photo credit: monkeyatlarge

I’ve been pretty caught up in a volunteer project lately, helping to put on a tech conference in my local area. We’ve reached that part of the process where everyone’s been working hard and we’re all starting to get a little burned out, just as we’re entering the crunch time where there’s a lot to do and a long way to go.

It’s got me thinking about how volunteering can impact, and at times improve, your life, your professional skills, your world view, and so on.

Apparently I’m not the only one thinking about this, because from the Harvard Business Review comes an article by Sylvia Ann Hewlett about increasing employee engagement by encouraging volunteering:

Simply giving employees access to charitable work through their job is an effective way to amp up engagement. More than a third of the 106,000 employees of BT (formerly British Telecom) already actively volunteer during their off-hours, according to a company internal survey. Another 30 percent would like to. That’s why in April 2009, BT introduced its first coordinated, companywide Volunteer Program.

BT’s vision is to effectively pair work teams and individual executives with productive volunteer opportunities that match their personal interests and career development needs. For example, a division that needs team building may spend a day together erasing graffiti off inner-city walls. One CEO of a BT business unit is volunteering his time mentoring the CEO of a charitable organization.

In some of the companies where I’ve worked, we’ve had organized days for working in a food bank, or perhaps for helping out with a home building project. Does your company provide opportunities for volunteerism? Do you seek out volunteer opportunities outside of work? What benefits have you gotten from volunteering?

photo credit: Mr. Kris

This is one of my father’s favorite sayings, and it came into play for me last week as I put closure on a frustrating event.

I have been very excited about becoming a dues paying member of an out-of-state organization that supports nonprofits. They do what they do better than anyone, and though I’m not in their state I thought being a member would bring enormous benefit to my local work. I paid my online application fee and anxiously awaited my membership packet.

It wasn’t long before I realized something was awry. I couldn’t register for their upcoming conference, so I gave my new friends a call. Alas, it appeared they were trying to figure out how to break it to me: They were planning to refund my money. Since I was not with a nonprofit organization in their state, working with me would be outside of their mission and therefore detracting from what they were set up to do.

Honestly, I was stunned. It had been too long since I had interacted with an organization that knew how to put cash aside for allegiance to purpose. Though I was disappointed, I was impressed by their creativity when they suggested I associate with one of their state’s organizations (a former employer) in order to complete a discounted conference registration.

I took my refunded membership fee and made a donation to my former employer who had offered to help me out. I also have never felt so good about paying full price for a conference.

Too many people are too quick in this economy to just accept money. If it corrupts your organizational integrity in any way, let it go. And if you find yourself with some unexpected cash this month, reach out to the nonprofit of your choice. They will be thrilled to have it, and you may find yourself thrilled to give it.

For most of us, social media has changed our lives in some meaningful way. Collectively it is changing the world for good. Given the pace of innovation and adoption, change has become a constant. Every so often we find the need to stop and reflect on its most recent and noteworthy developments, hence the following list.

Any other ways you know of to put social media to idealistic use?

photo credit: alan(ator)

Here’s a subject that’s near and dear to our hearts: idealism.

From Michelle Obama’s exclusive essay in USAToday.com:

“When so many people are struggling to make ends meet, we need everyone pulling together to solve our nation’s problems and to lift up our fellow Americans. And this includes our young people. Today, more than ever, we need their energy, enthusiasm and idealism.”

Via USA TODAY.