Celebrate and Serve

This year is the 75^th Anniversary of our State Parks, come CELEBRATE AND SERVE.  Join the NH Department of Parks and Recreation and the NH Service Alliance to safeguard our parks, trails and historic sites for future generations.

We need you! Come out, celebrate the beauty and share your pride for our great treasures – volunteer opportunities listed at Volunteer NH!

Are You Ready?

Q:  Ready for what?

A:  National Volunteer Week, it starts April 19th.

Q: Where do I find volunteer opportunities that will really make a difference in my community?

A:  Visit Volunteer NH for more than 600 opportunities, check out the Create the Good website for opportunities that you can do on your own time or call your local hospital there are all sorts of roles needed.

Q:  Where else can I turn to find opportunities?

A:  Contact the NH Association for Volunteer Administrators, their members represent over 50 non-profit organizations that are always looking for volunteers and become a Pease Greeter for the day to welcome home or send off our service men/women.

Don’t forget to tell your story here on the blog and follow Volunteer NH on Facebook and Twitter!

Don’t Miss This Year’s Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism

Spring means many things…. warmer days, birds singing, flowers blooming and the ANNUAL GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON VOLUNTEERISM which will be held on May 11th.

This year’s conference promises to bring you better volunteer management resources, great networking opportunities and best practices you can apply the very next day.  Take advantage of the Early Registration – click here!

Do you know an amazing volunteer manager?

Nominate them for the Governor’s Award – deadline is April 16th!

The Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Manager

This award was created by former Governor John Sununu to honor volunteer administrators and salute their excellence in leadership and management of volunteers in New Hampshire. Governor Lynch has carried on the tradition of this award, which was formerly named after Peg McGarity, who brought 17 years of experience to her position as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Volunteerism and promoted volunteerism and professional volunteer management. Click for more details about the Governor’s Award.

America’s Promise = New Hampshire’s Promise

America’s Promise announces a new ten-year initiative around dropout prevention – Grad Nation!

What is Grad Nation?

On March 1, 2010, General Colin Powell, America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the formation of Grad Nation. Grad Nation is a 10-year campaign to mobilize the nation as never before to reverse the dropout crisis and enable our children to be prepared for success in college, work and life.

Click here to see a live stream of the event March 1 at 10am EST.

Why Grad Nation?

As Education Secretary Arne Duncan has stated, education is the civil rights issue of our generation.  We must come together to create a more equitable, hopeful, and prosperous future for every child and for our nation.

What Can You Do?

There is no “they” in this effort.  There is only “we.”  There are important roles for everyone, whether an individual, a business, or a national organization.

Visit the America’s Promise website to learn more, find volunteer opportunities and download parent toolkits.

Join Grad Nation and put New Hampshire in the front of the class.

Why Do Something Good?

The answer to that question may be different for everyone!  There are however some common themes:

1. When we do something good for others – we in turn feel good about ourselves.
2. It is our responsibility to support our communities to make them better places – to be engaged.
3. I’m blessed with so much that I want to help others in difficult times.
4. I want to share my skills, talents and time so that others can gain new skills to be used out in the world.

We challenge you to ask yourself this question and then find something good to do today!  Comment on the post and share your experience – it does take a village.

Put a Little Love in Your Heart

We have the perfect Valentine’s Day gift that you can give yourself and share with others… turn Valentine’s Day into Volunteer Day.  There are tons of one time opportunities that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and the face of others.

Feel the love with these ideas:

1. Honor deploying/returning service men and women with the  Pease Greeters.
   
2. Check out Create the Good Toolkits and spend some time with a neighbor or loved one and complete a medication record or help them make their home more energy efficient.
3. Visit the Volunteer NH and United Way of the Greater Seacoast for additional ideas!

Don’t forget to share your stories  – comment on the blog, Facebook and Twitter!

Merci Beaucoup

Whether you’re a volunteer or a volunteer manager – saying Thank You for a job well done is so important — makes us feel that our efforts are appreciated.

How you can say thank you – If you would like to recognize  a volunteer, nominate them for one of many volunteer awards with Volunteer NH – there are monthly awards and of course the Spirit Award for Volunteer of the Year.  This year’s recipient of the Spirit Award is Captain Edmund Johnson of the Pease Greeters – his story is truly an inspiring tale. He will be a guest on Volunteers in Action that will air in February.  You can learn more about him, the hundreds of volunteers and the program by visiting the website - Pease Greeters.

