By Flickr user Northern Xander
You may have seen an email or blog post that begins with the sentence: "If yuo can raed tihs, you hvae a sgtrane mnid, too." The whole point of this paragraph is to make you stop and think about the inner workings of your mind, and the fact that your brain actually doesn't read each letter by itself, but the word as a whole. The paragraph also implies something deeper and more radical: some letter combinations in the English alphabet are simply, well, unnecessary.
I can't stop thinking about an article in September's issue of The Believer that discusses this very point. The article follows a few spelling reform organizations as they protest outside a spelling bee in Washington, DC. Yes, a spelling bee. Why would anyone want to protest a gathering of awkward whiz kids who know how to spell words such as duumvirate and endoradiosonde? But hear these organizations out—their reasoning is quite interesting.
The Spelling Society is a UK-based organization that's been around for over 100 years raising awareness about simplified spelling, and striving to improve literacy. Alan Campbell, president of its New Zealand offshoot Spell 4 Literacy, sums up the main motivation for a reformed spelling system quite humorously and succinctly: "Any spelling system that has a B on the end of dumb has to be dumb itself." He raises a good point. How come "comb" and "bomb" don't rhyme? Or similarly "dough" and "rough"? I experience the confusion all of the time living here in Argentina, as my local friends and co-workers constantly emerge from their language classes to ask me with a perplexed look, "But why?" Complications such as silent letters make it difficult for dyslexics and non-native English-speakers to learn the language. Also, these organizations argue, marginalized communities such as immigrants and the poor would have more chance for success were the language simpler to grasp. And by simpler they mean each word remains true to its phonetic sound.
Back on this side of the Atlantic, the American Literacy Council is a national nonprofit that provides resources, methods, and concepts for those interested in improving literacy, including re-formulating the English language. In the United States, this isn't a new thing. Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, and Melvin Dewey (who you can thank for the methodical ordering of books in your library) were big proponents of this progressive change. After reading about the low literacy rates in America—42 million Americans can't read at all according to the National Right to Read Foundation—the idea begins to make sense. It's no secret that higher literacy leads to more opportunity.
Obviously, there are reasons as to why simplified spelling might not work. Critics raise the good point that an overhaul would cost a lot of time and money, not to mention coordination across continents. And what about the hundreds of millions of people who already have a good grasp of the English language? It could create a potential rift, not that far from of Civil War times, with those who believe staunchly in tradition on one side and those for reform on the other. There's also some people who rather bluntly argue that a phonetic-based system looks ignorant, that simplifying it would dumb it down somehow. Finally, there are complicated reasons within the syntax itself—which I confess I don't know how to properly articulate—that would make such a change likewise extremely difficult.
Wat r yr thawts?
This entry is by Celeste, who also blogs at Idealist in NYC.
By Flickr user Nadya Peek
We all know that there is a lot for volunteers to do in our own communities, whether it’s pitching in on conservation efforts, delivering meals, helping people register to vote, or tutoring local students. Sometimes, however, we want to get involved in a town or city other than our own.
For many, this means considering volunteering in another country. There are thousands of global opportunities for you to assist with community development, education, environmental protection, disaster relief...you get the idea. Idealist’s new International Volunteerism Resource Center can help you get started with the what, when, why, where, and how of volunteering abroad.
Don’t forget other communities in your own country, though. While volunteering abroad may seem more exciting—international travel with the opportunity to do some good in the world is a pretty enticing idea—volunteering somewhere else within your country also has the potential for a rich cultural experience while lending a hand and can serve as a great stepping stone to volunteering abroad. For example, if you live in a multicultural nation, volunteering in another community can be a great way to learn more about other regional and international cultures, all while already speaking the language and knowing the currency. If your country is multilingual, volunteering in another area can be a great way to learn, or brush up on, another language. Volunteering somewhere else in your own country may also be far more affordable than traveling abroad to volunteer, if for no other reason than the costs for getting there will likely be significantly less.
Finally, don’t forget to consider volunteering online. There are tons of things volunteers can do from their home computer—writing blog posts or grant proposals, developing web pages or educational materials, advocating for causes, raising funds, etc.—to assist diverse organizations and communities, whether they are across town or around the globe.
