Watch Out for the Entertainment Industry

If you have a TV and an interest in volunteerism, you've surely noticed recent advertisements and programming tie-ins to something called Iparticipate. The Entertainment Industry Foundation was created 67 years ago and has raised millions of dollars of money for a number of societal causes, including this big campaign to promote volunteering. All week long you'll see TV shows and celebrities shining a light on the importance of community service. The Iparticipate website will direct people to volunteer opportunities and Volunteer San Diego. You may already be a VSD volunteer, or perhaps you are new to community service, either way you should answer the call that the entertainment industry is putting out and sign up for a volunteer project today!

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United We Serve

Today is the kick-off for President Obama's call for summer service for Americans. He is calling this service endeavor "United We Serve" and has the support from top members of his administration. The first lady and cabinet members are working today at community service projects throughout the country. The president is putting the spotlight on four areas of need: community renewal, education, energy, and the environment. This summer service initiative is starting today and ending on September 11th, which has been named the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

For more information about United We Serve, visit serve.gov.

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Kennedy Serve America Act

President Obama has signed the Kennedy Serve America Act into law. Among other things, this law will grow the number of AmeriCorps volunteers from 75,000 people a year to 250,000 people a year. As a former member of the AmeriCorps, I feel quite proud of this moment in history. Our country has given 175,000 more Americans the opportunity to serve our nation each year. Without the organization that the AmeriCorps program provides, I would not have been able to give the 1700 hours of service to the community that I gave in 1999. In addition, I gained wonderful professional experiences in the AmeriCorps that gave my career a real boost. Our country can count on a wonderful return on investment in the Kennedy Serve America Act, and I believe my story is an example of this potential.



Anna Schulz is a member of the Flex program and a volunteer blogger for Volunteer San Diego. She also writes for her family blog, The Full Catastrophe.

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Intergenerational School brings Older Volunteers into Schools

NPR ran a great story this morning about a school in Cleveland that brings young and old together through volunteerism. The Intergenerational School buses in folks in their 80s and 90s to read to children and talk about their life experiences. Some of the volunteers have Alzheimer's or dementia, but this hasn't proved to be an impediment to their work. In fact Dr. Peter Whitehouse, the founder of the school, believes that volunteering has numerous health benefits to Alzheimer's patients. Whitehouse has been working with Daniel George to study the effects of volunteerism:

Whitehouse and George say they see a change in volunteers such as 91-year-old Hardesty. She doesn't use the words Alzheimer's or dementia. Instead, she talks about her "problem." She says that when it developed late last year, it hit her hard.
"I thought I might as well quit," Hardesty says. "I was really down in the dumps about the whole thing. There was a time that I hated to go down to dinner because I just couldn't talk to people. It was awful." For a while she stopped going to the dining hall. Two things lifted her from that despair: a support group for people dealing with memory loss and her volunteer work at the Cleveland school.
"The kids, you know, we always find a lot of things to laugh about," says Hardesty. "Just having kids around has always been very good for me, so it was good thing."

If you have a few moments the story is worth a listen!

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