Some of us harked back to childhood (who doesn’t read picture books once and while? Dr. Seuss knew what he was doing) and some of us dug deep for the classics. Others offered sci fi, romance and comedy. Whatever your favorite genre, you’ll probably find something here for you.

Here’s our list:
Liz: All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Melissa: Cheaper by the Dozenby Frank Gilbreth, Jr.
Ross: Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
Emily: The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
Scott: Night by Elie Wiesel
Mike: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Rita: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Greg: Sarge by Scott Stossel
Anthony: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Erin: The Pokey Little Puppyby Janette Sebring Lowrey
Tim: The Sea Wolf by Jack London
Ning: World War Z by Max Brooks
And my recommendation: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

So, readers, what’s your favorite book? We want to know, so please leave us a comment!

Here’s some interesting cover art (and yes, the Poky Little Puppy beats zombies any day, at least for cool cover art):

MTV EXIT is a campaign about freedom — about our rights as human beings to choose where we live, where we work, who our friends are, and who we love. Most of us take these freedoms for granted, but hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world have had these basic human rights taken away. They are victims of trafficking - modern-day slaves — and criminals have forced, defrauded, or coerced them into various forms of labor, or prostitution.

MTV EXIT aims to increase awareness and prevention of human trafficking through television programs, online content, live events, and partnerships with anti-trafficking organizations.

The UN’s International Labor Organization estimates that worldwide about 2.5 million people are victims of trafficking (ILO) Over half of these people are in Asia and the Pacific (ILO)

Criminals earn an estimated US$10 billion every year through buying and selling human beings (UN)

A big part of the effort is a music video featuring The Killers that is directed by David Slade (who also directed 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy) and is produced through Anonymous Content.

A similar collaboration happened last year, between MTV EXIT and Radiohead, which also highlighted the horrors of child trafficking.

Here’s what UNICEF has to say about the campaign:

“There is almost no country in the world now that isn’t affected by human trafficking in some way,” said Susan Bissell, UNICEF’s Head of Child Protection. “The statistics are staggering. More than 1.2 million children are being trafficked each year and nearly 80 per cent of all trafficking is for sexual exploitation, and the most at risk are girls. We see this music video as a powerful way to reach out and raise awareness among young people, across borders and across language barriers.”

Here’s this year’s video (WARNING: Child exploitation is a difficult subject and this video contains images that may be disturbing). Get mad and then get involved here:

Last week, Project 100 started a campaign to hand out $100 to 100 random people in Southeast Michigan over 100 days. And there are no strings attached (really, we swear…)

Project 100 does ask that if you receive money you think about this before you buy those Prada shoes you’ve been eyeing: how could the $100 be used to do good in your community? The possibilities for this are endless: give it to a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter, use it to clean up a park, help fund a tutoring program for underprivileged youth or just give it to someone who looks like they need it.

It’s really up to you.

Does everyone use the money to give back to the community? Not necessarily – Project 100 says they’ve had people do things as mundane as paint their kids’ bedrooms with the money.

So, if there’s no guarantee that the money will go to the community, why is Project 100 doing this?

Project 100 is simply an organization of people who are trying to help people. It is our belief that even the smallest act of kindness can spark change, creating a positive impact on the community and a sense of renewed hope. Recipients can do whatever they wish with their money. All we ask is that they think about what they can do to make the community a better place — whether it’s volunteering for a community event, helping out a neighbor in need or choosing to spend or donate money. The act itself doesn’t matter. It is our belief that one kind act leads to another.

The winners are chosen randomly, based on people who have signed up online. If you live in southeast Michigan (and even if you don’t) check out the website. Besides signing up to be entered in the draw, you can also check out service ideas and read about what others have been doing with their $100.

So, got an idea of how you could use $100 to make your community a better place? Sign up here and Project 100 might knock on your door.

Check out this video of someone getting their $100 and see more videos here:

More than 80 colleges and universities have started offering some matching grants to students who volunteer for AmeriCorps and receive an AmeriCorps Education Award, which is $4,725 for a full year of service. Princeton University encourages students to take a gap year through a new program titled the Bridge Year Program. Although Princeton does not provide financial incentives for delaying entry to the university, the Bridge Year Program is tuition-free. Students in the program must spend one year outside the United States and within a chosen community, in the company of fellow Princeton students and a host family. Members of the 2009-2010 pilot class will be stationed in Ghana, India, Peru or Serbia.

Read about institutions mentioned and check out the full article here.

2. The economy’s hurting everyone, which means that applications for AmeriCorps positions continue to exceed the positions available. Here’s a snapshot from South Florida, which starkly illustrates the big gap between demand and supply:

Motivated by a sagging economy, high unemployment and the Obama administration’s call for national service, South Floridians in record numbers are offering to teach reading, clean up parks and mentor troubled teens.

