2010 Power of Education Campaign – Show Your Support for Your Favorite Nonprofit
by Sue Scheff on Aug 31, 2010
GreatNonprofits, the leading source of user reviews for nonprofits, and GuideStar, the premier donor research site on the web, are launching the 2010 Power of Education Campaign this September to highlight the many nonprofit organizations working in education fields and issues.
Any nonprofit receiving at least ten positive user reviews during September will be listed on our 2010 Education Nonprofits List, which will be published at the conclusion of the campaign.
Follow my Blog for more updates and information for the 2010 Power of Education Campaign!
Visit www.greatnonprofits.org.
Tags: Charities, Community Service, GreatNonprofits, Volunteering
VolunteerSpot Makes Back-to-School Hassel Free
by Sue Scheff on Aug 17, 2010
It is that time of year again, and schools throughout the country will be opening as parents are scrambling. Have you considered starting a VolunteerSpot in your community? Learn more today! Here is the latest press release from VolunteerSpot. Read more about STARS filling and passing out 14,000 backpacks in Florida, with the help of VolunteerSpot – click here.
As massive budget cuts hit schools across country, free online tool makes it easy for parents to help our nation’s teachers
Back-to-school is right around the corner, and due to recent state-wide budget cuts, teachers and schools need parents’ help this year more than ever before. Parents will be asked to step-up and help in the classroom, the campus, and to support fundraisers. VolunteerSpot (www.VolunteerSpot.com), a free online coordination tool, simplifies the volunteer experience and makes it easier for more parents to get involved. Most importantly, VolunteerSpot is a proven success; the online sign up tool increases parent participation by 20% and raises school donation rates, too.
Any teacher or parent-leader can invite volunteers to sign up electronically through VolunteerSpot.com, and in two simple-clicks, parents can sign up for whatever activity and time works for them — from reading to the class or brining snacks to the Fall party, to helping in library or cafeteria, to staffing important fundraisers like the school carnival or stadium concession stand. VolunteerSpot even sends automated messages reminding volunteers of their commitments. No more “reply all” emails, late night phone tag, or disorganized paper sign-up sheets.
“Back-to-school is an exciting but stressful time for teachers and parent-leaders as they set up their classrooms and prepare for the year’s fundraising activities,” said Karen Bantuveris, Founder & CEO, VolunteerSpot. “It’s our responsibility as parents to help out in any way we can, and VolunteerSpot helps by making it easier for more parents to get involved at school.”
“VolunteerSpot made it so easy to sign up parents to read to my kindergarten class,” says Erin W., of Austin, TX. “I set up the schedule in a few minutes, and VolunteerSpot did the rest. Within 48 hours, all the spots were full and the best part is the kids love seeing their parents in the classroom.”
VolunteerSpot brings the simplicity of an online party invitation to school volunteering and makes it easy for anyone to ask for help. The site also provides unique tools, from free e-books, including the new “Room Parent Survival Guide,” and smart tips on everything from how to throw a successful school carnival or bake sale to Teacher Appreciation Week.
VolunteerSpot recently helped the Carmel Unified School District in California win a $100,000 donation when they were faced with the request to mobilize volunteers for the US Open. Asked to assemble a team to work approximately 14,000 hours over the course of seven days, the school district enlisted VolunteerSpot’s easy-to-use sign-up sheets, automatic e-mail reminders and organizational tools to ensure that the event went off without a hitch.
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About VolunteerSpotBased in Austin, Texas, privately held VolunteerSpot (www.VolunteerSpot.com) is a free Web-based organization tool that powers grassroots volunteering at school and in the community. Founded by ‘mompreneur’ and PTA leader, Karen Bantuveris, VolunteerSpot’s easy online sign-up tool saves time, streamlines communication and makes it simple for more people to get involved. VolunteerSpot has help organize more than a quarter-million volunteers since its public launch in April, 2009. VolunteerSpot is perfect for coordinating groups for anything – PTA activities, classroom helpers, carnivals and festivals, tournaments, VBS, service projects, mentoring sessions, group campouts, ministry meals, book fairs, swim meets, and more…. VolunteerSpot, DOING GOOD Just Got Easier!!!
Tags: Community Service, Parenting, parenting advice, Parenting Blogs, Parenting Resources, Parenting Teens, Teen Help, Volunteering, VolunteerSpot
Sue Scheff: Help Support Fresh Air Fund – Giving Needy Children a Summer of Fun
by Sue Scheff on Jun 23, 2010
As a guest post, Fresh Air Fund has asked me to help them promote their need for Host Families. The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families for this summer. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and home to a child from the city to give them a Fresh Air experience that can change lives.
Your gift of $24 becomes $48, good for TWO round-trip bus tickets from NYC to camp.
Make a gift before June 30th – and two inner-city childrens lives will be changed forever!