By Flickr user quaisi
What do Shakespeare, the Beatles, and fish and chips all have in common?
If you know the answer, then this post might be of interest to you!
For the last couple of months, Idealist has been focusing on encouraging charities in the United Kingdom to register on our site and publicize volunteer opportunities and job listings. Currently, our site lists 1,509 organizations from the UK, and their 254 volunteer opportunities and 32 job offers are now included on our site.
The GuideStar UK database has been very helpful in our United Kingdom outreach effort. It promotes greater public understanding of the work of charities and how they are managed, from the smallest to the largest.
In addition, this week we are sending our first newsletter addressed to organizations and individuals registered on Idealist from the United Kingdom!
For all those that are currently in the UK, you can help us continue to promote Idealist by telling your friends and family about our site. Also, you can embrace this amazing opportunity and start looking for a charity to work or volunteer for!
If you have any ideas or crazy stories, or just want to tell us your experience regarding UK charities, feel free to send us an email at userrelations@idealist.org.
This post is by Maria E., an Outreach Assistant in our Buenos Aires office.
By Flickr user voxefx
Things have calmed down a good deal in the United States now that the election is over. After ooohing and aaahing over the many remarkable features of the event (some great, some not so great), every observer says something like, "Now the real work begins." And every advocate starts thinking about how to link their cause to this great change in the nation.
One group for whom that goal is particularly apt is the November Fifth Coalition. The core idea is to build on the remarkable energy people all over the country brought to this election—win, lose, or draw—with the hope of revitalizing civic culture.
As part of the process, you're invited to fill out a short survey on the website that asks for nominations for advisers to the next administration and what the biggest challenges will be.
When 28-year-old Anmar Abdulla received a threatening letter with a bullet in it, he knew it was time to leave his home country of Iraq. He closed up the translation bureau he was running and received an even greater threat a few days later, when a car bomb went off outside the bureau and demolished the building. Like millions before him, Abdulla relocated to Damascus, Syria, where he was jobless and lived on savings that only lasted a few months. His parents remained in Baghdad, but he couldn't contact them out of fear. His fate was uncertain, his anxiety ever-increasing.
Today, Bloggers Unite along with Refugees United are urging bloggers around the world to raise awareness for refugees like Abdulla who have fled their homeland due to violent political and religious strife. But where to even start? I started re-reading article after article about the current plight of millions of refugees, and delving into the worlds of displaced persons from Sudan to Sri Lanka. It was disturbing and heart-breaking—not to mention made me angry. But the one point that struck me, and one I kept reading over and over again, was the plea for help for the millions of Iraqi refugees who are largely ignored. The Iraq war was a hot topic during the US presidential election, and will continue to be on the forefront of the political agenda. President-elect Barack Obama has a large task ahead of him, but it's clear that it's not only the job of the United States to respond to the refugee crisis, but the international community as a whole.
The statistics are alarming. Iraq has a history of wars that have pushed people out, but five years after the US military invasion of Iraq, the nation continues to see the number of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries increasing. The reasons are complex, ranging from a lack of resources and strong infrastructure in the government to militias of all denominations practicing wanton violence, discrimination and ethnic cleansing. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates a total of 2.7 million internally displaced Iraqis, with over two million more taking refuge in countries such as Syria and Jordan. The circumstances in the newly adapted homelands are grim. The refugees are taxing an already overburdened system in these countries and as a consequence, medical and education demands are not being met. Additionally, many are battling psychological illnesses such as anxiety and depression while others are struggling to simply survive.
The UNHCR convened a conference in Geneva last year with world leaders to address the problem—a step in the right direction. But how can you as an individual help out the plight of not only Iraqi refugees, but refugees around the world? If you feel like donating some cash or want to find out how organizations are responding, take at look at our Idealist database for a list of 767 nonprofits from New York to Norway dedicated to this topic. Or browse the 278 volunteer opportunities, that range from tutoring an Iraqi family in Oregon to teaching medicine to refugees in Uganda via postal mail. There are also 172 job openings right now, including working in Chad on humanitarian media projects and in Los Angeles to help identify families and friends who wish to reunite with refugees in the Middle East. Finally, you can always spread the word on your website, blog or social networking site to raise awareness. Your voice goes a long way.
