OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK
National Volunteer Week is sponsored by The Points Of Light Foundation.
The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to engaging more people and resources in volunteering to help solve serious social problems. The organization was founded in 1990, and offers a variety of programs, products, and services to help support volunteer-based organizations and connect volunteers to volunteer opportunities.
The Foundation and its expanded network includes more than 360 local Volunteer Centers around the United States. These Volunteer Centers act as community hubs to connect volunteers to opportunities, work with local nonprofits and businesses to establish and improve volunteer programs, and, overall, bolster the local infrastructure for the volunteering community.
HISTORY OF NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK
The namesake of the organization is derived from a State Of The Union address by President George H. W. Bush in which he said, "We have within our reach the promise of renewed America. We can find meaning and reward by serving some purpose higher than ourselves — a shining purpose, the illumination of a thousand points of light. It is expressed by all who know the irresistible force of a child's hand, of a friend who stands by you and stays there — a volunteer's generous gesture, an idea that is simply right."
The organization manages a number of notable programs including the national call-to-action volunteer portal, 1-800-Volunteer.org, the President's Volunteer Service Awards, and the annual National Conference on Volunteering and Service. The latter two, are in conjunction with the Executive Office's Corporation for National and Community Service (the parent organization of programs such as AmeriCorps, SeniorCorps, and Citizen Corps).
NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK TRIVIA
What President signed the executive order to establish National volunteer Week?
President Richard Nixon, in 1974.
Source: The English Wikipedia
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