The problem: There are not enough volunteer jobs to go around.

“Last year we had two applications for every one position available. This year we anticipate five for every one,” said Wendy Spencer, chief of the Florida commission on volunteerism. “We are turning away people, and these are high-quality people applying.”

Many volunteers are young people, including students required to perform community service for credit and college graduates who can’t find jobs.

Among local agencies swamped with those willing to work either for free, or for a modest allowance, is Women In Distress of Broward County.

Social change director Erica Herman said she expects to receive several hundred applications for just 13 federally funded AmeriCorps positions — paying up to $11,400, plus health benefits — to be filled by September.
“The economy, the job market, and people who just want to give back,” Herman said of the overwhelming interest.

All the more reason that the Serve America Act needs to be fully funded. It is the key to opening up service opportunities quickly. 

3. Capital City Weekly, the newspaper of Alaska’s capital city of Juneau, gives fabulous examples of AmeriCorps’ projects throughout Alaska. They’ve been doing a series on the volunteers’ work and here’s the latest update.

4. To wrap it up, President Obama went on a historic trip to Africa and here’s some video of his speech in Ghana:

For the second act, to celebrate the fact that it’s the weekend, we have “Looking Out My Back Door”. As wacky as this song gets, the line at the very end – ”Bother me tomorrow, today, I’ll buy no sorrows” – pretty much sums up my weekend perspective to perfection.

See ya Monday.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, Jennifer has delivered nearly 40,000 books each year to area preschools, elementary, middle and high schools.

In order to fund her program, Jennifer relies of grants from the government and corporate sponsorships. With the economy slowly tanking, her nonprofit has been losing precious resources and she even ran out of books at one point.

Even so, Jennifer keeps on going because, as she says: “This has been such a gift to be able to do this with my life. I realize now that it’s also a responsibility of mine, because these kids do expect and do depend on this.”

For Jennifer, help came in the way of being named one CBS’ Early Show’s “Early’s Angels.” After that, she received from Ford Motor Group a van which can be customized to fit her individual needs, including alphabet carpeting. Sears gave her a laptop and video camera to document her progress, and a bevy of book publishers donated their hottest books to CBS so that each child on the plaza that morning could have a new book.

This summer, Jennifer and Bess the Book Bus (Version 2.0, thanks to Ford) will be traveling to 45 cities across the country, to give over 11,000 books to kids across the USA. See if your city is on the list.

Read the article from CBS and check out Jennifer Frances and Bess the Book Bus. Get in contact with the program and have her visit your school or community center, or donate to a worthy cause.

Here’s the feature on CBS’s Early Show that got Bess and Jennifer rolling:

Answer: a video to promote service. All 5 will appear in a PSA before the 2009 Major League All Star Game honoring 30 Americans who have been named “All-Stars Among Us” by the MLB and PEOPLE magazine. Thirty All-Stars were chosen by fans online as MLB’s response to President Obama’s call for service, and they include some of the most inspiring people our country has to offer. One of the coolest things about this video is that it will be the first time that all living Presidents have participated together in a ceremony at a sporting event – which shows just how valued service is in America these days.

Here are a few of the people that the Presidents will be highlighting:

President Obama honors Richard Nares (San Diego, CA - Padres), whose Emilio Nares Foundation, which he began after his young son died of cancer, includes a program called Ride With Emilio that transports sick children who lack access to transportation to their cancer treatments and medical appointments.

Former President George W. Bush honors Rob Dixon (Brockton, MA - Red Sox), who founded Project RISE, a non-profit organization that transforms at-risk youth into serious students.

Former President Bill Clinton honors Christine Shively (Newport Beach, CA - Angels), who crochets and knits cancer caps and sends them to 140 cancer centers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through her organization, “Knots of Love.”

Former President George H.W. Bush honors Gary Lynn (Houston, TX - Astros), a 17-year old with cerebral palsy who started his own foundation and has raised more $12,000 for cerebral palsy research.

Former President Jimmy Carter honors Ryan Housley (Tyrone, GA - Braves), who started HeroBox, a nonprofit that supplies specialized packages for soldiers based on their individual needs.

So, tune in to the All-Star Game on July 14 on FOX at 8 PM ET to catch some great baseball (Boston’s got 6 guys playing, so you know I’ll be watching) and some great people.

Check out the three finalists from Arizona below or visit the site to learn more about the finalists and winners from other ballclubs:

Even the music scene is getting involved with saving the environment. The Lost Trailers – an up-and-coming band that plays a unique combination of country and hip-hop (yeah, I thought it was a strange combination at first, too, but take a listen to these guys – the music is worth a try) – has partnered with Keep America Beautiful to raise awareness of the importance of living green. Their national tour – the “Lean, Clean and Local” tour – kicked off in September, and since then they’ve managed to reduce their carbon footprint by 132 tons.

