Toolkits
All service-related resources made available by the Corporation for National and Community Service can be found on their website. Take a moment to look through each of the “knowledge networks.” There is so much information!
The Corporation for National and Community Service has also put together a great website that includes toolkits and action guides to help you plan your own Martin Luther King, Jr Day of Service.
For help planning September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance projects, the United We Serve website provides tips and information for engaging elected officials and maximizing press coverage.
Oregon Volunteers! has put together a great resource page for each National Service Day or Day of Recognition. Check out this site if you’d like to plan your project to correspond with an official National Service Day.
Videos
Videos are the best way to get an inside glimpse of an epic Service Day. Remember that as each project is different, each Day of Service will also be different. Watch these videos for some great inspiration and celebrate the success of past service days!
AmeriCorps 20th Anniversary Celebratory Service Day
Books
101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits: A Field Guide by Melanie Mathos, Chad Norman, Beth Kanter
This handy, accessible guide features 101 actionable tactics that nonprofits can start using immediately, and most of the featured resources are free. Broken down into five key areas, it also explains the steps and tools needed to implement each tactic.
Social Media
If you’re looking for Social Media tips, take a look at the short blog post, 5 Ways to Find Volunteers in 140 Characters or Fewer.
Check out the following AmeriCorps social media sites. Each site will provide the most up-to- date information related to major VISTA events and service projects.
AmeriCorps VISTA Leader Facebook
Request for Corporate Volunteers
Many corporation encourage their employees to practice community engagement by creating avenues for employees to easily sign up for volunteer with local organizations.
Verizon encourages its employees to volunteer with community organizations, providing an online form where you can submit a volunteer request. Their funding priorities are education, healthcare, and energy management, though organizations might not necessarily have to fall into these categories to request volunteers.
Home Depot does a similar program through its Team Depot, but specifically concentrates on housing for veterans.
Stabucks Communty Service also helps to create partnerships between organizations, employees, and community volunteers.
We encourage you to look at local employers within your service area for an opportunity to recruit corporate volunteers. While it is most likely that these types of programs are in large corporations, contacting smaller businesses can be incredibly useful and might pave the way for more employer sponsored community engagement.