www.seattleworks.org

Service across religions

Here's a great profile on Girl Scouts. As a former Brownie this made me tear up and be proud of one of my first community experiences!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008214812_muslimscout30m.html

-Alison

Millennials Changing America: The Next Generation of Organizing

One of my friends from Nike sent me a link to Alex Steed's research on millenials. He's embarking on a road trip to learn more about his generation. It's fascinating. Check him out. http://www.alexsteed.com/millennial.html

I hope he'll stop by SW when he is in Seattle.

-Alison

Thanks to Sen. Murray and Gov Gregoire for supporting volunteerism

On September 12, Senators Hatch and Kennedy proposed historical legislation that would increase the opportunities for Americans to serve as volunteers in the community. Yesterday, we were delighted to find out that Senator Murray has signed on as a co-sponsor.

For those of you who’ve read our blog before, you know that I went to DC in July to encourage Senator Murray to support this bill. I am so pleased that she agreed with us -- if more people had the opportunity to volunteer in their community, we’d be able to solve some of our most pressing issues—and is willing to step and be our advocate. 

I love it when the system works.  If you’ve ever wondered , does it matter if I call, write or visit my elected officials –this is proof that it does.

A special thanks to Governor Gregorie who sent a letter to Senator Murray encouraging her to support this legislation and referenced Seattle Works effectiveness. If you’d like to read the letter, http://www.seattleworks.org/AboutUs/index.php/AC/Gregoire_letter.pdf

Thanks to the great leadership of this state, we’re hopeful that this will pass in the next Congress.

-Alison

Go Cougs--our very own WSU selected to research volunteering!

The Corporation for National and Community Service today announced it will engage five leading universities to expand scholarly and policy research and deepen understanding about volunteering, national and community service, and civic engagement in America.

 

The federal agency will award nearly $1 million to five institutions of higher education to conduct research on volunteering and civic engagement; the impact of national service on service participants, and trends in the nonprofit sector that either impact or are created by national service.

 

The recipients of the first-ever Expanding Research on Volunteerism and National Service grants are Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government; the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies; Washington State University in conjunction with Duke University; Pennsylvania State University; and Tufts University/CIRCLE/ Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.

 

Washington State University, Pullman, WA; $190,560:

Washington State, working with Duke University, will examine how social contexts influence individual decisions to volunteer.  Researchers will build on existing work by using the findings of Volunteering in America to explain the reasons for geographical difference in volunteering rates and intensity.

 

Good job Cougs!

-Alison

I just want to share the pictures.

After a week of facilitating orientations and trainings I almost forgot about my own orientation and training – Seattle Works first international trip to Peru! We started in July with a Peruvian potluck at my place. Laura, Thomas, Megan and Chris cooked excellent Lomo Saltado, Gretchen made a mean Leche Asada and I attempted to make authentic Cebiche de Pescado but opted for using cooked shrimp instead. Everyone brought lots of good stuff and 11 members of our 14 person team (plus Frederick’s dad) ate, talked about learning Spanish and whether or not we should worry about Malaria. We entertained the idea of trying to acclimate to higher altitudes before the trip and settled for a moderate, but beautiful hike to Mt. Rainier last weekend. We oohed and ahhed, I got bit by a chipmunk (I’m not kidding, they are aggressive little buggers) and stopped for coffee in Bonney Lake on the way home only to discover that we were in THE Bonney Lake drive-through. You know, the one we’ve all seen on the news where women of questionable ages wear questionable outfits? Yeah, moving right along . . . I’m excited about Peru, excited about the team and excited about the lessons, stories and pictures we’ll all have to share!

- Jan

(Sharla Halvorson, Jan Burrell, Kevin Burrell, Patrick Stewart, Amy Lange, Jessica McDougal, Gretchen DeDecker)

(View of Mt. Rainier from Tolmie Peak)

My whirlwind trip to NYC-The Presidential Forum

Last week I had a great opportunity to join with community and elected leaders from around the country to discuss  strategies for increasing volunteerism. This 2 day Service Nation Summit started with a Presidential Forum (yes, the one on Fox, CNN and MSNBC) at Columbia University.

As you may have gathered from previous posts-- I love politics--so I was beside myself seeing a presidential event in person. I especially love politics, when candidates call on us to be our best selves.  In this case volunteering, the candidates were asking the 60 million Americans to keep up the good work and for the rest of the nation, let's get going.

Overall, I believe that both McCain and Obama's plans to increase volunteer service will inspire more people to do more things. Service has been critical to each of their journeys and I think they will call on each of us to serve our country.

Each candidate said that it is the ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things that is the spirit of America. We need to harness this spirit to do more.