This post was written by Celeste as part of the Bloggers Unite event.
Whenever I talk with a group of people about how they are conducting their job search, I like to start with a series of questions. I ask, "Who has sent off at least five resumes this week?" A lot of people raise their hands. "Who has attended at least three networking events this month?" A smaller number of people raise their hands. "Who has conducted an informational interview with a professional in either a field or a position that interests you?" If I am lucky, I get one or two hands raised. Usually no one raises their hands.
By Flickr user courtneyp
After blogging about honing your personal mission statement and rolling out your networking plan, us Career Corner folks (well, Meg and I) would like for you to embark on what could be the most fruitful phase of your job search... the all-important informational interview.
I hope my story about an informational interview I conducted will help you see the value:
I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area several years ago and I'd moved there with the professional intention of getting out of the classroom for a while. I'd been teaching for several years by that point and I wanted to do something different. I figured that, with my background in education and my ability to write, I'd be a great developer, fundraiser, and grant writer for a local educational nonprofit. Problem was that I didn't really have the experience yet. I did, however, have a good friend who worked for a small grant-writing group as a writer so I asked her if I could connect with her boss Carol.
I started off the conversation by asking, "Given my background as a teacher, what transferable skills do you think I need to highlight on my resume to make me stand out?" Carol then asked to see my resume (which I, of course, had with me... but I let her ask me to see it!) and within fifteen minutes she had marked up my resume with useful suggestions: "Move this bit up here, move this bit down. Highlight this because grant-seekers are going to really notice that. Delete that. Emphasize this experience." As her right hand was making my resume "grant-writer ready" her left hand was bringing up various contacts that she thought would be interested in talking with me. I knew I'd made a very wise choice to conduct this interview once I started hearing, "Based on your experiences in Japan, I think Tom over at X organization would be interested in talking with you" and "Suzanne at Y organization did this same program. You should chat with her."
As a result of that one hour, I had four more informational interviews with other organizations in town and applied for two jobs through Carol's connections. I was offered one of those jobs. Not a bad haul for an hour of work.
So, when I ask job seekers if they are diligently sending off emails into cyberspace and everyone raises their hands, I then ask if they think it might be more valuable to take that hour and talk to someone in the field who can tell the job seeker how their personal journey into their current role, suggest people and organizations for the job seeker to contact, as well as hopefully become one more professional to your networking pool. Most everyone agrees that an hour of informational interviewing is an hour well spent.
To read more about how to set up, conduct, and follow up with an informational interview, check out Chapter Four of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for Sector Switchers or Chapter Four of The Idealist Guide to Nonprofit Careers for First-Time Job Seekers.
This post was written by Steve as part of the ongoing Career Corner series.
By Flickr user T. Young
For all of you on the lookout for social-impact grad schools, check out Idealist's newly launched Grad School Blog Project. The Project features a dozen bloggers who write about grad school, the search for grad school, their fields of study, their aspirations to make the world a better place, and tips for your grad school journey.
The Grad School Blog Project is part of the Idealist.org Public Service Graduate Education Resource Center, a collection of articles and resources tailored to you—the professional, the leader—ready to go back to grad school to further your career and realize your life's dream to re-shape your community.
We are still looking for bloggers, especially in the fields of journalism, public interest law, public policy and administration, international affairs, and theology. The Project would also love to hear from more men!
This post was written by Amy, who also offers service corps tips, news, and trends at The New Service.
Have you ever wondered if your sunscreen contains a toxic chemical? Or been concerned about the social impact of your shampoo? Or the environmental impact of your dish soap?
By Flickr user Collin Anderson
If you have, you may also have been overwhelmed by the prospect of actually doing the research on the product and the company that makes it to make a truly informed decision. Enter the GoodGuide. The GoodGuide, though currently in beta, has already rated over 65,000 products, including personal care and household chemical products, using 600 criteria related to health hazards, environmental performance, and social issues.
