Volunteering in 2009

How Will the Economic Crisis
Affect Volunteering?


The world economy is what’s on everyone’s mind. Just as most people, apparently including the economists, were caught by surprise by the rapidity of the monetary crisis, no one can predict what will happen next or how long the news will be negative. (And in the United States, we’ll have a newly-elected president to add to the uncertainty.)

The economic situation affects us all as private individuals and within community sectors. So this month I am tackling the question: How will a recession affect volunteering? Will volunteering increase, decrease, or change in some way as the financial situation becomes more dire? Having no claim to clairvoyance, I hope you feel compelled to share your hopes, fears, and predictions by posting a response as well.

We can reasonably expect greater needs for human services and less funding to meet them. Homelessness, hunger, mental health problems, crime, and other bleak conditions may be on the rise. Concurrently, things that seem less “essential,” such as the arts, may find themselves losing the donors they enjoy in wealthier times. In other words, the demand for volunteer effort will be greater than ever.

It is also true volunteers pay for their volunteering expenses from their discretionary funds, not their grocery money. So as people have less money for all things, it will indeed be harder for volunteers to lay out cash as well as give time. Therefore, smart organizations will increase the amount of funds available to reimburse volunteers for out-of-pocket expenses, especially transportation and gas. It might be time to do some fundraising specifically for this need, stressing to donors that money to reimburse volunteer expenses is leveraged hundreds of times over by the value of the services made possible by the reimbursement.

Looking Below the Surface
At first glance, the financial crisis seems like unending bad news. But might there be any silver linings? Let’s examine some common assumptions and possible outcomes.

Assumption #1:
In hard times, people “can’t afford” to volunteer.
Possibilities:
As the economy falters, more people will visibly be in need. In other words, it will be evident that both donations of cash and of time really matter. Making a difference is a primary motivator for giving.

Even in a recession, no one wants to feel they’re at the bottom of the totem pole – there’s always someone in greater distress. Keep in mind, too, that research (in good times) on financial donors often concludes that, in terms of percentage of income, people of modest means give more money than the wealthy.

Volunteering comes into the picture when people feel they cannot give money but can give time. Such substitution is especially viable for people who are already committed to an organization’s cause. And again, as the needs become more obvious and incontrovertible, it is easier to make the case for the value of pitching in to make things better.

Substituting skills for money has been a pattern in corporate philanthropy, too. Corporate foundations may give fewer grants in a recession, but look to employee volunteering as an alternative or supplement to help agencies.

Do development officers recognize this pattern? Do they make sure that the invitation to donate time as a volunteer is extended alongside the plea for a cash contribution? The organization that allows supporters to blend time and money may end the recession with more volunteers and ultimately bigger donors.

Assumption #2:
When people are suffering financially, they have self-centered priorities and are less likely to think about the needs of others.
Possibilities:
Under financial pressure, people’s survival needs must come first. But the same pressure can elicit creative response in the form of mutual aid. The clearest example is barter, whether of goods for services or services for services. During the Great Depression, in fact, barter was elevated to an art form as communities without available cash organized exchanges of unpaid work. What’s interesting about barter is that the value of the exchange is in the eyes of the parties involved, not necessarily the marketplace. So if it’s worth it to me to walk your dog in exchange for a bag of vegetables from your garden, we have a deal.

The implication for volunteer management is to adapt this natural barter process to organizational or client needs. Instead of the model of recruiting an outside volunteer to “help” clients in need, we might organize mutual exchange among clients themselves. What can they do for each other, given the chance?

Or, what does your organization have that a prospective volunteer might value, especially if money is tight? For example, perhaps a sole practitioner accountant with a small office might be happy to consult with the board on financial planning, in exchange for the chance to schedule a presentation to accounting clients in one of your meeting rooms occasionally.

Assumption #3:
Financial worries cause mental depression, fear of the future, and other difficult emotions that cause people to withdraw.
Possibilities:
We’ve become much more knowledgeable about the “spontaneous volunteering” that happens during natural disasters and other immediate crises. There’s strong evidence that people who respond to an emergency by rolling up their sleeves and joining with others to do something are overcoming the feeling of helplessness or powerlessness that a disaster evokes. This applies to other types of crises, too.

Through volunteering, especially with others who have mutual concerns or needs, people feel less isolated and more in control. This implies that, rather than ignoring the depressing news stories, we might recruit new volunteers by using the crisis.

Concerned about the future? Think what seniors on a fixed income today must feel. What better time to brighten their day with a friendly visit?

Kids know their parents are worried about money (you may be, too). Show them that having fun with an adult mentor doesn’t have to cost anything but an afternoon.

Finally, as unemployment increases, more people may a) be looking for new jobs; b) have lots of unwanted time on their hands; and c) welcome opportunities to build new skills that will help them in the job hunt. It’s a real plus to be able to avoid a “gap” on a resume while job hunting. Actively recruit unemployed people with the approach of:

You are still wanted for your talents! As you seek new work, spend part of those long days with us. Keep your resume current and help others at the same time. Etc…

Again, this type of welcome, coupled with work the new volunteer enjoys, may win you a long-term volunteer even after new employment is found.

