WELCOME 2: TWENTITY.COM ~ The Home for Twentysomethings

Have You Ever...- 01-09-08

Volunteered?

By ChaChanna Simpson

This year I’m encouraging you to give back to the community. Below, I have gathered information on a variety of organizations so you can see who out there needs your time, talents and money. If nothing here fits your fancy then please visit, www.volunteermatch.org. On that site you can find what organizations in your area are looking for help. Please consider lending your help, you’ll never know how much your contribution can make a world a difference to someone.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH)
The National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) is a project of the Texas Council on Family Violence in Austin, Texas. Established in 1996 as a component of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed by Congress, NDVH is a nonprofit organization that provides crisis intervention, information and referral to victims of domestic violence, perpetrators, friends and families. The Hotline answers a variety of calls and is a resource for domestic violence advocates government officials, law enforcement agencies and the general public.? NDVH serves as the only domestic violence hotline in the nation with access to more than 5,000 shelters and domestic violence programs across the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Advocates answer approximately 16,500 calls each month. The Hotline is toll-free, confidential and anonymous. NDVH operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in more than 140 different languages through interpreter services, with a TTY line available for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing.

How you can help
No matter what your skills are, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can use your help. Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds and include women and men, students, retirees and professionals. Prior experience working with domestic violence is not required. All you need is compassion, commitment and a desire to make a difference.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is located in Austin, Texas. All Volunteers must be 18 years of age and located in Austin or surrounding areas. However, if you would still like to volunteer to end violence against women, the Hotline can access the phone number to a service provider in your area. For more information, please call the Volunteer Coordinator at 512-453-8117.

Volunteer Hotline Advocate
Volunteer Hotline Advocates answer incoming Hotline calls from victims of domestic violence, their friends and family, the general public, and social service providers. Volunteer Hotline Advocates provide crisis intervention, information, referrals, and problem-solving assistance to the caller. Volunteers can work flexible hours including nights and weekends.

All Volunteer Hotline Advocates are required to attend an extensive training course. Upon completion of the training course, volunteers then partner with more experienced volunteers so they can monitor calls, become familiar with the phone system and feel comfortable answering calls. Mentors are present to help Volunteer Hotline Advocates with their first calls until a new Volunteer Advocate feels comfortable working alone.
For more information visit http://www.ndvh.org/.

Greenpeace
Greenpeace proves every day that ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things.

It was a group of thoughtful, committed citizens that came together in 1971 to create Greenpeace. A handful of determined activists leased a small fishing vessel, called the Phyllis Cormack, and set sail from Vancouver for Amchitka Island in Alaska. Their mission was to protest U.S. nuclear testing off the coast of Alaska with a brave act of defiance: to place themselves in harm’s way. Despite being intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard, these daring activists sailed into history by bringing worldwide attention to the dangers of nuclear testing.

That was more than 30 years ago, and in that time, Greenpeace has indeed changed the world, and we continue to make the world a better place. Our committed activists and supporters have come together to ban commercial whaling, convince the world’s leaders to stop nuclear testing, protect Antarctica, and so much more. Today, we have grown from a small group of dedicated activists to an international organization with offices in more than 30 countries. But our spirit and our mission remain the same. Our fight to save the planet has grown more serious – the threat of global warming, destruction of ancient forests, deterioration of our oceans, and the threat of a nuclear disaster loom large. Greenpeace is actively working to address these and other threats.

How you can help
You can visit their site to see what action items they are currently working on, and in most cases you don’t have to do anything but spread the word. Visit www.greenpeace.org/usa/ to see how you can help.

Best Buddies
Best Buddies ® is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment.
Founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant, international organization that has grown from one original chapter to more than 1,300 middle school, high school, and college campuses across the country and internationally. Best Buddies programs engage participants in each of the 50 United States. We have accredited international programs on six continents with additional country programs under active development. Our six formal programs – Best Buddies Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Citizens, e -Buddies® and Jobs – will positively impact more than 350,000 individuals this year. Best Buddies also is systematically implementing our 2010 initiative that will witness the organization's continued significant growth, both domestically and overseas. Best Buddies volunteers annually contribute services to the community that equate to more than $70 million USD.

Even though Best Buddies has advanced tremendously in our short existence, many areas of the country and many regions of the world still lack programs to help people with intellectual disabilities become part of mainstream society. Our goal is to continue expanding nationwide and at the local community level, while more broadly engaging the global community through our programs.

How you can help?
When people with disabilities are unable to attain or maintain a job, it is most often due to an absence of social skills rather than an inadequacy to perform the work required. Best Buddies introduces socialization opportunities and job coaching, providing the necessary tools for people with intellectual disabilities to become more independent and, correspondingly, more included in the community.
For more information, please visit www.bestbuddies.org.

American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is where people mobilize to help their neighbors—across the street, across the country, and across the world—in emergencies. Each year, in communities large and small, victims of some 70,000 disasters turn to neighbors familiar and new—the more than half a million volunteers and 35,000 employees of the Red Cross. Through over 700 locally supported chapters, more than 15 million people gain the skills they need to prepare for and respond to emergencies in their homes, communities and world.

Some four million people give blood—the gift of life—through the Red Cross, making it the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. And the Red Cross helps thousands of U.S. service members separated from their families by military duty stay connected. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global network of 186 national societies, the Red Cross helps restore hope and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people.

An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.

How you can help
The American Red Cross helps people in emergencies every day. Whether its half a million disaster victims or one sick child who needs blood, Our vital work is made possible by people like you, who learn how good it can feel to lend a helping hand.
The American Red Cross needs you!

• Various Opportunities to Help — Red Cross volunteers provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

• Fits Your Schedule— Your local Red Cross chapter can work with you to provide rewarding experiences, whatever your schedule. ? How much time do you have?

