Volunteers Making a Difference: Mo Haskins

AmeriCorps member Myron O. Haskins ("Mo") wants more young adults to understand how meaningful volunteer service can be. In his second year with the Mountain Empire Community College AmeriCorps Tutoring Program, Haskins has had an opportunity to see firsthand how one person can touch many lives.

"Every group project we have ever done has been memorable - actually priceless," says Haskins. As a tutor and mentor, Haskins says that he hopes to foster the spirit of community service with youth by helping them understand that they are the next generation and whatever happens in the community is up to them.

Hometown: Gretna, Virginia

Education: University of Virginia (Major in Sociology, Minor in Administration of Justice)

Career Goals: Youth Counselor in the Roanoke area

Hobbies and Interests: AmeriCorps, basketball, baseball, football, video games, and spending time with family and friends

Memorable AmeriCorps Moments: Seeing smiles after a Habitat for Humanity project and helping with the Mountain Empire Older Citizens pancake breakfast once a month

New Report on Volunteering in U.S. Cities Available

The Corporation for National and Community Service has released a detailed report on the state of volunteerism in America's cities. The analysis ranks 50 of the nation's largest cities and 61 additional metropolitan areas. The report finds that cities are key to a state's overall volunteer rate. Community attachment, such as home ownership, drives greater levels of volunteering. Higher levels of high school graduation and lower levels of poverty are also associated with increased levels of volunteering. Read the full report.

Governor Invites Organizations to Link to 2-1-1

Organizations providing services for Virginia's 2-1-1 assistance program are encouraged to feature a link to the 2-1-1 web site on their home pages. For a free copy of the link, click here. 2-1-1 provides free information on a wide variety of health and human services. Trained professionals are available to provide confidential referrals for everything from food banks to job opportunities. For a complete list of services, visit http://www.211virginia.org/.

Virginia Learn and Serve Program in the News

The Staunton News Observer and WVIR Channel 29 recently highlighted a service learning expedition by Staunton city schoolteachers. Teachers hiked along Lewis Creek and studied creekbed critters for two days in this event, which was made possible by a grant through Mary Baldwin College and Learn and Serve Virginia. The event was designed to give teachers an "up close and personal" look at local waterways in order to help assist students in creating educational service projects. News Observer article. Channel 29 story.

Disability Volunteer Handbook Now Available

The Virginia Office on Volunteerism and Community Service has created a valuable resource for anyone involved with the disabled in community service. The Disability Handbook features information on volunteer recruitment of persons with disabilities, so that all individuals have the opportunity to serve their communities. The handbook provides a disability inclusion overview, the philosophy and basics of the Americans with Disability Act, information on how to accommodate volunteers with disabilities, a volunteer manager's guide to disability inclusion, and a listing of Virginia disability resources.

AmeriCorps Programs: Tell Us Your Training Needs

The Virginia Office on Volunteerism and Community Service needs your help in planning this year's training programs. Current AmeriCorps program members are highly encouraged to complete a short survey to assess training needs. We value your input for workshop/training topics and resource needs. As you complete the survey, keep in mind upcoming training events, meetings and the statewide conference. All new programs are also invited to take a brief information survey. For questions regarding these surveys, contact Kimberly Brown, Training Director, at info@vaservice.org.

Free Disaster Training for Volunteers

The Hampton Roads area will host Disaster Volunteer Day, a large-scale training event for emergency response volunteers, July 14, at Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton. Volunteers can learn about state and regional emergency planning, as well as individual preparation responsibilities. Some topics include "Hurricane Evacuation," "How Pandemic Influenza Could Affect Hampton Roads," and "Volunteer Coordination in Disasters." There will also be demonstrations and information tables provided by local and regional emergency response teams, Citizen Corps programs and other disaster relief organizations. Complete schedule of events.

Interfaith Alliance Offers Interfaith Etiquette Advice

The Interfaith Alliance has produced a useful list of etiquette advice pertaining to faith-based organizations. Some of the tips include saying "Reform" Judaism, not "Reformed" Judaism and using the correct spelling of "Pentecostal, "not" Pentacostal." The list of etiquette rules also advises against referring to "the Old Testament" in a story about Jews or Jewish studies and instead using "the Torah" or "Hebrew Scriptures." Complete list.

Learn Volunteer Management Skills on the Web

Energize.com, the website for leaders of volunteers, now offers training through its Everyone Ready® program. The web-based education system delivers a year-round calendar of online seminars, self-instruction guides in PDF format, a portal to the e-Volunteerism online journal, and other training resources designed to build volunteer program management skills. The seminars are designed with unique needs in mind, including small and large organizations, individuals and volunteer centers. Check it out.

IRS Form 990 Provides Checks and Balances for Growing Sector

The announcement of a new and improved tax form for nonprofits is a major concern for many organizations. Susan Raymond, co-author of "Mapping the New World of American Philanthropy" believes that, although the new laws will require more diligent bookkeeping from the nonprofit sector, it will help to bridge the gap in public trust. She writes in a June article that as more philanthropic groups emerge, the public becomes skeptical of good intentions. "Nonprofits spend nearly $800 billion annually and are the third largest contributor to the U.S. GDP. Nonprofits represent as much as 38% of employment in some major cities." She explains that combining this with the fact that nonprofit income from unrelated business revenue has tripled in the last 15 years, it has become necessary to establish a new system of checks and balances. Complete article.