Using Facebook

VCN members--
In our last meeting we spoke about social networking! Because we probably discussed Facebook more than any other social networking site, I decided to post the below website that gives a beginner's guide to Facebook! Please use the information to help create an effective and efficient Facebook page for your nonprofit!

http://www.masternewmedia.org/social_networking/social-networking-service-content-aggregation/facebook-begginers-guide-online-social-networking-20071626.htm

Reasons to Volunteer

Have you ever wondered why people volunteer? The following links from volunteermatch.org and UC San Diego provide a great list of reasons why people volunteer. My personal favorite of the reasons listed is that one should volunteer in order to impress their mom!

To check out this reason, along with many other reasons to volunteer, click on the links below!

http://www.ucsd.edu/current-students/student-life/involvement/community/reasons.html
http://www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/resources/tipstricks.jsp

ACT Volunteer Center's New Website

ACT Volunteer Center is excited to announce the lanch of its new website!

To check it out, please go to www.actvolunteercenter.net

Families Volunteering Together

Does your organization allow families to volunteer? Allowing whole families to volunteer can be great for families and organizations alike. Families may benefit by learning about new social issues and spending meaningful quality time together. Organizations may benefit from the teamwork and morale of families and from the added dimension of community.

To check out more reasons why volunteering as a family is great, check out the link below!

http://www.liveunited.org/volunteer/family.cfm

Hey all-

We are facing a volunteering crisis in America. A recent study conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service reports that 1/3 of all volunteers each year will not volunteer again the next year.

The study then gives many interesting reasons for why some people choose not to volunteer or quit volunteering after a short period of time. Some of the main findings revealed about non-volunteers are that they choose not to volunteer because they have never been asked, they feel that they are too busy to volunteer, or they have been turned off by a previous volunteer experience that was poorly managed.

The article also gives methods of attracting and retaining volunteers! To check out this new research, click the link below!

http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/assets/resources/PathwaytoService.pdf

The Rights and Responsibilities of Volunteers

Often times, new volunteers begin volunteer opportunities without being fully aware of what they are responsible for or what their rights are within the organizations. They may be so excited that they commit to a bigger project than they have time for. Or, they may not know important information about the organization, like that there is a confidentiality policy.

The link below is a clear-cut list of the responsibilities and rights of both the volunteer organizations and the volunteers. This way, volunteers will not fall through the cracks and can make the best out of their volunteering experiences.

http://www.helpnow.org/volunteer_rights.php

Follow That Blog!

Hey Everyone,
The more VCN members that choose to 'follow' this blog, the more lively our conversations can be, and the better we can network! "Following" a blog means that new blog posts will be sent to your emails, and you can comment on them, and comment to each other! If there are any questions, ask me at avandermost@actvolunteercenter.org

Volunteer Spring Break!

'VolunteerHub Brief - April 2010'

^ Very interesting facts about student trends in Spring Break and volunteering!

Gear Up for Giving

For those of us that have delved into the world of social media networking, here is a site that may be of some use:

http://www.casefoundation.org/social-media-tutorials

These free tutorials discuss everything from Twitter microblogging to Facebook Causes pages to YouTube video campaigning. Whether you are a social marketing guru or you are asking yourself, "What is Twitter?" there will be something for you on this site!

VCN first entry!

Greetings all,

This blog is intended for use by the Pioneer Valley Volunteer Coordinator's Network. It will be maintained by the ACT Volunteer Center, and authored by Alaena VanderMost, Resource Coordinator. We hope that this can be a great tool for volunteer coordinators from all over Western Massachusetts to share resources, stories, experiences, and more!

From now on, VCN meeting confirmations and all other news will be posted on here, so please join to follow! Please confirm or deny your attendance to the April 2nd VCN meeting on the right side of the screen.

Hopefully, everyone can take this opportunity to introduce themselves in the comment section. Please feel free to email with any questions about this blog, and don't forget to click "follow me" on the right hand side in order to get updates!

Happy Spring!

-Alaena