DATELINE: IRVINE, CA… Every year, infant formula is one of the most shoplifted items throughout the country. This brings into focus a problem faced by increasing numbers of families with a new baby as the economy tanks.

Parents of new babies who wondered “how am I going to afford this” before their baby arrived, are now losing part or all of their income and/or home. Now what? There’s no real answer for them, other than cutting back and trying to replace the lost income. If they don’t have luck with replacing that income, things can get steadily worse. With a baby screaming due to hunger and no money to pay for infant formula (which runs $50 per week), the temptation for a father to steal it from the local market is understandable. Yet, it is not an option. Dad being arrested for shoplifting will only add to the economic nightmare for a young family.

According to Greg Bishop, founder of Boot Camp for New Dads, a non-profit orientation program for fathers-to-be, operating in more than 260 hospitals, clinics, schools, fire stations and churches around North America and internationally, and author of two books on fathering, there are alternatives available for feeding baby and family.

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Teleseminars and webinars open the doors to expanding your network, providing education and training to clients and prospects, creating information products that you can distribute, meet and interact with people around the globe, and at the same time save money. This article will use Instant Teleseminar as an example of one of the systems that is available for starting your own teleseminars.

Teleseminars use the telephone and the internet. You and one or more co-hosts can present your topic using the phone and your attendees listen by phone. It is similar to a conference call but there are more facilities and control on the interaction.

A webinar has a visual component – and you may be using a powerpoint or other documents that the audience can view and you can control.

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Like many people who were adopted as children, Dean Allen got to a point in his life when he decided he’d like to know more about his birth family. It was a journey that changed his life. The only problem was that he did it alone. He didn’t know that adoption intermediaries, who make contact between adopted people and their birth families in a sensitive and professional manner, existed. That is, until he saw a television documentary about adoption reunions, which featured the adoption charity AAA-Norcap and its volunteer intermediaries. “It got me thinking about how exciting and enthralling it must be to get involved in adoption reunions like that,” says Allen.

He is now a volunteer intermediary and a trustee of the charity. Most of the work is done by phone and letter, meaning that he can easily fit it around his day job. “I work in the insurance business and it’s so nice to have this other area of my life where I deal with people and their emotions and I really help them,” says Allen.

There are thousands of opportunities all over the country where people can volunteer the time and skills that suit them. Gone are the days when volunteering was just about giving – today’s volunteers expect, quite rightly, to get something back, adds Jayne Villiers, a volunteer co-ordinator for Crimestoppers. “My volunteering experience has enabled me to meet new people, form new friendships and have a real sense of satisfaction,” she says.

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I have been an ES volunteer for a number of years and have been called out to two high profile emergencies, the first being the Grayrigg rail disaster in February 2007 and the second helping in the aftermath of the fire in Atherstone-on-Stour in November 2007. Both incidents were obviously harrowing, we all saw the scenes on the news but as an ES volunteer I was immersed it in. My role was within the inner cordon area helping to feed the police and the fire service. On both occasions it was a shock when I was actually in the action, helping out, witnessing the drama first hand but the training that I received really put me in good stead and I remained calm and collected throughout my shifts.

Being a WRVS volunteer is unlike most volunteering opportunities. By its very nature it’s sporadic, there are no set hours, there’s no regularity, I could be called out at any time of the day or night and asked to help in a number of ways. So the training that I received was crucial, it gives you practical knowledge but because training is on-going it keeps you connected, it may be months or even years between call outs.

When I first joined and met Derek, my local WRVS manager, he reiterated the belief that practise makes perfect and I was told that I would be invited to regular training sessions. The first of these was my foundation course, this was a seminar-based session, I met many volunteers and together we were introduced to the organisation and given basic hygiene and health and safety training. Since that first session my training has continued, I’ve had further group training sessions and learnt more practical knowledge about rest centre management and evacuation procedures, so I really do feel well equipped should the phone ring at 2am!

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It’s easy to think that WRVS just provide tea and sympathy. WRVS volunteers wearing their iconic orange tabards can be seen offering refreshments to evacuees in rest centres, or to the police or fire service during a disaster. But there’s a lot more to WRVS than a nice brew. In fact, WRVS not only have teams of fully trained volunteers on call twenty four hours a day, ready to support their local community should disaster strike but they also provide training to other organisations to make sure they are prepared should the worst happen.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, WRVS was originally founded in 1938 as the Women’s Voluntary Service as the Second World War looked inevitable. Seventy years on and there are nearly 7000 male and female WRVS emergency service volunteers. Volunteers have supported those affected by train derailments, power failures, fires, gas leaks and natural disasters such as floods, extreme snow, hurricanes and heatwaves in the past. WRVS volunteers really have to be prepared for anything, at any time, in any weather.

