In honor of International Women’s Day all of my post in the month of  March will be focused on Women Rights and Women Issues.

 

When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.
Audre Lorde

According to the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, women living in poverty are often denied access to critical resources such as credit, land and inheritance. Their labour goes unrewarded and unrecognized.

Women perform 66 percent of the world’s work, produce 50 percent of the food, but earn 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property.

That is an astounding statistic. The next time you are in the grocery store buying  your fresh organic  vegetables, know that statistically the odds say that a woman living in poverty  helped produce it. The gap between men and women caught in the cycle of poverty has continued to widen in recent years. This alarming trend is referred to as ‘the feminization of poverty’.

  What Causes the Feminization of Poverty?

Ending world poverty begins with women. Research and experience have shown that women in poor countries are more likely to spend their income on food, education, and health care for their children – a long-term investment that lifts entire families and communities out of poverty. Economic opportunity for women is so important to ending the extreme poverty that cripples communities in the developing world: because when you teach a woman to fish, everybody eats.

Unfortunately unequal barriers are keeping women in developing countries from earning the income they need to provide for their families. When a mother in Kenya is not allowed to own property, for instance, she and her children will become homeless should her husband ever die. When a seamstress in the Philippines is not able to sell the clothing she makes to other countries (where people have the money to buy them), she may never be able to earn enough income to send her children to school.

UNDP Water and Development report breaks it down in startling clarity:

If the average distance to the moon is 394,400 km, South African women together walk the equivalent of a trip to the moon and back 16 times a day to supply their households with water.

Hard to stay in school, go to work and provide for your family when you are walking to the moon and back—daily. On top of  all the reasons I have already mention, the current economic crisis has had a particularly hard impact on women. Women globally are concentrated in insecure jobs in the informal sector with low income and few rights; they tend to have few skills and only basic education. They are the first to be fired. Lets look at the numbers:

• Women constitute around 60–80 percent of the export manufacturing workforce in the developing world, a sector the World Bank expects to shrink significantly during the economic crisis
• The global economic crisis is expected to plunge a further 22 million women into unemployment, which would lead to a female unemployment rate of 7.4 percent (versus 7 percent of male unemployment).
• 700,000 clothing and textile workers in India lost their jobs in 2008
• More than half of the 40,000 jobs lost in the Philippines come from export processing zones, where 80 percent of workers are women
• Sri Lanka and Cambodia have each lost 30,000 mostly female garment industry jobs to date — in both countries, the garment industry accounts for at least half of export earning
• Female garment workers on abysmal wages in Bangladesh are still reeling from last year’s food crisis — and the situation can only worsen as the effects of the economic crisis kick in later this year.

Lets be clear,this is not just “over there”– some nameless, faceless developing country. This is here in the USA as well. Women in America are more likely to be poor than men. Over half of the 37 million Americans living in poverty today are women. And women in America are further behind than women in other countries—the gap in poverty rates between men and women is wider in America than anywhere else in the Western world. Check out the link and get your mind blown…..

 What would happen if we followed Audre Lordes’s wisdom and allowed women to be powerful and use their strength in service to their own vision and dreams and that of their communities?

 I said it in a previous post and I will say it again,this year lets commit to purchasing one less “thing” and invest in one more woman. Lets commit to giving women  access to financial and human capital. Once we do we will undoubtedly see family income rise. We will see children educated, health and housing will improve and communities will be transformed. Empowering women reduces poverty. Its as simple as that.

 America is the land of the second chance – and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.
George W. Bush    

The path  after prison should lead to a better life. There are many socio-economic reasons why that’s not a true statement. This week my 32 year old cousin went to jail. He made some bad choices and those choices will lead to some long term  jail time. My family is devastated and the majority of my family is focused on the past trying to figure out what went wrong with this young man who had such promise.  

I am not looking backward…I am focused on the future.  I am trying to learn as much as possible about what he can expect once he is inside. How can he make the best of his time in prison…how can he do the work necessary so that  his path leads to a better life and not right back to another  prison cell. In doing my research, I remembered a program a good friend of mine supports. She is a board member and an advocate to the Insight Prison Project. 

