Happy New Year 2011!

Resolve to volunteer! Happy New Year from the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley!!!

Volunteer Opportunities~

• Be part of UNI Basketball action and help raise money for the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley. Volunteer your time serving concessions at the McLeod Center on Tuesday, January 4 at 5:45 p.m. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome.

• Birthright needs public speakers to talk at schools, churches, business groups, radio, TV and other media to highlight the organization. Speaking dates and times vary. Volunteers age 18 and over are welcome. 

• Volunteers are needed to introduce new sports and recreational games to youth at the Boys and Girls Club of Black Hawk County. Volunteers are needed 3-7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 2-7 p.m. Wednesdays. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome. 

• Care Initiatives Hospice needs volunteers to visit Hospice patients or family members. Volunteers may be needed to drive family members to see patients, read, visit, play games, or get groceries for Hospice patients and families. Office work also is available. Opportunities exist daily with flexible times. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome.

Volunteering in Iowa

Highlights:

The bullets below are all based on an average using 2007 to 2009 data

• 883,900 volunteers
• 37.8% of residents volunteer - ranking them 2nd among the 50 states and Washington, DC
• 93.7 million hours of service
• 40.1 hours per resident - ranking them 16th among the 50 states and Washington, DC
• $2.0 billion of service contributed
• Despite the economic crisis, the national volunteer rate went up to 26.8 percent in 2009, with 63.4 million volunteers donating approximately 8.1 billion hours of service in communities across the country.
• In 2009, approximately 907,000 volunteers in Iowa contributed 109.4 million hours of service.
• In Iowa, more than 12,000 people participate in national service each year through 120 national service projects and programs. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service will commit more than $14,000,000 to support the national service initiatives (Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and other programs) in Iowa.

*Statistics courtesy of Volunteering in America

Join the VCCV as a Business Partner

At the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley, we believe corporate initiatives that give back to the communities in which they operate and where their employees work and live, are reinforced by their alignment with an excellent volunteer and philanthropy program. The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley is the primary resource for workplace-based volunteering and for engaging more companies and employees effectively in volunteer service. We help businesses develop and manage effective employee volunteer programs that meet company priorities, address employee interests and meet real community needs. Throughout the Cedar Valley, we are working with our corporate partners to improve lives and create positive change in local communities.

To participate, contact Lauren Finke, Executive Director, at 272-2087 or Lauren_Finke@vccv.org.

UNI Students Available

The UNI Cooperative Education program is an opportunity for students to earn academic credit for a volunteer experience.  If your student volunteers meet the criteria below, encourage them to contact UNI CAREER SERVICES (319-273-6857) to make an appointment to apply for Co-op credit. 

· Sustained volunteer experience of 50 hours or more   

· Experience relates to their major

· Student meets academic department requirements (Career Services has list)

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UNI CareerCat - Post your internship and employment opportunities in CareerCat, UNI’s on-line career management system for students.  Register today – it’s all free!  

· Create an employer profile

· Post internship and job opportunities

· View student resumes

Go to:  http://www.uni.edu/careerservices/careercat

Service Learning Update

As the end of the first semester for most high schools approaches, the service learning projects also near fruition. Six classes in three area high schools are participating in service learning projects this semester. Students at Don Bosco and East High in Waterloo are helping to solve the problem of hunger in our community by serving meals at the Salvation Army, stocking shelves at the food bank, and preparing holiday food boxes.

Respect for our military personnel is an objective of another group of Don Bosco students. They have sent letters of service people and have made plans to help a returning veteran.

A group of Waterloo West High young people are attacking the problems of violence and drugs, through a dramatic presentation of skits, music and poetry that will be taped.

Young people at Waterloo East High are also finding ways to help their own school community and their neighborhood by improving the school campus.

I can best sum up the feeling abut service learning by quoting an email received at the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley. “Your class isn’t planning some huge, thousands of dollars project. But it’s the attitude that counts…. The desire to step up and do the right thing.”

Our Do Something Clubs continue to be active at North Cedar Elementary and Poyner Elementary. The students are developing team work skills that will certainly help them later in life.

In addition to these projects, the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley continues to find volunteer opportunities for young people throughout the Cedar Valley. We are so very fortunate to have caring young people in our community who can identify a need and engage a plan to help solve it. 

Weekly Volunteer Needs

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley needs volunteers to fill the following opportunities:

• Volunteers are needed to assist the Science Educator with various activities at the Imaginarium. Volunteer Monday through Friday, December 27 – 31, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. for 2 hour shifts. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome.

• An LPN or RN is needed to volunteer to teach nutrition, abstinence and hygiene, perform ultrasounds, and do options counseling at Alternatives Pregnancy Center, Monday through Thursday with flexible times. Volunteers ages 18 and over are welcome. 

• The American Red Cross Hawkeye Chapter needs volunteers who are currently certified or willing to become certified instructors in CPR and First Aid to teach weekday classes Monday through Saturday with flexible times. Volunteers ages 16 and over are welcome. 

• Aspire Therapeutic Riding Program needs volunteers to update and create databases.  Opportunities exist Monday through Friday in four hour shifts with flexible times. Volunteers ages 18 and over are welcome.

