LIfe is like a Camera

Facebook Gifts

Facebook Gifts allows users to purchase gifts for friends through the social network.

The service allows people to buy a "gift" in the form of a charitable donation to one of eleven charities. The donation can be up to $25 and 100% of the money goes to the charity.

The platform allows the friends of the giver to see the charity they support with the aim of encouraging them to give too.

Eight million people have given through the Facebook "Causes" feature which is less than one per cent of all Facebook’s users so it will be interesting to see if ths tool fares better.

For more see: https://www.facebook.com/about/gifts

Cyberbullying

Have a look at this interesting article on cyber bullying amongst Youth Groups. Written for Christian based organisations but highly applicable for all sorts of groups. 

This week in my Travel Blog: Wild about Travel, I talk about:

•  medical tourism in Hungary
• how to use USA security lines properly
• an amazing flight with Turkish Airlines and 
• how to buy Hungarian citizenship 

Have a read and -please make a comment or two!

Thought this was interesting

http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/21108-the-moveon-effect-looks-at-advances-in-online-advocacy.html

Happy International Volunteer Managers Day

Love this collage from The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, Singapore. 

Check out the IVMD Facebook site or their website: http://www.volunteermanagersday.org/

Corporate Volunteer- Whats the value?

At a  recent training, a leader of a volunteer organisation said publicly that from time to time, her organisation has corporate volunteers who attend to perform a day of volunteering. She said "they all come along with their T shirts and cameras."  She said "I don't see them as real volunteers because real volunteers would come on a weekend" 

Further, she makes a point of telling each one that they are not a real volunteer (like her) because they are being paid by their company to be there. She aims to embarrass them into becoming a "real volunteer". She said none do come back which proves to her that they lack commitment.

Great welcome lady! There are a range of views about corporate volunteering but the time to debate whether it is a real volunteering opportunity is not by insulting someone who has come to help us.  

If instead, we said "Welcome and thank you. We run a Family Volunteering event on the first Saturday of the Month, would you like to bring your family along one time?". Having seen the volunteer work and the impact it makes on a community might prompt them (if they felt welcome) to return with family members.

How hard is it to make our organisations more welcoming?

the Adventure of Life!

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”-Dr. Seuss

15 Reasons to be Magnetised

In November this year, I will be presenting: "Turn Your Organisation into a Volunteer Magnet" in locations across the UK with Rob Jackson. This topic will be presented in Exeter, Manchester.  Derby & Penrith. We are also doing our fantastic Social Media course in  Havering, London. 

 Over the next 15 days, I will be sharing reasons for attending this vital training.  Each day I will add a new reason to the list below.

I would be grateful for your comments, particularly if you have participated in this training in the past. If you could tweet or share this blog post in any way so we can encourage as many in the UK to attend as possible.

Reason Number #9: Participant feedback: Volunteer Magnet. something unique & different to the usual stuff we all trot off to.

Reason Number #8: Do you know what attracts and repels Volunteers? The Volunteer Magnet workshop will tell you. Check out http://bit.ly/MagnetReasons for more information on this organisation changing workshop.

Reason Number #7: Kickstart your Volunteer Management. Participant from 2011 Magnet Training says:
This is my new flyer based on what we did at the magnet training. I have set this up to be sent out immediately as someone enquires. I am determined not to be the 70% who do not get back in touch. I have acted on it all and established a Volunteer Council, our first meeting is next week. Please forward my thanks to Rob and Martin, they have kick started me again, I was going through a bit of a defeated slump. 

Reason Number #6: Last Year's Training was Highly rated

Reason Number #5: At the 2012 Volunteer Magnet Workshops being held in November, participants will depart with practical actionable goals.


Reason Number #4: After a recent training by Martin J Cowling, one Australian charity encouraged their employees and volunteers to travel 400km to benefit from his expertise at a second session. 

Reason Number #3: The most practical and dynamic volunteer management training- Volunteer Magnet 2012 will change your organisation. 

Reason Number #2: This is feedback from a recent training conducted by Martin J Cowling who will be presenting with Rob Jackson across the UK in November: "We had a training on Conflict Management delivered by a company two days after your Dealing with Difficult Volunteer Behaviours training. It was rubbish. You are by far the most effective, engaging and skilful trainer I have worked with. Your content is always relevant and evidence-based, your delivery in interesting, and the outcomes for participants are changed behaviour and integration of good ideas into existing practice. Feedback from your session has been overwhelmingly positive, and Regional Managers across the state are planning when we might book you for each region next year. Well done you!"

Reason Number #1: Feedback from a participant at a recent Recruitment training in Australia: "I am going away from this training with 21 new ideas and one alone was worth the registration fee". Get your value at the Volunteer Magnet 2012, a full day of training designed to build your recruitment. For more information click on the links above or click here

Of Stereotypes, shootings and story

Date Night. Saw "Taken 2". To be honest, not my choice but I am in for most things. I wonder if it did not help that I did not see the first one. I was excited to check it out because it was set in Istanbul where I will be next month.

It is an okay movie. I had three concerns though:

My first concern was the thin story line. Liam Neeson's ex wife has unpleasant break up with her new husband. New hubby cancels their trip to China. Instead of re booking it, they join Neeson in Istanbul. He is in Turkey with a suitcase full of illegal weapons protecting a wealthy Arab sheik (no stereotype here!). There he encounters a massive number of men from an Albanian village who have sworn to have their revenge on him for killing the guys from their village who were kidnapping girls in Taken 1.

My second concern was wave of destruction inflicted on Istanbul, Guns, grenades and fast paced car smashes wipe out houses, cars, pedestrians and what looks like half of the Turkish police force. These car chases probably saved the movie, although, The Istanbul scenery was great to see.

My third concern was that, as I mentioned, the baddies were mostly Albanian although they were joined by some Turks who were happy to betray people for the right price. The movie seemed to buy into the stereotype that baddies today are Eastern European/Middle Eastern/Swarthy. There are no Blonde Scandinavian types involved with kidnappings and murders?

My Rating: 3/10
Critics Rating: 2/10
Audience rating: 6/10 (wonder what the Albanians thought?)