How do they do it? The band has given up the tour bus, choosing instead to fly commercial to their tour destinations, saving gallons of diesel fuel. They’ve also given up their road crew, hiring people locally when they reach their destination. Band member Jeff Potter has even left his drum set at home – they hire a drum set at each tour site and rent equipment from local businesses.

Stokes Nielson: Obviously, the government is putting a lot of money into trying to get this thing (the economy) kick-started. As small-business owners, we want to do our part as well. It’s also really been great to realize that we actually can do something besides just writin’ a song and singin’ it.

Ryder Lee: We’ve set up a Web site: leanandcleanandlocal.com, and the become kind of a Yellow Pages for the local businesses we’ve hired. And we have videos on there and a directory of the folks we’ve used, so if the other acts were to hire this way, they could come in and use these same people.

Recently, the band met with members of the LA Conservation Corps to help clean up a local beach. Watch the video of their meeting with area teens and check out their tour dates here.

Visit the Keep America Beautiful site and see what you can do to help preserve America’s natural beauty and check out the Lean, Clean and Local tour website.

Here’s a music video or listen to some of the band’s music:

YouTube offers growing nonprofits the chance to connect with supporters, volunteers and donors without spending exorbitant amounts of money.

YouTube offers nonprofits:

§ Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity

§ The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout “Donate” button

§ Listing on the Nonprofit channels and the Nonprofit videos pages

§ Ability to add a Call-to-action overlay on your videos to drive campaigns

How does a nonprofit qualify? All they have to do is be a US-based nonprofit that holds IRS 501(c)(3) tax status – basically, it has to be considered a nonprofit by the US government. They can’t be religious or political in nature, nor can they be focused solely on lobbying for political or policy change – other than that, most nonprofits qualify to use this awesome program from YouTube.

YouTube also offers free tutorials on how to run a video campaign, how to make and edit videos inexpensively and how to use Google tools to share your work.

So, got a nonprofit whose message you want to share with the world? Go check out YouTube’s terms of service and start spreading your message to the whole world.

Here’s what YouTube has to say about its nonprofit program:

The problem lies in that these refugees are often simply looked at as helpless victims, unable to do anything to better their lives. While we can’t solve all their problems, a nonprofit company called FORGE has helped immensely since its founding in 2003. They try to build the skills of refugees while they are in refugee camps, in order to help them return to their homes and rebuild after the conflict ends. That’s the sort of creative approach that can really make a difference.

Donors can choose the projects that they want to support, and receive frequent feedback and updates from the field about how the money they’ve donated will help in Africa.

How does FORGE choose projects?

FORGE begins the Collaborative Project Planning Process by identifying leaders in the refugee community who are especially capable of spearheading development initiatives. Once chosen, these leaders conduct extensive research through various participatory methods to determine specific community needs. The refugee leaders and FORGE staff work to develop a deep understanding of these needs and to suggest and analyze possible solutions. This process culminates in the completion of an official project proposal, drafted by refugee leaders, that is submitted for funding by FORGE donors. Once funded, the project is implemented and monitored by a ‘Project Facilitator’ chosen from and by the group of refugee leaders.

Since its inception, FORGE has helped the communities of over 70,000 refugees. Many of the refugees that they have helped will soon be returning to their homes. With the help of FORGE, they will continue to place emphasis on peace keeping and ending war in Africa.

Here’s more information about FORGE and how you can help.

clueLess will be on FJS Radio today at 5:30 PM to promote their show tomorrow, July 8, at Maxwell’s, so listen in if you can get to a radio or computer, but if you can’t here are the details:

clueLess will be playing a concert which proceeds will help benefit the Global Fund for Women on July 8 at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ. The doors open at 7 PM, and the concert is open to people of all ages (so all you teens out there looking to do something besides sit at home on a summer night, check this place out and help a great cause). There’s a fee at the door, so mention that you’re there to see clueLess to make sure the money goes to the right place.

Anyone in the area of Maxwell’s should plan to head out there on Wednesday, July 8 for a pretty fabulous band benefiting an awesome cause. As Nelson Pla, one of the members of clueLess put it: “Get out and stimulate the economy, your generosity, mind, body and (dare I say) soul?”

Check out clueLess, Maxwell’s or see some of the other bands that are playing the same night.

