Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / April 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 9
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April 1994 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina 9 Big Brothers/Sisters seeks volunteers Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Kinston and Lenoir counties need volunteers 18 and older to commit two to tour hours a week helping kids aged six to 16. The organi zation matches people who have problems at home or in school with adults who can be positive role models. Call (919) 527-2227. United Way offers volunteer opportunities The United Way of Wake County is seeking volunteers tor a number of local social service agencies, including the Food Bank of North Carolina, Meals on Wheels and for Wake Technical Community College. For details, call the Voluntary Action Center at (919) 833- 5739. Cities in schools gains VISTA volunteers Ten VISTA volunteers will help Cities in Schools in North Carolina carry out model programs for youth and families in Northamp ton, ffalifax, Nash, Lenoir, Robeson and Cleveland counties and counties in western North Carolina. For details, call Susan Brown at (919) 832-2700. State housing agency gets federal grants The North Carolina Flousing Finance Agency has obtained $500,000 in federal grants for affordable housing programs in Goldsboro and Wake County. The money will be used for nonprofit home builders that assist low- income families. Media watch group eyes WUNC mission Balance & Accuracy in Journalism, a Carrfaoro-based group, wants the public involved in the writing of a new mission state ment for WUNC public radio in Chapel ffill. In a letter to WUNC's Administrative Board, the groups asks that the public be allowed to comment on proposed changes. David Kirsh, spokesman for the group, says members are con cerned that "the process of revision could be finalized behind closed doors and without opportunity for public input." Bill Davis, WUNC's station manager, says a board meeting in May that will include a final vote on the revised mission state ment, will be open to the public. Community convenors Junior League adapts to changing role of women The Junior League's international president talks about challenges facing the international wo men’s organization. jy ccommodating changes /\ in the role of women zLA poses the biggest chal- # 1 lenge to Junior League chapters throughout the U.S., the organization’s international presi dent says. “We’ve been pro-active, but the rest of the world doesn’t operate with the flexibility we need,” says Mary Babson, who is completing a two-year term as president of the Association of Junior Leagues International in New York. Babson, who was in North Carolina recently for speeches to Junior League chapters in the Triad and in Raleigh, took time for a brief interview with the Philanthropy Journal. A certified pubhc accountant who is director of communications for the Chicago-based Arthur Anderson accounting firm, Babson says prospective Junior League volunteers can find it difficult to get release time from their jobs, or to find day care. “And it’s tough for agencies to find meaningful work for volunteers in the evenings and on weekends,” she says. The Junior League’s solution has been flexibility in assigning members to do volunteer work with nonprofit organizations. At some chapters, for example, league members who teach school have the option of doing their volun teer work in the summer. And rather than assign volunteer work to mem bers, some chapters allow members to make their own arrangements. In addition, most league meetings now are held at night or on week ends, and training sessions that are required of members are staggered to accommodate their schedules. Babson, who has maintained her full-time job at Arthur Anderson while serving as league president, says her work with the league has reinforced her behef in the ability of individuals to grow and respond to changes. “I have increased confidence in the collective power of wo men, the pow er of women to make a differ ence and the power of citi zen action,” I she says, i In addition i to the issue of membership, Babson says, a big issue for her successor wiU be the “alignment of word and action. “Accountability for nonprofit organizations, including ours, becomes more critical every year,” she says. “And to me, that means we Mary Babson have to be absolutely vigilant in focusing on our mission.” The mission of the Junior League, with 280 chapters and 188,000 female members in the U.S., En^and, Mex ico and Canada, is “promoting volun tarism and improving the community through effective action and leader ship of trained volunteers.” Toward that end, Babson says, the league encourages local chapters to be “convenors” in their communi ties— bringing people together to try to solve local problems, particularly in the area of children’s health. “We have the ability to bring diverse groups together,” she says, “because we don’t have a vested interest and are considered neutral.” Todd Cohen College Continued from page 8 bad rap. “A number of people around the country, including the secretary of education, were painting college stu dents as apathetic and interested only in cars and stereos and default ing on their student loans,” says