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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Short Release)
Executive Director
VMC
280 West Hanover Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960
973-538-7200 ext. 15
FAX 973-9847658
Association of New Jersey Volunteer Centers
TRENTON, NJ – The Volunteer New Jersey Partnership has created a free, state-wide, online database for volunteering. VolunteerNewJersey.org is a central place for non-profit organizations to list their volunteer needs and for potential volunteers to search the possibilities. “New Jersey people have an overwhelming sense of community and of helping those in need,” says Founder Carol McKinney, of the Association of New Jersey Volunteer Centers. “We want to make it easy for people to act upon that desire to help.” NJ is one of the few, if not the first, to launch a statewide volunteering database.
The program was developed by the VolunteerNewJersey Partnership which includes the United Ways of NJ and the ANJVC. “Bringing the resources of all of these organizations together will ensure the success of this program,” adds Greg Wu, a volunteer with the project. “Our next endeavor is to expand the site to meet the needs of emergency agencies during a disaster.”
Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells presented the website at the Governor’s Statewide Volunteer Conference on May 28.
For more information, visit www.volunteernewjersey.org.
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Carol A. McKinney
Executive Director
VMC
280 West Hanover Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960
973-538-7200 ext. 15
FAX 973-9847658
New Jersey Volunteer Centers Urge Citizen’s to Get Involved and Volunteer
State Website (volunteernewjersey.org) Launches“Get Involved NJ” to Increase Number of New Jerseyans Engaged in Community Service
Trenton, New Jersey – Today, The State of New Jersey joined forces with the the Association of New Jersey Volunteer Centers to unveil a multi-year public service advertising campaign aimed at recruiting America’s millions of New Jerseyeans to volunteer. The campaign’s goal is to increase the number of individuals engaged in community service, and comes at a time when the nation’s non-profit and volunteer organizations need the talents and energy of this generation more than ever before.
Recent U.S. tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina have demonstrated the power and impact that volunteers have in making a quick and sustainable difference in the lives of people victimized by such life-altering events. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 30 percent of America’s Baby Boomers volunteered their time in 2004, up from 25 percent just two years earlier.
VolunteerNewJersey.org, which cost over $20,000 to produce, is a resource that provides easy-access to hundreds of meaningful and varied volunteer opportunities throughout the state and right in your community.
volunteernewjersey.org ’s public service announcements will begin running in May of 2008 and feature ads profiling New Jerseyeans of different backgrounds sharing how community service changed their lives and inviting their peers to join them. Volunteers are directed to a website, www.volunteernewjersey.org where they can search for local volunteer opportunities that best suit their needs, experience, and lifestyle.
“The time for volunteers to get involved is now,” said Carol McKinney, Director of the Associations of New Jersey Volunteer Centers, co-sponsor of volunteernewjersey.org. “Volunteering one’s time can be fulfilling in so many ways and can make a difference in a nonprofit or community-based organization, a group of people, or the life of an individual. Fostering community involvement among this group is key to addressing a wide range of pressing social issues — from long-term care for older adults to tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth.”
The “Get Involved NJ” campaign is being launched by the Association of New Jersey Volunteer Centers. Support from private-sector organizations that share a commitment to civic responsibility is encouraged and those organizations can contact volunteernewjersey@gmail.gov.
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VolunteerNewJersey.org is a collaborative partnership of the Association of New Jersey Volunteer Centers. Volunteer New Jersey has joined hands in promoting simple and efficient solutions to individuals and nonprofits throughout the state.
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