Since 1997, the Insight Prison Project has been dedicated to reducing recidivism rates and improving public safety by conducting  in-prison rehabilitation programs that provide prisoners with the tools and life skills necessary to create durable change. Working in partnership with San Quentin State Prison, IPP conducts 19 weekly classes involving more than 200 prisoners. The classes focus on preparing the men to become responsible and productive members of the community when they leave prison.  From IPP’s web site:

The Need   

More than 25 years ago, California enacted legislation [Penal code 1170 (a) (1)] stating that “the purpose of imprisonment for crime is punishment,” essentially banning rehabilitation from the state’s penal system. Since that time, the number of inmates in California’s prisons has increased by 554 percent and the average annual cost to house, feed and guard a prisoner in a state prison is over $43,000/year. As of April 2008, California houses 174.000 prisoners. In addition, a whopping 70% of those who leave prison return within eighteen months of release. Though officially California has added rehabilitation to the correctional department’s title, in reality it spends only 5% of its 10 billion dollar budget on rehabilitation programs.  IPP’s contribution is to develop and conduct innovative in-prison programs – and train others to conduct these programs. There are four kinds of prisoner rehabilitation categories.  Academic, vocational, arts and recreation and behavioral. IPP’s programs sit within the behavioral category. Within that category, our methodology hones in on addressing the entrenched habit patterns that trip up a prisoner regardless of his academic or vocational achievements.  Our motto?  “Leaving prison…before you get out.”   

 Although IPP concentrates on in-prison rehabilitation, They actively collaborate with organizations which provide post-release services and programs. Let’s look at some of the programs they offer:  

  Doing ‘The Work

‘“It’s not what you did that got you here. It’s the thought you believed that made you do what you did that got you here.” This class teaches a very simple method of cognitive restructuring developed by Byron Katie. Katie’s method teaches how to very effectively question one’s thinking so prisoners can easily and consistently find their way out of habitually negative thinking and behaviors. This method has been used in other prison settings with great results. The class is made possible by a generous grant from the Byron Katie Foundation.
 Victim/Offender Education Group (VOEG) 

 The VOEG training is divided into three areas:
 * Offender Education and Accountability 

  *Victim Impact and Sensitivity 

*Victim/Offender Dialogue with a Surrogate Panel 
The purpose of this intensive training is to help offenders fully understand and take responsibility for the impact of their actions and to make the necessary changes in their lives in order to live a productive life free from prison. Restorative Justice research shows that given the opportunity to understand their choices in life and the impact those choices have had on others, offenders can play an important role in helping restore to whole the lives of their victims, their community and themselves.
 

The more individual offenders understand themselves, and the impact of their criminal behavior on their victim(s) becomes personalized, the greater hope we have to reduce recidivism and witness offenders voluntarily making the necessary changes to live meaningful and productive lives upon release.  

It took me 25 years to come to this understanding,” he said. “Violence is wrong, and I have a choice.”~ Graduate of IPP Violence Prevention Program   

I hope my cousin comes out of prison having left behind his negative thinking and understanding  the impact that his behavior has left on his family and  his community. I thank God for programs like IPP and the  men they help start down a new path. I hope there is a program like IPP that helps restores my cousin soul.  

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted. Albert Einstein

I have been in the non profit space for over 20 years and its been a a wonderful ride.  I love it as much today as I did in the 90’s when I was a young Turk trying to do good. I have learned a few things over the years,one  that’s really important- organizations count what they value. That could be volunteers, volunteer hours, dollars raised, clients served or media hits.  I have said it here before and I will say it now: I love and value good, hard data and accurate reporting.

 Yet sometime it feels very “one trick pony”.  We can continue to just count volunteers or we can count volunteers AND the impact of their experience of improving lives and transforming communities where they serve. The lasting change I reference in  the sentence above is complicated, complex and requires research  and  investment in things that are not so easily funded. It takes years and honestly a lot of work.  So I will place a question before you. 

Are we REALLY counting, what matters? I think that only one thing matters in the end, and that is that we leave  communities EMPOWERED.

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capacities. It  is the process that allows one to gain the knowledge, skill-sets and attitude needed to cope with the changing world and the circumstances in which one lives.

How do we empower communities?

1. Ensuring they  have decision-making power.
2. Ensuring they have  access to information and resources for taking proper decision and making sure the information is understood and contextualized as needed.
3. Ensuring community members have the ability to learn skills for improving their individual  and/ or group power.
4. Working in partnership with community members to help increase the communities and the individual member’s positive self-image and overcoming stigma. A strong, positive identity is key.

