The Activist Guide Website

Well, I've been making some changes and updating the Activistguide.com Website. If you're looking for more information about "Life After VISTA" check out some of the related articles on building a resume, interviewing tips and creating the career of your dreams.

If you need more information about protecting your computer, getting rid of spam or updating your Website, check out the computer resources.

And as always, please feel free to leave your comments, drop me an email or submit an article or fact sheet.

What a waste - food being thrown away

I just read this article in the Burlington Free Press written by staff writer
John Briggs about how $600 worth of food - expensive cheeses, marinated meatballs, tortilleni and a bunch of other yummy sounding goodies - got thrown in the trash because the local emergency food services progams in the area don't have a program in place to be able to accept food donations at night.

For want of staff members and a refrigerated truck, low-income people in the area are missing out on having enough food to eat.

You can read the article by clicking here:

This sounds like a perfect job for a VISTA Volunteer...

What about you? Do you work with an emergency food program? Do you have a program in place for picking up food at night from restaurants, caterers and the like? How is the program structured?

What are the pitfalls someone wanting to start such a program should look for?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Americorps VISTA Leader Opportunity in Monteray County CA

This just in from Sara:

AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader Opening in Monterey County, CA

When:
Open November 2, 2006/ Application Deadline Oct. 13

Who:
~Anyone who has previous VISTA or Peace Corps experience.
~Bachelor Degree highly preferred
~Must have reliable transportation
~Bilingual skills helpful, but not required

Why:
~You get excellent Leadership experience and a chance to grow personally as well as professionally.
~Live on California's beautiful Monterey Bay coastline (2hr South of San Francisco.).
~Option for $4,725 Educational Award or $1,200 cash upon completion of one year term.
~Housing provided for $250/month
~Living Allowance of $1020/month
~Professional Training Opportunities
~Student Loan Deferment
~Health Insurance
~Mileage Reimbursement
~Possible $300 Child Care Reimbursement
~Option to apply for Food Stamps

What:
VISTA H.O.P.E . (Homelessness Overcome by Personal Empowerment). The project works to improve services to homeless and very low-income families and individuals in Monterey County. The result is the improvement of the services that reduce and prevent homelessness and the hardships associated with poverty.

How:
Glorietta Rowland or Sara Brown
call: 831.883.3080 fax: 831.883.3085
email: mbvistaleader@gmail.com or chspmontry@aol.comAmeriCorps*VISTA Leader Opening in Monterey County, CA


Want to see what the area looks like first? Take a "virtual tour" by clicking here: http://www.inetours.com/CA-Coast/Monterey.html

It's beautiful - reminds me a bit of the French Riviera - and trust me, it's great to live in a place like this - sun, sea, scenery - it makes getting up to go to work a lot more fun!

Free Saturday

This is the first "free" Saturday we've had in a while. We don't have to go anywhere, do anything, see anybody...oops! There went the buzzer. Okay, AFTER the guy fixes the washing machine we've got a free Saturday. I'd forgotten about him. One thing I have to say is that repairmen in France are incredibly reliable and on time. Last week he said he'd be here on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and he rang the buzzer at - 8:00 a.m.

So, this morning I'm going to check the press releases to see what you guys are all up to, and then I'm going to add a few training modules to the Activist's Guide Website, and then I think we're going to take off and go exploring.

In the meantime, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

Book is on sale, life is hectic - I love it!

Wow! I really meant to post the last few days - but the book went on sale, the shopping cart was messing up big time and didn't want to integrate with Paypal, I had some technical difficulties with the Website - basically, Murphy (of Murphy's Law) moved into my life and decided to stick around!

Anyway, tonight I've finally got time to catch my breath and feel like I can sit down without buzzers going off.

So, first things first: The Website still doesn't have a google rank, although now when you search for "Activist's Guide" on Google, we were number 3 when I last checked! Not too bad.

I've been posting some articles, training tools and resources as fast as I can get them up. Trust me - in two or three weeks, the Website is going to be amazing!

And I've been back in touch with some old friends. Like Ben Sheldon, who is putting together a "social networking site" for Americorps and VISTA members that I think you're going to love! Here's the announcement:
http://meetamericorps.com

MeetAmericorps.com allows anyone involved with national service to
easily create a profile and search for other people in their community
or across the country.

You can find service members:
* By location
* By organization
* By interest or service area

Once you've found someone, maybe a fellow alum, a volunteer doing
similar service, or even a neighbor you didn't know about, you can
easily contact them and start a conversation privately through email.

