valentines to promote literacy among children and healthy eating for families at the Valentine’s Family Festival. The free, fun, family-oriented event is organized annually by United Way Fox Cities Emerging Leaders, a group of young adult volunteers committed to making a difference in the Menasha, Wisconsin area.

Youth & Volunteering: More Powerful Together

According to a recent Associated Press – GfK poll, volunteering was the only civic activity that adults under 30 were just as likely to rate as very important as older people. This is a positive sign for our immediate and long-term future, if we can continue to nurture volunteering and community engagement among young people.  Volunteering can bring about new experiences and genuine connections that can alter the way youth think about their world and approach problems, while honing their capacity to recognize the things they have in common with people who may seem very different from them.

Volunteer to Practice Random Acts of Kindness

With our call to Give, Advocate and Volunteer to improve conditions in our communities, United Way encourages acts of kindness every day. Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 9-15), however, is a great time to do good works in a spontaneous sort of way and to bolster our intention make volunteering and other more structured acts of kindness a regular part of our life throughout the year.

United Nations Volunteers: Recognizing the Role of Volunteers in Eradicating Poverty

Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, perfectly summed up the important role volunteers play in our world.  Volunteering, he said, “is a source of community strength, resilience, solidarity and social cohesion. It brings positive social change by fostering respect for diversity, equality and the participation of all. It is among society’s most vital assets.”

Retirees Who Volunteer

Volunteers of all ages continue to inspire me. Whether they are teenagers helping to prepare tax returns or seniors sharing their time, experience and good will, people of all ages are finding that volunteering is part of an active, healthy and independent lifestyle.

Reimagining Service: A Springboard to Strategic Volunteer Engagement

Since 2009, Reimagining Service has sought to increase the impact of volunteers through new research and practices as well as initiatives that have changed the way the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors engage volunteers. The coalition has helped shift “the mindset of organizations and individuals regarding the value of volunteers” by highlighting “compelling data and exemplary organizations to demonstrate that strategic volunteer engagement is a cost-effective approach to building organizational capacity.”

EITC Awareness Day: Volunteers and Tax Returns

I recently learned about high school students who are volunteering to help prepare tax returns for people who are low-income, elderly, disabled or speak limited English. While many United Ways offer the opportunity for adults to participate in Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs, I am especially inspired by these students and want to share their story to promote EITC Awareness Day.

United Way Celebrates Volunteers in India

Throughout the world, volunteers make a difference by showing up, helping out and inspiring others to get involved. Volunteer events celebrating the contributions of volunteers, such as India’s second annual National Volunteering Week, held January 18-25, give United Ways and others a special opportunity to recognize the unique contributions volunteers give to their communities.

National Reading Day:  A Great Day to Read and Volunteer

Today is National Reading Day in the U.S. Before you curl up with your favorite magazine or a new book, remember how you learned to read and consider paying it forward to a young reader. National Reading Day aims to help Pre-K through third grade students develop the literacy skills they need to become lifelong learners. United Way and other nonprofit groups, schools, libraries, parents and volunteers participate in a variety of activities with younger readers on National Reading Day.

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