Have you had the chance to volunteer this week? It is not too late to do so, please know that there are many ways to volunteer!
When you help someone in need you get something back which is a warm feeling inside knowing that you are doing your part at giving back to those in need. Remember you never know you may be that person some day needing a helping hand. So please while you are able help someone else no matter what when you do it spreads like fire and others will follow your lead!
Thanks for volunteering!
http://www.handsonnetwork.org/events/nvw2010
National Volunteer Week, a signature event of Points of Light Institute, celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation.
Commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and the Volunteer Generation Fund, our theme -- Celebrating People in Action -- honors individuals who take action and solve significant problems in their communities.
National Volunteer Week Highlights:
Advance the Get HandsOn! campaign goal of mobilizing 500,000 volunteer leaders by activating volunteers in service for Global Youth Service Day and the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
LEAD - A Get HandsOn! Summit
HandsOn Network and the University of Phoenix are convening LEAD to join the most creative thinkers and explore how individuals are using social media tools and other innovative strategies to change the landscape of service. Social innovators will share interesting experiences such as locating disaster victims with cell phones, quickly gathering thousands of volunteers for one-day projects and organizing person-to-person service efforts through Web-based technologies and other tools.
Click here for more information on the summit.
"Inspire… Serve… Solve. A Reception Celebrating National Volunteer Week and the Serve America Act." Co-convened by Points of Light Institute and ServiceNation, the reception will recognize and celebrate extraordinary people who exemplify service as a solution. The 2010 Extra Mile inductee will be announced, and the event will serve as a moment to celebrate the first anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
ServiceNation Leadership Luncheon. The Luncheon will bring sector leaders together for a discussion about the power of service to address record unemployment and crippling budget cuts, providing our citizens with critical skills and our communities with much-needed capacity at low cost and with no new bureaucracy.
ServiceNation Solution Sessions These sessions will focus on specific areas of opportunities and challenges facing the service field over the next several months.
Lights, Camera, Action... film your own tribute to the one-year anniversary of the Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act! Let us know how service has affected your life and your movie may make its big screen debut during National Volunteer Week this April in Washington D.C. Watch this short video to find out how to submit your tribute.
http://www.nationalservice.gov/Default.asp
National Volunteer Week, April 18 through April 24, 2010
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Since the founding of our Nation, we have met our greatest challenges through the dedication of countless Americans who have given generously of themselves, asking for nothing in return. The American story is a story of volunteers -- of patriots who fought for our founding ideals, of people who marched for justice, of firefighters who rushed into burning towers, and of ordinary citizens who lifted up struggling communities. All were volunteers, and their work changed our country. This week, we recognize their enduring contributions and encourage more Americans, especially our youth, to join their ranks.
Today's vast challenges require a renewed commitment to service, and Americans are answering that call. From mentoring a student and feeding the homeless, to rebuilding after a natural disaster, volunteers are touching lives every day. Social entrepreneurs are pioneering innovative approaches to community service, and technology is providing us with new ways to connect with one another. Public-private partnerships are also expanding the scope and effectiveness of volunteerism.
My Administration is committed to ushering in a new era of service and responsibility. We launched United We Serve, a nationwide initiative to encourage all Americans to make service a part of their daily lives. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which I signed last year, has expanded and updated programs at the Corporation for National and Community Service, harnessing the energy of millions to meet our most pressing national challenges. We are also investing in social innovation and volunteer management to give community groups the capacity to tackle local concerns.
During National Volunteer Week, we honor the ordinary people who give of themselves to accomplish extraordinary things, and we encourage more Americans to strengthen our country by volunteering. Visit Serve.gov to find volunteer opportunities across America and resources to start your own project. This website highlights volunteer opportunities for Americans of all ages, and I especially hope our young people will be inspired to chart a course of service.
Whether through the workplace or a house of worship, in our own neighborhoods or in another state or country, service binds us together as Americans in a way nothing else can. It defines us as a people, and it is essential to achieving our national priorities. Together, let us answer the call, take hold of our shared future, and meet the challenges of our new century.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 18 through April 24, 2010, as National Volunteer Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week by volunteering in service projects across our country and ledging to make service a part of their daily lives.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA
