Join Us for Family Volunteer Day!

Family Volunteer Day is a day of service designed to demonstrate the power of families volunteering together. Celebrated annually the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Day “kicks off” the holiday season with giving and service. Join us on November 19, 2011.

HandsOn will spotlight a few different projects. Check the special event page for a current list of all the available projects. HandsOn is especially happy to host a Project Frenzy at Salem's Riverfront Carousel. Join us for a great family activity! All who volunteer will receive a free ride on the carousel! Click here for more details and to sign up.

A Few Tips to Make a Difference and Make your Mark

From the HandsOn Network Blog

Last Saturday marks the 21st anniversary of Make A Difference Day. Since 1990, HandsOn Network and USA WEEKEND have joined together to sponsor Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of community service. Millions of Americans will unite in a common mission to improve the lives of others this Saturday.
GenerationOn has been supporting Make Your Mark Week this week, a great way for kids to get involved in small acts of service that can come together to make big changes in their communities. Kids can find ways to help animals, the environment, homelessness, hunger, and literacy.
This weekend, it’s easy to get involved in service! Here are some tips for finding your own way to Make A Difference or Make Your Mark:

• Make a pledge to help animals in your community! Puppies and kittens are adorable, and there are a lot of ways you can help out animals that don’t have a home in your community.
• Find a volunteer project near you! There are hundreds of volunteer projects going on this Saturday for Make A Difference Day! We bet you can find one that doesn’t start too early so you can sleep in on Saturday!
• Make the environment a little cleaner! Find a small act or a big project that can help your community be a little greener!
• Help kids and adults without a home. Take a few moments to find out how you can help families living in homeless shelters lead an easier life while they’re getting back on their feet.
• Stamp out hunger in your community! Find a way that you can help people who don’t have enough to eat and support your community food bank!
• Help make reading cool for everyone! Spend some time sharing your favorite books or helping other kids find the adventure in reading!
• Do your own thing! You can start your own volunteer projects this weekend and have a lot of practice for next year’s Make A Difference Day! Starting your own volunteer project is easy with a little help from HandsOn!

Volunteering Cranked Up!

You are a service-minded individual. You love to volunteer and you know the difference you make in the community each time you volunteer. However, have you ever considered offering just a little more to your community? AmeriCorps is a federal program through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) that is volunteering to the extreme!

But How Does it Work?
Non-profits, schools churches and government entities write grants to CNCS requesting to host AmeriCorps members at their site. Members do any number of jobs from starting brand new programs, engage new populations or even helping an existing program become more sustainable. Some AmeriCorps members travel the country in groups and complete needs for organizations at all corners of the U.S.
Some programs require members to commit to a full year of service. Some have shorter commitments. All members are considered volunteers but do receive a small living stipend and other compensation like health insurance and assistance with childcare.

Does this sound like a good options for you? Check out AmeriCorps.gov for more information and to see all the current openings across the nation.

Volunteering with your Family is Good for Everyone!

From the HandsOn Network Blog.

Volunteering as a family provides a fun way for families to make memories together while making significant contributions to their communities.

It also teaches children the values of kindness and giving back, ideas which complement the gift giving season.

Family members use their talents to work on an issue they feel passionate about.

Serving together builds problem solving skills and strengthens communication within the whole family.

• Volunteering together strengthens the family by promoting positive values, creating new opportunities to communicate and focusing on the importance of teamwork.
• Volunteering as a family strengthens the community by encouraging people to get involved, and improving the community’s overall environmment—attracting new business, new people, new commitments and new ideas.
• Family volunteering strengthens nonprofit organizations by increasing community awareness of important social needs and expanding the volunteer base.
• Volunteering together makes family time valuable to both families and communities
• Family volunteering can help to improve family communication.
• Volunteering as a family teaches children values like kindness, empathy, respect, friendliness and tolerance.
• Making family volunteer opportunities available provides opportunities for recruiting new populations, therefore increasing the pool of available volunteers.
• Recruiting families to volunteer acts as a natural multiplier of volunteers. Recruitment of any one family member often acts as a catalyst for enlisting other family members.
• Family volunteering garners media attention. Families involved in group projects are a media magnet.
• Families that volunteer together have a built-in opportunity to reflect on what they did when they volunteered together!

There are lots of great family friendly opportunities this weekend for Make a Difference Day!
Sign Up Now!

New HandsOn Connect Feature!

Hey there volunteers!

Do you find yourself conducting very similar volunteer opportunity searches each time you are on the HandsOn Database? Well you are in luck! A new feature was just released that you might enjoy. You can conduct an opportunity search and then save it!

1. Login
2. Select your search criteria under the Find Opportunities Tab
3. Name your search
4. Click Save

All of your saved searches will appear under the My Account Page. You can also share the URL for your search with anyone!

So Who is Volunteering Anyway?

The HandsOn Network has developed a fun and easy to read graphic to sum up the Corporation for National and Community Service's report, Volunteering in America.

Click here to check it out!

*Fun Fact: Did you know Salem jumped 8 spots to be 15th in the nation for volunteerism in mid-sized cities? Pretty awesome, huh?

9 Tips for Mentoring Students

re posted from the HandsOn Network Blog
Mentoring relationships can be positive experience for students at any level in their school experience. Mentors can help young students get to know adults that aren’t their parents, and older students can benefit from the knowledge and talents that mentors can share with them.

Mentoring relationships can be difficult, though. Here are some tips to help build a strong, positive mentoring relationship:

• Be patient. Your mentoring relationship is going to advance in stages. Students may not show that they’re benefiting from a relationship with you at first. Stick with it, though, your help may be just what a student needs.
• Praise is important. A word of praise for an achievement can show a student that not everything in the world is critical. Be positive and sincere in your praise, whether it’s for great achievements or small victories.
• Set boundaries. Being open in a mentoring relationship is important. Most mentoring relationships develop and flourish without problems. Occasionally, however, something comes up. Mentors have an important role, but this doesn’t include replacing family or social service professionals. A mentor can help guide a young person to the appropriate source for additional help that they might not be able to provide. If you’re not sure where to start, talk to the student’s teacher or principal.
• Try to understand the student’s point of view. Even if you don’t share his or her point of view, trying to appreciate it shows you care. Who knows, you might learn a different way of looking at the world.
• Celebrate differences. Experienced mentors report that working with a young person from a different background broadened their own horizons and deepened their understanding of other people and cultures. Sometimes it is the differences that make the difference.
• Be honest. We all know that nobody’s perfect. If you make mistakes, admit it. Say you’re sorry and learn from it. It’s a skill a child may only learn from you.
• Be there. Just the sound of your concerned voice can make a big difference in the life of a child. You don’t have to be able to fix all of their problems, but being able to listen to them can go a long way towards making things better.
• Be positive. Ask yourself, “What encouragement can I give if my young friend disappoints himself or herself?” Mentors are in the business of helping young people make the most of their lives. Allow the child to make a few “growing” mistakes when they learn new things.
• Believe. Many children in our communities struggle with self-esteem. Your faith in them can be the greatest gift you can give.

Check out the great Mentoring Opportunities in your area.