Today is more than just a day off from work…
In our busy daily lives, we often see an upcoming holiday on our calendars and think "Great! I get a day of work or school!" But how many times have you really looked at the title of that holiday and…
Thanks Mom!
"Thanks Mom!" is a common phrase yelled as kids run out of the front door of the house or jump out of the carpool mini-van to their sports practice, but how many times do we really take the time to…
Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service!
(Left to Right) Carol Sanders, Retta Verret, Helen Cole, Tara Ludlow, Mayor Ken Tedford, Faye McCarty, Michaele Atkinson, James Sanders and Henri Bronsogeest
Recognizing the power of National Service, mayors across the nation will be coming together in these next couple weeks to celebrate the impact that National Service members are making in their communities. Mayors will hold public events, issue proclamations, and share through different media sources their commitment to National Service. Although the official day is April 9, 2013, Nevada started early in celebrating the instrumental National Service members in Fallon, Nevada today.
Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) members spent the morning hearing Mayor Tedford thank them for their service and commitment to the community of Fallon. In 2012, RSVP members made a huge impact in the rural town. They provided services that gifted Churchill County, $76,328 including:
- 198 seniors received 136 hours of RSVP care law pro-bono legal assistance.
AmeriCorps Week 2013: The Start of Something Good!
After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Environmental Studies in the spring of 2010 and not wanting to just jump right into a career, Ben Nicklay looked for a way to gain experience in the field. He searched through numerous AmeriCorps positions and found an opportunity to serve through the Great Basin Institute Nevada Conservation Corps that would allow him to travel and work in the unique outdoors of Nevada.
Ben became an AmeriCorps*State member with the Nevada Conservation Corps and was put on a crew of about ten others outside of the Las Vegas office. His crew consisted of people who had never camped before, people who had majored in English in college, to those who had worked in other conservation corps. Despite all of their differences, they bonded fairly quickly. While on the crew, Ben helped build and maintain trails in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. It gave him pride in knowing that his hard work would last for years to come. They worked on a variety of other projects around southern Nevada until spring including riparian restoration, habitat improvement, road decommissioning, and invasive species removal. (more…)
AmeriCorps 2013: Returning to AmeriCorps Roots
As an AmeriCorps*State members, Jessica served as a Naturalist for Nevada Outdoor School, a nonprofit located in Winnemucca that strives to inspire exploration of the natural world and responsible stewardship of our habitat and dedication to the community. Jessica taught…
2013 Governor’s Points of Light Award Recipients!
Governor Brian Sandoval revealed this year’s recipients on Friday, January 18th, during the Governor’s Points of Light Awards luncheon, which was held in conjunction with the Volunteer and Corporate Engagement Summit. Nevada Volunteers is proud to be able to recognize some of the inspiring and incredible volunteer efforts that are happening in the Silver State!
Southern Nevada Individual: Raquel O’Neill
Though she has no sight, she certainly has a vision. There seem to be no barriers to Raquel O’Neill’s mission to make a difference in her community. She is a new mother, she works fulltime with university students with disabilities, she mentors blind youth, and she works tirelessly to empower Nevadans with vision loss. Raquel identified a gap in services for blind and visually impaired youth. She set out to fill the unmet needs for training by enlisting volunteers to help. She developed and implemented a 60-hour blindness skills training program for youth ages 15-20. The program provides intensive training in daily living skills, cane travel, communication, Braille, and advocacy, and is the only one like it in Nevada. By utilizing skilled volunteers and those who live with vision loss, she is able to provide this program at no charge to the participants. (more…)
Meet the Nonprofit/Community Organization Finalists for the 2013 Governor’s Points of Light Awards!
Each year, Nevada Volunteers is overwhelmed by the amount of nominations and the inspiring stories submitted for the Governor’s Points of Light Awards. Our distinguished panel of judges selected the following three finalists for this year. These three individuals will be honored at the awards luncheon on January 18, 2013, and the recipient of the category will be announced. Congratulations to the finalists and thank you for your service to our communities!