 This is grass roots, bottom up people focused work. Its the work that helps reduce prejudice,build peace coalitions around the world and helps mediation groups bring an end to conflicts. This is work that needs to happen in schools, churches all over the world. Its letting go a lot of fear, history and pain. Its being brave and stepping out in the light. This is hard work, but honestly its the only work that matters and ultimately the only thing worth counting.

One month after the hurricane more than 1.1 million people are in need of shelter. Adequate shelter is vital to improving the health, safety and well-being of people who do not have a home to protect their family and their belongings. Families have organized tent cities and encampments on their own to survive. But Haitians need help to rebuild more permanent  structures and lives. Camps and collective centres are very rarely an appropriate solution following natural disaster . Proactive steps should be taken to avoid the establishment of camps where safe and appropriate

The Disaster Response arm of the U.N says:

Security is frequently an important issue in the wake of natural disasters because of the disruption that disasters cause to community structures,including police and other security services. In displaced persons camps,persons traumatized by their own  experiences may frequently find themselves living in crowded, unsanitary conditions where food andother necessities may be scarce and tensions run high or, where food and other items are made available with inadequate protection against the diversion of aid or exploitation by those distributing it.

 Shelter is an immediate need. The rains are coming. 

Families need supplies and help to make immediate repairs and constructing temporary shelter.  Most families would prefer to stay close to their homes to discourage looting, maintain their sources of employment  and  seek lost relatives, and help to support  friends and neighbors. 

Displaced women and children face a range of specific risks. They are extremely vulnerable  to sexual and gender-based violence, especially in camps, where the risks also include increased levels of domestic violence, child abuse and alcohol-related violence. When food is not delivered directly to women their vulnerability to sexual exploitation and abuse increases dramatically.

Building permanent shelter will not be easy for many reasons:

• land rights uncertain because of a lack of records, loss or destruction of records, or damage to community-based land  governance systems
•  uncertainty of land tenure may lead to disputes and delays in reconstruction, or to reconstruction in inappropriate   locations
•  the deaths of land owners, and loss of land records (if any),  will occur in a much more compressed period of time in the   case of natural disasters

Those of you who know me, know that I believe in the trans formative power of service. That I love, love, love, LOVE seeing folks volunteer and have a  rewarding experience.  I spend my days and much of my 20 plus years encouraging and mobilizing volunteers.  I have gotten lots of questions from folks  wanting to know how soon can they get to Haiti to help. 

I am here to say this loud and clear…Haitians do not need volunteers, they need jobs.

 Anything that organizations would normally have volunteers do– they should be paying Haitians to do. Helping to build and economy and  independence for the Haitian people. Organizations on the ground should  mobilize local Haitian volunteer groups and provide them with tools to remove debris and salvage materials that can be recycled for new shelter. Cleanup work lets survivors help directly with recovery, contributing to their mental strength and emotional healing. Trust me friends volunteers will be necessary and appropriate to assist at a later date. Recovery will take years.

Did I mention the  rains are coming?

So I decided to support Habitat for Humanity in rebuilding Haiti and have set a goal to raise $2,500, the approximate cost to build the basis of a new home for someone there.

Please join me by donating to Habitat today.
http://secure.habitat.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=340274&u=340274-116000974&e=3116031172

This earthquake has drawn the world’s attention to a country that was already in desperate need.

Even before the quake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. More than 80 percent of Haiti’s 9 million people lived on less than US$2 per day; 55 percent lived on less than US$1 per day. Political instability, food shortages, tropical storms and hurricanes had prevented most Haitians from breaking free of  poverty.  For Haitians to break free of poverty  all the strategies being developed by government, and NGO’s  must  be community based involving local people in the decision making process. Safe shelter is the first step to help  take families down the long road to recovery

 Please continue to keep the people of Haiti  in your thoughts and prayers. Also continue to honor their struggle with  finacial support. I made a promise to not leave the Haitian people stranded  and I mean to keep that promise.

Spoken by 7,000,000 people in Haiti.
Linguistic Lineage for Haitian Creole French

Papa nou ki nan sièl la,
ké non ou va sanktifié.
10. Rouayom ou vini.
Ké volonté ou vi-n fèt sou la tè,
minm jan li yé nan sièl la.
11. Ba nou jodi-a pin mou bézouin chak jou.
12. É Padonnin dèt nou yo,
tankou nou padonnin moun you ki doué nou.
13. Pa minnin nou nan tantasion,
min délivré nou anba malin an:
paské rouayom , é puisans, é la gloua sé
pou ou pou toujou.
Amèn.