Volunteer Tuesdays at UNI

The University of Northern Iowa’s Student Leadership Center recently partnered with the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley to promote Volunteer Tuesdays! Each Tuesday in the month of November, 30 students take the “Volunteer Van” to a variety of sites throughout the Cedar Valley to volunteer. Participating organizations this month included Community Main Street, Cedar Falls, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Community Meals at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Veterans Day activities at the Grout/Veterans Museum and UNI Student Veterans Association, and Cedar Falls Lutheran Home. To date this fall the program has involved more than 250 students and 8 different organizations.

The “Volunteer Van” departs campus two times each Tuesday at 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. Each student receives a t-shirt.

These planned volunteer outings for students have been so successful the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley is recruiting sites for the spring semester. If your organization is interested in participating, please contact Lauren Finke at 272-2087 or Lauren_Finke@vccv.org.

UNI students are invited to keep an eye out for registration for the MLK Day of Service. This will be a massive service effort with an involvement goal of 100 students! MLK Day of Service is on Monday, January 17 and students will be partnering with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Catholic Worker House, and Grout Museum District in this effort. Lunch and transportation will again be provided!

Iowa Volunteer Trends and Highlights

Trends and Highlights

Based on single year data (2009)

• Despite the economic crisis, the national volunteer rate went up to 26.8 percent in 2009, with 63.4 million volunteers donating approximately 8.1 billion hours of service in communities across the country.
• In 2009, approximately 907,000 volunteers in Iowa contributed 109.4 million hours of service.
• In Iowa, more than 12,000 people participate in national service each year through 120 national service projects and programs. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service will commit more than $14,000,000 to support the national service initiatives (Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and other programs) in Iowa.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Volunteers are needed to walk through the Grout Museum and Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum to assist people as needed. Volunteer Monday through Friday, December 27 – 31, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. for 2 hour shifts. Volunteers age 16 and over are welcome.

• The Waterloo Senior Center needs volunteers to deliver hot meals to homebound, frail, and elderly individuals Monday through Friday in Waterloo. Volunteers ages 18 and over are welcome. 

• Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare needs Ambassadors to guide patients and/or visitors from hospital entrances to various locations throughout the hospital or the Professional Office Building and deliver patient mail and flowers Monday through Friday with flexible times. Volunteers ages 18 and over are welcome. 

• Allen Hospital needs Patient Escorts to greet incoming patients, families and visitors. Volunteers will provide assistance with directions and deliveries, may push visitors or discharged patients in wheelchairs, and work closely with other volunteers and staff. Opportunities exist Monday through Friday in four hour shifts from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Volunteers ages 16 and over are welcome.

Volunteer Buzz: Despite the economic crisis, the national volunteer rate went up to 26.8 percent in 2009, with 63.4 million volunteers donating approximately 8.1 billion hours of service in communities across the country.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities. The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

January 17, 2011 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. This milestone is a perfect opportunity for Americans to honor Dr. King’s legacy through service. The MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community.

Individuals interested in participating in MLK Day should contact Lauren Finke at 272-2087 or Lauren_Finke@vccv.org. 

Welcome to the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley!

Welcome to the first blog for the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley!

Let me introduce you to our organization…

The primary role of the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley is to bring people and community needs together through a range of programs and services. Our position in the community is centered on the ability to:

·         Connect people with opportunities to serve

·         Build the capacity for effective local volunteering

·         Promote Volunteering

·         Participate in strategic initiatives that mobilize volunteers to meet local community needs

We are a member of the Points of Light Institute & HandsOn Network, a national, nonpartisan, and non-profit organization that seeks to engage more people more effectively in volunteer service to address serious social issues. As part of a unified network of hundreds of Volunteer Centers around the country, we work with organizations in thousands of communities to provide leadership at the national and local level to solve community problems through volunteering.

Mission
The mission of the VCCV is to promote and support effective volunteerism; to serve as the resource and coordination center for volunteers and a catalyst in building coalitions and community partnerships.

Vision
The vision of the VCCV is to mobilize people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community problems.

We Value
We believe in service to help others. We believe that through service, people have the capacity to enrich their own lives and improve the quality of life in their communities. We believe that an active volunteer community creates an environment in which all people thrive.

We strive for excellence in our work and in our lives. We value effective practices and strategies for accomplishing our work by sharing time, knowledge, expertise and resources with others. We are good stewards of our time, talents, and finances and hold ourselves accountable for results to achieve our organizational goals.

We show respect to others through consideration for their work and values. We honor different backgrounds and experiences and recognize that all people have time and talents to share and that communities are strengthened when people connect across their differences through volunteer service.

We believe in collaboration to achieve a common vision of better communities. We realize that we are at our best when we engage in collaborative efforts that bring together individuals, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, government, non-profit, faith-based and other community organizations to achieve a common vision of better communities.

We believe in youth as a resource. We are committed to empowering youth to lead.

I look forward to sharing our organization, volunteer opportunities, the importance of volunteerism, and ways to connect with volunteerism in the Cedar Valley and beyond.