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The VOLUNTEER VOICE Issue 5 March 2007
A Message from the Director
Since its establishment by executive order, the Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP) initiative has seen dramatic growth. The VfP partner network of U.S.-based nonprofits and companies has grown to nearly 250. VfP partners deployed over 21,000 volunteers in 2006, and reported that the pool of highly skilled American professionals available to volunteer is nearly 285,000.
A key goal of VfP is to promote international voluntary service by America�s skilled professionals. To that end, the VfP website has been enhanced to include: stories about VfP partners and their volunteers, as well as a global map showing volunteer destinations; a support international volunteers link to a public website (established by the Office of Volunteers for Prosperity as a pilot project) to enable VfP partner organizations to generate resources on-line for volunteer-led projects that support global health and prosperity; and a search engine (like the one atop this newsletter) that links to a database of announcements for specific international voluntary opportunities. And just recently we launched "Partners Corner" on our website to facilitate an information exchange among our partners (see information below).
Another major goal of the Office of Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP Office) is to help our VfP partners recognize the exemplary service of their skilled American volunteers. Last year the VfP Office became an official leadership organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award and a website was established to provide a central Internet location for VfP partners to register to become a certifying organization, nominate volunteers, and order awards.
The number of Presidential Initiatives VfP supports has expanded. In December, President George W. Bush amended the executive order establishing VfP to include support of the President's Malaria Initiative to control malaria on the African continent. The VfP Office is reaching out to potential new partners with a demonstrated commitment to combat malaria, helping to identify and recruit skilled American health care professionals and others concerned with malaria, and assisting these organizations in accessing federal programs for grants needed to deploy volunteers engaged in the fight against malaria.
Through this e-newsletter we hope to keep you informed about our activities and we welcome your feedback. The VfP Office wishes to thank each and every one of you for your support, and we look forward to continued collaboration in the months ahead!
Jack Hawkins
Director
Office of Volunteers for Prosperity
U.S. Agency for International Development
Partners Corner - New Feature on the VfP Website
A brand new feature has been added to the VfP website - "Partners Corner" where Volunteers for Prosperity partner organizations can exchange useful information, on an entirely voluntary basis, based on topics related to international voluntary service. This on-line forum provides VfP partners periodic opportunities to share with others in the VfP partner network insights and perspectives on managing volunteer programs. This month VfP partner, Partners Worldwide, shares its insights on the following topics: Importance of Volunteers to Your Mission; Primary Challenges Facing Your Volunteer Program; Steps Taken by Your Organization to Meet Those Challenges; and Tips for Creating and Managing Effective Volunteer Programs.
Visit www.volunteersforprosperity.gov for more information!
Medical Teams International Honors nearly 400 Volunteers with Presidential Award
Jack Hawkins presents Marie Davis with the President's Call to Service Award. (Photo by Doug Vorwaller) Medical Teams International, a leading faith-based aid organization, recognized nearly 400 volunteers with the President�s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) at an international volunteer reception near Portland, Oregon on March 1st.
Jack Hawkins, director of the Office of Volunteers for Prosperity at the U.S. Agency for International Development, presented the President�s Call to Service Award to Marie Davis for 4000 hours of service to help people in need in Uganda, Afghanistan and Iraq service. (See volunteer profile below). Ms. Davis, an emergency room nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Salem, has served on 40 teams with Medical Teams International. Learn more about this event…
United Planet Announces Group Volunteer Opportunities for Summer 2007
VfP Partner, United Planet offers annual summer volunteer excursions called �Group Quests�. This summer a variety of trips are planned including: 10 days in Cambodia where volunteers in the field of dentistry will provide care to a local community; 15 days in Tanzania where volunteers will work with local non-profit organizations to educate young people about HIV/AIDS; and a new excursion in Chile being offered to law students and lawyers to work with local law school students. Learn more…
VfP MISSION: Volunteers for Prosperity promotes the energy and idealism of the United States through support of international voluntary service by highly skilled American professionals to advance the global health and prosperity goals of the U.S. Government
VfP Partner Spotlight: Medical Teams International
For 27 years, Medical Teams International (formerly Northwest Medical Teams International), a faith-based relief agency, has recruited and equipped teams of American healthcare professionals and other volunteers to work on short-terms assignments in countries to help people in need. Since 1979, Medical Teams International, located near Portland, Oregon, has shipped more than $1 billion in supplies and served 35 million people worldwide. More than 1,650 volunteer teams have traveled to communities affected by hurricanes, floods, conflict and poverty. Volunteers are primarily health professionals, including doctors, nurses, surgeons, dentists, dental hygienists, nutritionists, and paramedics/EMTs. In addition to caring for patients, these professionals train local health workers in modern medical practices.
Volunteer Profile: Marie Davis, Nurse
Marie Davis, a volunteer nurse from Dallas, Oregon, traveled to Uganda on a short term service assignment where she worked at a Medical Teams International mobile medical clinic. While there, she treated a young nine year old boy, Daniel, whose mother is dead and his father missing. Suffering from bloody diarrhea and fever, the thin and frail young boy had nowhere else to turn but the clinic. As Marie watched him, she thought of her young grandson at home in America. "Tears came to my eyes," Marie said. "I lost it. But for the grace of God, Daniel could be my grandchild . . ."
Volunteer nurse Marie Davis, with Medical Teams International, cares for children living in the camps for displaced families in Uganda. Young Daniel is one of thousands of people forced to live in crowded, dusty camps across Uganda. They�ve fled to the camps to escape the brutal, nighttime raids of the Lord�s Resistance Army � a rebel group terrorizing Uganda. Ms. Davis estimates that up to 85% of the children have symptoms of malaria. Two Medical Teams mobile medical clinics travel each day to one of five camps to treat between 400 and 500 people. Since Medical Teams International began providing medical care in May 2004, the mortality rate has dropped from three deaths daily to one death monthly. This is a huge improvement thanks to Medical Teams International and volunteers like Marie Davis!
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Volunteers for Prosperity was established by Executive Order in September 2003. VfP works through leading U.S. non-profits and businesses to deploy highly skilled American professionals in volunteer opportunities that support the global health and prosperity goals of the U.S. Government. For more information visit: www.volunteersforprosperity.gov.