~Lord’s Prayer in Creole`

Volunteering  During Disasters

I started this post with the Lord’s Prayer for a reason. I need prayer right now. Haiti needs prayer right now.  I pray to help me make sense of the horrific images I am seeing every day. I pray because I want to be in Haiti, helping and yet I know I cannot be. I ask you to please keep in prayer the families and communities left devastated by this disaster in Haiti. Pray also for God’s protection and guidance upon those who are responding with emergency assistance.

As the emergency in Haiti is brought under control, the focus will be aimed at restoring lives and the infrastructure that supports them. There is no distinct point at which immediate relief changes into recovery and then into long-term sustainable development.  Haiti needs long term sustainable development. I am just sorry it has taken a disaster of this magnitude to make people sit up and pay attention. What was Haiti like before the earthquake?

By most economic measures, Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas. It had a nominal GDP of 7.018 billion USD in 2009, with a GDP per capita of 790 USD, about $2 per person per day. About 80% of the population was estimated to be living in poverty in 2003. Most Haitians live on $2 or less per day. Haiti has 50% illiteracy, and Haiti’s richest 1% own nearly half the country’s wealth. Poverty has forced at least 225,000 children in Haiti’s cities into slavery, working as unpaid household servants.

Technically recovery activities continue until all systems return to normal or better. ”Normal” for the average Haitian was a struggle before the earthquake.  The level of poverty that these people live under daily is unholy and we can no longer ignore it.  This is an opportunity for us to use all of our resources and help rebuild a country and move families out of extreme poverty. The tireless dedication of volunteers will be a critical part of a Haiti’s emergency response and recovery — both physically and emotionally. Eighty percent of the long term recovery efforts are conducted by NGO’s who rely on volunteer manpower. Let’s be clear, these groups will be in Haiti for the long term…volunteers, donations and help will be needed for years.

Things to keep in mind if you are interested in volunteering to help with disaster recovery:

Please do not travel to the affected area

You’ve seen the news reports, the pictures, and your heart is breaking. You HAVE to help. Just wait a minute and think.  Basic essentials like food, water, medical supplies and fuel are in short supply. Housing and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed. Your presence on the scene before facilities are set up to receive and assign volunteers will only make matters worse. You won’t be able to get to work immediately, and without intending to, you’ll put an added drain on the limited resources available to aid the survivors.

I know it’s frustrating to wait. But don’t go anywhere until volunteer operations are in place so your energy and efforts can do the most good.

In the Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) community we call these individuals that show up wanting to help ”Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteers” or SUV’s.  While having hearts as big as all outdoors and being amazingly noble, SUV’s can be difficult, if not impossible, to involve in operations.  Management of volunteers during a disaster is a very large, coordinated, and intentional activity. Volunteers work side-by-side with emergency personnel, law enforcement, and other government officials and need to understand how they operate and how they interact.  Relief workers can also be exposed to hazards, both physical and emotional, that aren’t encountered on a typical basis unlike their professional counterparts who are trained and have experience in dealing with disasters.  Because of this it’s critical that disaster volunteers affiliate and train before a disaster strikes. Taking care of the ABC’s now will make sure you are able to be involved when your neighbors are in need:

• Affiliation
  Find an organization or group that you would want to work with during a disaster. We all have coordinated roles during a response. The extensive planning and collaboration between VOADs & government agencies helps ensure effective service delivery during large events.

• Badges
  many operations require you to have an ID card or badge to be involved. These credentials verify that you are affiliated with an agency that is involved in the relief operation. You many also need to have satisfied other requirements for service such as a background check, specific training, or a license to operate vehicles.
• Certification
  some activities simply require a large number of willing people. However, most disaster relief volunteer opportunities demand specific skill sets. Getting involved with an organization before a disaster happens will allow you to get training in food safety, shelter operations, disaster assessment, psychological first aid, search and rescue, casework, radio communications…& the list goes on!

6 months from now when Haiti is no longer the lead story on the evening news the Haitian people will still need money, resources, infrastructure and volunteers. There will be houses and churches to be built, babies that need to be immunized, farmers that need tools, wells that need to be dug. I want you to remember what you are feeling now- then. Don’t worry, I will be here to remind you.

Not 3 weeks ago I had a wish for 2010.  It was a simple one:

May we all have the opportunity to use our gifts to contribute to the healing of the world.

