\/--\/--\/--\/--\/--\/--\/--\/

VIRTUAL VERVE November 2000

/\--/\--/\--/\--/\--/\--/\--/\

An update on resources to help you 
use the Internet to work with volunteers.

By the Virtual Volunteering Project,
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/ 
Charles A. Dana Center,
University of Texas at Austin

Please repost or reprint this information, as appropriate,
per our credit request (see below).

CONTENTS

1. VV Project Helps Launch Online Mentoring Program
   at Austin, Texas Elementary School
   
2. List of Online Mentoring Programs Continues to Grow.
   Is Your Program Listed?!

3. "How Do I Volunteer Online?"

4. New Resource: Working with Web Volunteers
   
5. VIRTUAL VERVE in December After All!
   
___________________________________

1. VV PROJECT HELPS LAUNCH ONLINE MENTORING PROGRAM
   AT AUSTIN, TEXAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

With help from the Virtual Volunteering Project, Sanchez
Elementary School in Austin, Texas launched its own online
mentoring program in early October, with more than 30
online volunteers exchanging e-mails each week with two
fourth grade classes.

This program is applying some of the best practices of
other online mentoring programs identified by the Virtual
Volunteering Project. Standards for this program are based
on the standards for face-to-face programs established by
the National Mentoring Partnership (NMP), and those for
the Austin Independent School District's (AISD) onsite
mentoring programs.

Unlike many other online mentoring programs, volunteers in
the Sanchez project aren't just from one company; they are 
from across the U.S., and two are outside the country as well.
The program is highly-secure, with all e-mails reviewed by
the program coordinator or teachers before they are sent
on to young people, and a strict prohibition on off-line 
contact information.

All of the orientation, training and safety materials used 
for the Sanchez program are available at: 
http://www.vvonlinementors.org

The VV Project will share learnings and tips from the
launch and management of this and other programs via the 
ever-growing online mentoring resources section of its 
web site:
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/direct/

Updates about this collaborative project, as well as
virtual volunteering and online mentoring resources and
activities in general, are posted regularly to VIRTUAL
VERVE.

___________________________________

2. LIST OF ONLINE MENTORING PROGRAMS CONTINUES TO GROW.
   IS YOUR PROGRAM LISTED?!

The number of online mentoring programs continues to grow,
and the VV Project lists profiles of all e-mentoring
programs we know about at:
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/orgs/mentor.html

Media representatives, including those from national press
outlets, rely on this listing when preparing stories about 
online mentoring. Organizations interested in online 
mentoring rely on this page as well. It is the most 
comprehensive listing available of online mentoring 
programs.

If you would like for your online mentoring program to be
included in this listing, please complete our online
survey at:
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/vvnow.html

___________________________________

3. "HOW DO I VOLUNTEER ONLINE?"

It's the most frequently-asked question of the VV Project
from volunteers. "How can I volunteer online?"

The number one mistake people make when trying to
volunteer online is signing up for an assignment before
they've evaluated their own time, resources, intent and
availability. This leads to incomplete or never-started
assignments, which in turn leads to frustration for both 
the volunteer and the agency.

That's why the VV Project feels that the FIRST step if
you want to volunteer online is to make sure you are
READY to do so. You can take a self-evaluation to
determine your readiness at:
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/vvready.html

Other resources for online volunteers, including how to
find an online assignment, how to approach or educate an
organization about volunteering online, and resources to
use while volunteering online, are at:
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/forvols.html

___________________________________

4. NEW RESOURCE: WORKING WITH WEB VOLUNTEERS
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/webvols.html
   
Many organizations want to involve an online volunteer to
initially build or maintain a web site. This is an
excellent way to involve an online volunteer, however,
before you recruit such a person, there are several
factors to consider to ensure the project's success.

This new resource by the Virtual Volunteering Project
deals with many of the evaluation, management and security
issues an agency should consider before involving an
online volunteer, or a group of volunteers, to help with a
web site.

___________________________________

5. VIRTUAL VERVE IN DECEMBER AFTER ALL!
 
In the past, VIRTUAL VERVE has always taken a break from
publishing in December. However, there's just too much
going on these days! So, expect to hear from us next
month!

------------------------------------

Please pass on this newsletter to any organization that
involves volunteers (on or offline!), employee volunteer
managers, university researchers, volunteers, colleagues,
and anyone interested in using the Internet to make a
difference!

Reprint permission is granted, on or offline, if the
information is credited to: 
Virtual Volunteering Project
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/

------------------------------------ 
CONTACT INFORMATION

Virtual Volunteering Project 
Jayne Cravens, Manager
512-232-2295 
vv@serviceleader.org
------------------------------------

THANK YOU FOR BEING ON THE 
VIRTUAL VERVE ELECTRONIC MAILING LIST!

VIRTUAL VERVE is a monthly electronic newsletter providing
information to encourage the development and success of 
opportunities that can be completed by volunteers working 
and reporting via home or work computers. 

The VIRTUAL VERVE e-mail list is used exclusively for the 
distribution of this newsletter; e-mail addresses of 
subscribers are not sold, traded or given to any other 
organization.

If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE to this electronic update, 
send an e-mail to: listproc@lists.cc.utexas.edu
and in the body of the e-mail, type: 
  unsubscribe vverve
(be sure this command comes from the SAME e-mail address
as the one the newsletter is being sent to, and do not
write anything else in the body of the message).

To SUBSCRIBE (in case this update was forwarded to you by
someone else, or you are reading it via an online
discussion group), visit 
http://www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/vverve.html,  
or send an e-mail to:
  listproc@lists.cc.utexas.edu 
and in the body of the e-mail, type: 
  subscribe vverve YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME

example: subscribe vverve Jane Doe 
(The computer program will reject requests that do not 
contain a first and last name).
------------------------------------

Return to the index of resources for "Community Relations, With and Without Technology"

Disclaimer: No guarantee of accuracy or suitability is made by the poster/distributor. This material is provided as is, with no expressed or implied warranty.

All Coyote Communications materials are works-in-progress. If you would like to add something to these materials, please contact me with your suggestion; if your contribution is used, you will be credited (unless you don't want to be). Please include your name, email address, web address (if applicable), the name of the company you represent (if any), and any other information you would like to share.

Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute a limited amount of material from this web site without charge to recipients if the information is kept intact and without alteration, and is credited to:
          

Please notify me if you intend to use these materials or to quote me.

my consulting services | about Jayne Cravens | return to home page |
contact me | linking to or from these pages