New York Life Foundation’s “Nurturing the Children” intiative supports Comfort Zone Camp

May 26th, 2010

Childhood bereavement is one of the New York Life Foundation’s core focus areas of its ‘Nurturing the Children’ initiative. The death of a loved one is one of the most stressful events a child can face.  One in seven children experiences the loss of a parent, sibling or close relative by the age of 10.   And studies show that without a healthy support system, bereaved children can develop psychiatric disorders, emotional difficulties, and depressive, anxious, and disruptive behavior.    The Foundation supports two national nonprofit organizations that provide grieving children with weekend-long camps that help them heal – Comfort Zone Camp and The Moyer Foundation’s Camp Erin – and other local organizations working on this issue as well.

The New York Life Foundation will provide resources and support you can share with the kids you serve.  Today at a NY Life Breakfast I attended, Peter Schrock, national program director of Comfort Zone Camp, offered his insights on the topic.  You can receive a copy of the booklet underwritten by the New York Life Foundation, After a Loved One Dies – How Children Grieve, by visiting their web site at http://www.nylgriefguide.com/exchange_default.asp

Nonprofit Management Summer Intensive

May 24th, 2010
Hostos

click the Hostos logo to view the course catalogue

VMG will offer its Nonprofit Management Certificate Program Summer Intensive at Hostos Community College, Bronx, NY, beginning Monday, July 13, through Thursday, July 22nd. Classes run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. There are eight classes in the series and a different core component of nonprofit management is offered each day. Courses are taught by practitioners in the field. The program is excellent for those in the nonprofit field who want to gain the big-picture understanding, those who want to transition into the field, and those who are seeking more knowledge in order to decide on a particular concentration in their undergraduate or graduate studies. Program fee is $749. Call Hostos Department of Continuing Education at 718-518-6656 to register. What a difference in your career these 2 weeks can make!

VMG Announces Online Schedule for Summer & Fall Certificate Programs

December 23rd, 2009
VMG Spring 2010 brochure

VMG Summer & Fall 2010 brochure

VMG CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS ONLINE – SUMMER (June-July-August). Volunteer Management and Nonprofit Management begin on Thursday, June 17, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.  Grant Writing and Corporate Philanthropy begin on Wednesday, June 16, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

VMG CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS ONLINE – FALL (September-October-November) Volunteer Management and Nonprofit Management begin on Thursday, September 9th, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Grant Writing and Corporate Philanthropy begin on Wednesday, September 8th, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Each class is 4 hours of instruction divided into 2 evenings for 2 hours each evening. This unique Part 1 and Part 2 schedule provides students time in between each class to take on a “VMG Challenge Assignment” related to the material covered in Part 1 of the class. Students return for Part 2 of the course and discuss how they tackled the challenge assignment and what they learned. This “challenge assignment” method provides opportunities for students to become engaged in the content of the material they are learning as it pertains to the real world.

Upon completion of the 8 courses comprising a certificate, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for that particular program. Certificates are awarded by VMG

Mozilla Service Week

August 23rd, 2009

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Idealist is partnering with Mozilla (the organization behind the Firefox browser) on their first annual Mozilla Service Week which will match thousands of “techie” volunteers around the world with nonprofits in need of help with IT, web design, programming, blogging, and more.

Mozilla Service Week will take place September 14-21, 2009, and organizations are so eager for volunteers that a couple of thousand of them have already posted their opportunities.

If you are comfortable with technology and would like to help out, or if your organization could use some help, please go to: 

http://mozillaservice.org

Greenwich House Music School Benefit

June 5th, 2009

Chrisine Ebersole

Chrisine Ebersole

On Monday, June 15, 2009 at 7:30PM, an all-star cast will take to the stage for a one-night-only benefit performance of “COME RAIN OR COME SHINE: Celebrating the Songs of Johnny Mercer.”  The event will take place at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street, in the West Village. All proceeds from the event will benefit GREENWICH HOUSE MUSIC School’s music education programs and assist with vital facility upgrades. For more information please contact Jim Caruso at (212) 724-6873 or caruso212@aol.com or Cathy J. Sharp, Director, Development & Communications at (212) 991-0003 x400 or csharp@greenwichhouse.org. For tickets visit http://greenwichhouse.org/products/tickets

Helping Foster Kids through Fashion

June 5th, 2009
Better Birth: The Ultimate Guide to Childbirth from Home Births to Hospitals

