Nationwide volunteer initiative launched at MLK Service Forum

I had the pleasure of speaking with David Ray, the Chief Strategy and Public Policy Officer at HandsOn Network, at the MLK Service Forum on Saturday. Here is a summary of our conversation:

Q: What brought you here today?
A: I am here to join Hands On Charlotte in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the MLK Service Forum and to announce the nationwide launch of a HandsOn Network program called Road to the Gulf.

Q: Why did HandsOn Network decide to put on Road to the Gulf?
A: During the 2010 HandsOn Network conference in New York, while discussing the plans for the 2011 conference in New Orleans, we began to reflect on how much the Gulf region still needs help rebuilding. At the time of the 2010 conference, the Gulf region was facing the oil spill while still attempting to recover from Hurricane Katrina. The HandsOn Network decided to create a program to build momentum and to increase volunteer capacity nationwide in 2011 by holding a ten city tour culminating with a week of service in New Orleans.

Q: What are the goals of Road to the Gulf?
A: There are ten cities along three different paths leading to New Orleans in June. At strategic stops along the Road to the Gulf, HandsOn Network will be conducting boot camps to train service leaders to organize and manage others. They will also be working to develop projects that address community-specific needs. HandsOn Network hopes to log over 25,000 volunteer hours on the Road to the Gulf tour and train more than 10,000 new project leaders.

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According to Lisa Quisenberry, Executive Director of Hands on Charlotte, HandsOn Network thought our MLK Week of Service would be a great place to launch the Road to the Gulf. How exciting! Charlotte is the first city on the tour! In line with the HandsOn Network initiative of training 10,000 new project leaders, a Project Leader training session was conducted during the MLK Service Forum.

For more information on Road to the Gulf, click here.


Interview by Lynne Warholic, a volunteer at Hands On Charlotte.

Edited and posted by Tanner Kroeger.

Jennifer Roberts, David Ray head speaker list at MLK Service Forum

We just wrapped up the speaker session with County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts and David Ray, Chief Strategy and Public Policy Officer for the HandsOn Network. Commissioner Roberts spoke about the resiliency of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of non-violence. David Ray spoke about the HandsOn Network's Road to the Gulf campaign, which Hands On Charlotte helped to launch today.

Check back on the blog next week for complete interviews with David Ray and Lisa Quisenberry, Hands On Charlotte's Executive Director.

Blogging from the MLK forum

Hey, I'm Lynne. I'm at the MLK Forum. If you can't be here, please follow and comment on Twitter, Facebook and the blog. We'll have quotes and thoughts from attendees!

At MLK Service Forum, prizes from US Air, NASCAR Hall of Fame

By now you know all about the opportunities to serve your community this Saturday at our MLK Service Forum. You can drop off donations in the car loop around the Grady Cole Center from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. You can pack supply kits for families along the Gulf Coast. You can send video notes to members of the Armed Forces abroad. You can attend leadership trainings. And, among other activities, you can get free health screenings from Carolinas HealthCare.

If you attend Saturday’s MLK Service Forum between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., you will receive a free t-shirt, and we will enter you to win:

• one of three US Airways gift cards each worth $100
• one of two pairs of tickets to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

The drawing for these prizes will early next week, and we will notify winners via phone.

Saturday’s MLK Service Forum is a family-friendly event where there will be on-site service projects geared toward families as well as children’s activities. Be sure to follow our blog and our Twitter feed (@HandsOnCLT) for updates.

Click here to learn more about the MLK Service Forum.

In-kind donations needed this Saturday

With the MLK Service Forum rescheduled for this Saturday, we want to let you know of the many ways you can participate. Today we are highlighting the donation drop-offs we will have outside the Grady Cole Center from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

In the car loop around the Grady Cole Center, we will be accepting your donations. You don’t even have to get out of your car! When you arrive on Saturday, follow the signs directing you to the donation drop-off area.

We are requesting a wide variety of new and gently used items. These items will benefit non-profit organizations throughout Charlotte.

REQUESTED ITEMS: clothing for all ages, hygiene items for all ages, school supplies, office supplies, snack items for after-school programs, first-aid supplies, board games, card games, puzzles, cleaning supplies, electronics and computer equipment, speakers, microphones and amplifiers.

For a more specific list of requested items, please click here.

BENEFITING ORGANIZATIONS: American Red Cross, Bethlehem Center of Charlotte, Carolinas HealthCare System, Classroom Central, Communities-in-Schools, the CUP Ministry, Family Financial Literacy Coalition, Freedom School Partners, Greater Enrichment Program, Habitat ReStore, Hoskins Park Ministries, Hospitality House of Charlotte, Jacob’s Ladder Job Center, Latin American Coalition, Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, RSVP Charlotte, Salvation Army Center of Hope, Solutions for Life, Summit House Charlotte.

We hope that after you donate, you will join us inside the Grady Cole Center for the remainder of the MLK Service Forum, where you will find family-oriented service opportunities, a volunteer-recruitment fair, leadership trainings, free health screenings, among other activities. Be sure to follow this blog and Twitter feed (@HandsOnCLT) for updates throughout the week.