A Volunteer Workforce Equals A Wealth of Value

It has been said that money makes the world go round, but believe it or not, according to a study done by Johns Hopkins, volunteers actually make up a far more significant share of the workforce of nations than has been commonly acknowledged.

Data generated by the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project in 37 countries (Salamon et al, 2004) revealed that approximately 140 million people in these 37 countries engage in some volunteer activity in a typical year. To put this into perspective, if all of these volunteers represented the population of a country it would be the 8th largest country in the world. The study goes on to show that even when estimated conservatively, these volunteers make $400 billion in contribution to the global economy.

As National Volunteer Month kicks off this Friday, The Partnership For Our Kids would like to extend a special thank-you to all of our volunteers for their hard work, devotion and commitment to kids. You are truly worth your weight in gold!

*Attention all current Partnership volunteers! Be sure to check the mail for a special volunteer event invitation coming to you soon.

Homework Help, It’s As Easy As A-B-C!

It is 10p.m. and that Geometry homework is not going so well. What if solving those problems was as simple as having a library card and internet access? Although it may sound too good to be true, a free online service being offered through the Omaha Public Library and Tutor.com is making homework help as easy as A-B-C.

A. Obtain a library card.
A student must be 14 or older to apply for a library card without a parent’s consent, so students in grade 8 or below will need a parent signature on the application.

B. Log on to Tutor.com.Students can connect to Tutor.com through the Omaha library website, omahapubliclibrary.org, through any Omaha public school website and even on Facebook by searching Tutor.com, Omaha.

C. Connect with a Tutor!Once a student is on the Tutor.com site, he or she can select the subject area that they need help in and a qualified tutor will walk them through the problem live on the spot!

Not only does Tutor.com offers homework assistance, but it is also a great resource for test preparation, research and even GED and citizenship test support—all for FREE! Tutors are on staff between 2 p.m. and midnight each week and are eager to make your homework turn from disaster to done, quicker than you can say A-B-C.

Thank You Gregg Young Chevrolet!

Thank you Gregg Young Chevrolet for making The Partnership For Our Kids this week’s “Go The Extra Mile” award recipient! The Partnership was selected to receive this honor in recognition of the exemplary service the agency provides to Omaha’s disadvantaged youth. Partnership staff and students were presented with the award during a ceremony, Wednesday afternoon, at Lewis and Clark Middle School.

“Going The Extra Mile is a unique opportunity to showcase great organizations, like The Partnership For Our Kids, that might not otherwise receive recognition for the extraordinary work they are doing in our community,” said Gregg Young Chevrolet representative, Bob Holland. “Winning this award means the world to our organization,” said Partnership President, Julie Hefflinger.

*Watch for coverage of the award presentation and a special interview with Partnership President, Julie Hefflinger and group mentoring program volunteer Ben Larson, which is scheduled to air on WOWT Channel 6 during the 6 p.m. news broadcast this Friday, March 11th.

Competing For The Partnership!

The spirit of competition can drive people to accomplish some amazing feats and that spirit was alive and well during The Partnership For Our Kids first annual fund drive. Partnership staff made the task of raising annual funds a little more interesting with a team competition. Each team developed their own community fundraisers and spread the word to family and friends. “I think this fund drive only scratched the surface of the creativity, ingenuity and persistence our staff has to offer as fundraisers,” said team leader, Nick Sasada.

Collectively, the team competition raised nearly $6,000 of the $38,000 fund drive grand total. “Our staff has been fully committed to raising funds for our organization. Without their dedication, we wouldn’t have raised as much as we did.” says Partnership Development Director, Nicole Everingham. Team fundraisers included office jeans days, a restaurant night at Julio’s West, holiday photo sales and a community bowling event at Maplewood Lanes.

The Partnership For Our Kids is currently planning a spring golf fundraising event that will be held at Omaha Country Club on May 16th. Foursomes and sponsorships are available, call Nikki at 402-930-3026 for more information or to reserve your foursome.

* If you would like to make a monetary or in-kind donation to The Partnership For Our Kids, visit thepartnershipforourkids.org/donate.shtml, or call 402-930-3000 to see how you can help.