GoodGuide allows you to search or browse through the products, create a shopping list, and send the list to your phone, making your shopping trip a socially-responsible breeze. Recently, GoodGuide went even more mobile. Imagine standing in the aisle of a grocery story and using the product's UPC code to receive its health, environmental, and social ratings via your cell phone. Nice!
If you're curious to learn more, you might want to subscribe to the GoodGuide Blog to receive valuable news about products, companies, and practical ways to sift through the wealth of available information about socially responsible business practices.
You're walking down insert street name here in insert city name here, and you come across a homeless man. He's scruffy-looking, smells of sweat and pavement and appears anxious. He swallows his dignity like he does every day and asks you for money. Maybe you hand him some change. Maybe you ignore him. (Or maybe you're one of the rare few who chat with him for a moment.) Regardless of what you do, there's a good chance you probably don't know his name. You then continue on your way, and the man remains on the street, nameless and begging for money from the next passerby.
By Flickr user wonderferret
I don't give money to every homeless person I see. And when I do, I admit, I'm guilty of wanting to leave as quick as possible. But there's an initiative that is asking me, asking you, to pay a little bit more attention. Conceived in Venice, California five years ago, Project Hello is a volunteer-run grassroots initiative that has distributed more than 5,000 "Hello My Name Is..." signs (like those stickers you usually wear at conferences or meetings) to people on the streets. Holding a sign with their own handwritten name, the individuals are then photographed to raise awareness about the plight of the homeless. Project Hello has had several photography exhibitions, filmed public service announcements and is in the process of securing funding for a book to be distributed to the public and prominent politicians. Impressively, the initiative has also already reached countries such as Colombia, Czech Republic and South Africa.
On first glance, Project Hello may appear somewhat naive. I used to work with those who called the alleys and sidewalks their home, and I can think of quite a few of my clients who would shun a project such as this. Some don't want to be recognized out of fear, because they are running from the law. Others are ashamed of their situation and would prefer to remain anonymous. Still others revel in solitude, and wouldn't want to feel invaded. But I can also say with conviction that a good number of my former clients would love this project. I've heard many say that acknowledgment of any kind from a stranger—a glance, a nod of the head, a few words—means more to them than anything. It's a matter of respect, which Project Hello attempts to reclaim for this marginalized population. An excerpt on their site from The Los Angeles Missions newsletter sums it up perfectly: "We can use the best, most effective methods available to help homeless men, women, and children experience real change in their lives. But unless we stop seeing them as a separate category of people called 'the homeless,' even our best efforts will be useless."
So, how can you get involved with Project Hello? You can donate money or printing materials, air a public service announcement, host an exhibition, or continue the project in your own neighborhood. Want to get to know some of the millions of people who live on the streets? Browse through Idealist's database for more than 1900 nonprofit organizations, nearly 550 jobs and more than 350 volunteer opportunities around the world dedicated to helping this population.
This entry is by Celeste, who recently blogged about refugees for Bloggers Unite.
"The system doesn't know what to do with a movement."
By Flickr user Orin Optiglot
That remark on Seth Godin's blog reminded me of Hannah's earlier post about GoodGuide, a service that provides "the world's largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home."
When you walk into a store to buy whatever it is you came in for, you give your implicit approval of that product but also of the practices that go into its production. If your new shirt comes from a factory that practices child labor or has a history of illegally dumping industrial waste into neighboring rivers or a record of shameful human rights violations, every one of your dollars counts as a "vote" to continue those practices. Redirecting your money toward purchases that meet your personal standards sends a message to companies with unethical behavior.
Information is power and offering consumers a broader context to the products we purchase allows us to make better informed choices. GoodGuide gives you instant access to the data you need to make decisions based not only on price but on the ethical conduct of a company (whose true values aren't usually stated on the side of the packaging.)