The goal of this website is to encourage interaction between
AmeriCorps and VISTA members beyond organizations and geography. A
well-connected volunteer is an effective volunteer. To learn more
visit http://meetamericorps.com/about

This is first official announcement of MeetAmeriCorps.com and we
encourage you to visit the website, register, and provide us feedback
on how we can improve the website and better meet your needs.

If you like the website and would be willing to promote it in your
organization or community, we have provided some simple outreach
materials: http://meetamericorps.com/outreach

Way to go Ben! I'm on my way over there now to check it out - I hope I'll see you there too!

The book goes on sale tomorrow!

Wow! I'm really excited - I couldn't sleep at all last night. The book, "The Activist's Guide to Changing the World" goes on sale tomorrow. I'd read somewhere that having a book published is like giving birth - you do all this hard work, and your life changes while you're writing it - and then - it gets here - and you wonder if it's going to be an ugly baby...

Well, okay, that wasn't exactly what was said. I can't help it. I admit it, I'm nervous. I really want you to like the book. But, it's amazing to be done with it, and to know that it's finished and it's time for me to move on to something else.

Well, let me know what you think, okay? (But be gentle!)

Check This Out!

If you haven't used blogger lately, then you haven't used blogger! If you've been reading this blog over the weekend, you will have noticed that it's been a couple of different colors, it's been a couple of different styles - and now there are new labels added, to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for!

Blogger has gone Beta!

So far, I LOVE it! It's easy to use, it works great and, after going back in and adding labels to my posts, (I'm glad I only had 40 and not 400), I can say that I'm even more of a fan!

For the time being, I'm sticking with this one - these colors and this format. Let me know what you think. And if you don't already have a blogger account, get one!

Did you ever play a game called "telephone" when you were little?

Do you remember that game? It was usually played at parties when I was growing up. Everybody would sit or stand in a circle, and one person would whisper a "secret message" in the person's ear who was standing next to them...and that person would whisper to the next person, and so on and so on...

Today we have a new version of the game - it's called social networking. Places like "myspace", You Tube, even the badly maligned "friendster."

But it works on the same concept - I tell you something, you tell someone else who tells someone else, and so on and so on.

Does it work? I'm going to try an experiment to find out. Here's how: I've created a very unscientific poll on the Activist Guide Website. (You can find it here: http://www.activistguide.com/sept11.html ).

I ask the question - Did 9/11 have an effect on your life in terms of you wanting to make your mark or make a difference? Do you volunteer more now?

So, I'm inviting you to play the new version of telephone with me...go take the poll, and then tell just one person about it.

Pass it on...

Progress - the blogs are listed

Well, that was fast - which proves these methods work, I guess! The blogs - even the wordpress one that I quit posting on a month or so ago - have both been indexed in the search engines.

Not the Website yet, and neither blog has a google pagerank. Plus, I haven't optimized for my keywords. But - still, not bad for 24 hours.

So - why is it important that you get started blogging and working on a content Website for your nonprofit organization?

Because you want people - and not just any people - you want the RIGHT people to find your site and take action.

It all goes back to strategy. (Or at least, the chapter in the book on "Harnessing the Power of the Internet" goes back to strategy). What are the top 3 reasons you want to drive "targeted" traffic to your Website?
For example, you might want to:

• Inform your local community about your issues
• Recruit volunteers for an upcoming event
• Publicize your program, or attract donors

The thing is, you start there. Figuring out what you want to do, and why.

Then, every word you write needs to accomplish one of those three purposes.

And your next step is to begin optimizing your keywords - based on your strategy. That way, once people start doing a search for your keywords - they find you.

Pretty simple, right?

Well, guess what? There's a catch. If you do it wrong, one of two things could happen.

1. Nothing. Nobody notices, nobody comes, nobody does anything.
2. You could get banned from the search engines. It's called "black hat" SEO (remember SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization"), and it's not only wrong, it's stupid. Why go to all that work, and take chances on getting your Website banned, when you can use "white hat" SEO, and go after the "long tail" searchers.

Well, more about that later. I'm going to go and start doing my keyword searching. And this afternoon, I've got to write my first press release. Wanna watch?

So, where do you start getting traffic to your Website?

Okay, basically, there are some pretty simple things you can do. First of course, is getting links to your site. So, for example, if my blog was ranked or getting traffic, I'd put a link to the Website - http://www.activistguide.com

Or, vice versa - put a link to the blog from the Website. Unluckily, neither of them are known.

So, what I started doing instead is posting on some sites that are ranked. For example, I have a blog (okay, tonight was my first post) on "My Space". I added a link from there to here and to the Website.

