Volunteer now and increase your happiness!
When put simply, volunteers are individuals or groups who give their time, talent and abilities to a cause they believe in, without expecting anything in return. An American anthropologist Margret Mead had once said, “Never doubt that 
a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Volunteers have always been the backbone of the American society and not much would have been possible without them – be it church activities, community events or non-profit work.
More and more people are discovering the joys of volunteering today. A recent report by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated that about 61.8 million people, or 26.4 percent of the population volunteered at least once between between September 2007 and September 2008 and the average volunteer spent about 52 hours working for their cause during that time. Read more…
Although universal primary education is free and compulsory in Nicaragua, it has never been enforced properly. 
Preliminary reports indicate that some 700,000 school-age children in Nicaragua did not start their education this year.* Even before the recent global economic crisis began and the country’s aid was cut down by the U.S and the Europe due to a suspected misuse of funds by the authorities, the primary school enrollment here was about eighty percent. And, only 40% of the children who started first grade completed 6th grade.
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the Americas and 47% of its population is below the poverty level. These families earn less than $1 per day and often, children have to work and contribute to the family income. Based on the data collected between 2000-2006, UNICEF estimates that 10 percent of children under five were moderately or severely underweight, and 20 percent were stunted. The current economic crisis along with inflation is only making things worse and experts believe that unemployment and poverty will make it even more difficult for children to attend school. Read more…
EI’s newest group of donors are not from the most privileged of backgrounds (82% live below the poverty level by US standards), nor are they the most experienced in years (the median age is 8 years old), but this has not stopped them from being full of heart and generosity. The third-grade students of Sanchez Elementary School in Lafayette, Colorado, recently raised enough money to sponsor two students through EI – far exceeding their fundraising goals and a huge achievement for the class!
This is their story …
To start, we first rewind to six years ago and the students’ teacher, Tom McSheehy. Tom had recently undergone the trauma of losing three close family members in a very short space of time, and had felt this as a catalyst for making some positive and meaningful changes in his life. One result was that he decided to take a trip to Costa Rica – his first trip outside the USA and therefore one which he embarked upon with some trepidation.
On the plane he happened to meet Kathy Adams (Founder and Executive Director of EI), who invited Tom to tour the barrio where EI was working at the time and then, later, the barrio in Nicaragua. It was an experience that spoke deeply to Tom, and for many reasons he felt like his visit had been predestined, that somehow it was connected to healing his grief. Tom described his visit as
“A powerful, magical and spiritual experience.” Read more…
Is the economic downturn hurting nonprofits?
On March 26 results from a new survey conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund raised concerns that the economic health of nonprofit organizations is rapidly deteriorating (according to the New York Times).
The survey of over 900 nonprofits found that only 12 percent of the organizations expect to operate above break-even, compared with 40 percent reported last year. Just 16 percent anticipate being able to cover their operating expenses in both 2009 and 2010. Obviously, nonprofits are experiencing huge challenges due to the economic crisis.
With corporations and foundations facing losses from the stock market plunge, many are cutting back or halting their usual charitable giving. And with considerable job losses around the nation, individual giving forecasts are unclear. In an end of the year survey covered in The NonProfit Times, more than 40 percent of organizations said that they’re seeing smaller gifts and fewer individual donors. At a time when needs are greater and resources are less, the economic downturn has affected nonprofits in a range of ways. Read more…
Tutoring and loving it!
Is going to school enough?
Most parents feel that by sending their children to school they have ensured that children get complete education. But what if the school does not succeed in inspiring students to learn? What if the classrooms are cramped with too many children and with just a few overworked teachers to manage them? What if the lessons taught in classroom cannot be 
revised or explained at home due to lack of suitable guidance from parents?
Empowerment International struggled with the same issues recently, realizing that many of the program participants were not receiving an adequate education.
When Kathy Adams (Empowerment International’s founder and director) discovered that many kids who were regularly attending primary school failed to read as well as they were expected to, she decided to expand EI’s scope of work further. Read more…
