06.22.09
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Careers: Brand New Career Transitions Book for Current and Former Service Corps Members

Picture 19My career transitions book is live on Idealist! Free, downloadable, accessible from any place with an internet connection — and written just for you.

I’ve been working on this for almost a year — giant thanks to everyone who helped out reading and offering feedback!

Intended for national and international service corps audiences of all ages, Service Corps to Social Impact Career – A Companion to The Idealist Guides to Nonprofit Careers is a free new book from Idealist.org.

While most resources and trainings focusing on “life after” the corps begin and end with career search skill building, Service Corps to Social Impact Career emphasizes integrating career development throughout the term.

The book highlights practices that current corps members can incorporate during their service experience which also prepare them for their next steps, including discerning their professional calling, gaining relevant skills, building relationships, and documenting their accomplishments.

For corps members actively transitioning from their service term to a career or further education, Service Corps to Social Continue reading →

06.22.09
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National Conference on Volunteering and Service ’09: Participate from Home through Live Webcasts

Picture 17The 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS) starts today!

Last night, Conference organizers announced that they’re offering the first-ever live webcast of a couple of the events this week so that people who can’t be in the room can still see what’s going on and pose questions to the speakers. Learn more & register by following the hyperlinked event titles below:

National Service Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 — 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM PST (2:30 PM-4:30 PM Eastern) Continue reading →

06.22.09
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Launching Today: YouTube’s Video Volunteers

Originally posted on today’s Idealist homepage blog by Julia Smith.

President Obama has asked everyone in the United States to heed the call of service – to pitch in and make their communities a better place. YouTube is stepping up to provide a very “21st century” way of doing just that: a new program called YouTube’s Video Volunteers.

The mission of YouTube’s Video Volunteers platform is to connect nonprofit organizations with skilled video makers who can help them broadcast their causes through video, reaching new audiences online and driving action around issues and projects that matter to them.

The Video Volunteers page shows video-related volunteer opportunities that have been posted to Allforgood.org (which includes listings from Idealist.org and VolunteerMatch). As a result, a YouTuber eager to help out might find a listing like this (“Afro Diaspora Music Video Website” in New York City) or this (“Promotional Video for the GO-Science Challenger Learning Center” in Greenville, NC).

Do you work at a nonprofit that needs help making a video? From now on, when you post a volunteer opportunity on Idealist, make sure to use the words Video Volunteer in your posting. That way, it will show up in the AllforGood feed – and as a result, on the YouTube Video Volunteers page.

To learn more, visit youtube.com/videovolunteers.

06.22.09
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Service Nation Strategy Session in San Francisco as part of NCVS

Monday, Service Nation coalition members and others gathered for a luncheon at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, prior to the kick off of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

Overall the strategy luncheon was more luncheon than strategy, but I was glad to see an effort made to bring the Service Nation campaign spirit into the National Conference on Volunteering and Service gathering, which overall seeemed to involve more media attention and celebrity involvement this year than in the past.

Speakers included:

Alan Khaizei, founder of Be the Change, Inc, leader organizer of the Service Nation campaign, spoke—summarizing the Continue reading →

06.21.09
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The Idealist.org Career Center at NCVS

Idealist logoAt the National Conference on Volunteering and Service this week, look for the Idealist Career Center in the West Hall’s Third Floor Lobby, near the escalators and against the wall.

Monday through Wednesday, we’ll have staff on hand for one-on-one or small-group conversations about careers, as well as a series of 30-minute workshops to address specific topics. All of these are free to attend, and no reservation is required.

Monday, June 22

3-5 pm        20-minute Career Conversations with Steven Joiner, Director, Career Transition Program or Russ Finkelstein, Associate Director. Got burning questions? Need a sounding board? Here’s a chance to brainstorm ideas with some people on our careers team.

Tuesday, June 23 Continue reading →