Conducting a service project during "down time" at a conference
Abstract
Participants at conferences often experience "down time" when they are not actively engaged in conference activities. At the 2002 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service in Salt Lake City, Utah, conferees packed 12,000 hygiene kits for the area's homeless. Utah's Alliance for Unity, an organization that seeks ways to bring people of diverse backgrounds together in service to the community, sponsored the event, making the most of readily available resources. This effective practice is based on an article highlighting the service project, written by Jodie Lau in The Salt Lake City Tribune, June 12, 2002.Issue
Conference participants represent a readily usable resource for taking action and engaging in service.
Action
At the 2002 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service in Salt Lake City, Utah, volunteers packed hygiene kits for the area's homeless.
- 180 volunteers helped to pack 12,000 kits.
- Space for the effort was provided in the exhibit hall.
- The hygiene kits consisted of soap, combs, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, towels, and sewing kits packed into plastic bags.
- The materials for the kits were donated by Utah businesses.
- Kits were distributed to 17 social service agencies that provide help to the homeless.
Context
Utah's Alliance for Unity sponsored the service project. The Alliance, formed in September 2001, is a group of business, church, media, and political leaders. Utah's Mayor Rocky Anderson, along with Utah industrialist John Huntsman, have gathered community members from diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds to form the group. As of 2002, there are 18 constituents who meet to discuss issues of diversity in the community and unite to take action to bring people together. The Alliance addresses divisions along religious, political and ethnic lines in Utah and works towards creating a more accepting and unified community.
Convened by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service and the non-profit Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network, the 2002 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, and drew approximately 3,000 participants.
Citation
Lau, Jodie. "Alliance for Unity Taps Volunteers," Salt Lake City Tribune. 12 June 2002, sec. A, p. 10.Outcome
Alex Morrison, executive director of the Alliance for Unity says that access to hygiene kits gives homeless people "a chance to clean up...and restore some human dignity." (Quoted in the Salt Lake City Tribune, June 2002)
The event brought together people of different backgrounds who were attending the national conference and enabled them to collaboratively engage in service for others.
Posted On
July 16, 2002Related Practices
Related sites
Corporation for National and Community Service