And here’s a PSA that the members of clueLess have created. Great music serving a great cause. Love it:

KidEarth is a program started by a sixth grader named Aitan Grossman from Palo Alto, California. The enterprising twelve year old wrote a song called “100 Generations” that he has shared with other kids all over the world. The idea is that, if enough groups of kids and teens from all over the world join in singing the song, governments will no longer be able to ignore global warming.

Here’s what Aitan says about KidEarth:

I am a 12 year old boy who likes music and doesn’t like global warming. I am not old enough to solve the problem. But I am old enough to convince others to try by having school children from Africa, South America, Europe, Asia and North America sing my “100 Generations” song with me. That way, the world can hear that children everywhere care about the integrity of nature we are taking for granted, and everyone can feel our hope that the earth will stop warming soon.

Aitan sent the sheet music and lyrics to schools across the world, and, to date, children from Botswana, France, Taiwan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and the United States have joined their voices with Aitan’s in an effort to help stop global warming.

Here are the lyrics to Aitan’s “100 Generations”:

The air is getting warm,
My eyes are burning.
This is the biggest storm,
The tide is turning
I see the waiving wheat,
I see the redwood tree,
They wither in the heat.
What will become of me?

All of the bread we eat,
All of our farming,
Will there be any meat?
The world is warming.
Our streams are full of tires,
Our trees are burning
In wild forest fires.
We must start learning now.

The sun shines through the clouds
And beams right on me.
I shall not put on shrouds
To weigh upon me.
Here comes the giant flood
And fifteen hurricanes.
I’ll open flower buds
With the fresh air and the rain.

Chorus (English, United States):
Hawk you fly into the wild,
I am like a little child,
You and I we share the same elation.
River run down from heaven’s hill,
Ever flow I know you will,
Lasting for a hundred generations.

See the choruses written by children from Botswana, Taiwan and Venezuela.

Listen to the band’s mp3 or download the sheet music and play the song for yourself. Buy “100 Generations” from Amazon or iTunes, and know that your money goes directly to an organization that fights global warming. Aitan’s favorites are the World Wildlife Fund and the Alliance for Climate Protection.

The kids from Sebako Kanye Botswana:

2. Check out this interview with Teach for America CEO Wendy Kopp. She’ll tell you what they’re looking for and why Teach for America is so important.

3. More on the dismissal of Corporation for National and Community Service Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Washington Post has 33  documents if you want to read for yourself what was involved. And if you don’t, Talking Points memo digs in for some analysis and concludes the docs support the dismissal.

4. For all you film buffs and idealists out there, here’s a documentary called “Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?” about a young political science professor from Washington University who runs against a state representative from a powerful political family. Very inspirational and it’ll give you back some of your faith in democracy.

5. We constantly come across inspiring AmeriCorps stories, and here is one more: a snapshot of an AmeriCorps volunteer in Centre, PA who started off as a journalist and realized she wanted her life to go in a different direction: she’s now serving with AmeriCorps.

6. Finally, in case you missed it, the President’s July 4 video message:

The NCoC is holding a a huge conference this year in Washington, DC at the Library of Congress on September 9. The topic of the conference will be creating a sustainable impact through a civic return on investment. The conference will encourage commitment to civic responsibility not only through dollars, but actions, collaborations, and economic decisions.

Here’s what the NCoC has to say about the conference:

The National Conference on Citizenship is an annual event that focuses on the state of civic engagement in America, and is designed to bring together civic leaders, educators, CEOs, and representatives from each of the three branches of government to address issues related to our nation’s civic health.

The conference looks to be pretty interesting, with speakers like Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In addition, the conference will mark the release of the 2009 Civic Health Index, and will include a discussion of how the economic crisis has affected civic health in the US with former Florida Senator Bob Graham and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie; a preview of Ken Burns’ new PBS documentary, called “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” which will show the importance of public parks and forests in realizing democracy for many people; and a naturalization ceremony performed by Chief Justice Royce Lamberth of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

So, interested in learning more about citizenship and how it’s important, especially in our twenty-first century world? Just like learning about civics? Interested in seeing a documentary or two and a naturalization ceremony? Then this conference is for you.

Register here or check out the website to learn more.

Check out one of the debates from last year’s conference:

Here’s an update with some of the stuff they’ve been doing (their YouTube channel is here).
This first one is from Grandpa Elliott in Jackson Square in New Orleans: Buster Brown’s “Fannie Mae.” You can really hear the soul in the lyrics and it just goes to show that New Orleans is alive and well.

This next one is a particular favorite of mine, featuring the vocals of Grandpa Elliott and Clarence Bekker. It was recorded live and the conviction these two men have in their voices is enough to make me believe that change is going to come.
“Change is Gonna Come”

Finally, here’s Tim’s favorite of the recent songs Playing For Change has released (he recommends cranking the volume WAY up)

Participant Studios, the makers of films like An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck and Charlie Wilson’s War, has an awesome YouTube page, offering PSAs about the crisis in Darfur, hunger and child nutrition. In addition to the PSAs, Participant Studios also posts trailers of their feature films, including the films above and newer ones like The Kite Runner, Food, Inc. and The Cove.