Why "My Space"? If you remember from a post I did a while back, social bookmarking sites - myspace, U Tube and the like, are the places where people go to hang out, talk about their lives, their loves and (on U Tube right now) Lonelygirl 15...

So...if you've got an event, get somebody to tape it - and post the "movie" on U Tube. Create your own blog on My Space. Start getting the word out about your program, and your organization.

How To Get Your Blog or Website Listed on the Search Engines

Okay folks. In my book, "The Activist's Guide to Changing the World - for VISTA Volunteers" there's a chapter on "Harnessing the Power of the Internet". I give you some basic information about using blogs, RSS feeds and "white hat" SEO tools, to help you publicize your Websites, gain exposure for your programs and get the word out about what you're doing.

I've had some great teachers. And I've learned a lot. (I hope.) Why? Because it's time to put my money where my mouth is.

I'm in what is called the "prelaunch" stage of promoting the Website, and my book. Neither the blog or the Website are ranked yet, and they're not bringing any traffic.

So, I'm going to use the tactics I teach you in the book (and in some cases the book bonuses, written by experts in their fields), to see if I can get listed in the search engines and also, get the information out to the people I'm trying to reach - namely YOU.

And, I'm going to tell you what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. And together, we'll see if it works!

So if you want to get publicity for your program, your projects or your organization - stay tuned!

Whoo Hoo! Website is up!

Hi all,
I'm so excited about this I had to share! The Website is up and looking good. There are already some free resources you can download.

The name of the newsletter has been decided (Spotlight Ezine) and I've got the basic logo!

Plus, I'm going to do a ferature every month called "Spotlight On" - and I'll be featuring you and your organizations in it! That's right - you get all of this:

• A press release talking about you, your organization and your projects
• A page on my Website, linking to yours
• A "call to action"
• Entries in the "What's Happening" Event Calendar
• A 15 minute audio interview with a MP3 audio file for you to post on your Website, use as a recruiting tool or for just about anything else you can think of
• Publish an article in the newsletter which will also be posted in our RSS feed and stay online forever
• Be featured as the monthly expert on your issues in our blog and on our forum
• Plus lots more!

And guess what? It's all free!

Yep, it's not going to cost you anything. Lots of great publicity, 0 cost.

Well, I've got lots of work to do - but hey, if you're just surfing and want to check out the site and give me your feedback, I'd appreciate it! Click here to go there~

Share your story, gain publicity, make a difference!

from now through September 11th, we will be promoting a series of activities under the theme, “Serve to Remember. Remember to Serve.” We encourage you to join in this national call to service by finding ways to tie planned activities and events to this theme. Visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/katrina_project_toolkit.pdf to access the “Serve to Remember” toolkit, which contains a variety of tips, ideas, and templates to help you generate awareness and media interest at the state and local level.

Below is a list of the activities taking place at the national level:

• Gulf Coast Tour, August 28-30: Members of the Corporation’s Board of Directors, along with members of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, will tour a series of national service projects in Louisiana and Mississippi to gain a better understanding of our programs’ unique role and impact, and the continued need for volunteers in the region.
• National Service Anniversary Report: On Monday, August 28, the Corporation will release its one-year report on the contributions of national service programs to relief and recovery efforts. To date, more than 36,000 national service participants have contributed more than 1.6 million hours of service to relief and recovery efforts, and leveraged an additional 92,000 community volunteers.
• Media Outreach: The Office of Public Affairs is reaching out to national print and broadcast media to help ensure that the “volunteer story” is told within the media coverage of these two anniversaries. To help garner coverage, we are promoting the following:
• Service Projects – Through our earlier request for information, we have identified nearly 100 service projects or commemorative events that you have planned around the Katrina or 9/11 anniversary. We have been promoting these events through media advisories as part of a nationwide serve-a-thon that pays tribute to the compassionate response that took place in the wake of both Katrina and 9/11. You can promote your local service project as part of this national effort.
• Research – Several pieces of research examine the effects disasters have on Americans’ civic behaviors. A compendium of related research is included in the toolkit mentioned above.
• Compelling Stories of Service – Through your earlier submissions, we have been identifying unique perspectives and spokespeople to help demonstrate national services’ role in disaster response and community rebuilding. While we have identified several volunteer stories related to Katrina, we are still looking for stories related to 9/11. If you know of an individual who decided to volunteer or join a national service program as a result or 9/11, please send their name, contact information, and a brief description of their compelling story to smaynard@cns.gov.