Nozaki. “The presidents thought that, if provided the opportunity, stu dents would want to be engaged” Nozaki says the college presi dents were ri^t. “They have been proven correct. As these programs have developed, students have flocked to them.” At N.C. Central in Durham, a new Mountain tradition clearinghouse for volunteer opportu nities in the community is well-used. “There’s been tremendous stu dent voluntarism on campus,” says Beverly Washington-Jones, a history professor who is one of the faculty members leading the initiative to integrate service learning into the curriculum. The volunteer center “shows the Volunteers thrive at Asheville college By Katherine Noble Asheville C ommunity service is sweeping the country, but at a small school nestled in the moun tains of North Carolina, it’s been a way of life for students for more than 30 years. At Warren WOson College outside Asheville, many features of typical college life are absent. A flyer adver tising the school reads; “^at kind of college has no football team, no fraternities, no sororities, and beheves one person can change the world?” The answer is Warren Wilson. Founded 100 years ago by the Presbyterian Church as the Asheville Farm School for Boys, Warren Wilson today admits students from 40 states and 30 countries. Thirty percent of the 500-member student body comes from North Carolina. Since 1966, when the school became a four-year college, it has required community service of its students. Since 1990, the minimum required for graduation has been 80 hours. But the students do much more than that. Nancy Rigby, director of the school’s service program, says that students annually contribute more than 10,000 hours of service to the surrounding community, and to pro jects across the U.S. and overseas. The school’s mission emphasizes service “in a context that supports wisdom and understanding, spiritual growth and a contribution to the common good,” says Rigby. Warren Wilson is one of five North Carolina colleges that received a grant from the Council of Indepen dent Colleges to strengthen service- learning on college campuses. The college will use the $22,000 to integrate service more fully into its academic curriculum. Warren Wilson also is one of a handful of work colleges in the United States, which means its stu dents earn part of their tuition through on-campus labor. Each stu dent works 15 hours a week milking cows, answering the telephone, or painting a building. “It doesn’t matter if you come here in a BMW or a bus, you work,” says Rigby. Each student earns $2,400 toward their tuition, which in 1994-95 wiU be $13,617. Weed says that requiring stu dents to work teaches them there’s no limit to what they can learn to do. “The liberal arts teach you that you can do anything, but they don’t make it practical. The work program does that here.” So does the volunteer require ment. “Students leave here knowing that they can and will make a differ ence — in the world and in their own lives.” WINSLOW ASSOCIATES Fundraising and Management Consultants Celebrating a decade of service to North Carolina's Nonprofit Community 601 N. Cherry Street, Suite 180 • Winston-Salem, NC 27101 PHONE: (910) 722-7982 • FAX: (910) 722-8671 community that we’re not just a citadel of the academy. We are part of the community. Their problems are ours.” Central is one of the few colleges that intends to make community ser vice a graduation requirement. Chancellor Julius Chambers has sug gested 30 hours of community ser vice to graduate. Jones wants to make sure at least some of those hours are done as service-learning. Brevard College has had a 30- hour community service graduation requirement since 1990. Fran Lynch, director of Project Inside Out, says some students complained about the requirement at first, but once they started a volunteer project, “they got hooked on the idea”. HowlbOioose Rmd Raising Software When The Choice Isn’t Obvious.. It’s easy to get lost in today’s maze of software. But, choosing software doesn’t have to be hard. First, look at the people who will be helping you. The people behind Donor II understand fund raising. They know how to help you use software to track donors and prospects in the festest, most efficient way And, they’ve made Donor II very easy to learn and use. Donor II was designed especially for development professionals by Systems Support Services to manage all components of your development program. It gives you immediate access to donor and prospect information and allows you to easily record and reference gifts and pledges. Donor II maintains statistics on vital development pro^m areas, including campaign effectiveness and name acquisition efforts. It lets you create personalized letters, generate reports, and easily manage a memorial giving program. The result is more time for you to nurture donors and raise money for your oi^anization. Ihke the straight path to software designed specifically for you. Call Systems Support Services today at 1-800-548-6708 and find out more about Donor II. Systems Support Services 8731 Red Oak Blvd^ Ste. 140 Charlotte, NC 28217 1-800-548-6708 IXMMn
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
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April 1, 1994, edition 1
9
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