At Giva we search for organizations, large and small, that are doing a great job of changing the world around them for the better; and we are pleased to salute them here!

At A Home Within, a community of trained volunteer therapists believe "relationships matter because relationships heal."

Founded in 1994, A Home Within is the nation's first organization to provide emotional assistance to foster youth. Approved by both the American Psychological Association and the Board of Behavioral Sciences, A Home Within provides free one-on-one therapy sessions "for as long as it takes" to assist emotionally-distressed children.

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At Giva we search for organizations, large and small, that are doing a great job of changing the world around them for the better; and we are pleased to salute them here.

MEND Poverty, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the homeless population of San Fernando Valley, California, promises to "Meet Each Need with Dignity." Founded in the 1970s, this organization provides emergency food, clothing, healthcare, and job training skills–all for no cost.

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Giva is proud to showcase the essays of its Student Scholarship and Worldwide Community Ambassador Award winners. Below is an essay from Ms. Malerie Pratt, medical student at Oregon Health and Science University. Giva's hope is to inspire others through these essays. We hope that sharing these essays will help others realize the joys and benefits of service.

In the Congo
By Malerie Pratt:

When I arrived in the city of Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I witnessed an Africa that was incredibly different from the peaceful Zambia I had become accustomed to. There were ten militia rebel groups stationed within a 100 mile radius around the city. I had traveled to Beni to work in a Congolese hospital and to start to become familiar with the culture and language there.

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At Giva we search for organizations, large and small, that are doing a great job of changing the world around them for the better; and we are pleased to salute them here.

Do you know who has been helping people in your very own community? Volunteers of America is a nonprofit touching the lives of over 2 million people in our own backyards.

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Baby Boomers—the generation of 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964—represent a potentially enormous boost to volunteerism in the U.S. Unfortunately, this potential has yet to be fully realized. According to a recent report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, both the number and percentage of boomers (ages 51- 69) who volunteered in 2014 are down from 2013.

Rather, perhaps surprisingly, people between the ages of 35 and 44 were much more likely to volunteer (29.8%). For persons 45 years and over, there was an inverse relationship between age and volunteering: as the age of the studied group increased, volunteer rates decreased.

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In the 1960s, Americans invented the phrase "Generation Gap" to define the discrepancies in values and viewpoints among generations. This phrase originated from the counterculture, a time when political and social turmoil captured the attention of Baby Boomers. This group of generational revolutionaries varied from the conservative Traditionalists before them, and even more so from the Generation Xers and the Millennials proceeding them.

Sociologists later extensively studied these differences in attitudes, renaming the Generation Gap as "institutional age segregation." Generation gaps are often observed in the workplace: Millennials may find a Traditionalist preference for face-to-face communication boring, and a Generation Xer may find the Baby Boomer's commitment to work disturbing! In this post, acknowledging that no description perfectly describes any generation of workers, we attempt to uncover some nuanced differences arising from Generation Gaps in the workplace, and how companies can cultivate harmony and passion despite age differences.

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At Giva, we realize standing outside looking into the world of volunteerism can be very intimidating and overwhelming for many people. That is why we are excited to announce our new Volunteer Resource Information Center! This tool seeks to be a bridge to inspire and assist people in identifying and awakening their natural gifts, skills and desires in their quest to help others.

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Volunteer Power is an organization with a definite focus: to "understand and equip the 21st century volunteer." Managed by Thomas W. McKee, owner and CEO of the training and development company Advantage Point Systems Inc., Mr. McKee is a volunteer, association management consultant, an educator, author, motivational speaker, and trainer. He proficiently collaborates with organizations and/or companies of varying sizes and types. Years of experience and knowledge qualify Mr. McKee to provide nonprofit leaders/visionaries with the content needed to reach their organizational goals. Co-authors Thomas and Jonathan McKee are volunteer leadership experts dedicated to helping nonprofit leaders mobilize the power and passion of their volunteers.

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One of the best and most effective ways to help people is through volunteerism. Not only does it assist those in need but also helps to shape those who choose to volunteer into better, more well-rounded people. The essence of volunteerism is helping others, so when a volunteer sees the changes they are making, it inspires them to keep going. At a time, when there are all different kinds of organizations out in the world it can be difficult for a young person to get involved, not knowing where to begin.

Youth Volunteer Corps of America (YVC) is an organization founded upon the idea that volunteerism inspires volunteerism.

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