Assumption #4:
Anything that isn’t a human service is of low importance in a recession.
Possibilities:
Naturally, basic human needs come first. But the old labor strike slogan of “we want bread and roses” still resonates. In other words, it’s as important to feed the soul as the belly.

Unfortunately, some cultural arts, recreation, and environmental organizations limit their outreach during a crisis, feeling that it is unseemly to divert people from more pressing needs. While this attitude may be understandable, it is also misguided. It is precisely at such times that groups and institutions offering beauty, relaxation, and other spiritual nourishment have an opportunity to demonstrate their worth. It’s a chance to break the elitist image and actively engage people as audience members, participants, and volunteers because it’s a needed, reviving break from bleak times.

The Big Obstacle
There is one important issue to acknowledge here. Organizations that have not welcomed or invested in volunteers in “good” times are less likely to be successful in a recession than those entering it with a solid volunteerism infrastructure already built. It’s very hard to play catch-up in the middle of a crisis.

In the same vein, many of us have unfortunately witnessed organizations’ attempts to cut their budgets by laying off the manager of volunteer resources! Seen as a “soft” position unconnected to primary client services, this job seems easy to eliminate – ironically, exactly when the organization wants more volunteers. Yet who is the person most capable of responding to the situation and need?

OK. It’s your turn.
We’re all caught in this financial mess and share the same concerns.

What do YOU think is going to happen to volunteering in the next few months and years?
What are you already seeing?
What can we do about it?

Feeding America - formly known as Amercia's Second Harvest

Enjoy this is something that our family did for Thanksgiving this year - 2008

Community Hospice Foundation - Adopt A Family For Thanksgiving here is our Family Food Basket for Thanksgiving to a needed family so they will have A Thanksgiving Meal





Ideas

Please if you can when you stop by your local Store they more then likely have bins or something that you could drop off a Non-perishable item when you are getting grocery items to prepare your own Thanksgiving meal!

Prepare a meal for someone in need work at your local shelters before you serve your family Thanksgiving meal or drop off Non-perishable items.

Contact your local food bank to volunteer or have a food drive and then drop the items off at Food Bank or a group shelter in need.

See if your church group is delivering food items or has a pantry to stock.



Volunteer your time you never know who's life may be enriched by your actions.

Giving and Thanksgiving

No empty plates
this Thanksgiving

Help set the table for 14 million Americans

Every dollar you give helps provide 16 meals for families in need


No empty plates
this Thanksgiving


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At Feeding America, we understand how important advocacy is to our ability to end hunger in America. The support of individuals like you helps make it possible for us to show our nation just how and why Feeding America is critical to the fight to end hunger.

As we introduce our new name and look to the public, we’re encouraging our advocates to become actively involved as brand ambassadors by sharing their personal commitments to Feeding America. The stories of advocates like you will be critical as we introduce our new name to legislators, the media, and the communities we serve. Your story can help us better convey that Feeding America is about even more than donating food, money, and time—it’s also about supporting policies and actions that take us closer as a nation to finding solutions to the problem of hunger.

Tell us why you’re committed to the fight against hunger. Tell us why you are Feeding America. Please take a moment to share your story with us today.


1 in 8 Americans are at risk of hunger in America




THANKSGIVING DAY - meaning of
Thanksgiving will be celebrated in the US on Thursday, November 27, 2008.

Like a slow-roasted turkey, the American holiday of Thanksgiving was a long time in the making.

In autumn 1621, about a year after the Mayflower Pilgrims made landfall at Plymouth, they put together a feast and broke bread with their Native American neighbors, the Wampanoag, who were celebrating Keepunumuk, the time of the harvest. The menu featured fowl, venison and fish, along with wheat and corn products. A contemporary account written by colonist Edward Winslow showed the assembled to be content with their lot:


And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us [when we were back in England], yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you [our English brethren] partakers of our plenty.

Sporadic national, regional and individual Thanksgivings followed, but the day did not become an annual, national holiday until 1863. Americans were waging the Civil War, and in the midst of it President Abraham Lincoln, spurred on by the lobbying efforts of writer Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national day in which to express thanks for the many blessings enjoyed by Americans, e.g., natural resources and population growth, despite the military conflict:


They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

It wasn't till later in the 19th century, though, that the popular image of the "First Thanksgiving" took root. Earlier, while the Indian wars were still raging, scenes of settlers and natives engaging in joint revelry seemed inconceivable.

In 1939, during the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously modified Lincoln's chosen date of the last Thursday of November to the second-to-last Thursday of November in order to extend the post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas shopping season. The move was met with confusion and criticism, and in 1942 FDR signed a law making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November, a law which is still in effect today.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving is one of the few truly secular, nondenominational holidays on the US calendar (the Fourth of July is another). Americans celebrate with a long weekend, a big meal with family and friends (on the menu: foods that reflect the tastes and colors of the autumn harvest, such as roast turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce and candied yams), and football.

