NEWS

26 April, 2006 PARLIAMENTS URGED FOR STEPS TO PROMOTE VOLUNTEERISM Over 600 parliamentarians from 122 member countries of the Inter-Parliamentary Union have in a resolution requested parliaments to foster or support national measures geared towards promoting international reconciliation and, among other things, the concept of culture, peace and volunteerism. From: United Nations Volunteers Representation in North America   13 April, 2006 VOLUNTEERS BUILD SCHOOLS FOR AFGHAN CHILDREN Through the efforts of dedicated international and local volunteers, a new elementary school was opened to serve the needs of some 2,000 local girls and boys in Afghanistan. The project sprouted from the vision of Rotary member Fary Moini, who resolved to build a new school for children on the outskirts of Jalalabad. From: Rotary International   7 April, 2006 UNDP AND UNV PROVIDE 100 DOCTORS TO TRINIDAD & TOBAGO For some time now the government of Trinidad and Tobago has been struggling with health sector reform. By 2003, with health services decentralised, the health system was faced with acute administrative woes escalating to the point of backlogs, work stoppages and personnel shortages. From: UNDP Trinidad & Tobago   16 April, 2005 MORE OLDER PEOPLE BECOMING VOLUNTEERS IN THE US Cynthia Fain, 55, will finally become a Peace Corps volunteer after mulling about it for three decades. Fain, a resident of Texas, had to hold back her desire to become a volunteer in the 1960s to give way to college, motherhood and career. From: Peace Corps   29 April, 2004 UN VOLUNTEERS, SOUTH AFRICAN STUDENTS HELP RURAL POOR Young South Africans are reviving their rich tradition of volunteerism by helping disadvantaged rural communities improve agricultural production and fight HIV/AIDS. A new multi-lateral project is helping student volunteers to develop and implement training packages for staff and volunteers in various areas. From: United Nations Development Programme   27 April, 2004 FREE SOFTWARE, MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS The Australia-based Malian Foundation is offering non-profit organizations free computer software and management tools which can help organizations achieve their potential. The foundation, for example, offers "Discover", a specialized tool which helps organizations to train volunteers. From: The Malian Foundation Limited   22 April, 2004 COMPUTER FIRMS DONATE MONEY, STAFF TIME FOR TEACHERS Computer giants IBM and Red Hat recently teamed up to donate money and their employees’ time to DonorsChoose North Carolina as part of National Volunteer Week celebrations held 18-24 April. DonorsChoose is a non-profit organization which helps provide learning materials to teachers and students. From: LocalTechWire.com   20 April, 2004 RECOVERING DRUG DEPENDENTS VOLUNTEER TO HELP OTHERS BEAT ADDICTION The Human Services Department of Greene County, Pennsylvania has enlisted individuals recovering from addiction to voluntarily serve on the county's human-services advisory board. From: Human Services Department, Greene County   20 April, 2004 BRASIL MOBILIZA MAIS DE 17 MIL NO DIA GLOBAL DO VOLUNTARIADO JOVEM Superando as expectativas, em 2004 o Brasil mobilizou mais de 17 mil jovens nas ações que envolveram o Dia Global do Voluntariado Jovem - DGVJ. Até o momento foram registradas, pelo Natal Voluntários, que coordena nacionalmente o evento, mais de 360 diferentes ações em todo o país. From: Natal Voluntários   14 April, 2004 CAMPUS CLUBS IN USA PROMOTE STUDENT VOLUNTEERISM American Red Cross volunteers come from all walks of life and backgrounds and represent different cultures and generations. And with a growing emphasis on volunteering among American young people, many are turning to the Red Cross when looking for a place to lend a hand. From: American Red Cross National Headquarters   14 April, 2004 CANADA TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR OVERSEAS VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMMES Canada's Minister for International Cooperation Aileen Carroll recently announced that the Canadian International Development Agency will provide close to CAD 210 million over five years to strengthen the impact of 10 volunteer-cooperation agencies. From: Canadian International Development Agency   8 April, 2004 COMMUNITY SERVICE BY YOUTH TO MARK GYSD WORLDWIDE From Kuwait to the Philippines to Uganda, from Bolivia to India to Spain, millions of youth in over 150 countries around the world are organizing community service projects and special events to celebrate the 5th Annual Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), 16 - 18 April, 2004. From: Global Youth Action Network   8 April, 2004 PAKISTAN NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE INDUCTS 500 NEW VOLUNTEERS The Pakistan National Youth Service has enrolled 1,000 volunteers for promotion of education in Kasur District of Punjab, which has the lowest literacy rate in the province. About 500 of these volunteers were inducted during an oath-taking ceremony in Kasur recently. From: Innovations in Civic Participation   8 April, 2004 PAKISTAN NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE INDUCTS 500 NEW VOLUNTEERS The Pakistan National Youth Service has enrolled 1,000 volunteers for promotion of education in Kasur District of Punjab, which has the lowest literacy rate in the province. About 500 of these volunteers were inducted during an oath-taking ceremony in Kasur recently. From: Innovations in Civic Participation   8 April, 2004 INCREASING VALUE OF A VOLUNTEER’S TIME The Independent Sector, a US coalition of national nonprofits, foundations and corporate philanthropy programmes, recently announced that the value of volunteer time, updated yearly, has increased by nearly 65 cents from $16.54/hour in 2002, to $17.19/hour in 2003. From: Independent Sector   4 April, 2004 IDB HOLDS SEMINAR ON YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP & VOLUNTEERISM Public and private officials and other experts addressed several hundred youth delegates today in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank to discuss ways to promote entrepreneurship and volunteerism among young people in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. From: Inter-American Development Bank   4 April, 2004 SEMINARIO SOBRE EMPRESARIADO JUVENIL Y VOLUNTARIADO EN MARCO DE ASAMBLEA ANUAL DEL BID Autoridades, expertos y funcionarios públicos y privados se reunieron hoy con cientos de jóvenes en el marco de la Asamblea Anual del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo para debatir formas de promover el empresariado juvenil y el voluntariado, fuerzas clave para el desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe. From: Banco Interamericano de Desarollo   2 April, 2004 ENGLAND STREAMLINES VOLUNTEERING SECTOR England-based volunteer-involving organizations, the National Centre for Volunteering, Volunteering Development and the Consortium on Opportunities for Volunteering have recently merged under one agency, Volunteering England. From: Volunteering England   19 January, 2004 YOUTH NETWORK EASES VOLUNTEERS' MOBILITY IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE The Southeast Europe Youth Network (SEEYN) recently launched the "Albert Einstein" project which will assist governments within the region in creating legislations favourable to volunteers. The project specifically aims to improve volunteers’ mobility in south eastern Europe by helping legislators create volunteer travel visa laws. From: SEEYN Secretariat