Tools such as GoodGuide and AccountAbility allow consumers to begin holding companies to higher ethical standards but ultimately we will need to better organize to move change along. Consumers need to start exploring other tools and actions required to motivate disinterested and unengaged companies into changing their behavior.
An innovative approach to promoting change is the Carrotmob, with the idea of "organiz[ing] consumers to make purchases that give financial rewards to those businesses who agree to make socially beneficial choices." For example, hundreds of people showed up for a day of grocery shopping at K & D Market in San Francisco. K & D promised 22% of the day's revenue to make their store more environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient. With the huge turnout, K & D was able to meet their goal.
ThePoint and PledgeBank are services that offer a different approach. They enable like-minded people to take action toward a specific goal. If X number of people promise to do A then B will happen. An example from ThePoint:
Objective:To get a major US cola company (Coke, Pepsi, RC) to switch their sweetener from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) back to cane or beet sugar Terms:If this objective is met, then we agree to buy soda from the first company that stops using HFCS and switches back to cane or beet sugar
These sites and services are the first steps needed for consumers to organize themselves. Now imagine if we were able to seamlessly integrate these technologies across browsers, social networks, mobile phones, email and instant messaging. And imagine if every purchase option, real-life or online, provided us with the information needed to make informed choices, the chance to join a carrotmob or a group on ThePoint and then allow us to invite our friends from across all of our social networks, we could persuade millions of people into spending billions of dollars, "voting" on issues that we care about with our hard earned money.
This post is by Scott S., our resident expert on social media.
At least maybe not the way we volunteered before taking a job with so much travel, working long hours, starting a family, paying down a mortgage, etc., etc.
By Flickr user Heraklit
Well, we've stumbled on a volunteer program that comes to you – your office, that is, during the workday (if your boss says yes).
Starting in January, the women in the Portland office of Idealist.org will join forces to mentor a group of adolescent girls. The girls will stop by for a couple hours, twice a month, after the school day lets out.
We'll develop a project with them, something useful to them as well as to us, and compete against mentoring groups at other workplaces for top prizes. (The winning group of girls gets a school savings account opened up in their names.)
The idea—called the Associates Mentoring Program and part of Girls, Inc. of Oregon—developed out of conversations with professional women who volunteered at events for Girls, Inc. but wanted to do more. Many working professionals with busy travel schedules and family lives can tell you, holding down a regular volunteer gig can be tough! So we were all grateful to our colleague Meg for finding this opportunity for us.
The Associates Mentoring Program is fairly new so unless you are in Portland, OR, you may not be able to jump at this particular chance. Girls, Inc., however, is a national organization. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the program model will be adopted elsewhere.
Busy adults with families may be interested to know that Idealist does offer resources on volunteering as a family. (Volunteer resource managers wanting to recruit families should read this.)
Also check out this video about how to have a meaningful volunteer experience in 20 minutes:
Have you found creative ways to volunteer your time? We'd love to hear!
By Flickr user QXZ
The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and fashion company Geoffrey Beene have come together in an interesting partnership to help combat violence against women and children across the world through the RESPECT! Campaign. FVPF estimates that almost one in three women worldwide are beaten or coerced into sex. With staggering statistics like this, the RESPECT! Campaign is an innovative, online site with the focus of raising awareness and funds to combat this problem.
"Why do we need to act now?" The campaign website explains, "Because domestic and sexual violence happen every day. In every corner of the globe. In every walk of life. But it doesn't have to be that way. Everyone has the right to live a life free from violence. Encourage your friends, your family, and your co-workers to join the rally for respect today! Together, we can make a big difference. Money raised on this site, and through other facets of the RESPECT! Campaign will support innovative violence prevention education, awareness, and leadership training programs pioneered by the dedicated men and women of the Family Violence Prevention Fund."
Every time you visit GiveRespect.org until the end of the year, Geoffrey Beene donates five more dollars to the RESPECT! Campaign.
This entry is by Douglas, who also blogs at Idealist in NYC.
