Posts Tagged ‘Idealist’

Tweeting for the Greater Good

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

twitter

I have to admit, when my boss first told me about Twitter, I inwardly groaned.  I was already blogging my heart out, as well as using Facebook and LinkedIn to promote Enchanting Challenge.  I felt like I had neither the time nor the necessary knowledge required to weave Twitter into my daily repertoire.

And then my boss convinced me he was right.

Little tweet by little tweet, I began to get hooked.  I started by following my favorite people, and I learned from them how to post.  A funny image here, an inspiring article there, an interesting factoid thrown into the mix…Then, I realized that my favorite organizations had Twitter, and I began to follow them.  Pretty soon Twitter was giving me news feeds of what my favorite nonprofit groups were up to, all together.  I saw news flashes from each and every one of my favorite groups without having to visit their sites one-by-one.  That is when I began to realize how great Twitter can be…

Two really awesome tweets that I follow are Idealist and PowerShift09.  I love following Idealist because I think (as you know if you read this blog) that my favorite website must be Idealist.org.  They always have amazing volunteer opportunities, nonprofit opportunities, and interesting blog posts on their site.  Through their Twitter feed, I find out their news, without having to go to their site and decipher what’s a new opportunity/article.  For example, in March, Idealist had an open house in Ecuador, where 30 non-profits participated to show their excitement at being involved in Idealist, and inviting volunteers to come and join the cause in Ecuador!  Through Twitter, I was following along with their open house and the nonprofits that were joining.  It was inspiring and exciting, and it made me dream about going to Ecuador someday to volunteer through Idealist. 

idealist

The other Twitter user that I mentioned loving to follow is PowerShift09.  I have mentioned Power Shift before in my blog and the great work they are doing—remember the 10,000 people-strong rally and lobby day they planned back in March to convince Congress to shift the power to renewable energy?!  Well, they are still going strong.  They are working their hearts out everyday trying to rally together support to change the US energy policy.  On Earth Day, the team woke up at 4 am to visit Congress, and to attend the House Committe on Energy and Climate hearings on the climate act that seeks to cut the US greenhouse gas emmissions, a move that would help bolster the US to be one of the leaders at the Copenhagen environmental summit in December.  The Power Shift team attended the hearings all day, and what did they do?  They constantly blogged and tweeted updates of what was happening behind those Congressional doors.  I was checking their tweets and blogs 24/7 last week, to see what the DuPont CFO said, to see what the Natural Resource Defence Coucil CEO said, to see what Congressman Ed Markey was saying, and so much more.  Power Shift kept me so informed and up-to-date with the status of the hearing, it was incredible.  I am so thankful to them!  And honestly, as corny as it seems, it would not have been possible without Twitter.

powershift09

So now, because of Twitter users like PowerShift09 and Idealist, organizations and people that use Twitter to empower others for social change, I am tweeting my heart out for Enchanting Challenge.  I am tweeting all of our volunteer opportunities, all of our inspiration, and all of our challenges.  Follow us on Twitter and stay up-to-date with Challenge news!!

challenge-logo

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I Heart Idealist

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

I know, I know, I am always going on and on about Idealist–how you can find volunteer opportunities there, nonprofit career fairs, graduate school career fairs, inspiring blogs, etc…But I can’t go on enough.  Every single day, one of the very first things I do online, before I even pull up the news, is to check Idealist.  I think I could look at it all day everyday and not get tired!  It honestly just gets me inspired…

Juan Cruz, the regional director of the Buenos Aires Idealist office, told me a funny story…He told me that the name for Idealist does not come from the noun idealist (as in,  you are an idealist), but rather the two nouns “idea” and “list”, idea+list, a list of ideas!  Idealist started off with the goal of being a list of ideas in each community regarding where to volunteer!  And it evolved into being a global web community with LOTS of lists of ideas!!!  And it just so happens that the name fits perfectly since members of this list of ideas are all inspiring idealists…It’s a fitting coincidence, don’t you think?

In 2007, when I was living in Washington, DC, I was desperate to volunteer.  I didn’t know the DC community yet, so what did I do to try and get to know it? Log onto Idealist, immediately!  Which is how me and my boyfriend became involved with an Idealist group in DC called the Refugee Experience Series.  This amazing group tries to increase awareness of the refugee’s plight by showing documentaries and holding cultural nights where refugees speak and food from the guest speaker’s native country is served.  For example, last March, a documentary about the Sudanese refugee experience was aired by the Refugee Experience Series in Chinatown’s quaint Goethe theater.  After the film, three Sudanese refugees spoke about their experiences, and after that, the whole gathering joined each other in the theater’s lobby to taste Sudanese food and to speak directly with the night’s guest speakers.  It was an unforgettable experience…

After that night, my boyfriend began working for the Refugee Experience Series as a researcher for their next documentary, this one about Afghanistan.  I helped him out, and together we contacted Afghan Refugee oganizations in the DC/MD/VA area, gathering all the information we could to help promote awareness.  We also joined the Refugee Experience book club, where we read the amazing book Human Cargo, about the global refugee experience.  I think that the opportunity to be part of the Refugee Experience Series community really enriched our lives in DC, and it would not have been possible without Idealist…

human-cargo

It’s interesting to see how my life is still connected with Idealist though I am not in the US anymore and no longer volunteering with the Refugee Experience Series…Now, my sisters are about to graduate from university, and together we are scouring Idealist graduate school and career fairs to help them in their search for further education and employment…I also scour it for possible volunteer positions in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America.  And, of course, more than anything, I am seeking to connect Enchanting Challenge to Idealist…

Enchanting Challenge has a very similar mission to Idealist, in that we wish to connect people out of a united desire to serve, and we do that through our social network site.  And we also want to help promote service by hosting our OWN service trips–to Tulum and to Ulaa.  Because we are trying to attract the same type of person who surfs Idealist.org, we have made an Enchanting Challenge Idealist Group where we have also listed our volunteer opportunities.  To join our group on Idealist, just click here.  So far we’ve got 1o members, and we’re looking to grow!  So if you read this blog, join our Idealist group today!   

