The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network has received many calls and emails about the closing of the Association for Volunteer Administration. These contacts have encouraged us to look at how we can be most helpful in filling the national leadership void on both an interim and long-term basis.
On an interim basis, we have offered AVA members a six-month complimentary membership. We believe this is an important way that we can provide tangible support to those who want the connection to and support of a national leadership organization dedicated to volunteering.
Also, we want to create opportunities for both national and local dialogue. Through this dialogue we hope to ascertain the opportunities that can be harnessed to support the profession of volunteer administration and its work. As former AVA members or members of local DOVIAs, many Volunteer Centers will be hosting local meetings or discussions on this topic. To locate your local Volunteer Center, please visit: www.pointsoflight.org.
We propose that national and local conversations address the following:
What do you need as a professional volunteer administrator from a national association or organization? What essential services do you need for your personal or professional success (may include new services not provided by AVA)?
What will be required of a national organization (new or existing) to meet members' needs and increase membership, provide leadership and advocacy, and advance the field of volunteering and volunteer administration?
What infrastructure should be in place to ensure that members have a voice? How can members best lead, contribute to, and connect with a national agenda for the profession of volunteer administration?
How can Volunteer Centers best support and enhance the work of volunteer administrators?
What training, certification or other professional opportunities could be supported nationally, but also delivered locally?
Here's how you can participate in these national and local discussions:
Register to participate in one of two nationally organized conference calls that are scheduled for March 28 from 12-1:30 pm or April 19 from 3-4:30 p.m. by sending an email to acopeland@pointsoflight.org. A confirmation and call in number will be sent upon receipt of your email.
If there is a Volunteer Center in your community, contact them for information about any community-wide meetings or discussions they will be hosting.
Attend the meeting on June 17, 2006, in conjunction with the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Seattle. More information about this meeting will be posted on www.volunteeringandservice.org.
Thank you to those who have expressed support for our leadership during this important time. We hope to work closely with you to ensure that the goals and objectives of AVA do not end and continues to move forward.
Sincerely,
Robert K. Goodwin
President & CEO
Points of Light Foundation
Jackie Norris
Chair, Volunteer Center
National Network Council