WRVS believe it is paramount to offer extensive training to its volunteers so they not only feel confident when called out but also that they can make a worthwhile contribution at the scene. Liz Redfern, WRVS’ emergency services training manager is responsible for ensuring that all of the volunteers are fully equipped with this knowledge, but recognises that not all volunteers are the same:

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Regina Edwards is a 40 year old Black woman with 6 children who has lived in north Minneapolis for the last 6 years. Regina is dying of Pancreatic Cancer. The doctors say they cannot operate. 2 out 10 people get this cancer but by the time it’s diagnosed, it’s too late. In the mix of it all her furnace is not working, her house is cold, and she has no food in her refrigerator due to her electricity being cut off. As we speak, (during this interview) she’s getting ready to go to chemotherapy at North Memorial Hospital. There is no one but her 18 year old daughter to take care of the siblings. No relatives, no grandparents…no one.

Regina has been a political activist and worked at the Urban League of Greater Madison and the City of Madison. She also has worked for the International Culinary School in Burnsville, Minnesota and graduated from Minneapolis Community Technical College in May with a degree in Culinary Arts. Regina’s path to education, wealth and independence was tracking in the right direction.

But there’s a lot more to Regina’s story. Besides having her new home robbed by the people who lived there before, after the landlord gave her the key without changing the locks the day before Thanksgiving, there has been a list of events that have happened to Regina that she needs to let out. So let’s start with the Minneapolis Urban League. Regina says she knew things where strange at the Minneapolis Urban League when the leadership was like, “the Pink Panther,” says Ms. Edwards, “These people don’t want to address any issue other than their paychecks. They creep around as if they are invisible.”

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As poverty started to become a serious threat for the lives of many less fortunate people, many organizations around the world are now having their plans and actions on how to stop this problem before it gets worse. One of these organizations is the Plasticos Foundation. An organization composed of plastic surgeons headed by Dr. Larry Nichter. Plasticos Foundation’s primary goal is to improve the lives of others particularly the children in need through plastic surgery that is why the said foundation is identified as a plastic surgery organization.

Through the foundation’s intervention, they enhance the lives of children with correctable body deformities, birth defects, congenital malformations and traumatic disfigurements. The foundation also seeks to advance the field of Plastic Surgery through trainings, research studies, and public education that is why they conduct lectures and free trainings to surgeons in host countries in the art of Plastic Surgery, enabling them to carry on this work.

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Nonprofit Organization Survival Tips:

Surviving and Thriving in Tough Economic Times

Seth Bloom, Bloom Consulting, Inc.

Recession, inflation, deflation, correction, etc., whatever you want to call what we’re going through the simple fact is that many of us have already made adjustments at home and in our businesses, and most of us may need to consider further belt-tightening in the near future. As community leaders, many of us are also wrestling with the impact this economy is having on our nonprofit organizations. As consultants specializing in nonprofit fundraising, strategic planning, marketing and leadership development, Bloom Consulting has had extensive experience with the financial challenges that all nonprofits face from time to time, and we recognize the difficulties that the current situation poses. Fortunately, we believe there are ways to reduce its impact and insure that your nonprofit not only survives, but thrives, in the days ahead.

This list is for anyone with a common sense approach to surviving and thriving in tough economic times. While nonprofit organizations should consider many of these initiatives, they may not all apply to every nonprofit. Yours may have already adopted some, while others may seem too simple or too difficult. Chances are you’ll find a few here to consider, and undoubtedly others will stimulate your own creative ideas.

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DATELINE: PLYMOUTH COUNTY AND AVON, EASTON AND STOUGHTON, MA.
Old Colony Elder Services (OCES), a private, non-profit Aging Services Access Point (ASAP) that serves Plymouth county as well as the towns of Avon, Easton and Stoughton, is encouraging the general public to participate in the “Be a Santa to a Senior” program by providing a
gift to a senior in need.

Old Colony Elder Services, working in conjunction with Home Instead Senior Care, the “Be a Santa to a Senior” program sponsor, has identified approximately 170 isolated elders who otherwise would not receive a gift this holiday season.

Each of these seniors is represented by an ornament with their “wish list” on it. The wish lists may include items such as postage stamps, clothing, a gift card to a grocery store, candy or other item. The ornaments adorn Christmas trees located at Duval’s Pharmacy at 571 Washington Street in Whitman and Southeast Medical Center on Route 18 in East Bridgewater.

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By: Sheik Gulzaar

Role of NGOs in India

The poor of the land does not need charity; what they need is access to equal opportunities and levelling of the playing field so that they can also compete in the market-place on an equal footing. It is the capacity-building, not income transfers, that can transform the lives of the poor. Only the grass root movement reach the poorest of the poor. Government projects face great difficulty in targeting such groups. The poorest section of the society needs to be organised into viable groups, which can assume the responsibility of their own development as a community. And this is where the NGO’s come in with the role of civil society organisations or non-governmental organisations to chalk out programmes and projects targeting community problems.

The tradition of civil society initiatives for community development is still in its infancy in our part of the world. But it is only fair to recognise the fact that all NGO’s efforts are not motivated by the community itself. Self-interest is an important motivation too. In fact, many NGO’s reflect the personal ambitions of some rich do-gooders or a cynical effort to exploit the generosity of foreign donors or the patronage of the Government. For instance, out of more than 2 lakhs of NGOs//Trustus/ formally registered in India, there are only a few which have credibility and standing. A thorough, in-depth evaluation of NGO activities in India can easily prove the credibility of their working.

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