2013 Governor’s Points of Light Awards
Nonprofit/Community Organizations Finalists
CASA Foundation (Las Vegas)
The CASA Foundation, established in 1983, supports the mission of the CASA Program, which recruits, screens, trains and supports volunteers who serve as Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children in foster care. The CASA Foundation provides financial assistance to meet a myriad of unmet needs of foster children, such as funding school trips, extra-curricular activities, supplies, clothing for special events, tutoring, eye glasses, braces, sports, camp, music, etc. Each year, $1500 scholarships are provided to a former foster youth enrolled in a college and/or vocational trade school. Additionally, one $5000 scholarship is provided each year to a foster child who, despite the challenges of foster care, has excelled academically and plans to enroll in college. The CASA Foundation also sponsors an annual Recognition Gala to recognize and show appreciation to the incredible heroes, the CASA volunteers, as well as, other community child advocates. The CASA Foundation continues to meet the needs of thousands of children. (more…)
Who’s speaking at the Volunteer and Corporate Engagement Summit?
Nevada Volunteers, along with NV Energy and MGM Resorts International, bring a variety of national and regional speakers to Las Vegas that will inspire and connect corporate and nonprofit sectors. Among these speakers, Greg Baldwin, President of VolunteerMatch, will share his thoughts on where the future of volunteering is headed during one of the afternoon sessions.
Rethinking the Possibilities: Trends Shaping the Future of Volunteering
From science to social media, CSR to social impact the future of volunteering is emerging today. Take a closer look at key research, trends and insights informing successful volunteer engagement.
Greg Baldwin, President, VolunteerMatch
Greg Baldwin is the President of the award-winning VolunteerMatch service — the Web’s largest volunteer engagement network. Greg joined the founding team in 1998 as its Chief Imagination Officer to build a nonprofit website to make it easier for good people and good causes to connect. Today, as President, Greg oversees the expansion of a network that is already serving 85,000+ nonprofits, 150 business clients, and a quarter of a million interested volunteers a week. Since 1998 VolunteerMatch has helped the nonprofit sector engage more that $2 billion worth of volunteer services. Greg completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University in 1990 with a degree in Public Policy. He lives in Berkeley, CA with his wife Kathryn and kids Ellie and Matt. (more…)
Meet the Volunteer Manager Finalists!
Each year, Nevada Volunteers is overwhelmed by the amount of nominations and the inspiring stories submitted for the Governor’s Points of Light Awards. Our distinguished panel of judges selected the following three finalists for this year. These three individuals will be honored at the awards luncheon on January 18, 2013, and the recipient of the category will be announced. Congratulations to the finalists and thank you for your service to our communities!
Volunteer Manager Finalists for the
2013 Governor’s Points of Light Awards
Sharon Harding (Las Vegas)
Sharon Harding, Volunteer Program Coordinator, oversees the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Metro Volunteer Program (MVP), which currently has over 450 volunteers. During the last fiscal year MVP volunteers contributed 157,000 hours of service. A large portion of their successful is due to Sharon’s follow up with volunteers to make sure that they are well trained and happy in the areas that they are serving. (more…)
Meet the Rural Nevada Finalists for the 2013 Governor’s Points of Light Awards!
Each year, Nevada Volunteers is overwhelmed by the amount of nominations and the inspiring stories submitted for the Governor’s Points of Light Awards. Our distinguished panel of judges selected the following three finalists for this year. These three individuals will be honored at the awards luncheon on January 18, 2013, and the recipient of the category will be announced. Congratulations to the finalists and thank you for your service to our communities!
Rural Nevada Individual Finalists for the
2013 Governor’s Points of Light Awards
Nancy Barrett (Incline Village)
Nancy Barrett has served with the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross for two years, and it constantly working to make the community safer. During the Caughlin and Washoe Drive fires, she helped manage the shelters and ensured that hundreds of evacuees had a safe place to go. Along with the rest of the mass care team, Nancy helped to conduct shelter surveys in all of Washoe County, Douglas County, and Carson City. She became the DSAC (Disaster Services Advisory Committee) Co-Chair, where she leads the Red Cross chapter’s disaster services and advises volunteers on how we can be better prepared. Nancy is also the Mass Care Co-Lead, which is responsible for our sheltering, feeding, and reunification services during a disaster. Nancy recently traveled to New Jersey to help Red Cross respond to Super Storm Sandy. She was also recently recognized as one of Glamour’s women of the year in New York City. Nancy works tirelessly every day to ensure to safety of everyone around her, whether she is home in Nevada or on disaster assignment in New Jersey. Her passion for the mission of the Red Cross motivates everyone around her. (more…)