Facts and Figures
(courtesy of the US Census Department press release for Thanksgiving)

There were 256 million turkeys raised in the US in 2005 (Minnesota had the most); 624million pounds of cranberries (Wisconsin led); 1.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes in 2004 (North Carolina led); and 998 million pounds of pumpkins (Illinois led).
The average American consumed 13.7 pounds of turkey and 4.7 pounds of sweet potatoes in 2003.
Thanksgiving football goes back to 1876, when the Intercollegiate Football Association held its championship on Thanksgiving Day.
The first NFL Thanksgiving Day game was held in 1920, when the Akron Pros routed the Canton Bulldogs 7-0.
The Detroit Lions have played Thanksgiving Day football since 1934, when they lost to the Chicago Bears 19-16.
The Thanksgiving Day football series went on hiatus 1939-44 due to WWII.
Nowadays, there are two Thanksgiving Day games. The Dallas Cowboys began their tradition in 1966 with a 26-14 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Happy Veteran's Day

Veterans Day is the perfect opportunity to use fun activities to teach your children about the importance of this holiday.

Veterans Day is a great time to educate your children about the history of this holiday and the sacrifice and dedication of our U.S. veterans. So, how do you celebrate this holiday in a creative and constructive way with your children?

How to Teach Kids About Veterans Day


Here are a few ideas, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs and EducationWorld.com:

1. Teach your children about the history of Veterans Day by having them create a time line of events leading to the observance of the holiday.

2. Have your kids write short articles or essays of how veterans are honored around the world. And if you know any veterans locally, propose that your kids interview them about what it's like to serve in the U.S. military.

3. Research how American veterans were treated after they returned from various military conflicts, ranging from the French and Indian War to the Persian Gulf War. Ask your children to compare and contrast their findings. Also compare and contrast how women and minorities who served in those conflicts were treated.

4. Have children draw a picture of Veterans Day, and what this holiday means to them. Military children can draw a picture of a parent who is currently deployed, or a relative who has served.

5. Make a thank you card for veterans. Children can give this card to veterans that they know or to veterans who are listed through the local VA medical facility.

6. Ask your children's teacher to invite veterans to their classroom. Veterans can discuss what it's like to serve in the military, and how important it is to observe this holiday.

7. Have your kids make a colorful and fun poster with the names and pictures of relatives who are veterans.

There are a variety of ways to celebrate Veterans Day with your children. And teaching children about the significance of this holiday will help give them a deep appreciation of our nation's servicemembers and veterans.

Veterans Day Teacher Resource Guide

With Veterans Day less than 45 days away, the time is right for planning classroom activities. The Veterans Day Teacher Resource Guide contains information to help students gain an understanding of the origins of Veterans Day and why America celebrates it each November 11. It includes suggestions for a Veterans Day ceremony and classroom activities for both younger and older students. Download a copy of the Resource Guide or Veterans Day poster.

I. M. Sulzbacher - We feed 458 last night

Hello,

I just wanted to share this story... I have volunteered at this shelter for years and have taken tours and led many on tours and been the group leader so I thought I knew the center inside and out...However this time it was different!

I thought about all that is happening with us in America and how so many have touched my life by going to the center to cook and serve food as well as other things such as donations and helping with kids day and collections of all the many toiletries, towels and bed linens I have taken to the center over the years. Somehow it became clear when a women asked who are you and please tell the person who prepared the meal that it was the best one I have ever had here at the center and the look in her eye somehow I knew she meant it... Who am I well I just smiled and said just a person trying to help and make a difference and I am like you on the large planet we care about... and I smiled again and said thank you to her (she made a difference in my life as I laided in bed that night thinking of the center and all that had happened and for a second I knew I could have been here (meaning at the center) at any given time - That was my lesson learned it could be me and I would want the help that volunteers give. I am so thankful for the many blessings and I truly beleive I do make a difference if only for a short time however what is most important here is she truly made a difference to me with her kind words and passion and love in her heart! She was just like me trying to make a difference in someone elses life and trying to make a place on this large planet we call home!


About the Center and some photos from last night- Enjoy

Sulzbacher Center is unique

We are Northeast Florida’s only provider of comprehensive services for homeless men, women and children.We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.We serve nutritious meals and offer safe shelter. But that is just the beginning. We provide outstanding health care and high-quality children’s programs. Our job placement assistance and life skills programs equip men and women for employment and for success. We offer something simple, but important—hope.

Transforming Lives

Three thousand of our neighbors—men, women and children—are homeless every night in Jacksonville. Each one has an immediate need for food and shelter. But just as important, each one deserves the opportunity to achieve a better life with a home of their own, an income to live on and access to health care. Sulzbacher Center provides programs that transform lives. In the process, we create a better city for all of us. And we need your help.

Our Mission

To empower homeless and at-risk men, women and children to achieve a better life through a full range of services, both direct and in collaboration with community partners, thus renewing hope and restoring lives back into the fabric of the community.