Washington, April 21, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — President Obama today signed a landmark bill to greatly expand government national-service and volunteer programs, and asked Americans to “stand up and play your part.”
April 21, 2009, The New York Times — Heeding President Obama’s call for boosting Americans’ engagement in civic service, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Monday a sweeping plan to encourage volunteerism among city residents.
April 20, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The average value of donated time by volunteers was $20.25 per hour in 2008, according to a new study by Independent Sector, in Washington, a coalition of major charities and foundations.
QUERÉTARO, Mexico, April 19, 2009, The Boston Globe — Watching proudly from the Rose Garden as the first team of young Peace Corps volunteers left in 1961 for two-year missions in Africa, President John F. Kennedy turned to his aide, Harris Wofford, and mulled the ambitious future for the international service organization he had just created.
NEW YORK, April 14, 2009 — According to the 2009 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey, both nonprofits and corporations are overlooking a high-impact opportunity to leverage pro bono and skilled volunteer support to offset a decline in corporate giving dollars. Despite the challenging economic backdrop, nearly 40 percent of nonprofit executives say they will spend between $50,000 and $250,000 or more of "hard-won" cash on outside contractors and consultants this year. Yet nearly one-quarter (24%) of nonprofit respondents have no plans to use skilled volunteers or pro bono support in any capacity in 2009. These national survey findings were released today in advance of National Volunteer Week, April 19 - 25, 2009.
April 8, 2009, The Economist — In a Manhattan park on March 31st the Unemployment Olympics took place. Participants competed in events such as the “Telephone Toss” and “Pin the Blame on the Bosses”. But other unemployed people are looking for charity work to occupy their time. Many non-profit organisations are seeing an increase in people looking to help. Even before the economic crisis, AmeriCorps, a programme which takes young volunteers for a year, was turning away two applicants for every one it accepted. Teach for America, which sends recent college graduates to teach in needy schools, saw 35,000 students apply for up to 4,000 openings this year. In February VolunteerNYC.org, New York’s public-service site, saw a 27% increase in visitors compared with a year ago.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 12, 2009, The New York Times — QUINN RALLINS, 23, graduated magna cum laude last year from Morehouse College with a dual major in international studies and Spanish. This spring, Mr. Rallins is finishing his master’s degree in comparative social policy at Oxford. He has analyzed research for the Rand Corporation in England, led workshops in Malaysia for Amnesty International and founded an organization to help orphans in the Dominican Republic.
April 6, 2009, Huffington Post — Michael Stoops says the recession is bringing out a volunteer spirit in America.
April 2, 2009, The New York Times — Older Americans who want to help solve the nation’s social problems will soon have even more opportunities to do so. Last month, Congress passed legislation that expands national and community service programs and includes provisions to attract adults over 55 to paid and volunteer jobs. President Obama, a former community organizer himself, is expected to sign the bill.
April 2, 2009, The New York Times — Within two days of President Obama’s Inaugural Address, online applications to the Peace Corps spiked, as many Americans responded to the call to serve.