It’s an excellent and inspiring page to subscribe to if you’ve got a YouTube account, and if you don’t, you should add that page to your Favorites and check back often. They’ve got great new stuff being added all the time.

Check out the trailer for The Cove, which will be coming to selected cities on August 7. Find out if you’ll be nearby and check out Food, Inc., playing in select theaters across the country now.

Here are a few of the PSAs I like:
Raise Hope for Congo

Darfur Now

And here’s the trailer for the upcoming feature The Cove:

Here are a few highlights of the three-day conference:

• The crowd gave a hero’s welcome to Michelle Obama, the keynote speaker, who talked passionately about the White House’s commitment to service and the need to find innovative ways to expand it.
• BTC CEO Alan Khazei had the honor of interviewing Maria Shriver, the First Lady of California, about her path-breaking efforts to strengthen service in that state. (We hope to get video of that interview soon…).
• The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) announced a week-long October campaign to promote service on all the major TV networks. This is a big opportunity to get new people involved in service, and it’s something we’ll all be hearing much more about in the months ahead. As part of the announcement, we were treated to a terrific concert from Jon Bon Jovi, a longtime friend of the service community who came to the Conference as a representative of EIF.
• ServiceNation also was proud to host a luncheon for hundreds of service champions.  Melody Barnes, President Obama’s chief domestic policy advisor, spoke movingly about the future of service in America, and all the attendees participated in a strategy discussion led by Arianna Huffington, EIF’s Lisa Paulsen, and Colin Jones, a current AmeriCorps VISTA serving with the program BUILD in San Francisco.

And thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger’s office, and CaliforniaVolunteers, we’ve got some great video. Here are a few samples, but you can see the full video playlist here. If it inspires you, you can take action by getting involved in the White House’s “United We Serve” summer of service campaign.

President Obama announced that officials from the White House are going to go coast to coast and find America’s most promising nonprofits. When they’ve identified them, the administration will decide how to spend $50 million to help expand the projects these nonprofits are already working on.

Besides applauding and recognizing the work of the nation’s nonprofits, Obama issued a challenge to the wealthy private sector, asking them to become a partner with the government and nonprofits. He asks them to provide seed capital, to match federal funds and to become partners for strategic advice and other resources to help nonprofits succeed.

What does the White House have planned so far? Well, Obama pointed to a few programs like Admission Possible:

Admission Possible, a group that helps promising young people from low-income families attend college. Ninety-nine percent of the Admission Possible class of 2008 got into college — 99 percent. The vast majority stay in college and earn their degrees. Admission Possible operates in just two states now. So imagine if it was 10, or 20, or 50.

The President closed with a few words about how important service is to our nation and our world:

In the end, that’s what this effort is about. It’s not about the old partisan lines in the sand. We know there’s nothing Democratic or Republican about just doing what works. So we want to cast aside worn ideological debates and focus on what really helps people in their daily lives. That’s what each and every one of you are doing all across America. For that, I honor you, I thank you, and I look forward to working with you in the days and months and years ahead to address the urgent challenges of our time.

Basically, what it boils down to is this: the White House is looking forward to starting off the summer service initiative right, by finding the hidden gems of America’s nonprofit world and helping them to succeed in making the world a better place.

Check out what others have to say about this awesome service development at The Non-Profit Times, the Huffington Post and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. And you can watch the full briefing on C-Span here.

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The number one city for volunteering? Minneapolis-St. Paul. Surprising? Not really. Minnesota offers a ton of volunteer opportunities, for people of every age and ability. Coming in close behind are Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington.

Here’s how the list breaks down, using all four of the categories:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
3. Charlotte, North Carolina
4. Denver, Colorado
Columbus, Ohio
Indianapolis, Indiana
7. Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland
8. Atlanta, Georgia
9. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
10. Houston, Texas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Seattle, Washington
13. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
15.  San Antonio, Texas
16.  Portland, Oregon
17.  Cincinnati, Ohio
18.  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
19.  Memphis, Tennessee
20.  Cleveland, Ohio

It looks like the Midwest and the South are prime locations if you’re looking for a fresh start. Even if you’re not, cities and towns across the country have service opportunities and great ways to serve your community in your spare time. Look here for opportunities to volunteer in your own city.

Here’s the Relocation.com blog, which can show you exactly what the criteria were.

The Student Volunteer Foundation recently worked with Minnesota Campus Compact to raise awareness of the importance of voting in the 2008 election.