Here are a few more highlights:

• The warm up act for the Forum included NY Governor David Patterson. He announced that he's recently promoted (is that what happens in govt?) his Czar of Volunteering to be a cabinet level position. He was very charming and super funny for a Governor. I could've listened to him all day--it was clear he didn't take himself too seriously.

• Also getting the crowd warmed up was Spider Man-Tobey Maguire. I thought he was an odd choice, but apparently he's quite a fan of volunteering. I am always surprised how physically small actors are-- I think I could take Spider Man in hand to hand combat.  He was less inspiring, but very cute.

• Then the main attraction was the hour long discussion moderated by Judy Woodruff(PBS) and Richard Stengel (Time)  with Obama and McCain. Each candidate focused on the need for ordinary citizens to reclaim their country--I guess this is the "change" mantra--and noted that it's the average people who do the most work in our communities. 

• McCain repeated several themes. He's pleased with the efforts of volunteers, he admires the people who volunteer and he doesn't think the answer to solving our community problems is more government.  He cited the likes of City Year and Habitat as good models for public:private partnerships. I would agree. The government shouldn't be running our volunteer efforts, but rather strategically investing in this work and allowing those of us on the ground to direct resources in the most impactful way. I found McCain to be very charming--funny at times (at one point, he pretended to fall asleep) and extremely knowledgeable about the issues.  I also like that he raised concern about Columbia University not allowing ROTC on campus. Admittedly, it's been awhile since I've been on a college campus and not tracking ROTC issues very closely, but I think service is service, everyone should find their own way to engage.

• Then it was Obama's turn. You could tell that we were at Obama's alma mater and many of the people in the room were inclined to think community organizing is important.  The energy in the room was noticeably higher when he walked in. Obama spoke in broad terms about how to increase volunteer service and the importance of more people being engaged. He noted that he has a detailed plan for increasing national service on his website and confirmed that the price tag for his program is about 3.5 Billion over 10 years. This is a lot of money, however, I believe his premise is also to push this investment out into the community. He too made the point that the country thinks government is broken and needs to be reformed.(This got a big applause).

If you missed the forum, I hope you'll get a chance to watch it on :

http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation

Or read this week's Time magazine dedicated to National Service.

I'll write more tomorrow about the Summit, that included highlights with Jon Bon Jovi, Usher, Alicia Keys, Sen. Orin Hatch and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

-Alison 

Inexperience... really?

“To exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution and Christopher Columbus from even discovering America." I love this quote.

Barak Obama is 47, Sarah Palin 44. Both with a short, but impressive track record. Obama counts 7 years as a legislator in the Illinios State House, Sarah Palin 10 as a councilmember and mayor. Palin has served almost two years as Governor of Alaska, Obama the same in the US Senate.

 

The compelling points of their resumes are not their experience. If Americans wanted experience, they would have picked Hillary Clinton; McCain would have selected Tom Ridge or Mitt Romney. The point of their candidacies is that they don’t have experience—but instead bring new ideas, fresh perspectives and a different look at the way things are done.

 

We need MORE leaders who understand the challenges of bridging cultural barriers and divides, and who “get” working mothers. We need more female role models, and more people of color in office. While I don’t share all of their beliefs, I will be celebrating on January 21, 2009; we will either have the first African-American President or first female Vice President in US history. Let’s stop pointing to the “inexperience” of the other side and start rallying behind the next generation of leaders.

--Linnea Noreen

The County Exec is at least one tech step ahead of me

Ron Sims on Twitter

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/148181.asp

Gotta love Seattle's millenials

Seattle Millenials (people born after 1982) rank #2 in the nation for volunteer service according to a recent study released by the Corporation for National and Communtiy Service.  32.3% of people under age 25 volunteered in the last year. If you aren't from Seattle, you can check out your home town on the complete ranking.  http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/map.cfm?mode=2&drop=8

-Alison

Reflections from Camp Sealth!

Last week we visited Camp Sealth on Vashon Island for the second time in as many Seattle Works volunteer seasons. I don’t have anything all that witty to write, it is the tail end of a particularly hectic work week. I guess that’s one of the reasons we look forward to each Seattle Works event. It is a time out of life, a temporary step outside of the usual. Previously we helped Camp Sealth set up for the summer and the children of all ages that would bring the camp to life in the coming months. On this visit we packed up the camp: bringing down the tipis & folding up canvas. It’s hard to believe that in the short summer season of Camp Sealth I have met so many fun Seattleites and touched the lives of so many others through the Seattle Works volunteer activities. So thanks again to you and Seattle Works for all that you do; I can’t wait for the next event and the next volunteer season!

Thanks,

Rob Schreiber