You have that opportunity. Please use your gifts to contribute to the healing of Haiti.

“The value of corporate involvement lies as much in expertise as it does in monetary support.“ – - Bill Gates

Sometimes volunteer opportunities are not challenging enough. There. I said it. Volunteers are looking for challenges and meaningful ways to utilize their talents. We all want this professionally as well as to be a core component to our volunteer experiences. Corporate America is an important partner is helping NGO’s leverage social capital. They just are not really sure how. So let’s help them.

Opportunities to create social impact will be greater if companies leverage employees’ workplace skills and knowledge. Yet not all companies are equipped to utilize the skills of all of their employees. Most corporations are used to writing a check but have very little experience in leveraging their company’s talent.

Traditional Business Motivations: Corporations have organized traditional volunteering programs that engage employees in a range of service activities, often with little consideration for the linkage to corporate strategy or the unique skills and assets of employees. The programs, if well done, can provide significant value to a corporation in terms of employee morale and a corporation’s reputation.  These employees are normally engaged in non technical service projects, like working in soup kitchens, or cleaning up parks. Very few corporate resources are used. They wear their corporate logo themed polo shirt and normally take a pretty awesome staff picture at the end of the day. Team building activity for the quarter. Check. Yeah Team!  I do not mean to be sarcastic because the work that these volunteers do and the funds that they donate are important.  I just know that a new model is needed.

Here is one way to help corporations leverage assets and resources.

Leveraging Model: Volunteering is aligned with corporate strategy. Corporations have a real plan for utilizing non cash resources. In this brave new world corporation asks employees, instead of just participating in service projects to be a part of solutions.  This provides that corporation and the employee with the opportunity to make more strategic choices about how service time is spent. Volunteers provide high-value services that have the potential for significant social impact, including change management, financial management, market analysis, or other business services. You know the skills that NGO’s normally pay outside consultants. These types of programs are normally smaller and targeted, but man they pack a big punch. You get more bang for your buck. Oh, and did I mention they are the perfect pipeline for leadership development with the corporation?

In a true collaborative  partnership the NGO and the Corporation identify the business motivations for volunteering and then develop programs to fit those goals. Whether corporations engage in employee volunteer engagement for traditional business motivations or strategic goals, identifying the appropriate business objectives is critical. While both types of motivations are important, companies need to identify what’s driving their work and work with NGO’s to design programs and outcomes accordingly.

Having a company’s name, employees, logo and reputation be one of community leaders, change makers or social entrepeneurship, will not only lead to happier  more satisfied employees, it will lead to happier customers and clients. I am not a business major but even I can see the ROI and it looks pretty darn good. Thats what I call a win/win.

It is politically, socially, morally and religiously unacceptable for people to live in substandard housing~Millard Fuller

My original blog post was going to be about the key components necessary to design a strong effective volunteer program.   Then I went outside….and changed my mind. It’s cold outside. Not just a little cold, and not just cold in a few places. It’s freezing in over 80% of the country. While the cold made me uncomfortable as I ran  from my car to my house,  It made me think of the people sleeping either outside or in inadequate shelter tonight. This is what’s on my mind and on my heart right now and that’s what I want to talk about. The millions of people in this country who need safe, decent, affordable shelter. I promise to blog about the importance of cost recovery soon. This post is about them.

The United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) named Housing as an integral part of the right to an adequate standard of living.

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control”[i]

Safe, decent shelter is a human right. For some people that’s debatable. I am not one of those people. I would even say it’s one of the most BASIC of all human rights. A secure place to live provides human dignity, physical and mental health and overall higher quality of life for all .Yet as important as adequate housing is, 1 billion people live in inadequate housing, with in excess of 100 million people living in conditions classified as homelessness.

Data suggests that improved shelter leads to an increase in health which in turn has catalytic effects on many aspects of family livelihood and security.  Two trends are largely responsible for the rise in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a growing shortage of affordable rental housing and a simultaneous increase in poverty. Reasons why homelessness persists include stagnant or falling incomes and less secure jobs which offer fewer benefits. Low-wage workers have been particularly have been left behind as the disparity between rich and poor has mushroomed. The past two years with a down economy has been brutal for those whom where already behind. Even if people can find work, this does not automatically provide an escape from poverty. The declining availability of public assistance is another source of increasing poverty and homelessness.