The goal of the campaign, which was launched in January 2008, is to make sure that the voice of the non-profit sector is heard and counted in the upcoming elections and by legislators the whole year round. This is a very cool thing, because non-profits boast some pretty amazing numbers: 7% of the GDP (gross domestic product) is produced by non-profits; they receive $300 billion in donations every year; consist of 80 million volunteers; employ 14 million people. With such a huge presence in the population, it’s a wonder that the non-profits of America haven’t banded together before.

The V3 Campaign is unique in that it doesn’t endorse a single candidate — both Republicans and Democrats, as well as third party candidates are given respect and a chance to give their stand on any issue. What the V3 Campaign does do is ask a candidate for any office to talk about their plans for increasing and strengthening the non-profit sector if they’re elected.

I think we can all agree that liberal or conservative, each and every non-profit stands to benefit from an increase in the funding and support of the non-profit sector.

The stated goal of the V3 campaign is this:

To develop a new generation of political leaders who understand the economic contributions of social service organizations, who recognize the potential of social enterprise and micro-credit to reinvigorate communities and who include the sector in their plans to rebuild the economy.

They’re off to a great start, providing links to questionnaires for constituents to send to their legislators. Once they respond, the constituents are encouraged to send the answers of V3, where they will post the answers online for everyone to see.

But the election’s over and there’s nothing to do until 2012, right? Nope! There are plenty of mayoral and gubernatorial races happening this year, not to mention that the entire US House of Representatives and 1/3 of the US Senate are up for re-election next year in 2010. So, let your voice be heard!

Here’s V3’s Campaign Director Courtney Sieloff’s recommendations on how to get the attention of your legislators today:

1. Be a V3 Correspondent
No one knows your community like you do.  Use your Twitter account to tell the V3 Community what is happening in your town!  Are your elected leaders talking about nonprofits?  How many nonprofit workers are there in your office - in your city?  Be a voice of nonprofits in your city.  Follow us at @v3campaign and we will happily re-tweet the action in your city!

2. Bring V3 Home
Does your community recognize the value of nonprofit organizations?   Organize your friends and colleagues to discuss your impact.  Don’t be afraid to invite local elected officials or their staff.

3.Write an Op-Ed
Make sure your local newspapers know the true value that nonprofit organizations bring to your community. If your letter is published, let me know and I will post it to the V3 blog.

Check out the blog or print the questionnaire for your legislator.

V3’s ideal candidate: one’s who has a plan for the future of non-profits — they’re hoping to see someone like this sometime in the elections for 2009 and 2010. Funny AND on point…

In order to save service in Massachusetts, ServiceNation helped to organize a rally held on the Boston Common with speakers from many of the organizations that would be affected by the cuts. BTC’s Alan Khazei and Governor Deval Patrick also spoke.

Recently, the budget that was passed through both the House and the Senate included funding for the Massachusetts Service Alliance, which even got its own line item in the 2010 budget. Looks like democracy in action.

We previously threw up some sketchy FLIP videos of the speaker action. Now we have professional quality videos so you can fully appreciate some of the speechifying that went on. We’ve embedded a few below, but you can watch the full playlist here.
BTC’s Alan Khazei

Governor Deval Patrick

Dan Houghton, Experience Corps Member

Recently, Island Heritage Publishing, based in Hawaii, put out a book called Preserving Paradise: Opportunities in Volunteering for Hawaii’s Environment, written by Kirsten Whatley. It puts together a coalition of service organizations from all across Hawaii — from organizations focused on preventing Hawaii’s coastlines from being developed to environmental organizations that seek to protect endangered plants and wildlife against invasive species to those that just generally want to protect the pristine beauty of the Hawaiian islands.

So what’s Preserving Paradise about? Well, the author describes it like this:

Preserving Paradise: Opportunities in Volunteering for Hawaii’s Environment features over 65 organizations throughout the islands focused on preserving Hawaii’s land, ocean, and wildlife — and how you can join them. These eco-volunteering opportunities are free, short-term, and an authentic way to experience the people and places of Hawaii, while giving back to them. The book features over 65 organizations in Hawaii that offer short-term volunteer opportunities with the islands’ land, ocean, and wildlife. Going beyond “green tourism” or ecotourism, it’s a way to experience the Hawaiian Islands that doesn’t just have less of an impact, but actually gives something back.

Because these volunteering opportunities are short-term, they’re perfect for vacationers looking to do some good while taking a break from their regular lives. Some are just one day long, others can last as long as three months — either way, you know you’re making a difference and having a fantastic vacation while you’re doing it. Not as enamored with the crowded beaches and tourist hot spots? Some of the projects described in the book take you to places that would otherwise be inaccessible. Not bad for a service vacation!