Better Birth: The Ultimate Guide to Childbirth from Home Births to Hospitals

Calypso St. Barth and Denise Spatafora invite you the launch of “Better Birth, The Ultimate Guide to Childbirth from Home Birth to Hospitals” on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, from 6-8pm at Calypso St. Barth Tribeca, 137 West Broadway. Call 212-608-2222 or click here for details. For this special evening event, Calypso St. Barth will donate a portion of the night’s sales to Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families.egscf-logo

Answering the Call: A Community Forum on Healthy Aging and Civic Engagement

June 5th, 2009

answering-the-call

The Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA) invites you to Answering the Call: A Community Forum on Healthy Aging and Civic Engagement to be held on June 12th, from 9am-1pm at UJA-Federation of New York. Click here for event information. This event will engage older adults,  community organizers, volunteer managers and legislators in discussions about healthy aging, civic engagement and volunteerism and feature experts from city and state government, aging services, social services, and policy, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.  A poster session held immediately following the panel presentation will allow professionals in the field of aging, public service, and volunteer management to showcase their work in one of three categories: Best Practices, Research and Policy, and Program Models for Civic Engagement and Healthy Aging.

 Speakers include: Michael Burgess, Director, New York State Office for Aging (NYSOFA), Stacey Easterling, Programme Executive, The Atlantic Philanthropies; Thomas Endres, Vice President of Civic Engagement, National Council on Aging; Aileen Gitelson, CEO, JASA; Hon. Liz Krueger, New York State Senator; Caryn Resnick, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department for the Aging (NYCDFTA); Donna M. Smith, State Program Director, Corporation for National & Community Service; Susan Stern, Chair, New York State Commission on National and Community Service; Julia Zeuner, LMSW, Chair, Task Force on Aging; UJA-Federation of New York. Please click here for registration form. For more information on this event please contact Kerry Allison at (212) 273-5228 or via email at volunteer@jasa.org. 

VMG Inaugural Volunteer Management Conference a Success

April 1st, 2009

463px-symbol_thumbs_up_svg1The inaugural VMG Conference for Nonprofit Volunteer Management held on Friday, March 27, 2009, at Hostos Community College, Bronx, NY, was a huge success. Attendees experienced a one-day event of presentations and networking to empower and motivate them to go back to their offices and improve their programs. The day kicked off with an energetic, engaging and timely keynote speech from Eileen Kennedy, founder and CEO of The Kennedy Factor. Eileen’s keynote touched on paradigm shifts, Maslow’s Higherarchy of Needs, and a motivational video “212 Degrees”, and readied the crowd to be open-minded and in a mindset to absorb the information to make a change in the way they perceive the potential of their volunteer programs.

Followed by Eileen was the morning breakout session offering two choices depending on if you were a newcomer to the field or developing a new program, or if you were experienced in the field with an established program. Jerry Pannozzo, a consultant and trainer in the field for over 15 years, offered a quality introductory presentation focused on a 7-Step model covering how to Vision, Champion and Plan your program (first 3 steps of the model were covered in morning session). Alex Collier presented a Nuts & Bolts approach to getting your staff involved, selling your program and retaining volunteers. Both session received extremely positive feedback. At 11 am, Janice Hoffmann, a career and lifestyle coach, offered a motivational talk on the Power of Wow, covering how to double your goals to achieve something great and how to design and shoot to achieve a WOW project. How do we make a volunteer experience a WOW exerience, Janice had great advice on how to create the WOW experience. Lunchtime offered the attendees an opportunity to network. Some attendees were college grad and undergrad students and I could tell they took advantage of the opportunity to seek advice from some of the mid-career attendees.

Just after Janice finished speaking, I mentioned that we all need to stay focused on our goals no matter what obstacles life puts in front of us. For myself, I had to set aside my career ambitions temporarily to focus on dealing with my breast cancer diagnosis. After sharing some hopefully motivating words with the audience, I had a particularly heartfelt encounter with a young woman who went through a double mastectomy and reconstruction just recently. She looked so young and in fact was just 30 years old. I admire her courage and strength. We discussed what each of us had been through. I realized how important it is for me to tell my story, always, at any opportunity. All women must be knowledgeable about their breast health.

