Be the Change

National Volunteer Week is Apr. 17-24, 2010, and HandsOn is launching the "Be the Change" campaign for that week.

What is "Be the Change?" To participate, your business would agree to ask your customers to add $1 or $5 to their purchase to be donated to HandsOn Northeast Georgia during National Volunteer Week, Apr. 17-24. Donor cards recognizing their donation would then be posted in your business, at no direct cost to you. In return, you will be given a poster recognizing your participation, and your name would be included in a minimum of 3 ads in the Athens Banner-Herald leading up to and during the week of the Be the Change campaign. If you agree to match donations made in your business (at least $100), your business name will be bolded in any listing and recognized as a matching participant. If you agree to match to a higher amount, then you will receive the benefits of the corresponding level of sponsorship (listed below):

$100– Name listed on “Be the Change” page of Hands On website
$250– Name listed on “Be the Change” page of Hands On website, poster, and any print advertisements
$500– Logo placed on “Be the Change” page of Hands On website and poster; small logo included in print advertisements
$1,000– Logo placed on Hands On homepage promoting the “Be the Change” campaign; logo on page of Hands On website and poster; logo placed on “Be the Change” donor cards; logo included in print advertisements

We need your help to "Be the Change!" Are you a local business or do you know a local business that would be interested in participating in this project? Let us know below!

New website

In case you missed it, we launched our new site a few weeks ago. What do you think?

http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/hng/volunteer/

Also, for those of you who attended the Social Media training program on March 1, how are your blogs, facebook pages and twitter pages doing?

Who volunteers?

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us how people from different age groups volunteered in 2009. In this cool infograph designed by GOOD Magazine, we can see what projects draw the most volunteers and which age group volunteers the most. The 45-54 age group seems to volunteer the most (overall), and religious and education projects seem to draw the most volunteers. Does this surprise anybody?

Let us know what you think!

Social MEdia Workshop a success

HandsOn Conducted a workshop today and it was a great success for teaching nonprofits about utilizing social media. :-)

Funbruary

Winter blues got you down? Don't worry; we have plenty of great February projects coming up! These still need volunteers:
-Groundhog Day at the Zoo!--Volunteers are needed to assist with live feedings, crafts and games. (Note: must have completed Natural Resources training) Sign up here.
-Bicycle Recycling Program--Volunteers are needed to help repair bicycles. Only one spot left! Sign up here.
-Habitat Weekday Builds--Habitat for Humanity is hosting weekday builds every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this month. Check them out.
-Brooklyn Cemetery Clean-up--Volunteers are needed for both clean-up and beautification of the cemetery. Sign up here.
-ESP Club--Volunteers are needed to help with the ESP Club. Check it out.
-Habitat Restoration and Invasive Species Control--Habitat needs volunteers to help remove invasive plants from Memorial Park or the Greenway every Saturday this month. Check them out.
-Clarke County Mentor Training--Want to work with children? Come to get trained as a mentor! Sign up here.
-Invasive Crafts!--Come use the weeds pulled from the Greenway to make beautiful crafts. Sign up here.
-Tikes, Trikes, and Strollers--Volunteers are needed to help preschoolers with crafts and navigating an obstacle course. (Note: must have completed Natural Resources training) Sign up here.
-Greenway Geocaching Adventure!--Volunteers are needed to help find cached minerals. Sign up here.
-Taste of Athens--Volunteers are needed for supportive roles at Community Connection's annual fundraiser. Sign up here.
-Extra Special People's Big Hearts Pageant--Volunteers are needed to help contestants get ready and sell items during the pageant. All volunteers must help with clean-up. Sign up here.


P.S. Be sure to check out the Taste of Athens blend from Jittery Joes.

MLK Day Wrap-up

First of all, we want to thank the over 1200 volunteers who participated at 30 different worksites for the MLK Day of Service 2010. Thank you to all those who came out to help!
Now, we want to hear from you. If you have a great story about this MLK Day or any MLK Day in the past, we want to hear it! Leave us a comment below, send us a message on Facebook, or drop us an email. Let us know about your experience volunteering. Check out these testimonials and pictures from two of our agency partners: BikeAthens and Habitat for Humanity. Also be sure to check our Picasa and our youtube pages for pictures and videos of the event. Again, thank you to all those who volunteered! Let us know about your MLK Day experience.

Upcoming events

First, MLK Day 2010 is next Monday, Jan. 18. This year, over 800 people are expected to volunteer! If you have not signed up for a project, follow this link to register. Volunteers will work at sites from 9-noon, then from noon-3 there will be food, live music and other activities to help celebrate the day of service.

MLK Day will also provide volunteers with the opportunity to participate in Disney's Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. program. Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. gives volunteers a FREE one-day pass to one of Disney's theme parks. Volunteers MUST register for their projects at DisneyParks.com in order to register for a ticket. For a list of approved projects, click here.

HandsOn is also encouraging everyone to pledge to volunteer in 2010. If you fill out the pledge form before Jan. 31, you will be entered to win two tickets to Taste of Athens and a free 12 oz. hand-made beverage from Jittery Joe's. Be sure to get your pledges in!

Remember: check out our calendar for ongoing projects and even more volunteer opportunities.