New Bold Aspirational Statement

Our very own Board of Directors have been working hard to come up with a new strategic plan. Along the way, they have helped us to revise our mission statement. For those of you familiar with our old mission statement, this one makes has a more specific vision and a mission that is much more powerul:

Values
Service, passion, results, collaboration, integrity, commitment,
competence and fun

Mission
Volunteer San Diego creates lasting community impact through
meaningful individual and group volunteer action.

We are excited to fully implement this new Mission Statement into our organization. Hopefully over the next year we will be able to continue to increase our community impact on San Diego County.

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Come Party With US!

Volunteer San Diego Spring Fling

April is National Volunteer Month; come celebrate with us and help us ring in the spring! The party starts at 8pm this Friday, April 25th and will be held at Tio Leo's (5302 Napa St. in San Diego). Live music by the Catillacs begins at 9pm and runs to midnight. Raffle prizes will be available, as well.

There is a $20 cover at the door. All proceeds go to Volunteer San Diego.

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Global Youth Service Day is this week!

Volunteer San Diego's SAVY Leaders have been preparing all year for the signature Global Youth Service Day project on April 26th. We need volunteers to help paint classrooms and murals, organize, clean and much more at three National City Head Start locations.

Kids of all ages are welcome to volunteer!

What is Global Youth Service Day?

Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is April 21 - 27. It is the largest service event in the world, engaging millions of young people (ages 5-25). It promotes public awareness and education and highlights the amazing contributions that young people make to their communities. GYSD supports and encourages youth to begin on a life-long path of service and civic engagement.
Volunteer San Diego will be coordinating GYSD projects during the entire week of April 21 - 27, 2007, so keep your eye on the April Project Calendar and sign up as a volunteer!

For more information, please e-mail Jaci Feinstein.

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San Diego Ranks #19 of U.S Metro Areas for Volunteering

According to a new federal report, San Diego ranks #19 in volunteerism:

San Diego ranked #19 in a recent list of major U.S. metropolitan areas for
its average number of volunteer hours in the country – 39.5 volunteer hours
per resident in the metro area compared to the nation’s average of 36.5
volunteer hours per metro area resident, according to a new federal
report.

Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and
Rankings, released today by the Corporation for National and Community
Service, is the first report of its kind to look at volunteering trends in
50 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. San Diego
ranked #25 for its volunteer rate – 29.2 percent – compared to the nation’s
average volunteer rate of 28.1 percent.

Lets shoot for #1!

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Encinitas Easter Eggs

If you are looking for a way to give back to your community this Easter Weekend, look no further than the City of Encinitas Easter Egg Hunt. Volunteers are needed to help with setup, attend the craft booth, and distribute eggs around the park. What could be more fun than spending the day hiding eggs and then watching the kids search frantically around for them? For more information on this event, click here.

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Be a Part of the World's Fastest 5k!

On April 6th, runners from around the country will converge in Carlsbad to compete in the Carlsbad 5000. This race is home to 16 World Records, and is considered the fastest 5k race in the world! If you want to be a part of the festivities but don't want to run, volunteer! The event includes:

• Fast and Fun Seaside Course
• 2-Day Health & Fitness Expo
• Beer Garden and Live Music
• 50,000 weekend spectators
• Elite Athlete Invitational

Volunteers are needed to help staff the Awards Booth and Water Stations, and to register new runners. At the finish line volunteers will organize and hand out refreshments, time race participants, and hand out medals, t-shirts and goodie bags. Volunteers over the age of 21 can help staff the beer garden!

Volunteers are also needed on Saturday April 5th for the Junior Carlsbad Race and Friday April 4th for the Pre-Registration Party. Volunteers will help with set-up for a party on Friday from 2 to 7 pm.

This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of one of the biggest events in North County. Volunteer and have a blast!

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Eat out for SAVY leaders

Come out to Pat & Oscars in Mira Mesa tomorrow, March 25th to help support the SAVY leader program. 20% of all purchases between 5 and 8 pm will be donated to Volunteer San Diego's SAVY leaders. All you have to do is print out the promotional flyer and present it at the time of purchase. The flyer can be downloaded here.

Are you a high school student interested in becoming a SAVY leader? Applications for next school year will be available in April. Check back soon!

