by Amy Potthast

Where will you Volunteer on MLK Day, Jan. 18th?

A group of City Year Young Heroes during their 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service project at Emery Elementary School in Washington, DC

January 18th is Martin Luther King, Jr., Day — a national day of service. Where will you volunteer your energy and time?

For 15 years, MLK Day has been a national day of service, mobilizing projects that strive to transform Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings into community service that helps solve social problems — strengthening communities, bridging barriers, and empowering individuals.

The day of service, which is known as a “day on, not a day off,” typically enjoys a great deal of support and participation among national service corps—who volunteer for and often organize service projects.

This year organizers are launching a special initiative to connect schools in need with technology support. If you serve in a school that could use tech support — anything from a website facelift to blogging support for student clubs — you can post a volunteer opportunity on AllForGood.org:

When you create your volunteer opportunity, be sure to:

Use a descriptive title and make sure to include the “MLKTech” keyword – the keyword is necessary for search.
Set the date as January 18, 2010

Web professionals can search for opportunities on Serve.gov.

Learn more and find opportunities to serve on the Serve.gov and MLKDay.gov sites. Also check out yesterday’s Change/Wire post from Service Nation, chock full of MLK Day resources.

Check out Hands On Network’s MLK Day page, including the virtual Town Hall Meeting it will hold on January 18th.

Already planning a project? Be sure to register it so that people in your community will find out how to support it!

Last year, inspired by Barack Obama’s call to service, MLK Day enjoyed the largest turnout in its history. On January 19, 2009, service projects numbered about 13,000 (compared to 5,000 in 2008), and the Corporation for National and Community Service estimated the total number of volunteers at a million.

Check out this video with more information about MLK Day:

08.11.09

by Amy Potthast

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1921-2009

Shriver, from her bio page on her website One Woman's Vision

Early this morning, Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away. I have been amazed by her infinite capacity to balance work and family — to be a role model to her kids through her tireless work on issues she was passionate about, to be a champion of service, and of people of all abilities.

My condolences to the Shrivers and Kennedys, I know you will miss her so much.

This is a statement from the family on the website Eunice Kennedy Shriver: One Woman’s Vision:

“It’s hard for us to believe: the amazing Eunice Kennedy Shriver went home to God this morning at 2 a.m.

She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others. For each of us, she often seemed to stop time itself – to run another Special Olympics games, to visit us in our homes, to attend to her own mother, her sisters and brothers, and to sail, tell stories, and laugh and serve her friends. How did she do it all?

Inspired by her love of God, her devotion to her family, and her relentless belief in the dignity and worth of Continue reading →

12.20.08

by Amy Potthast

January is National Mentoring Month

From Change/Wire:

“ServiceNation is partnering with the Harvard School of Public Health, and Mentor, to promote one of the most rewarding, important, activities we can all do to help build a better future: mentoring. We are doing it because January is National Mentoring Month, and here’s how you can get involved. Thanks to the brilliant Jay Winsten at Harvard, the ad [to the left] will run in Newsweek and other publications. The fact that we got clearance from President-elect Obama to use him in the ad caught the attention of the New York Times, here. We are hoping to be able to run a video ad, too. Stay tuned. And while you do, go ahead and sign up for some mentoring!”

Search volunteer mentoring opportunities on Idealist.org.