The Countdown to Summer 2010 is on and The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families. If you or someone you know is able to host, please sign up now.
In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund‘s Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes FOR up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.
The Fresh Air Fund relies on donations to provide memorable summers to NYC children.
The Fresh Air Fund needs hosts for the summer of 2010.
More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year.
Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.
“It is rewarding to see the smile on our Fresh Air child’s face as she enjoys the simple things we take for granted…”
Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child.It should be Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host for up to two weeks. Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away!
Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!
Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.
The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.
Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.
Learn more – visit http://freshairfundhost.com/ - Watch the video below.
What do Fresh Air children enjoy? Help give them a gift of summer fun.
- Playing in the backyard
- Laughing in the sunshine
- Catching fireflies
- Riding bicycles
- Learning to swim
- Running barefoot through the grass
- Gazing at the stars on moonlit nights
- Building sandcastles
- Making new friends
- Simple pleasures of life away from the inner-city
Tags: Community Service, Donating, Fresh Air Fund, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Teens Helping Special Needs Teens Through Friendship and Acceptance – Circle of Friends
by Sue Scheff on May 13, 2010
Being a teenager can be difficult. Keeping up with the trendy clothes, hair styles and hanging with the cool group is all part of being a teen in high school today. However when it comes to teens with special needs, having a friend is one of the hardest parts of going to high school.
Circle of Friends is changing that one school at a time. Circle of Friends is a social skills programs for teens and adults with disabilities such as autism, through understanding, acceptance, friendship and inclusion. Going into local high schools, teens are changing lives. They provide valuable support and friendship to those with disabilities. Teens and adults that were once isolated and lonely with their disability are now experiencing living through Circle of Friends. From a simple phone call, to going out to eat, Circle of Friends is providing a sense of normalcy to people with disabilities.
Special events are planned such as dances and organized outings to the movies and shopping help these disabled people learn better social skills and enhances their communication skills with others. Circle of Friends helps make dreams come true for these otherwise isolated teens and adults with disabilities.
A priceless gift that Circle of Friends creates is the gift of giving. Teens that take part in Circle of Friends are influenced by bringing an awareness of understanding and acceptance to those that have disabilities. It is true, it just feels good to give!
Encourage your school and community to open a local chapter today. Read Ella’s story. Learn more, click here.
Watch video and be inspired to start your own chapter today! Read more.
Tags: Autism, Autstic Teens, Circle of Friends, Community Service, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Special Needs Teens, Sue Scheff, Teen Friendship, teens volunteering, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Easter Seals – Walk With Me Broward – Happy Easter
by Sue Scheff on Apr 04, 2010
As many celebrate this Easter season, there are many people that suffer with disabilities and have silently suffer. The mission of Easter Seals South Florida is to provide exceptional services to ensure that all children and adults with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities.
Easter Seals has many events to raise money and awareness to those with disabilities. Coming soon is Walk With Me Broward 2010! This is a great experience for the entire family. On April 24th, 2010 at Markum Park in Weston, there will be a 5K Family Fun Walk.
Registration begins at 8:00am and the walk begins at 9:00am.
Money raised through Easter Seals Walk With Me will support a variety of local services in South Florida including: Children’s Therapy Services; programs for children with autism spectrum disorder; Child Development Center; Culinary Arts High School program; Adult Day Care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss; and in-home respite care.
For more information contact Paula Mejia at 305.547.4713 or pmejia@sfl.easterseals.com.
If you are located in Dade County, keep May 15th, 2010 open for Easter Seals Walk With Me Miami 2010. Read more.
Tags: Donating, Easter Seals, Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering, Walk With Me Broward
Sue Scheff: Earth Day, a time to learn about creating a global green economy
by Sue Scheff on Apr 01, 2010
Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.
Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day. Source: EarthDay.net
VolunteerSpot has created an excellent source of information and ideas to Give and Grow for Earth Day and all year round through their new eBook. Simple online sign up sheets and scheduling tool for all your spring earth-friendly service activities.
About the Give and Grow Together Promotion
As part of this effort to promote earth-friendly service activities, Arbor Day Foundation and VolunteerSpot are teaming up. Plan any local earth-friendly service activity on VolunteerSpot through the end of April, and invite at least four volunteers, and the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a tree in your honor. Sharing the promotion via social media (Facebook or Twitter) or trying a sample sign up on VolunteerSpot will also earn a tree. “The trees we plant will be lasting symbol of service to generations to come,” said Kevin Sander, director of corporate partnerships for the Arbor Day Foundation.
Save time while Saving the Planet
Give and Grow together not only inspires earth-friendly action, but also highlights VolunteerSpot’s free (paperless), web-based online sign up sheets and volunteer coordination tool. Volunteer leaders and teachers who use VolunteerSpot find more people step up to get involved and that they cut their administrative time by 85% and eliminate volunteer drop-out due to poor communication practices like reply-all email and phone tag.