Some of my ‘must read’ blogs are work related, some aren’t, but I love when there is cross-over from professional to personal. One of my ‘personal’ blogs is Reclaiming Miss Havisham. This is one of my favorite blogs for a lot of reasons, but in particular because of the blogger’s candor. In one of her recent posts she links to a Post Secret postcard and follows it up with her own secret that she’s quitting her job. She’s quitting because, “In a nutshell, my ethics are out of sync with the ethics of my supervisors and boss, and I can't live with myself if I stay.”
By Flickr user malias
Have you heard one of your friends say something similar? Have you been frustrated about this in your own job? If so, you’re not alone; a USA Today article cites statistics that suggest that if the younger workers are going to ‘“work many, many hours, they need to work in a place where they're doing some good," according to Claudia Tattanelli, CEO of Universum.
Corporate employers are responding, but there are plenty of job seekers who are looking to the nonprofit sector for a wholly different type of career.
However, one of the obstacles to finding a nonprofit career can be knowing where and how to start looking. David Schachter of NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service created a great self-assessment called The Four Lens exercise that allows job seekers to assess how they see themselves doing good in the world.
In short, ask yourself what motivates you to do good work? Is it:
An issue area such as environmental conservation, women’s rights, or prison reform?
A position or specific job? I’ve only met one person who wants to be an accountant in a nonprofit organization, a few who want to be in nonprofit HR, and many who are interested in the ED or a leadership role. Whatever your passion, you can find any position in the nonprofit sector that exists in the corporate world. Even stockbroker.
A way of working within the system? This could include the scope of the work (local, national, or international), the type of work (direct service, advocacy, philanthropy, capacity building, policy, research), or the type of organization (well-funded and established or grassroots and on the fringe).
As you contemplate a career change or assess your current job, this Four Lens exercise can help narrow your search so that you have a more focused image of how you want to create a positive change in the world—and how you see your career fitting into that picture.
For more information on the Four Lens exercise and self-assessment in the nonprofit job search, see Chapter Three of The Idealist Guide.
The Green New Deal. The Green Recovery. The Clean Energy Economy. Recently, it seems everywhere you turn, you hear buzzwords related to green jobs. Many people are banking on green jobs being the cure-all for the trifecta of challenges we're facing – a slumping global economy, the U.S. dependence on foreign oil, and climate change.
From the Flickr page of greenforall.org
Watching President-elect Obama's most recent Weekly Address on his plan for job creation in the U.S. over the next two years, I wondered what jobs specifically will be created in the new green economy. Obama spoke of "building wind farms and solar panels, fuel efficient cars, and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil." Sounds pretty great...but what exactly are the jobs, and do you need to be a scientist or engineer to get them?
According to a recent report by the Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, as many as 5 million jobs may be created in the transition to a low carbon economy – and not just in the core industries such as renewable energy, but also in "traditional areas such as construction trades, pipefitting and electrical jobs," and the supporting industries.
Still, what about those of us who aren't in manufacturing? I recently downloaded the free "6 Strategies to Find Your Green Career" report, available to members of Green Career Central (membership is free). The report's list of green jobs helped to expand my definition of what it means to have a green career. Aside from the usual suspects of environmental science, renewable energy, conservation, and green building, the report highlights other careers ranging from software developers and web designers to grant administrators and public relations managers, from fashion designers to event planners, and from health professionals to videographers.
And even if the organization you work for doesn't have "Eco" in its name or an endangered animal in its logo, you can still have an impact by greening your home and workplace. A Greener Perspective has some great tips to get you started.
By Flickr user abkfenris
It’s Thanksgiving in the United States this Thursday, a time for friends and family to gather over turkey, pumpkin pie, and other regional favorites. It’s also a time when many people give thanks by giving time: volunteering. And while there are lots of different opportunities to volunteer this weekend, many involve cooking and serving meals on Thanksgiving Day to communities in need, including homeless shelters, hospitals and hospices, and senior homes.
So if you’re in the U.S., here’s your chance to make this year's Thanksgiving a happy and helpful one by volunteering as a family or group. You can find opportunities to get involved in your area here.
If you won't be celebrating Thanksgiving, then why not consider the weekend another great opportunity to volunteer?
This oldie but goodie was originally posted one year ago.