A lack of affordable housing and the limited housing assistance programs have contributed to the current housing crisis and to homelessness. According to HUD, in recent years the shortages of affordable housing are most severe for units affordable to renters with extremely low incomes.  Federal support for low-income housing has fallen 49% from 1980 to 2003 (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2005). About 200,000 rental housing units are destroyed annually. Renting is one of the most viable options for low income people (Joint Center for Housing Studies).

There is a common misconception that homelessness is an issue that only pertains to single men and women, but in reality thousands of families a year will experience homelessness.  In fact, 41% of the homeless population is comprised of families. Homelessness is a devastating experience for families.  It disrupts every aspect of family life, breaking the physical and emotional health of family members, interfering with children’s education and development.  The problem of family homelessness is not solely restricted to urban areas; rural and suburban communities are increasingly plagued by the problem. President Obama  addressed this  issue  when he stated “It is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours.” (Press Conference, Feb. 2009).

You can help end homelessness by simply CAREing.

• C – Contribute (food drives, money, etc.,) Homeless “survival kits.”  Create and distribute kits that include items such as cups, pots, pans, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and cosmetics. (Try coordinating this through a group that gives out meals from a van, for example.)  During cold weather like we currently are experiencing, organize drives for blankets, coats, hats, scarves, mittens, socks, and the like.
• A – Advocate-Get connected to a coalition.  Volunteer at your local, state, or national housing or homeless advocacy coalition, or make a financial contribution to support their work. For the name of the coalition nearest you, see NCH’s Directory of National Housing and Homeless Organizations.
• R – Reach Out (volunteering)-Work at a shelter. Take an evening or overnight shift.  Help with clerical work such as answering phones, typing, filing, or sorting mail.  Serve food, wash dishes, or sort and distribute clothes.
• E – Educate Involve others! Encourage your classmates, co-workers, church/synagogue members, or civic club to join or support your efforts.

Tomorrow morning pack up a bag of food and drop off at your local shelter. Go find all of your mismatched gloves, scarves and hats  and pass them out to people that  you may see on the street.  Do not walk by another homeless person and not do something. Whether or not you choose to give change, please don’t look away from homeless people as if they do not exist.  Making eye contact, saying a few words, or smiling can reaffirm the humanity of a person at a time when its oh so needed.

I know everyone reading this post is from a community of influence–personal engagement leads to a transformation of  community values and priorities. Let’s make homelessness a priority and make it politically, socially, morally and religiously unacceptable.

It is a paradox—people’s willingness to volunteer versus the system’s capacity to use them effectively~Tom Weidmeyer,COO of United Parcel Service

It’s a new year. You have been reading this blog and you have been inspired to help.  Thanks so much  for stepping up. I appreciate you giving your gifts to help heal the world and build stronger, healthier communities. This post is not for you. It’s REALLY for the organization you will be volunteering with or maybe it’s for the organization you work for. You may want to print a copy and take with you, post it on a bulletin board in the kitchen.

Over the next few weeks I will spend time discussing Strategies for Moving Volunteers from Success to Significance. Now that you have an increase in the number of savvy, smart, high-skilled folks who believe in your mission and want to volunteer, what do you do with them and how do you keep them? Here are few basics: All volunteer programs should be customer focused, competitive in the context of other volunteer opportunities and develop volunteers into future leaders of the organization. If your programs do not  hit these three points and hit them WELL,  then we need to talk.

For now let’s start at the end…make sure you recognize and thank volunteers every step of the way. The success of any volunteer organization relies on its ability to attract and retain dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. It is important to recognize the contributions of volunteers to your organization. It is partly through this recognition that volunteers gain the motivation to stay involved. Do not be afraid to think creatively when it comes to thanking volunteers! Here are some ideas to get you started:

Praise Them…

• Offer public praise
• Offer meaningful praise
• Praise them to friends, loved ones, employers
• Write letters of recommendation

Food for Thanks…

• Offer coffee and treats
• Throw pizza or ice cream parties
• Invite committee members out to lunch to celebrate a project

Tokens of Appreciation…

• Letters, postcards, emails of appreciation
• Tokens; key chains, pens, pins, mugs, t-shirts, hats, etc
• Offer gift certificates or coupons to local eateries or entertainment facilities
• Design T-shirts and give them to volunteers  Create volunteer Name badges
• Send birthday, anniversary and holiday cards Arrange discounts at local shops
• Offer progressive recognition, giving greater rewards for successive milestones achieved

