Issue #9 - January/February 2008

Mission: The Volunteer Centers of Michigan strengthens, develops and connects volunteer centers throughout the state.

Vision: The Volunteer Centers of Michigan ensures all volunteer centers have the capacity to positively impact every Michigan community and their citizens through volunteerism.

National Mentoring Month highlights mentoring and the positive impact it can have on young lives. This month-long outreach campaign focuses national attention on the need for mentors, as well as how each of us—individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits—can work together to increase the number of mentors and assure brighter futures for our young people.

In Michigan the 2008 theme is, "real people...changing lives two at a time."  The goal is to raise awareness through the celebration of everyday, ordinary people who are making a difference for kids in Michigan.  Mentors don't need special skills--all they need to do is care about kids and have a willingness to volunteer about an hour a week. 

There is a Mentor Michigan Communications Tool Kit available online that contains resources and ideas to help local mentoring programs promote their activities, thank their mentors, and recruit new mentors. The following link will take you directly to the State of Michigan website where all the resources can be found - http://www.michigan.gov/mentormichigan/0, 1607, 7-193--129726--, 00.html

An elevator speech is a compelling 30 second description of your Volunteer Center plan, delivered as part of a two-way conversation that educates and elicits interest from listeners. This critical component of success for Volunteer Center sustainability should be strategically crafted by your Volunteer Center, and documented and distributed to ensure that a clarity in a common message.

Six questions your elevator speech should answer:

1. What is a Volunteer Center?
2. How does the community benefit from your Volunteer Center?
3. How is the Volunteer Center funded?
4. What is your role and who else is supporting the Volunteer Center?
5. When and how do you plan to open the Volunteer Center? (if relevant)
6. How can the listener support the Volunteer Center?

In recent vision priority work, VCM has established an elevator speech geared toward promoting Volunteer Centers on the statewide level. Please use this elevator speech when asked about the broader work of Volunteer Centers in Michigan. The following elevator speech should also serve as a sample to be used as you develop one for your Volunteer Center.

Sample Elevator Speech - Volunteer Centers of Michigan:

The Volunteer Centers of Michigan strengthens, develops and connects volunteer centers throughout the state. Our goal is to ensure that all volunteer centers have the capacity to positively impact every Michigan community and their citizens through volunteerism. We believe that volunteer centers play a leadership role in mobilizing people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community problems. VCM provides the networking opportunities, resources, funding and collaboration opportunities to enhance and sustain these vital community resources.

Disney Minnie Grants for Global Youth Service Day 2008
Deadline: January 21, 2008
The Walt Disney Company and Youth Service America are excited to announce grants of up to $500 to support youth-led service projects. These grants support youth (ages 5-14) in planning and implementing service projects in their community. Teachers, older youth (15-25), and youth-serving organizations are also eligible to apply, if they engage younger youth (5-14) in planning and implementing the project. A significant part of the service must take place on GYSD 2008, April 25-27. Youth are encouraged to address important issues such as climate change, malaria or other diseases, human rights, literacy, or others. Applicants can use the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a reference.
Email MinnieGrant@ysa.org

Action For Nature's International Young Eco-Hero Awards
Deadline: February 28, 2008
Action For Nature, a nonprofit organization that encourages young people around the world to carry out individual environmental action projects, presents the International Young Eco-Hero Awards to recognize the individual accomplishments of young people (ages 8-16) whose personal actions have significantly improved the environment. Action For Nature will award cash prizes of up to $500 each to young Eco-Heroes for their outstanding accomplishments in environmental advocacy, environmental health, research, or protection of the natural world. The applications will be judged according to several criteria, including but not limited to originality, difficulty, organization, length of time devoted to the project, influencing/educating others, use of outside resources (e.g., library, experts, media, community leaders, degree of success in reaching goals, and the impact on the environment). http://www.actionfornature.org/

Grants To Promote Human Rights On University Campuses
Deadline: January 10, 2008
$500 grants are available to students who want to organize a campaign or series of events on their campus this spring to address human rights, in conjunction with the Americans for Informed Democracy “Rights Camera Action” Campaign.
To learn more, visit http://www.aidemocracy.org/rca.php

The Michigan Nonprofit SuperConference
The Michigan Nonprofit SuperConference will be held May 13-14, 2008 at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan.  This year's theme is "Teaming Up for Community Success," and we anticipate more than 900 participants, including nonprofit executives, program staff, fund development professionals, board members, researchers, consultants, advocates, national service members, managers and leaders from the government, corporate and faith communities, will be in attendance, bringing synergy and a board community context to our discussions.  This annual event will feature more than 50 workshops, an exhibit hall and bookstore, interspersed with several opportunities for networking.  To learn more about the Nonprofit SuperConference, please visit www.mnaonline.org/conf2008. 

Register you MLK event online
The Corporation for National and Community Service has launched the My MLK Day. My MLK Day is an online tool for those organizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service projects to register their projects, manage volunteers, and report results. Individuals may search for volunteer opportunities with registered MLK Day Projects. To learn more, visit http://my.mlkday.gov/default.aspx

FREE DOWNLOAD: eCoordinator
http://www.samaritan.com/
Use this database system to gather statistics, print reports, create mailing labels, send email, schedule appointments, and track referrals and placements. For qualifying schools and nonprofits, Samaritan Technologies will set up a free eCoordinator account that will allow one user to manage up to 100 volunteers. Additional users can be added for a monthly fee.

Terry Zahniser has been an AmeriCorps*VISTA representative serving the Muskegon community since early February.  Terry works with Volunteer Muskegon and his service was purposefully targeted toward Homeland Security – and for good reason – he’s a retired U.S. Marine whose prior service and subsequent retirement put him in a unique position to provide direct support to the county’s Citizen Corps Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) programs. 

Terry worked this past summer with the other AmeriCorps NCCC representatives in Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) programs, instructing area youth in disaster and personal protective measures for themselves, their families and communities.  Terry also worked with regional Search & Rescue (SAR) teams in order to better understand how to develop a county-wide SAR volunteer capability.  Illustrating this, recently in October, Terry and seven other CERT, MRC and county fire-fighters came to the aid of a regional county in need of an actual SAR need for a missing person.  Additionally, Terry is currently planning to commence a Teen CERT program in January at a local high school and hopefully begin another elsewhere in the county, as well.

Prior to his VISTA service, Terry was a CERT volunteer trainer and will continue providing this much needed service to the community as a MI State Police certified CERT coordinator and American Red Cross instructor.  Terry’s goals of getting the county and region as prepared as possible through grass-roots programs are more deeply illustrated by his commitment in continuing and completing his education in both Homeland Security and Geospatial Technology (GST). 

Terry states that, “CERT and MRC programs are seen as vital by local government agencies,” but Terry feels, that his long-term volunteer and educational goals will help him accomplish serving and protecting his community by, “continually working towards sustainable Homeland Security programs that will ultimately be seen as vital and absorbed into the emergency action plans of all local business and educational institutions, as well.”

Sam Singh, former President and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association, has recently announced his plans for a 16 month world tour, an adventure in which he will visit over 25 countries on all seven continents, volunteering at nonprofits along his way.  Sam has developed a website where he will blog about his cultural and service related experiences during his time abroad. Visit www.singharoundtheworld.com to read more about Sam's upcoming trip, and check back often for updates on his whereabouts.

VCM wishes Sam well as he embarks on this journey of cultural experience and self discovery, and thanks him for his service and dedication in advancing the work of Michigan’s Volunteer Centers and nonprofit organizations.