All of us idealists and idealistas must join together…Idealist makes it possible for groups like Enchanting Challenge and the Refugee Experience Series to reach their full potential…And we are all very thankful for the opportunity. 

 

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Happy National Volunteer Week & Volunteering During the Crisis

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

I don’t know if you’ve heard the word, but it this week is National Volunteer Week!!!

Idealist's National Volunteer Week Pic

Idealist's National Volunteer Week Pic

Yep, so there are no excuses anymore!  What with the President signing the Serve America Act on Tuesday, Earth Day on Wednesday, and National Volunteer Week calling out to thank those who give their time, we can’t escape volunteering anymore! :-)   And that is a really great thing!  If you are an organization that employees volunteers, check out Idealist’s list of ways to thank your helping hands.  And if you are a wanna-be volunteer, check out Idealist’s volunteer search lists!  Not even a rock can hide you now! 

While these volunteer opportunities abound, let us be reminded by the crisis on WHY we volunteer.  First of all, the Global Economic Crisis is reminding us that to have and to not have are usually circumstances that have much to do with chance, and with being in the right place at the right time.  Most people without are without through no fault of their own, and the crisis reminds us how easy it is to lose so much, and how important it is to lend a communal hand.

Second of all, the crisis is leaving a lot of very skilled people temporarily without employment.  That unemployment may best be spent volunteering.  At a recent Idealist Nonprofit Career Fair at UCLA, National Public Radio’s Marketplace journalist Lisa Napoli spoke about why volunteering during your job limbo can be good for your resume as well as good for the world.  In her program entitled “Working For Free Profits the Soul“, she recappped how a whopping 1500 people crammed into the UCLA-Idealist nonprofit job fair, many of them speaking with nonprofits that were seeking out only unpaid volunteers.  Many of the applicants were well-educated with an arm’s length of qualifications.  So why are they willing to settle for something that won’t help them pay the bills?  Because it’s temporary, and it’s a good way to “reinvent themseles,” as Bill Radke puts it.  One person who had been recently laid off from their former job in the airline industry explained that they wanted “to keep busy and to learn some things and make some good connections, and hopefully do some good for the world.”  Not a bad way to spend your non-working time!!

And it’s really true.  The crisis is temporary, but the lessons from it are not.  You can use the crisis to find out where you are happiest, and where the world needs you, to find “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” as the saying goes.  You can use the crisis to find out where the career of your heart awaits.  And when the crisis is over, perhaps the place that you have been volunteering at will have a sparkling job waiting for you, that can pay the bills and keep you (and the world) happy.

Keep a look-out–the next Idealist Career Fair is in Chicago on May 19!! 

Idealist Career Fair

Idealist Career Fair

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Enchanting Challenge Idealistic Heroes

Monday, February 9th, 2009

On Friday I  met with a true service guru: Juan Cruz, the Regional Director of Idealist in Buenos Aires.  Juan is really an inspiration.  Back in 2003, through writing letters and arranging meetings, he and his friends successfully encouraged Idealist–then with offices only in the United States–to open up an office in Buenos Aires.  Under their watch, the office started with just one full-time employee.  Now, six years later, it is flourishing with over 50 full-time employees.   Moreover, it is a key member of the Idealist team, for it is in the Buenos Aires office where much of the web development takes place, much of the customer assistance happens, and where most of the South American volunteer contacts and opportunities are built.  I asked Juan if he still to this day feels amazed at what he has built when he looks around the office.   “Yes, it is like a dream,” he told me.  And, truly it is…It is a beautiful reminder to all of us that with dedication and perseverance, we can accomplish our dreams, and we can change the world.

At Enchanting Challenge, we are striving to connect people in the name of activism.  Our aim is to work as hard as we can, connecting people and facilitating progressive projects.  We are striving to lay a foundation where people can communicate about service, social entrepreneurism, and ideas.  For inspiring social entrepreneur facts and thoughts, check out this awesome blog:

The world needs to change, and we want to facilitate that change.  Our goal is to have forged countless new roads in this progressive direction by 2012.  (Metaphorically, speaking, of course…We don’t really need more roads, but rather, more forests!) We have three years to do some major work for our planet, before too much negative change becomes irreversible.  Enchanting Challenge wants to help connect the dots in this pursuit of change.  We at Enchanting Challenge are working to unite us all into a global tribe, into one group of changemakers, by 2012.  Become a member of the tribe today!!  The first step is to join Enchanting Challenge– http://www.enchantingchallenge.com.   And then join the dialogue.  Together, we are going to nurse this planet back to health.

Juan Cruz, our Idealist hero and inspirator, has become a tribe member and has expressed his dedication to service.  Check out this cool video for a little motivation and insight:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqE237wG04Y]

 There you  have it…Join Enchanting Challenge today, and together, we will change the world…And don’t forget about our service trips while you are at it!! I have heard from 7 people about the Tulum Educational Ecological Service Trip, and I would love to hear from anyone else who is interested…Don’t forget, we will also plan a summer trip to Tulum, as well as a summer trip in Mendoza, Argentina, and an October trip to Puerto Madryn, Argentina!!! Get ready to do some eye-opening service…

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