Need a job? Use volunteering to gain leadership experience

Looking for that next career opportunity? Thinking of starting your own business? Just graduating and worried about how to get started in a down economy? Out of work or thinking of returning to the workforce?

Whether your resume is impressive or non-existent, you can gain real world, resume worthy experience by volunteering and community organizing. If you are out of work, it can be a great way to limit gaps in employment and to keep you skills current or even learn new skills that you can take to that next job interview. If you are entering the work force for the first time or thinking about reentering the job market after a long absence, being able to show real work experience is invaluable to that future employer.

There are hundreds of non-profits and community organizations bowing under the weight of the current economic conditions. The need for qualified and passionate volunteers has never been greater.

Need ideas?

• Organize a local park cleanup in celebration of Earth Day
• Call your local United Way for a list of non-profits in your area that might need help organizing upcoming fundraisers or other events.
• Log on one of the many online volunteer opportunity websites such as Volunteers of America, VolunteerMatch or Volunteer.gov (which the government boasts has the most comprehensive listing of opportunities available).
  
  Volunteer.gov search for opportunities links out to Network for Good. A quick search for opportunities within 20 miles of downtown Sacramento, CA rendered over 275 different calls for volunteers. Opportunities run the gamut from administrative assistants and photographers to donation coordinators.
  

Volunteer... keep those resumes updated!!

Related articles:

Laid off? Volunteer! Here's how and why

Community organizing never looked so good

Live From PBWC: Lynne Twist

Author and Philanthropist

Not a dry eye in the house. Lynne talks about her inspirations in Ethiopia surrounded by 7 women who grieved together and honored all of their children who had died from starvation. It took 5 days night and day. All were uneducated. 4 of them have gone one to be attorneys and a government minister in ethiopia.

Reallocate the worlds wealth away from spending on fear towards love. Money is a tool, an instrument.

There is a myth of "more" ... How much more to we really need?

Women can midwife the birth of the future of how money can change the world.

What you appreciate appreciates.

Her book: "The Soul of Money"

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Live From The PBWC: Naomi Tutu

Keynote by Naomi Tutu, daughter Desmond Tutu.
Poem "The Pearl of Great Price"
It is not the times that are easy that you are the great person you are meant to be... It is at the hard times that the gift you are meant to be in the universe. You are a gift to the universe that the world needs. Our elders are here to help us bring for our gifts out. It is more important than ever to emphasis to our young people that they have the gift and they need to use it.



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Live From The United Way Campaign Kickoff

I am sitting in a room of more than 500 people from agencies and the local private sector as we kick off the 2008/2009 giving season.

Placer County Sheriff, Ed Bonner is talking about how services supported by United Way are positively impacting the lives of children and families in our region. He mentioned that we all know some who needs the 3 H's: Needs hope, needs help, needs hand.

It's grarifying that even on tough economic times to see support from so many in our community. There are more families and children in need due tough financial times.

I am proud to contribute and co- lead Women in Philanthropy with our focus on Foster Youth and am Looking forward to a great campaign!

See http://www.yourlocalunitedway.org

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Joining the mobile bloggers

Well, this is an very small blog entry as it is being created on a small device - my iPhone 3G. I am enjoying this device for the most part. However, due to the fact that I wear nails long, speed typing is still sometime in the future. Getting faster all the time... But it does beg the question of why I would bother to try and blog this way.

Well, the truth is I love technology and am happy to see progress in content creation for small form-factor compute devices. The overall explosion of innovation around apps for iphone has been a true delight to see! Games seem to lead the way but other catagories are flush with useful tools. Some of the richer apps are extensions of existing content repositories and many have taken advantage of iPhone capabilities to enhance the experience. Urbanspoon does a fantastic job of this.

Have to get ready for work so signing off for now. More soon!

- Maven

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Running on fumes?

I just read an article posted on Forbes Entreprenuer a few months ago by Maureen Farrell titled "How To Run On Fumes."


While focused on what do do when you have more on your plate then seems doable, the main take-aways were around the health factor and the importance of eating healthy, working out and sleeping (although apparently working out means you need less sleep).


In my experience, in addition to the healthy factor, there are a few things that really help.

1. Get focused. Figure out what in and what's out in your life and make the tough decisions. In my case, I was involved at a detailed level in several businesses. Getting focused meant I had to decide what my level of involvement was going to be and did I even need or want to be involved. One business was moved out of a storefront to completely online which dramatically reduced all kinds of distracting overhead (money and time) and significantly improving my ability to focus on other things.
2. Delegate. Employees can't grow and learn if you keep doing all the work. Or as I like to say, "No one can step into a spot you are already occupying." On the home front, figure out if you can get a housekeeper or use an errand service. These things are often much more affordable then you might think and they free you up to spend time on more higher value things. I have personally gone back to using a housekeeper and this has reduced my worry about the basics around the house tremendously. Now, if someone would only come in and do my laundry I'd be set!
3. Create routines and rituals. Wherever possible, create routines and socialize them with the appropriate people in your life. On the home front, having the kids go through the same bedtime routine at the same time every night greatly reduces the normal "run and chase" that is normally associated with the process. On the professional front, setting up repeatable tasks with assistants and employees starts creating good habits and make sure the critical things get taken care of without your constant babysitting. On the professional front, small rituals, such as 5 minutes listening to music and thinking of nothing, can greatly reduce stress and improve your feeling of well being.
4. Keep in touch with friends. For me, this always seems to be the first thing that gets "cut" from the list. I can't always do "girls night out" but I can keep in touch with friends thanks to technology. A quick cell phone call, a "how are you" SMS text message, and email or even a 5 minute IM session keeps me in touch and from feeling isolated from my friends.
5. Just let go. Give yourself a break. You can't do everything. Be sure to ask for help from others. Somethings are just going to have to slide... either cancel them or postpone them. But don't try to do it all at once. Sometimes laundry just has to wait.