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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: volunteer

volunteer stories: 18 news summaries

Beck Moves Obama From 'Hitler' to 'Mao'

Hollywood in cahoots with the prez to force us to volunteer

Oct 20, 09 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Apparently, Hollywood’s dumb-named “iParticipate” campaign is the worst thing since the Great Leap Forward. Sixty network shows will work volunteerism and community service into the plot this week, and in Glenn Beck’s mind, this, coupled with Obama's own push for volunteerism, is the stuff conspiracies are made... More »

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Barack Obama • Hollywood • volunteerism • Fox News • community service • volunteer • Glenn Beck • entertainment industry • Mao Zedong

School Volunteering
Stresses Parents Out

Pressure to help out a source of anxiety for moms and dads

Oct 15, 09 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - With school budgets slashed because of the weak economy, parents are feeling more pressure than ever to volunteer. About 64% of parents surveyed by Harris Interactive say they believe it's more important than ever to pitch in, with 53%—far more than last year— saying they planned to do just... More »

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high school • parents • recession • volunteer • elementary school • teacher

No Hard Knocks for Peace Corps in Downturn

Obama, recession boost interest in volunteer group

Jun 2, 09 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - During a commencement address last month, Barack Obama singled out the Peace Corps as an American institution dedicated to "opportunity, equality, and freedom." As the Los Angeles Times reports, the president's glowing praise—combined with Obama-era idealism and a weak job market—has contributed to a 16% jump... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • recession • volunteerism • volunteer • Peace Corps • idealism

 Salamanders Get Help 
 Crossing the Road 

To mate! With some help from human friends

Apr 7, 09 3:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Salamanders are getting an assist this mating season from volunteers who shepherd them across dangerous highways, the AP reports. Hundreds try to cross between forests and vernal pools this time of year, and human escorts—also known as bucket brigades—have popped up along the East Coast to keep them... More »

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environment • volunteer • salamanders • biologists • amphibians • mating rituals • mating

Fargo Scrambles
to Prevent Flooding

Red River could see record overflow

Mar 23, 09 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Minnesota and North Dakota work crews joined volunteers today to build levees and sandbag walls as a storm threatened to cause flooding, Inforum reports. Locals living along Red River are bracing for as much as 1 inch of rain tonight from a storm expected to last 2 days, causing river... More »

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National Guard • flood • flooding • Minnesota • North Dakota • volunteer • Fargo

 Volunteer Boom 
 Becoming a Burden 

Charities overwhelmed by would-be free workers

Mar 16, 09 9:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - As more people lose jobs, they’ve got hours to fill—and many are turning to volunteer work, looking to do good and perhaps network, the New York Times reports. But organizations have been so flooded that many have had to put would-be helpers on waiting lists—and for some,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
volunteerism • unemployment • volunteer • financial crisis • recession depression

 Obama Pitches Public 
 Service—On the Net 

USAService.org connects volunteers to projects

Jan 16, 09 3:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama, like John F. Kennedy before him, has issued a call to service in a novel medium. For Kennedy it was television, and Obama, unsurprisingly, is using the Internet to drum up volunteerism, Time reports. USAService.org allows willing citizens to find projects, or even organize them, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Internet • John F. Kennedy • volunteerism • volunteer • public service • President Obama

Millions Mobilize for SoCal Earthquake Drill 

Students, workers practice ducking and covering in pretend 7.8 temblor

Nov 13, 08 3:45 PM CST
(Newser) - An estimated 5 million volunteers and emergency personnel participated in a huge earthquake drill in Southern California today, the Los Angeles Times reports. The “ShakeOut,” as it is known, was designed to raise awareness of the continued need for earthquake preparedness. California will almost certainly get hit with... More »

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Los Angeles • Southern California • Orange County, California • volunteer • earthquake • drill

ANALYSIS

 Obama Forces Battle for Va. 