If you have specific questions related to these “Serve to Remember” ideas, please feel free to contact one of the following Corporation staff:

• Siobhan Dugan at sdugan@cns.gov
• Sandy Scott at sscott@cns.gov
• Shannon Maynard at smaynard@cns.gov

Want more publicity for your organization? Let me help!

Well, I feel like I've been away forever - and actually we were on vacation for most of 8 weeks, which was really great! (Of course, I had withdrawals from my computer - and only managed to find an internet cafe twice - but I guess it just goes to show you can get used to anything!)

Seriously, the vacation was great - we were in the high French Alps, visited Mont. Blanc (the highest mountain in Europe - and an incredible and imposing sight - even for a girl from the Rockie mountains), went to Switzerland and visited Italy by way of the very long tunnel that goes under Mont Blanc.

But, it's great to be back! I've rolled up my sleeves an have finally gotten the Website going. The nameservers haven't propegated yet, but you can find it tomorrow or the next day here:
http://www.activistguide.com

Also, now that I've got the Website up, I'm ready to start getting your press releases and information about what's going on. In fact, I'm hoping to be able to use the site to help you get extra publicity for your program!

Here's how: I've set up a media room on the Website, and I've listed the issues that I believe are the most critical to the work you're doing. Now I'm looking for "experts" on those issues.
(Um - that would be you!) Here's what it involves...you fill out a form, telling me a little bit about you, your organization and the issue(s) you're working on. You give me contact information and a little bit of background information and also answer some basic questions about how you're interested in working with the press...for example, personal stories from your members, photographs, the results of any studies, surveys, etc. that you're doing. Then, as I get requests from the media that matches your profile, I'll give them your contact information, and you'll take it from there.

Also, I want your press releases, information about what you're doing and anything that might be of interest - to other VISTAs or to the media. I'll be posting them on the Website and on the blog - to help you get free publicity, and to let people know about the wonderful job you're doing.

If you're interested and can't find the Website, just drop me an email or post a comment and I'll get back to you asap!

Nominate your members, give literacy a helping hand!

Thanks to Steve Soskin for this announcement:

Opportunity to nominate your volunteers, members or partners for

Patterson PageTurner Award (www.pattersonpageturner.org
<http://www.pattersonpageturner.org/> )

In 2005, author James Patterson launched the Patterson PageTurner Awards
to recognize individuals, organizations and companies that are
creatively spreading the excitement of books and reading. In honor of
the selected winners, First Book also distributed 1,000 books to
literacy programs serving disadvantaged children selected by each
finalist.

This year, the PageTurner Awards will provide $500,000 to various groups
or individuals to help support their tremendous efforts in the field of
literacy, and First Book will continue to donate books as well.

Please nominate your members, volunteers, organizations and corporate
whose commitment and dedication to reading and education helps shape the
literacy landscape.

For information on the Awards, and to apply on-line, visit
www.pattersonpageturner.org <http://www.pattersonpageturner.org/> . The
application deadline is October 16, 2006

Ooops! My mistake!

I just wanted to say "Thanks" to beggs909, for letting me know that it actually WASN'T a power point presentation that was used to create the movie you can see here...it was microsoft movie maker, and if you don't have it, you can download it by clicking on this link:

So now you don't have an excuse not to get out there and create something wonderful about your project - and when you've got it done, upload it onto "You Tube" and then make sure you post about it here, so we can all check it out!

Update - Link Fixed for VISTA Recruiting Webinar

Hi all,

This seems to be the day for updates. A few days ago I posted about a training video that you could view to get some ideas not only for using video but also for webinars, and training ;-0 - but it turned out the link didn't work.

So I contacted Drew Carberry, and he sent me a new link with instructions:

First, click here for the link, and then read below for instructions:

Step 1: On the left side of your screen, click on the “play recording” button
Step 2: Enter Name and Email if prompted
Step 3: Enter Password: vista2
Step 4: Click the “play" button/arrow on the top left-hand side of the new window that opens up.

For this recorded session, you will get audio and visual content at the same time, so please do not use the 800 number referenced on the recordin.

Note from me: by the way, you may have to download a plug-in in order to view the Webinar! Good luck and let me know what you think!

Update - Conference Date Changed!

Resources Now! National Institute
NOTICE- Dates changed to October 10-12, 2006!

You are invited to attend the Resources Now! National Institute in
Providence, Rhode Island from October 10 to 12, 2006 to learn skills and
strategies for advancing national and community service initiatives.

During the three day training, each participant selects 4 out of 16
comprehensive workshops and coaching sessions related to: Individual
Giving, Corporate Giving/Partnership, Uncovering the Resources in Your
Community and Asking Clinics. Every participant walks away with
practical materials from all workshops.

