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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

You can help us for free!

'Tis the season, but the season for what? Getting rid of your money? Most of the time, the coming month means a draining bank account. While of course we here at Volunteer Expeditions always appreciate a donation (you can do so here or through Facebook Causes here), there are tons of incredibly simple ways you can help us out without spending a penny. Check out these completely free ways you can help Volunteer Expeditions:

Spread the word!
  • Did you join us with a school group, but you think your religious group might benefit from a trip? Have you heard about us and want to take a trip with your coworkers? Let them (and us) know! Personal recommendations mean the most.
  • Help other people donate! If your office is holding a donation drive, suggest us as the recipient! If a friend wants to make a donation in your name as a holiday present, we'd be honored if you think of us!
  • Stay in touch! Listed below are the many places you can join our network. Whatever networking site you use the most, we'll be there. We post interesting articles, deep thoughts, inspiring quotes, and fun questions - no spam or anything like that. Plus, when you like or follow something, the social networking site itself tells your friends and followers about us. It's simple! We love interacting with our followers, both online and in person. You can also join our email list by letting us know you'd like in.

On Facebook:
  • Like our page (facebook.com/vexpeditions). Pretty easy, right? Not only will you be able to see what kinds of things we're doing and what we find interesting, but your friends will see on your profile that you like such an awesome page.
  • Talk to us! Write on our wall or tag us with your thoughts. Had a great trip? Want to see something else? Have a suggestion for us? Even just want to tell us how your day was? We'd love to hear! Stay in touch with us; we genuinely appreciate all of our volunteers and potential trip-takers.
  • Join our Facebook Cause (click here). This is another great way to increase our visibility. PLUS you can watch the Take-A-Minute video and, just by donating 30 seconds of your time, we'll get ten cents! That can add up quickly.

On Twitter:
  • Follow us (twitter.com/vexpeditions). It's another way to stay in touch!
  • Tag us (@vexpeditions)! We want to know what's going on with you and what you think.

On LinkedIn:
  • Follow us (linkedin.com/company/volunteer-expeditions). If LinkedIn is easier for you to use, we're here too!
  • You can now add Sections to your profile, and one of these is "Volunteer Experience and Causes." If you add this and list Volunteer Expeditions, not only do we become more visible, but you look pretty darn good yourself.

On Google+:
  • Add us to your circles! This is a fun, fast-growing website, and we want to be part of it with you.
  • Comment!  Please, tell us what you think about anything we do or post.

On the blog:
  • Read often! While we stay in touch with short messages over email and social media, here we can expand and really talk about things that matter. The blog provides information and insight you won't get from any of our other sites. You're already here, but please come back regularly or even subscribe!
  • Tell us what you think! We would love to read your comments. If a post interests you or you have a similar story or you want to give us some feedback, please do let us know.
  • Use your own blog! Tell the world about Volunteer Expeditions and what you did or want to do with us. You probably have more personal connections on your blog than we do--spreading the word that way helps multiply our reach leaps and bounds!

Last but certainly not least, Use your skills! Are you a PR wizard? Can you balance books at the speed of light? We're always looking for volunteers to help us with the day-to-day bits of running our organization! The needs may vary, but help is always appreciated.

Truly, thank you for being interested in Volunteer Expeditions. Any level of help is an incredibly kind gesture. Everyone gets inundated with requests this time of year, so we know how overwhelming things get. Choosing to spend any amount of your time on us is a gesture we genuinely appreciate. Stay in touch, and happy Thanksgiving! Have any fun plans you'd like to share?

One of our recent groups completed some New Orleans field work in style!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Volunteer Expeditions trip this weekend!

We here at Volunteer Expeditions are getting excited--we have a group going to New Orleans this weekend! This time, we're bringing 23 intrepid students and their chaperones from beautiful Scarsdale, New York. Want to know what's on the agenda for this trip? They will be...
And more, all in just four days! This list doesn't even include the delicious meals they'll enjoy or the fun they'll have just by spending time together. We're so excited to take this group, as we are with all of our groups. We always enjoy planning for our volunteer service trips. But seeing them happen and watching the amazing things our volunteers do is genuinely inspiring.

 A group Volunteer Expeditions took to New Orleans in 2009. What a beautiful day and a happy bunch!

Want to join us? Gather a group of your very own and take advantage of our planning experience! You can do everything in this current trip, or pick and choose what you'd like to take part in. This is also certainly not the extent of what we offer, so if you're interested in more, we're happy to help. Contact Patti at patti@volunteerexpeditions.org for more information or to start building your trip!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Featured Partners: Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development

For the past three years, Volunteer Expeditions has been working with a remarkable woman, Warrenetta Banks, and her organization, the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development. She's a woman with a great heart and spirit who becomes a lifelong friend of all the volunteers. We are so proud to know Warrenetta and be able to assist her in her efforts.

As a part of the Lower 9th Ward, which was one of the areas hit the hardest by Hurricane Katrina, the CSED has made it their mission to stimulate local engagement while preserving resources in the area. Volunteer Expeditions takes part in their efforts by working directly with families to rebuild their homes.

"The joy of it is we get to know the citizens who are trying to rebuild their lives in New Orleans," says our founder and President Patti. And we know that Warrenetta has made this possible for us with a smile and a hug.

According to their Facebook page, "CSED's goal is re-creation and re-population of a strong community mindful of its history, resources and vulnerabilities as active, engaged, resilient, prosperous, energy independent and beautiful as possible." And with people like Warrenetta in charge and volunteers aplenty like the ones that contact us, this sounds very achievable.


 Warrenetta and some amazing volunteers


For more info about the neighborhood, check out:

http://globalgreen.org/blogs/holycross/neighborhood/
http://www.helpholycross.org/

To follow the CSED, find them on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sustainthenine
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sustainthenine