Ad Hoc Activism: The Daily Vanguard, newspaper of Portland State University, has an interesting article on trends in volunteering. Basically, lots of volunteers are helping out on special occasions, but not necessaily joining organizations or volunteering regularly.  

“Volunteers might pull an all-nighter for an issue close to their hearts, but don’t ask them to join a subcommittee,” Laura Oppenheimer wrote. “It’s about the experience, not the institution.” “Episodic volunteering,” as the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) calls it, is on the rise.

The article also notes that the rate of volunteering jumped by 20% between 2002 and 2005, and the general growth in volunteering (starting in 1989) is driven in large part by college students.

Clickworthy: TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) started as a conference in 1984 of people with great ideas. Now, they’ve got a cool website (which would be expected, from the first word!) showcasing the talks from the conference and a lot more. Check out the Global issues and the Culture tags; you’ll find a ton of interesting - and inspiring - videos and articles.

Blogging From the Front Lines: Peace Corps Journals has a ton of Peace Corps blogs. You can find them by region and check out what projects folks are working on, what it’s like in the area, and what the Peace Corps is doing. I’m entranced. If you’re interested in or already accepted to the Peace Corps, I also recommend the Peace Corps Wiki, which has a ton of country-specific information. It also has info about Retired PCV associations, if you’ve already been!  There is also an excellent Yahoo group of and about the Peace Corps.

Dodd’s Up: Last week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT, former presidential candidate AND former Peace Corps volunteer) announced the AmeriCorps Act of 2008. He’s always shown a particular commitment to service, so we’re already fans! Our friends from ServeNext were there to film Dodd’s announcement.