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Boomer Volunteerism Survey

Baby Boomers represent an extraordinary opportunity for
volunteer agencies in San Diego County; over the next 10-15
years they will become an increasingly valuable source of
support and innovation for our volunteer organizations! Help
us identify trends in Baby Boomer volunteerism by taking a
brief survey.
Please complete the survey by March 19. We appreciate your
time and input! Click Here to take survey

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TeamWorks Teams Up for the Community

Dedicated blog readers may remember a post on TeamWorks a few months ago. The latest session of TeamWorks 101 concluded last week, and it was a complete success! This edition of TeamWorks focused on the issue of education, and included several projects for the volunteer team to work on together. The team began with a kickoff project making bookmarks together for Homework Helpers, then decided to head outdoors to work on Challenge Ranch, an organization dedicated to providing outdoor opportunities for under-privileged children. Together they repaired trails, trimmed the trees, patched up the horse corral, and had a blast the whole time. After successfully working at the Ranch, they headed back to the classroom to teach a group of children at the boys and girls club ways to prepare for the next disaster.

Throughout the TeamWorks Series, the team kept a strong vision to make a difference in their community. Despite the difficult scheduling and the obstacles the team faced, they came together and pulled through with a strong sense of teamwork.

After four months of committing themselves to service the team can claim many accomplishments. They educated 13 people about the issues at hand, completed 4 projects at Challenge Ranch, and instructed 8 children on ways to prepare for a disaster. Combined they completed over a hundred hours of service to the community! Way to go guys!

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VSD is the "Best Place" to Be!

Volunteer San Diego was recently recognized at the San Diego Business Journal's 9th Annual Best Places to Work Awards! There were 3 categories of non-profit awards – recognizing small, medium and large organizations, and Volunteer San Diego won in the small category (0 – 50 employees). Congratulations to VSD staff, board, and all the volunteers!

Click here to listen to our podcast in which Development Director Kelli Ochoa and Ron Clayton discuss this exciting news!

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Discounted tickets at the Rep!

The San Diego Repertory Theatre would like to offer a special ticket deal to all VSD volunteers. For their latest production The Clean House, they're offering $5 off all tickets. Just call the box office (619-544-1000) and say you're a registered member of Volunteer San Diego.

The show runs from February 23-March 22. Groups (10 or more people) who are interested in going to the show should call Katrina at 619-544-1000 for details.

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California Makes History for Volunteerism

On February 26th, Governor Schwartzenegger took first-in-the-nation action to encourage volunteerism in California. The Governor signed an executive order to establish the new position of secretary of service and volunteering. The executive order will raise the profile of service in the Golden State to a national level, encourage more Californians to become involved with service and volunteerism, help California respond to natural disasters and emergencies, and give California's volunteers a voice at the highest levels of state government.

Sue Carter, VSD's Executive Director, says, "As a hub of CaliforniaVolunteers, Volunteer San Diego is excited and encouraged by the Executive Order creating a Cabinet-level position for volunteering. Volunteers are a vital force to change our community for the better. We look forward to continued partnership with the state to increase and enhance volunteerism." For more information and to read some of the national media coverage our state received, visit this webpage: http://www.californiavolunteers.org/news.asp.

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Hey U-T, don't forget about VSD!

The Union-Tribune recently published an article about California's new plan to use volunteers to aid in disaster relief. Volunteer San Diego was instrumental in the deployment of volunteers to assist those affected by last October's firestorms, but was forgotton for this article. The following is a letter to the Union-Tribune written by VSDs Executive Director Sue Carter:

As the county’s lead agency for coordinating spontaneous volunteers during a disaster, we at Volunteer San Diego were pleased to see yesterday’s article highlighting the contributions and potential of volunteers (Volunteers' fire response is foundation of state plan).

More than 3,000 volunteers were mobilized in the first three weeks through Volunteer San Diego. At the fire’s onset, we connected volunteers to organizations such as 2-1-1 San Diego. Our trained volunteer Disaster Cadre, the first of its kind in the state, coordinated thousands of incoming volunteer calls and emails. More recently, our registered volunteers assisted with sandbagging and erosion control.

Despite the limited disaster funding that Baker noted, Volunteer San Diego continues its commitment to volunteer coordination in disaster, offering basic and advanced trainings on disaster response and preparedness; collaborating with other disaster responders; and working with the state to further develop systems that ensure effective and safe volunteering in disasters.

Equally important are Volunteer San Diego’s diverse volunteer opportunities that build, connect and strengthen our community during ‘peacetime’ and better prepare us to respond in disaster.

Sue Carter

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Buick Invitational a success!

For the past few years Volunteer San Diego has teamed up with the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course to organize volunteers to help staff their event. In exchange for valuable volunteer time they have helped VSD continue our multitude of programs through generous donations.

This year the event took place January 21-27th and for the first time in tournament history rain sullied the course while the normally balmy weather was disrupted by fierce winds. Nevertheless, volunteers showed up in droves to man the concession stands and participate in other behind-the-scenes activities. The dedication of our volunteers is inspiring, as exmeplified by one volunteer's testimonial:

"It was a fairly hectic time at the Buick Invitational because of the damage to the golf course during the previous nights rainstorm.... At 9:15am the crowds were allowed into the golf course and then the fun began. There was only one functioning concession stand with a skeleton crew working, but luckily enough volunteers stayed around and employees were called in to assist. Everyone worked as a team to get the job done and we succeeded!"

Despite the less than inviting conditions, 57 volunteers participated donating over 500 hours! Thank you so much to each and every one of you!

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Martin Luther King Day of Service

Instead of sleeping in this Martin Luther King Jr. day, 100 volunteers are getting up early to participate in the annual Martin Luther King Day of Service. The group has been inspired by this year's theme of "Community Revitalization" and will work together to renovate the Southern Sudanese Community center in City Heights.

The Sudanese Center was founded in 1995 by Dep Tuany, himself a Sudanese refugee, with the mission of “assisting all Sudanese refugees in their resettlement through education and social, economic, and cultural support”. The Center provides a familiar place for the more than 4,000 Sudanese refugees living in San Diego.

The SAVY Leaders, a group of 36 local high school students, have spent the past few months planning, fundraising and recruiting volunteers to bring new life to the Sudanese Community Center and the Sudanese community as a whole. Annually, SAVY (Students Actively Volunteering for You) engages over 10,000 middle and high school students from diverse neighborhoods in community service, youth leadership and service-learning projects.

For more information on this project and to sign up, click here. Check back soon for highlights and pictures from the event!

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Teamworks is Going Strong!

The most recent Teamworks program is coming along nicely with 9 people at the planning meeting for the Boys and Girls club event to be held on Saturday October 27th.

We brainstormed a bunch of activities we think kids between the ages of 6 and 13 will enjoy. Some of the ideas we came up with are baby pumpkin painting, mask making, halloween story telling, touch & feel (of funky things from spaghetti to chocolate reese's, whatever your mind can think of) and playing soccer.

We're trying to get most of the materials donated, so if anyone reading this wants to give us stuff for the event like food, candy, baby pumpkins or anything kids would like, it would be put to good use.

The next scheduled experience for the Teamworks crew is a movie night tonight at 6pm at the United Way Building called "The World According to Sesame Street." This film explores the dramas, challenges and complexities behind producing international versions of the beloved television program.

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Prospectus: U.S. Public Service Academy

Hello everyone! Today I am writing about the proposed bill H.R. 1671 and S. 960. This bill is called the Public Service Academy Act of 2007 and will create the civilian counterpart to the military service academies.

The main purpose of the bill is to construct an undergraduate institution of higher learning devoted to public service. Recent catastrophes like Katrina and 9/11 show how much our nation depends on competent civilian leadership and highlight the importance of public service. Our nation needs a public service academy to train people so they can be prepared when events like these happen.

Americans are convinced that we must improve our capacity not only to deal with future emergencies but also to confront daily challenges both locally and globally. As part of this effort, America must create an undergraduate institution designed to develop a new generation of young leaders dedicated to public service.

The Public Service Academy will bring to fruition George Washington’s dream of a national public university and will provide a service-oriented, leadership-focused education to roughly 5100 undergraduate students.

Modeled on successful military service academies, spots for incoming freshmen will be allocated by the states, following a congressional nomination process. The academic program will be based on civic education, with stringent requirements for summer internships, study abroad, and service learning. Graduates will spend five years serving their nation by working as teachers, police officers, emergency responders, and other critical public service jobs at the local, state, and national levels. Funded as a public-private partnership, the Academy will cost roughly $205 million per year to run.

National security depends on having strong civilian leadership while America faces a growing shortage of public servants and civic leaders at all levels of society. Yet, America does not offer a national undergraduate institution dedicated to developing civilian leaders. Like the military academies, the Public Service Academy will create a campus culture of service that will foster strong bonds among undergraduates committed to the same patriotic goals. With regional diversity, the Academy will be a national college that is economically accessible to all Americans and will be an inspiring symbol of the government’s commitment to public service as essential to America’s vitality.

The Academy will be the defining institution of our generation, foster the patriotic spirit of young people and channel it into public service. It will unify students from every corner of America to one campus to study, serve and lead together. The idea has won broad bipartisan support in Congress and across the nation and is co-sponsored by Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the Senate and Christopher Shays (R-CT)and James Moran (D-VA) in the House of Representatives.

If you would like to download a copy of the petition to complete and send to congress, you may do so here.

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Thanks to all the Team and Orientation Leaders! :)

The purpose of this entry is to recognize all of the heroes who have signed up to be Team and Orientation Leaders!


Andy Achterkirchen
Bob Alden
Heidi Badger
Amber Burrows
Cynthia Bustamante
Melissa Camarillo
Karen Cheesman
Ron Clayton
Stephanie Culbertson
Kurt Culver
Jessica DiGrazia
Christy Dunn
Deanna Encarnacion
Brad Graybehl
Malcolm Griffin
Christina Hawley
Kim Heil
Mathew Hoang
Candice Hodge
Timothy Ingham
Dale Isaacs
Kristi Jennings
Linda Kane
Barbara Keramati
Judy Larkins
Bob Lavenstein
Eric Lee
Millie Liles
Arleen Lim
Deborah Linggi
Charlie Loach
Bob Matson
Jill Maucere
Amy May
David McClaskey
Steve Meduna
Cathy Miller
Kristin Miller
Adrian Mulroney
Lindsey Ogata
Jennifer Palmer
Marshall Peterman
Melinda Redding
Cambria Rose
Edward Rosenbaum
Ivan Ruiz
Meryl Salaguban
John Sandor
Srinivas Sarma
Brent Shintani
Lynn Smorada
Sarann Sak
Chris Spehar
Lisa Stahl
Amanda Stiffler
Maranda Tennent
Robert Thombley
Nancy Treja
Angie Valdiconza
Christopher Vanichsam
Lisa Vasquez
Joseph Weaver
Heather Wosoogh
Lissette Wuebben
Jennifer Zwicker


If I left anyone out, please email me at mmccoy@volunteersandiego.org and let me know. The service of these people will directly or indirectly affect everyone in a positive way and I invite all who are reading this to applaud their selfless donation of time and energy. Really, everyone please clap.


Also, despite the dizzying list that precedes, we still need more Team and Orientation Leaders because volunteering is becoming a way of life in San Diego! Please sign up to make a positive impact in your community by leading a team of volunteers. You may do this by clicking on this link right here or going to www.volunteersandiego.org, clicking on orientations and trainings, clicking on the course calender and clicking on the link that says, "Interested in Becoming a Team Leader?" Doing this builds community, making San Diego a better place to live and increases the net love in the world.

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Congratulations Tiveeda Stovall!

Volunteer San Diego would like to recognize Tiveeda Stovall of Excel Youth Zone for receiving the Congresswoman Susan Davis Award for Outstanding Adult Empowering Youth in Service for 2007. Tiveeda has dedicated the past four years to assisting educators and youth in service-learning programs that motivate youth to learn more effectively and to be leaders and active citizens of their communities. Tiveeda is the Executive Director and Founder of Excel Youth Zone, a non-profit that works to promote service-learning and youth leadership in the San Diego community. Her time, commitment and dedication to programs that inspire youth and their communities to make positive change is admirable and she is commended and honored by Volunteer San Diego and those that know her.

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Congratulations SAVY Leaders!

Congratulations to the SAVY Leaders for leading an excellent year of service and leadership. This year an amazing *17 SAVY Leaders* earned a Presidential Service Award for completing over 100 hours of service, 13 received the PYLI (Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute) completion certificate for the first time, 6 outstanding Leaders received the Outstanding SAVY Leader award and 1 SAVY Leader won the Bronze Medallion for the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Kudos to a beautiful and active group of students!

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