Skills Training…

• Pay registration fees for conferences
• Invite volunteers to participate in workshops and involve them as speakers

Public Recognition…

• Include volunteers’ names on recognition plaques or billboards in public areas.
• Recognize them at staff or board meetings.
• Nominate a volunteer for a leadership position.
• Write articles about your volunteers in  local newspaper, or on your website.
• Create a yearbook of volunteers.
• Host formal recognition events (lunches, dinners, teas, etc.)
• Produce a video of individuals’ contributions to your affiliate.
• Start an award program; “Volunteer of the Month/Year”
• Nominate volunteers for community, state, or national awards

Invite them to deepen their involvement…

• Ask volunteers for input and feedback on programs, policies, goals, etc.
• Include them in planning meetings
• Ask for their help in training new volunteers
• Give them more complex assignments or more responsibility

Keep them informed…

• Let them know the impact of their contributions
• Send newsletters with important relevant information

Over the next few weeks I will write post that will look at concrete steps to help move a volunteer from an occasional one- off volunteer to a long term donor and advocate for your organization.

The concept is simple:  a strong , trained base of volunteers and “grass roots, local, concrete work” will continue to differentiate your organization from other organizations. In 2010 be more strategic in how, when and where you utilize your  volunteers and their gifts. Oh yeah– and do not forget to say thank you. And mean it.

The picture I have included with this post is of one of THE most enthusiastic volunteers I have ever met. You may have seen him before, his name is Prince William. A few years back I was at the 100th anniversary of Scouting  in England and he joined me at my table to participate in activity and learn  about volunteering.

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. ~Melville

I am going to say it-I am glad Christmas is over.  I love the traditions that I have created for my daughters and the sense of love and kindness that seems to permeate the air. Yet, it’s just so stressful for so many people. People compare their holiday experience to their friends and neighbors or worst to the ones they see on television and in the movies; sometime it’s just too much. And the stores, the crowds, the shopping…oy.

I do love me some Kwanzaa. In part because there are no  huge expectations around how it should or should not be celebrated.  Kwanzaa was conceived, created and introduced to the African American community as an audacious act of self-determination. It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year.  Each Kwanzaa we are called upon to think deeply about our lives and the world. Then, we are to recommit ourselves to our highest ideals, our best values and visions. The heart and soul of Kwanzaa are The Seven Principles.  I have been thinking about these principles over the past few days. I believe these principles will help us renew ourselves and the world. They offer us all a foundation and framework to live our lives in 2010:

Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community,  and nation.  It teaches us the oneness of all people, everywhere-the common ground of our humanity with others. It encourages us to feel at one with  the world, to be constantly concerned about its health and wholeness, especially as we face the possibility of climate change and other disasters around the world. This principle alone can change the world.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. This reaffirms the right of persons and peoples to determine their own destiny and daily lives; to live in peace and security; and to flourish in freedom. We all have the right to live in a safe and secure place. Freedom is our divine right. We all should be  free to move beyond past limitations and become all that we were created to be.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility):To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and to solve them together. This principle teaches us the necessary commitment to work together to conceive and build the good community, society and world we want and deserve to live in.  Robert Ingersoll says we should give to every human being every right that we claim for our self. I could not have said it better.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics):To build and maintain stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. This principle reaffirms the right to control and benefit from the resources of one’s own lands and to an equitable and just share of the goods of the world. In an earlier post I talked about the power of micro finance and what  happens when the poor have access to  financial and human capital - family income rises. Children go to school. Health improves. Housing is improved. Communities are transformed. Generations are changed.

Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore people to their traditional greatness. Make no mistake we are all GREAT. We are all DIVINE. Each and everyone of us. This boils down to loving one another. Our purpose on earth is to love  and demonstrate that love by action. I pledge to love more in 2010.

Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Pretty clear to me. The choices we make should not be to the detriment of other people or our communities. In 2010 I plan on making good choices that leave the world better than I found it . Not just choices good for me, and my family, but for my neighbor as well.

Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in the goodness of  people and humanity.  Faith calls us to believe in the good we seek to create, to work for it, and to live it in our daily lives. Only then will we be able to repair and renew ourselves in the process and practice of repairing, rebuilding and renewing the world.