• No Special Skills Required — The Red Cross needs people with all kinds of different backgrounds, talents and skill levels. And, if you need training, we'll provide it.

We Depend on Volunteers
Volunteers constitute 96 percent of our total work force to carry on our humanitarian work:
• Every year the Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters—including approximately 150 home fires every day.
• About 11 million Americans turn to us to learn first aid, CPR, swimming, and other health and safety skills. Last year, more than 158,000 people volunteered to teach those courses.
• Half the nation's blood supply— six million pints annually—is collected by more than 155,000 Red Cross volunteers .
• Among our emergency services for the men and women of the armed forces is the delivery of urgent family messages—around the clock and around the globe.
• More than 30,900 volunteers serve as chairs, members of boards of directors, or on advisory boards for local Red Cross units - chapters, Blood Services regions, and military stations.

As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Red Cross reconnects more than 8,000 families separated by conflicts and disasters around the world through international tracking services and Red Cross messages.

America’s Second Harvest-The Nation’s Food Bank Network
America's Second Harvest—The Nation's Food Bank Network is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization:
• A network of more than 200 member food banks and food-rescue organizations
• Serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The America's Second Harvest Network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. ??The America's Second Harvest Network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, Kids Cafes, Community Kitchens and BackPack Programs. ??Each year, the America's Second Harvest Network provides food assistance to more than 25 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.

How you can help
Each day, hunger is experienced in every community across this country. In fact, our network feeds over 25 million neighbors each year. Ending hunger in America depends on the volunteer work of literally millions of Americans who know that they can make a difference.

There are as many different ways to volunteer, as there are individuals and communities across this country.

You can help out in your local community through activities such as:
tutoring kids at your local Kids Cafe
repackaging donated food for use at food pantries
transporting food to charitable agencies
clerical work at the National Office
Its simple - get involved today - and get your family and friends involved. Search for volunteer opportunities in your local community .
Disaster Response Volunteers
Volunteers are needed across the country to support our network's commitment to the survivors of disaster-affected communities.
You can help out in your local community through activities such as sorting, boxing and repackaging donated food to be directed where it's needed most. Addressing the needs of displaced survivors will be critical over the next several months. ?Contact your America's Second Harvest network member to see how your help is needed.
For more information, please visit http://www.secondharvest.org/

Habitat for Humanity
Since its founding in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International has built and rehabilitated more than 150,000 houses with families in need, becoming a true world leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing.
Through the work of Habitat, thousands of low-income families have found new hope in the form of affordable housing. Churches, community groups and others have joined together to successfully tackle a significant social problem -- decent housing for all.? Today, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 200,000 houses, sheltering more than 1,000,000 people in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.
To find a local chapter in your area and get your hands dirty visit www.habitat.org.

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
Anne T. Macdonald was a member of the New York Public Library's Women's Auxiliary in 1948 when the letters started to arrive — letters from soldiers who had lost their sight in combat during World War II. Their stories were all the same. The soldiers had returned home, many anxious to move forward with their lives.

The newly-passed GI Bill of Rights provided that opportunity, guaranteeing a college education to all veterans of the war and those who would follow them.
But for these blinded veterans, other obstacles prevented them from resuming their lives, including the inaccessibility of college textbooks. Could the Women's Auxiliary do something to help?

Macdonald then mobilized the women of the Auxiliary. Few veterans knew how to read braille, and live readers were difficult to come by, so the Women's Auxiliary moved on to a more creative solution. Keeping in mind Macdonald's conviction that "education is a right, not a privilege," Recording for the Blind® — as we were then known — was born.
They transformed the attic of the New York Public Library into a studio, and began recording textbooks for the servicemen, using what was then state-of-the-art technology: six-inch vinyl SoundScriber phonograph discs that played only 12 minutes of material per side.

Demand was so great that by 1951, our organization had incorporated as the nation's only nonprofit to record textbooks. The following year, Anne Macdonald traveled across the country to establish recording studios in seven additional cities. Today, in addition to our National Headquarters, we have 29 recording studios across the United States.

Today, we serve 185,235 members worldwide, circulating 502,501 titles in 2007. Even more remarkable, more than 70 percent of our membership — which includes students in kindergarten through graduate school, as well as working professionals — are recognized with learning disabilities.

How you can help
Readers narrate the text of a book and describe any visual elements, such as charts, graphs, pictures, maps, or mathematical equations. Currently, RFB&D is facing a shortage of specialized readers proficient in math, science, finance, accounting, computer science, foreign languages, and other technical areas. We also are in need of volunteers to read general K-12 titles.

Directors guide the reader by operating easy-to-use recording equipment and making corrections to the recorded material when needed.
Digital Audio Editors review files during the production process to ensure that RFB&D’s high quality standards are being met.
Educational Outreach volunteers assist staff by spreading the word about RFB&D’s services at schools, community events and local conferences. Volunteers also arrange appointments for staff, facilitate training sessions at schools, and compile information and training packets to be passed on to members and potential members. Volunteers also represent RFB&D at local events and conferences.

Book Markers create a “pencil path” through books to be recorded, making notes to guide readers through the sequence of text, charts, illustrations and footnotes.? Board/committee members provide general oversight of local operations and assist with fundraising, name awareness and relationship building. Other needs include fundraisers, public relations helpers, orientation leaders, speakers’ bureau presenters and office assistants. All volunteers are trained by our professional staff.
For more information visit www.rfbd.org.

Now that you have an idea of what organizations are out there that need your help, go out there and offer your services. If money is all you can give great, but if you can go the extra step and actually get involved and make a difference in someone’s life, that will be all the more rewarding.

Make it a stellar year!

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