For more information, call Campaign Consultation, Inc. toll free
1.877.243.2253 x37, email Cook@CampaignConsultation.com or register
online at http://www.regonline.com/99765.

Registration deadline is now September 15, 2006

Sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS),
the Resources Now! National Institute is designed, developed, and
facilitated by Campaign Consultation, Inc. - the training and technical
assistance provider for CNCS and its Resource & Fund Development
Initiative.


Laura Cook
Project Coordinator
Campaign Consultation, Inc.
2819 Saint Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218 USA
T. 410.243.7979 X37
Toll Free 877.243.2253
Cook@CampaignConsultation.com

Life After VISTA - former VISTA Turned Writer (And it's not me!)

Hi all,

One thing that I really liked about the Wordpress blog was its "categories". I miss having categories to put different blog posts into, you know?

Anyway, I just read a press release about another former VISTA Volunteer turned writer, who's doing some great things, and I wanted to pass this along to you.

His name is John C. Redfern and he's an ecconomist an author who did three years in VISTA. Right now he's touring the "main streets" of the USA for his book. Here's an excerpt of the press release I read:

7 Palmyras existed at one time in Illinois including his present hometown in Macoupin County and the extinct Palmyra in Wabash County. In September, John is the guest speaker about his Palmyras USA tour at the historical society in Bedford KY.

Also, he will appear in the "Old Pioneer Days" parade this year that focuses upon Palmyra Iowa in Warren. Redfern has traveled throughout the country touring mainstreet communities from Maine to California. The historic grand tour has included 20 of the Palmyras with a future southern Palmyras tour planned. He is gathering the additional final research info for “PALMYRAS USA.”

The author describes the book as a microcosm of mainstreet America. The chapters include the toured Palmyras and the toured mainstreet communities giving a narrative history and future. The conclusion details the truths about modern development and the reform recommendations. John's web sites detail his French-American autobiography, his popular small-press publications, the mainstream media news grand tour stories, and the mainstreet U.S.A. slideshow.

Redfern has traveled throughout the country touring mainstreet communities from Maine to California. The historic grand tour has included 20 of the Palmyras with a future southern Palmyras tour planned. He is gathering the additional final research info for “PALMYRAS USA" The author describes the book as a microcosm of mainstreet America."

If you'd like to check out his Website, you can find it here:
http://mainstreetusa.bravehost.com

And to get in touch with John yourself, to congratulate him or ask him questions, you can reach him at this email addres (to save him from spam, make sure that you put in the appropriate symbols):
JCRedfernataoldotcom

Sounds like a great idea for a book - I may be showing my age, but one of the "cool" things to do when I was a teenager was to "drag" Main street...those of us with cars and driver's licenses would pick up our friends, and we'd drive back and forth along main street - honking and waving at all the people who were walking or sitting on cars. (This of course was in the days before computers and play stations and dvd movie rentals. I spent most of time outside from early morning until it was right up against my curfew.)

And thinking about Main Streets brings back other childhood memories, too. When I was a kid and visited my grandparents for the summer, we always went shopping on Fridays, when gramps got off work - first we'd go to the "5 and Dime" (an early version of Walmart) - a store that had an amazing variety of just about everything, then we'd go to the drug store ( they even had a counter where we could sit and enjoy a "cherry coke" while we sat and waited for the pharmacist to fill gram's heart medicine prescription. After that, we went to the grocery store and then a quick stop at the drive in, for a special treat of fish and chips...

John, thanks for the trip down memory lane that just reading the title of your book gave me...

Is the "Milllenial Generation" Going to Change the World?

I just read an expiring article in the Arizona Republic about younger kids - dubbed the "Millennial Generation" (remember, you heard it here first - well, okay, second!) that are willing to get their hands dirty and volunteer, to make the world a better place.

Remember my post a few days ago about "social capital" and how Americans are becoming increasingly disconnected from our friends, our family, our neighbors and society as a whole? (By the way, to those of you who took the initiative and asked to join my network on LinkedIn and Plaxo, thanks! Glad to meet you!)

Anyway, according to this article, kids are starting a new trend - they're beginning to volunteer in record numbers at younger ages than ever before.

Part of this could be because most colleges and universities now require community service hours for graduation and so volunteerism is becoming a part of our every day lives again - but I'd also like to believe it's because this generation believes that one person can make a difference, and they're willing to make an effort to do something about the problems they see.

Anyway, it's a great article, and well-worth reading whether you work with kids or not at your project site. You can find it by clicking on this link: