NEWS ON VOLUNTEERISM

Chuck Hennigan is the Volunteer Services Manager for the Lacey Fire District, Number 3, and a volunteer fire fighter with the Griffin Fire District # 13. He is a man with a mission. Over the last 18 months he has brought the importance of the International Year of the Volunteer 2001 (IVY) to the attention of people in Washington State. His efforts mean that volunteers in his state will be included in a worldwide effort to recognize the importance of volunteering. The work he has done is not complicated, as he would be the first to admit, but it does require persistence and commitment to have his volunteers recognized as part of a worldwide movement. Here are things he did that you can do, as well.

1. Requested approval from his supervisor to support the recognition effort, including permission to take time to promote and participate in activities around IYV 2001. The United Nations IYV site has a Point presentation that can be downloaded and used for community education projects. Chuck used it within his own organization and with several statewide groups.
2. Chuck arranged for the production of IYV2001 shirts; polo, t-shirts, sweat shirts. The polo shirt has an attractive small logo over the left breast pocket. The wonderful part of this story is that Chuck got prison inmates to donate their time to do the embroidery for the shirts (keeping the price down). The Washington State Department of Corrections in Yakima, Washington has a program to teach inmates to learn skills that can be turned into employment once they leave prison. These are the people making the shirts. The shirts are generic and can be ordered worldwide. You can order these products by calling Alyssa Eyre at 509-573-6373. Shirts CANNOT be sold for profit without the express permission of the United Nations.
3. Two professional associations of volunteer managers have joined Chuck in organizing events to celebrate volunteerism in Washington State. The Professional Association of Volunteer Managers of Thurston County, Washington is planning a statewide event July 14, 2001 at the Capitol. An international theme is under discussion. The eastern side of Washington State will host a similar even in Wenatchee, WA. Both events are supported by DOVIA Washington, which is a statewide association for professional volunteer managers.
4. There are also plans for banners, proclamations from elected officials, and interest in sponsorship by the National Volunteer Fire Council, all organized by the intrepid Hennigan.

The International Year of the Volunteer is about local initiatives, like the ones described above. Volunteering is about local, person-to-person, efforts. Chuck Hennigan is an example of how one person, an enthusiastic professional volunteer manager, can mobilize an entire state and beyond. The Question for You! . . What are you doing to promote and plan for IYV 2001?

• The Echo Boom generation is Americans born between 1977 and 1997.
• Often called, Generation Y, Nexters, Millenials,
• Core values: optimism, civic duty, confidence, morality, diversity, achievement
• Two-thirds of teens in this group have savings accounts, two in ten have checking accounts, 16% own stock, and 5% had mutual funds.
• What they might want out of a volunteer position:
  • To get information quickly and easily
  • To have a less structured life
  • To exert some control over their life and environment
  • To resolve their fears.

The US Census Bureau has a large and unwieldy Web site. Not the easiest to maneuver. Ameristat (www.ameristat.org) rides to the rescue with a more easily accessible site. A cooperative venture between the University of Michigan and University of New York at Albany, it is quite user friendly. Statistics are in user friendly graphics. There are many topics of inquiry; marriage and family, race and ethnicity, income, poverty, and new ones to come, such as migration and children.

Susan Ellis and Steve McCurley are launching an online journal beginning October 1, 2000. It is designed to combine the best of a printed professional journal with the full potential of Internet technology. The new publication is aimed at volunteer leaders/managers who want to challenge themselves to go beyond the ordinary in the volunteerism field. Each issue will be interactive, inviting comments and contributions from subscribers. The journal will appear quarterly and include:

• Commentaries by volunteerism experts Steve McCurley and Susan Ellis
• A section exclusively for leaders of volunteer manager associations, such as DOVIA's, an international perspective, feature a research for practitioners section to interpret scholarly research for non-academics.

The publishers are offering a "Leap of Faith" subscription rate of $25. After the first issue, the price goes to $40 per year. These are US prices. To subscribe go to http://www.e-volunteerism.com/subscribe.html. For more information direct questions to info@energizeinc.com.

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Copyright by Nancy Macduff.

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