In honor of our Mother Earth, here are some service activities to consider this April and beyond:
- Participating in a community garden project
- Picking up trash at your neighborhood park
- Planting a tree or flowers in your yard or an elderly neighbor’s
- Teaching children about the importance of recycling
- Planning a trash-free Earth Day picnic
What is Arbor Day: The Arbor Day Foundation inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. This is the mission statement of the Arbor Day Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit conservation and education organization. The impact we make on our world is accomplished through our conservation and education programs.
When is Arbor Day? National Arbor Day is on the last Friday of April and celebrated at the same time by 28 other states. You can find out when your state’s Arbor Day is celebrated by reviewing the following calendar, click here.
Florida’s Arbor Day – Third Friday in January (State Tree: Cabbage Palmetto). Did you miss it? You can still celebrate our earth and the learn about how you can help your community continue going green.
Tags: Arbor Day, Community Service, Earth Day, Eco-Friendly, Going Green, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Plant a Tree, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Youths Recieve Awards
by Sue Scheff on Mar 27, 2010
The 2010 Prudential Spirit of Community National Award Ceremony Webcast
Monday, May 3, 2010 12:45 PM Eastern
As a parent, it’s important to teach children about the great impact volunteering can have on our communities. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is to encourage you and to support our 102 youth volunteer honorees for 2010 for their outstanding accomplishments.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards was created 15 years ago to recognize young heroes who have made exceptional impacts on the lives of others through acts of volunteerism. Again this year, two honorees from each state will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for several days of national recognition events. And ten of these students will be named National Honorees on May 3, receiving an additional $5,000, gold medallions, trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for a charitable organization of their choice.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards honor young people in middle level and high school grades for outstanding volunteer service to their communities. Created in 1995 by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the awards constitute the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteering. Over the past 15 years, the program has honored more than 90,000 young volunteers at the local, state, and national level.
To watch the event – click here to register.
Tags: Community Service, Parenting, Parenting Blogs, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, Teens Helping Teens, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Hope for Haiti – We have come together as a nation, now we must come together as a family
by Sue Scheff on Jan 21, 2010
George Clooney, Ellen, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Bono, Justin Timberlake, Sandra Bullock, Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige, Adam Lambert, Michael Douglas, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and many, many more will be on the phones on Friday, January 22, at 8 p.m. EST. This is a commercial-free telethon across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, the CW, CNN, BET, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT.
What a perfect opportunity to get your kids involved and help others in need. Get your teens involved! Teach them how they can make a difference. Do they receive an allowance? Do they have jobs? Encourage them to give what they can and feel good about paying it forward.
Teaching our children young and by example will make them a better person and help them to understand how fortunate we are. When disasters happen, we need to come together not only as a nation, but as a FAMILY.
So this Friday night, make it a party at your home! Put the TV on and make the call to donate and have a chance to talk to one of your favorite celebrities!
Watch video intro and also on Examiner.
Tags: Donating, Family Time, Hope for Haiti, Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Haiti Crisis, get your family and kids involved
by Sue Scheff on Jan 17, 2010
The world is coming together to help the many victims in Haiti. This natural disaster has left many homeless, hungry, without water and destroyed much of what little many had. Many organizations, such as the Red Cross, are diligently working to bring relief to Haiti.
What can you do? Donating money is always needed (if you prefer to make a $10 donation by text message, send the word “HAITI” to 90999), however some people are financially strapped and/or you may have children/teens that would like to be part of helping these people in distress.
In South Florida, Fill The Truck For Haiti Initiative, has begun. You can encourage your family, friends and neighbors to collect are non perishable food items, toiletries, bed linen, first aid kits, new items of clothing, cots, bottled water, towels, flashlights and batteries, children formulas, diapers etc. For more information call, 754-214-3895. They are also looking for volunteers.
Encourage your teens to find ways online locally that they can get involved in. Giving back, volunteering and just being part of helping others can help everyone! Pay it forward, the rewards are priceless.
Also on Examiner.
Tags: Community Service, Haiti Crisis, Help Haiti, Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Helping Charities When Times Are Tough
by Sue Scheff on Dec 20, 2009
There is no denying many people this year are being effected by the economy. With unemployment on the rise, foreclosures of many homes - just putting food on the table has become a struggle with many average families.
Have you thought about non-profit organizations? Some of those same people that used to regularly donate to charitable causes are finding it impossible to do this year. This has been an extremely tough year for non-profits.
The Wall Street Journal Report had an excellent segment about finding qualified charities, tips for receipts and how to determine your tax deduction. Watch the video and learn more.
The American Institute of Philantrophy offers a smart tip list to review before you give to an organization.
Remember, giving can feel so good! Take the time to pay it forward and this is one service that will never expire – you can always donate, especially at the last minute!
Watch video learn more – give safely!
Tags: Charitible Causes, Charities, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