The afternoon was fabulous. We had the afternoon breakout sessions, 7 Step Model Part 2 and Project Management for Volunteer Projects. Jerry lead a discussion on the remaining 4 steps for the 7-Step Model: Train, Measure, Monitor and Adapt. I lead a session on project management. I was pleased with the presentation. I was hopeful that the audience would be open to learning some of the project management terminology and best practices. I feel this information is critical to the success of creating well-executed projects.

The day ended with a panel discussion on corporate volunteer opportunities. Marlo Tablante from Goldman Sachs, Pam Haas from IBM, Maria Collins from New York Life and Eileen Kennedy from The Kennedy Factor each participated in answering questions from the audience. The panel was so informative. I find it’s always so helpful to hear first-hand how employee volunteer programs are operated. It was beneficial to the audience to learn how to engage a corporate partner and what to expect from business employees as volunteers.

At the end of the day I was so happy to have executed my first VMG Conference. I just loved meeting all the attendees and coordinating the entire event. I hope everyone benefitted a great deal. From the survey responses I’ve received, it sounds like the event was very useful for the attendees and I look forward to doing more events of this type in the near term.

Health Care Volunteering

March 9th, 2009

By Julie Marks, Contributing Columnist – HealthNewsDigest.com

homejerry

Jerry Pannozzo

Hospitals always need volunteers, and a variety of rewarding and meaningful volunteer roles exist. Volunteering at a local hospital addresses the needs in one’s own community and makes a human connection. Jerry Pannozzo, an expert in health care volunteer resource management, provides insight about health care volunteering.

HealthNewsDigest.com: How do health care facilities utilize volunteers?

Jerry Pannozzo: Volunteers support the mission of a health care facility in filling a wide range of roles: volunteers can be found in the emergency department; serving as medical library assistants; meal companions; ambassadors (guides/escorts), or supporting family members of the patients (family care givers). Volunteers also read to children in clinic waiting rooms in order to encourage reading (reach out and read programs); facilitate pet visits (pet therapy); or assist patients with health literacy (navigating over-the-counter labels, prescription labels, nutrition labels; managing multiple education, prenatal care issues, and developmental stages of early childhood). Volunteers can be found teaching oncology patients to knit or crochet during their treatment session; serving as supportive phone call volunteers; serving in the intensive care unit, or as patient advocates. Hospitals have also tapped into volunteers in the performing arts and fine arts to enhance the quality of life for patients during their stay in the hospital or nursing home.

HND: How do volunteer opportunities within healthcare differ from volunteering for other types of causes?

Jerry Pannozzo: First let’s state what is similar, that health care volunteers address the needs of one’s community and make a human connection. As for health care volunteering specifically, the ability to make a regular and ongoing time commitment is usually a component of a health care volunteer assignment. This regular time commitment guarantees continuity of service for the patients and staff. In addition, the volunteer department invests a significant amount of time in training and orienting each volunteer, and in exchange requests a pre-determined time commitment from the volunteer.

HND: Does a person need special training to be a volunteer in healthcare?

Jerry Pannozzo: One standard of health care volunteering is the volunteer orientation, which occurs prior to any specific departmental or assignment training that may be required. Volunteer orientation covers the standards established by regulatory agencies governing health care. During training, volunteers are educated about the facility’s mission, patient confidentiality issues, laws regarding patient privacy, infection control (in order to protect the patients and the volunteer), fire safety/reporting, and cultural competency in order to be sensitive to the diverse patient needs.

HND: How does volunteering in a hospital differ from volunteering in a hospice?

Jerry Pannozzo: Hospice volunteering usually involves intensive training because hospice volunteers deal with challenging end of life issues and, therefore, need to be trained accordingly. Hospices are actually mandated to involve volunteers.

HND: What innovations are happening within health care volunteering?

Jerry Pannozzo: First let me state that I haven’t seen a candy stripper in years. I mention this because that is still the image some people have regarding volunteering in health care. Here in New York City I’m aware of a focus on “quality of care” and empowering patients through education. Those two examples have allowed innovation to happen. There are some creative people managing volunteer resources, and locally, the United Hospital Fund grants have certainly supported some of those efforts.

HND: There is much spin on episodic volunteering. How are volunteer managers responding and why are there so many hoops to jump through when it comes to volunteering in healthcare? Many individuals seeking to volunteer view these as obstacles or turn offs.