Beyond offering an opportunity to good, there’s another aspect of this book that will probably be appealing to many people in this economy — the volunteer experiences are inexpensive:

For visitors whose travel budgets have been cut considerably, these free “voluntourism” opportunities also provide an antidote—they allow you to travel in Hawaii inexpensively while providing a hands-on way to help preserve the islands for years to come.

This presents a unique opportunity for other states to follow Hawaii’s example and increase the efficiency of volunteer programs, because it’s a great example of what people and organizations can do when they get together to create change. In addition to offering one of the most beautiful vacation spots on the planet, people can go to Hawaii and feel good about it, because they have helped to preserve the environment of such an awesome place.

2. If you thought Alaska was cold, you were right. But, here’s a heart-warming story about an AmeriCorps volunteer from (of all places) Sunrise, Florida who’s been volunteering with disconnected youth and the Department of Transportation in Alaska and loving it.

3. A new AmeriCorps-produced film “Let Us Not Forget” presents a documentary about 8 central Indiana residents living with HIV and HIV/AIDS. The goal of the film is to inform at-risk youths about the virus and remind the older population about the disease. Read more.

4. The economy’s put a lot of people out of work, but the silver lining in this financial meltdown is that more and more people have been turning to service. Read about the remarkable upturn in AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and Teach for America volunteers from the Houston Chronicle or see the buzz it’s created here on people’s blogs.

5. To finish you off, here’s the story of a volunteer who signed up for a ten-month stint in AmeriCorps and ended up staying for more than eleven years as a supervisor for his local branch of Habitat for Humanity.

And here’s another finalist from AmeriCorps’s video contest. Voting closes July 6, so don’t forget to vote today.

Let’s start with the iconic, MJ-produced, “We Are The World”:

And how about “Heal The World”?

And we’ll finish with “Man In The Mirror,” because it is about how change starts with all of us. In fact, it flows directly from our belief in Gandhi’s wisdom that “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change.”

Amen, brother. RIP.

Like our own SAT, ACT, LSAT and MCAT, the IIT admissions test is aced most often by people with private tutors — generally those of middle class background who can afford the expense. To level the playing field just a bit, since 2003 the Ramanujan School of Mathematics in Patna, the capital of the Indian state of Bihar, has gone to villages across the state, looking for promising underprivileged students to train for the IITs. In a country where most people of the lower classes on average receive only a 10th grade education before returning to work in the fields, school founders and teachers Anand Kumar and Abhayanand, the deputy director general of police in Patna, provide free education, housing and food to 30 students.

Known as the Super 30, a typical day for these teens goes like this: 4 hours of study in the morning, usually in math, physics and chemistry, followed by a 3 hour test in the same subjects. After a break for dinner, they study for three more hours before attending a class from six to nine. Many students studied after the class as well, in order to adequately prepare for the next day’s test.

So is it successful?

In the last six years, 182 students out of 210 have made to different IITs of the country. In 2003, when Super 30 started its journey, 18 out of 30 students competed. The very next year, the number jumped to 22. In 2005, it improved further to 26. Continuing the trend, 28 students made it in 2006 and 2007. However, the ‘magic moment’ came in 2008, when the result was an astonishing 30 out of 30. Super 30 had hit the bull’s eye. It was ‘a dream come true’ for Anand and his team. Super 30 has done it again in 2009. It has been 30 out of 30 for the second year in succession.

I’d say so. What an incredible story of impact.

Now, students from across Bihar apply to the Ramanujan School, sitting through a series of entrance exams before the top 30 gain entrance to the training school.

Anand Kumar is continuing his service initiatives. He would like to start younger, catching kids while they’re in high school or even before, so that they have the opportunities to succeed that they deserve:

With this in mind, he wants to set up schools for poor children. The schools would provide the right impetus to the students at the right time through innovative teaching to develop their interest in Mathematics and Science subjects at an early age. It would shape them for different Olympiads and prepare them for other competitions. The thrust would be on developing inquisitiveness, so very important for science and math education.

We could learn alot from the Ramanujan School of Mathematics as America works to improve its education of math and science to stay competitive in an increasingly technological world. Read about one of the students, Santosh Kumar, from Super 30’s class of 2006, visit the website and learn more about the Super 30 program and the Ramanujan School or check out some statistics about India from the CIA World Fact Book.

Anand Kumar teaching the students at Ramanujan School of  Mathematics.

The Virtual Video Project is a program under Global Kids, a non-profit organization that tries to give kids from New York’s inner city schools a chance to become leaders by enrolling them in leadership development and academic enrichment programs. They learn about international crises and global issues and are asked to apply these international issues to their own communities. Global Kids has several after-school programs designed to teach inner city youth skills that will help them to succeed and become engaged citizens.