Your real work is to decide what you want and focus upon it. For it is through focusing upon what you want that you attract it. That is the process of creating.~Abraham-Hicks

I pledge to focus on these powerful principles in 2010. I pledge  to make our brother’s and sister’s  problems my problems. I pledge to work hard and help create sustainable solutions. I pledge to work on me because personal transformation has a global effect. WE are the world.

Here is wishing everyone of you peace, love and happiness in the new year. May we all have the opportunity to   use our gifts to contribute to the healing of the world.

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. Dwight D. Eisenhower

How different would your life be if you lived in a land that has been war torn by civil unrest and social upheaval for years? Weapons were everywhere and easily accessible, but food and opportunity were not.

Then you learned that you could turn in the illegal weapons you’d acquired and exchange them for Heifer International  http://www.heifer.org/ livestock. Food is real security–weapons are not.  Heifer invested in self reliance and hope of peace in Albania and it paid off.

This trade-off was part of a collaborative “Guns for Cows” project among Heifer International, the United Nations Development Program and officials in war-torn Albania, a country that underwent a deadly period in 1997. Through the project, Albanian villagers receive one pregnant Holstein or Jersey dairy heifer for every three weapons they hand over to the government. The weapons are then either destroyed or turned into shovels, pickaxes and other agricultural implements. Development incentives in return for citizen disarmament – a project that was an easy fit with the work Heifer was doing.

Here’s how Heifer International works:
A typical Heifer project consists of three essential components:

• Livestock and other material goods
• Training and extension work
• Organizational development, which includes planning, management, record keeping, passing on the gift, reporting and evaluation.

And it all starts in a community.

First, Heifer helps a community group analyze their situation. They ask: What do we need? What are our resources? What would we like to see happen in five years? Then, they plan specific activities to achieve their goals.

At this point, the Heifer “living loan” becomes reality. Farmers prepare for their animals by participating in training sessions, building sheds, and sometimes planting trees and grasses.
Then the livestock arrives – bringing with it the benefits of milk, wool, draft power, eggs and offspring to pass on to another farmer.

Finally, the group evaluates its progress, and the cycle repeats as the group moves to more and more ambitious goals, each time visioning, deciding, implementing and reflecting.

Passing on the Gift allows families and individuals who have received animals to be donors themselves. There is great dignity in having gone from a recipient to a donor– it develops both community and self esteem and creates a cycle of sustainability. Passing it forward, sharing of blessings. Passing on the gift is fundamental to Heifer’s entire approach. As people share the offspring of their animals – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an expanding network of hope, dignity and self-reliance is created.

You can watch a Passing of the Gift ceremony.

Inspired people take action.

Looking for specific ways you can support the work of Heifer? Let me offer a few suggestions:

• Planning a vacation in 2010? You could go to a resort and lounge around the pool, but I know you are looking for a little something more. Take a Study Tour – Travel with a purpose by visiting Heifer project sites around the world, and learn more about the families and communities they partner with. Heifer Study Tours are small, specialized expeditions that go beyond sightseeing. It is a journey into the daily lives of extraordinary people. As you visit with the farmers and families who are working with Heifer to improve their lives and protect the earth, you learn more than you could have imagined. A Heifer Study Tour takes you beyond your ideas about poverty, and shows you what the human spirit is capable of overcoming.
• Will you buy a gift in 2010? Of course you will! Sometime over the next year you will need birthday, anniversary, wedding, and graduation gifts. Name one person who needs another knick-knack? Heifer has the best gift catalog– bar none.   You will be able to choose a meaningful gift to give a loved one and help children and families around the world receive training and animal gifts that help them become self-reliant. Give the gift of bees or a flock of geese. Hell, Go big and give your friends a Water Buffalo. That’s right I said  Water Buffalo– it will provide protein-rich milk, strength to till soil, manure to enrich the land … so many benefits for a  family living in extreme poverty.  http://bit.ly/w7UdZ

Ending world hunger and poverty globally is a large feat but it’s not unrealistic.  I believe that hunger and poverty can be eliminated, forever. But livestock is just one part of the solution. Communities sharing resources, skills and knowledge are all critical components as well.

We all have to share what we have and care if our neighbors are going to bed hungry–whether we are in Kosovo or Uganda.  It’s all of our responsibility to share the work and wealth of the world in just and equitable ways and seek the good life of dignity, decency and prosperity for everyone. Let 2010 be the year where we share all of our gifts and by sharing; receive more than we thought possible.

What gifts will you share in 2010?