McCain forced to defend GOP stronghold

Oct 17, 08 1:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Virginia hasn’t swung Democrats’ way since Lyndon Johnson, but suddenly it’s a battleground, the Washington Post reports, and Obama appears to have all the tactical advantages. The Dem has three times as many campaign offices, and his army of volunteers has registered almost a half-million new voters.... More »

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Virginia • Obama 2008 • volunteer • McCain 2008 • Election 2008 • voter registration

(Newser) - There are a scant 27 days left to dedicate your blood, sweat, and tears to your candidate of choice. But some activists' moves are better than others. Christopher Beam runs down the best way to put your limited resources to good use in Slate: Got time to kill?
  1. Knock
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
volunteer • political activism • campaign contributions • campaign advertising • Election 2008

 Storms Test New FEMA System 

'Dynamic' approach distributes response burden

Sep 8, 08 10:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - With three big storms hitting the US within about a week, FEMA is attempting to stay a step ahead, planning emergency response strategies and deploying supplies. The agency's new "dynamic regrouping" plan represents a real-time collaboration between military, civilian, and volunteer personnel, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "The... More »

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military • FEMA • evacuation • Red Cross • volunteer • hurricane • emergency responders • community • Hurricane Ike

 Quake Efforts Break
 Barriers in China 

Ordinary citizens donate, head to quake scene without government coordination

May 20, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Chinese people have responded to last week's Sichuan earthquake with an unprecedented outpouring of volunteer work and donations—outside the scope, and control, of the Chinese government, the New York Times reports. China’s regime doesn’t trust public activism, and has long restricted private charity groups. But the... More »

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China • volunteer • activist • earthquake • Sichuan province • China earthquake

 Raunchy Narratives Open
 Web Porn to Blind 

Volunteers investing 'time and effort,' boasts spokesman

Apr 13, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Looking for volunteer opportunities? The nonprofit Porn for the Blind is making free porn preview sites accessible to the blind, Wired reports. "We imagine that visually impaired people benefit from this service in many of the same ways that non-visually impaired people benefit from the hard-core pornography that's being... More »

MORE ABOUT:
equality • pornography • sex • disability • blindness • nonprofit • volunteer

Nonprofit Builds Free
Houses for Wounded Vets

Mass. group provides 'great ending to bad beginning'

Mar 20, 08 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - A nonprofit group is putting up customized homes for badly injured vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Massachusetts-based Homes for Our Troops is building in 20 states, fueled by donated supplies, land, and labor. “When a vet is in need, people come out of... More »

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military • soldier • volunteer • wounded • Iraq veterans • Afghanistan veterans • Iraq war • returning troops • Homes for Our Troops • troops' families • injured

Volunteer Efforts Revive
New Orleans Firehouses

Donations help fix 'critical safety issue'

Dec 13, 07 12:06 AM CST
(Newser) - With public money tied up, generous donations of time and funds have restored four New Orleans firehouses, the Times-Picayune reports. "This is a critical safety issue,” said the district chief. With 22 of 33 city firehouses hit hard in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, many firefighters still work out... More »

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Hurricane Katrina • New Orleans • firefighters • donation • volunteer

SF Oil Cleanup Gases Up, Volunteers Rebuffed

Coast Guard sends eager residents home

Nov 11, 07 6:44 AM CST
(Newser) - As cleanup of the San Francisco oil spill intensifies, so does the frustration of volunteers blocked from pitching in. At least one organizer ended up in handcuffs when his group ignored a park ranger's order to get off a beach and instead scooped up globs of oil. Hundreds of residents... More »

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oil • San Francisco • oil spill • Coast Guard • wildlife • volunteer • environmental offenses

'Voluntourism' Feeds Profits, Not Mouths

Gap-year travelers waste their time and money, charity claims

Aug 14, 07 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A leading British charity has blasted the new "voluntourism" industry as an amateurish scam, writes the Times of London. The vogue for gap-year travel to developing countries, where young volunteers pay for the privilege of teaching children or building homes does little good and enriches nobody but the travel... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Prince William • Prince Harry • volunteerism • charity • volunteer • student • Voluntary Service Overseas • voluntourism • VSO • gap year • Britain

Wal-Mart Mexico Pays Teen Baggers Nada

Retail giant calls
young, uncompensated workers 'volunteers'

Aug 1, 07 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wal-Mart has 4,300 teenagers bagging merchandise for free in its Mexican stores, Newsweek reports. The retail giant isn't doing anything illegal, since the kids aren't technically workers but "volunteers" who donate their time in exchange for gratuities from customers. But labor activists say the notoriously bottom-line-minded company is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Mexico • wages • employment • salary • foreign labor • volunteer • Wal-Mart • teenager

18 Stories


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