In addition to developing programs, Global Kids developed a virtual world known as Teen Second Life, which was designed to bring audio and visual footage of major events from around the world into kids’ own bedrooms.

Here’s what the website says about Teen Second Life:

Within TSL, the organization has established Global Kids Island, which hosts interactive, experiential programs for teens from around the world. Specifically, Global Kids is conducting intensive leadership programming for youth, bringing youth from its New York-based programs into the space, and streaming the audio and video of major events into the world. Global Kids’ work in TSL is conducted in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation, UNICEF, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the International Criminal Court, among others.

The Virtual Video Project is designed for kids who are interested in film as well as public policy. They learn things like storyboarding, script writing and acting, as well as how to produce and edit their own films. In the past, participants have created animated movies about the rising power of media to affect young minds, race and child soldiers. This year, the kids, age 15 to 18, chose to focus on child sex-trafficking, a problem that is rampant across the world and in communities across our own nation.

Anyone in the New York area should check it out:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students
GK Press Contact: Arti Sheth, 212-226-0130, ext 106, arti@globalkids.org

Here’s an example of the work from past years’ groups:

Last month, Ashton released a video challenging Americans to help put an end to hunger through awareness. The website End US Hunger says 1 in 8 Americans live with hunger every day. The site says:

1 in 8 Americans is hungry. We believe that’s unacceptable. But all of us can make a difference.

So, how can you help? Take a look at Ashton’s video asking you to do your part and follow the directions below:

Since watching the video, Americans across the country have responded with videos of their own. Some are simple — just following the directions on the website — and some are longer. Recently, companies like Kellogg’s have joined the fight against hunger with videos, and you can, too!

Here’s how:
Record a video.
1. Ask the camera, “Hungry?” or “Are You Hungry?”
2. Answer: “Eat!”
3. Then Eat Something.
4. Email to: endushunger@gmail.com

Here are some of my favorites:

And here’s a compilation of links to some of the best videos.

The backstory:

	Drop a thank you note to the difference makers.
	Pick a random kindness act and complete it today!
	Spend the next 24 hours looking to be a positive influence for anyone you meet and write about the experience.

The video:

When you’re one of the wealthiest men on the planet, helping others can be as simple as writing a check. But what fun would that be?

That’s the tag line for NBC’s newest addition to its primetime lineup, which premieres tonight at 10 PM EST. There’s been a lot of positive progress in the service world over the past year, but you know the world is realy changing (and for the better!) when television goes from deifying Jack Bauer to deifying Teddy Rist. NBC’s new eight part series The Philanthropist chronicles the adventures of Rist, a billionaire thrill-seeker whose experiences in a catastrophic flood in Nigeria turn him from a womanizing playboy into a do-it-yourself do-gooder. And the New York Times seems to think it will make a pretty good show.

NBC describes Teddy Rist, played by James Purefoy:

Teddy loves money, women and power – a businessman who seems to have it all. Not only is he a billionaire, his good looks and charm mean he can have his pick of the bunch when it comes to women. Despite things appearing great on the surface, there is a huge void in Teddy’s life left by the tragic death of his son.

Following a severe flood in a Nigerian town, he is haunted by the memory of a young boy he rescued. Teddy’s eyes are opened when he discovers that helping others can bring him true happiness, and from that point on his philanthropy begins. The danger and risk to his life is the only way Teddy can feel genuinely alive and he’ll do anything in order to achieve his goals and keep the adrenaline pumping; putting his business head and money-making skills to good use through bargaining with the self-righteous, making deals with drug barons, and trading with the nefarious.

But these actions are not just about helping others – Teddy is purging his soul to help exorcise the inner demons that have been festering ever since his young son died and he lost everything he truly loved.

Filmed in locations all across the world and as varied as South Africa and the Czech Republic, the show is set in places like Myanmar and Paris – and everything in between.

In addition to James Purefoy, the cast includes Jesse L. Martin, Neve Campbell, Lindy Booth and Michael K. Williams. And the plot is jam-packed with chase scenes, danger and of course, that element of drama and intrigue that draws so many viewers to shows like Law and Order, Rome and The X-Files – all of which cast members of The Philanthropist have acted in. Now that’s philanthropy as Walter Mitty might have imagined it.

Consider it a downpayment on all the great service programming that will hit the air come October 19, thanks to ServiceNation’s partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation. So tune in to see your world get the glamor treatment it truly deserves. Yes, it is Hollywood fantasy. But there’s nothing wrong with television that makes doing something for others look cool.

Here are some clips that give you a good idea of where NBC is headed with this