Disney has another way to say THANK YOU this year – GIVE A DAY, GET A DAY to Disney World.  The website has all the details on how you can not only make a difference in your community – but take advantage of this very generous offer.

To all you volunteers, volunteer managers and advocates for community service, there is no doubt that your contributions make our world a better place- MERCI BEAUCOUP!

Celebrating Mentors Everywhere….

January is Mentoring Month!

Whether you’re involved with a particular program or have adopted a child to mentor in your neighborhood, we salute you! It only takes a few hours a week to really make a difference in someone’s life.  Here in NH, there are so many opportunities – see our earlier post for ideas to get you started.

Comment from Paula Ferenc, Circle Program Program Director

The Circle Program is celebrating National Mentoring Month by honoring one of our Concord mentors, Nancy Nolin, with a tea this Sunday. Nancy has served as a mentor for us for the past five years.  She has engaged her girls not only with fun activities like skating, snowshoeing, scrapbook making and cooking but also in community service projects. One of her girls shares: “I have stayed with the Circle Program so long because I have done a lot of things I wouldn’t have been able to do outside the program such as helping others and making so many friends. My mentor Nancy and I have done a lot of fun things together and I am glad that I was able to build a close relationship with someone like her.”

Making a difference, one child at a time.

The Circle Program has girls waiting to participate in the program, they are in need of mentors in the Concord Area.

If you know of a  mentor that you would like to recognize on iParticipateNH, please post your comments. Also, if you would like to highlight a volunteer on Volunteers in Action, please contact me at sprague.deborah@gmail.com.

Don’t Miss This Connecting Flight – The Pease Greeters

Have you ever met someone whose inner light shines from the inside out? I recently met such a person, Capt. Ed Johnson is a retired Marine and decorated Korean War Veteran and is the founder of the Pease Greeters.  Capt. Ed was awarded the Spirit Award from Governor John Lynch back in November for his program and the impact it has made to thousands of troops either returning from a tour of duty or deploying.  The Greeters have been doing their thing since 2005 at the Pease Air Terminal in Portsmouth, NH.   The group has been recognized with all sorts of awards and was even invited by President George W. Bush to be honored at the White House.

I reached out to Capt. Ed to invite him to be a guest on Volunteers in Action and he in turn invited me to participate as the Greeters welcomed home its 326^th Flight, a U.S. Marine Battalion returning from Iraq.   First – I would highly recommend that everyone participate at least once, put the politics aside – this is about the human connection, AND bring your Kleenex.  Probably the most touching part of the day for me was the introduction that Capt. Ed provided to all of us “first-timers”.  He told stories from past flights and with each story his eyes tear up and his throat tightens….my eyes tear up and throat tightens; I knew then that this was going to be an emotional day.  I could not help but think about the troops preparing to land, they had no idea what was in store for them – and they didn’t!

I was so engrossed in Capt. Ed’s story telling that I didn’t realize that over 200 Greeters had arrived. The Greeters have the routine down pat, it’s a well oiled machine; coffee/donuts – check! flags/buttons – check! music/camera – check!  Each flight has three components: the Gauntlet, the Reception and the Closing Ceremonies.  As the plane landed everyone was in their places, lining up to create the Gauntlet.  The troops are welcomed with music, waving flags, claps, smiles, fist pumps and hugs and kisses. The Greeters mingle with the troops and provide refreshments and conversation for about an hour before the closing ceremonies.   I should also mention that there is a phone bank where the troops can call their family –free of charge.  The Greeters pride themselves on the fact that the troops don’t have to spend any money on this layover.

This connecting flight is like no other and as Capt. Ed had said many times during his talk, “we are all family” – that is exactly how you feel once you participate.

Visit the Pease Greeter website to learn more about the program, watch video and most importantly to see the latest flight times.

The Civic Projects – Day 2 in NH

Happiness is being apart of something good.  Today I was apart of something really, really good!  Tim and Kirsten did their day of service at the NH Food Bank putting together bags of food that will be part of the Backpack Program for kids.  Their enthusiasm and passion for The Civic Projects is evident, when I arrived to help out they had already put over 100 bags together - they are a great team!

The NH Food Bank is always looking for volunteers and food donations, visit their website to learn how you can support this amazing state-wide organization.

Look for Tim and Kirsten on WMUR tonight on the evening news and stay tuned for more on their very excellent adventure!