Jerry Pannozzo: Episodic volunteering (volunteering for one day versus an ongoing volunteer commitment) has been around for a while, and it is here to stay. That being stated, health care is a highly regulated environment, and regulations not only protect the patient, they also protect the volunteer. In 1996, when I first became involved in the area of health care volunteer resource management, I had an eye opening experience upon realizing the many rules and regulations. However, after the rules and regulations were effectively explained to me during staff orientation, I was able to understand the reasons for the level of screening that is required. As a potential recipient of health care, the training helped me to understand my own rights, as well as empower me to become more engaged in my personal health care and that of my family members.

HND: What can one expect during the application and interview process?

Jerry Pannozzo: The process varies from facility to facility, but, in general, you should expect to complete a volunteer application and have an in-person interview. During the interview, various volunteer opportunities are discussed; in addition, the volunteer candidate’s areas of interest and availability are reviewed, along with the expected time commitment. Information should be conveyed regarding medical clearance issues, official volunteer orientation, and if applicable, any assignment-specific training that is required.

HND: How can I search for a volunteer opportunity and who manages volunteers within a hospital setting?

Jerry Pannozzo: Many hospitals post volunteer opportunities on their Web sites. When searching the Web, first search for your local hospital and, once on their Web site, search for volunteer opportunities. If it is unclear on the Web site as to how you apply to volunteer, you can place a call to the hospital directly. You should seek out the person in charge of managing volunteers. Typically this person’s title is the Director of Volunteer Services; however, titles do vary and include: Director of Volunteer Services, Volunteer Coordinator, Volunteer Resource Coordinator, Director of Volunteers, Manager of Volunteers and Patient Care Services, Director of Volunteer Department, Manager of Volunteer Services, Director of Volunteer and Community Resources, Administrator for Voluntary Initiatives, Director of Recreational and Volunteer Services, Director of Community Relations and Volunteer Services, and Supervisor of Volunteer Department.

Mr. Pannozzo is currently the program and training coordinator with the Educational and Volunteer Resources Department at New York Methodist Hospital, and grant coordinator and consultant with the Volunteer Services Department at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. He will be a featured speaker at the Volunteer Management for Nonprofits Conference hosted by Volunteer Management Group and presented by Hostos Community College on Friday, March 27, 2009, at Hostos Community College, Bronx, NY. For conference information, visit http://www.volunteermanagementgroup.com/index.php?pr=NYC_Conference

Julie Marks is the founder of Volunteer Management Group® (VMG), a consultancy providing project management services in volunteerism and philanthropy. VMG also specializes in training and development for volunteer management, non-profit management and corporate philanthropy management, and hosts conferences and presents workshops on these topics. For more information, visit www.volunteermanagementgroup.com or email julie.marks@volunteermanagementgroup.com

You can also view this article on HealthNewsDigest.com

VMG and Hostos Community College Launch Volunteer Management Certificate Program

March 2nd, 2009

certificate_icon_smallVMG in partnership with Hostos Community College is launcing a Volunteer Management Certificate Program. Students will develop the skills and strategies they need to become an integral part of one of America’s fastest growing service sectors. The Volunteer Management Certificate provides entry-and middle-level nonprofit employees the opportunity to develop new skill sets to move within or beyond their current organizations. This program is also excellent for those looking to transition their career into volunteer management in the nonprofit sector.

VMG developed the Volunteer Management Certificate curriculum to provide comprehensive instruction offering an educational experience focused on topics pertinent to today’s nonprofit industry. Courses are taught on-site at Hostos Community College, 500 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY, by VMG’s qualified instructors with extensive experience in the discipline they are teaching. A certificate will be awarded by Hostos Community College upon completing the ten required courses.

Courses are on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Hostos Community College, Bronx , NY. The first course of the 2009 Spring-Summer semester begins on 4/18/2009 and the last course is on 6/27/2009. Course dates are indicated next to the courses listed below.

4/18/09 Intro to Volunteer Program Management

4/25/09 Fundamentals of Volunteer Project Management

5/2/09 Program Evaluation Methods

5/9/09 Volunteer Recruitment & Screening

5/16/09 Volunteer Orientation & Training

5/30/09 PR & Marketing for Your Volunteer Program

6/6/09 Maximizing Volunteer-Staff Relations

6/13/09 Effectively Communicating with Volunteers

6/20/09 Volunteerism and Social Media

6/27/09 Developing Corporate Partnerships

To register, call 718-518-6656. Certificate Registration: $750. Individual Course: $79. For course descriptions, visit the VMG Web site at http://www.volunteermanagementgroup.com/index.php?pr=Volunteer_Mgmt