Tag Archives: volunteering

Be a Party Animal in Brooklyn April 24

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Are you in the Greater New York area? If so, I hope you’ll consider attending the third annual Pass on the Gift Benefit.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
reBar
DUMBO Brooklyn
147 Front Streetwww.rebarnyc.com
7:00-10:00 p.m.

Benefiting Heifer’s
General Animal Fund


Animals are fundamentally important to practically every Heifer International project around the world. Animal products like milk, eggs, and meat improve nutrition, while other products like wool, draft power and manure for fertilizer help resource poor families earn money for education, clothes, health care, better housing and the startup of small businesses. The cornerstone of Heifer’s mission is that recipients agree to Pass on the Gift, sharing their training and their gift animals’ offspring with others in need. It is sustainable development at its best!
Help Heifer International fulfill its mission to stomp out poverty around the globe by purchasing your ticket to our Pass on the Gift charity event. Hosted by Dr. Jeffery Gardere, the festivities will take place at Brooklyn’s very own ReBar, where we’ll mix and mingle while enjoying:
…………..
Pass on the Gift Award ceremony honoring
Karen Washington
President of the New York City
Community Garden Coalition
…………..
A silent auction featuring dozens of terrific items
…………..
Passed hors d’oeuvres, with desserts
donated by Bread Alone
…………..
Live Music from
aRAUz featuring Alicia Rau

ReBar is wheelchair accessible, call (718) 766-9110 to make arrangements for elevator located at 68 Jay Street.

Tickets $75 per person;
$85 at the door
Includes one drink
(wine, beer)
All but $29 tax deductible

To purchase tickets:
Click Here
-or-
Send checks payable to
Heifer International to:
Dwight Olson,
Heifer in Greater New York
463 Henry St #3,
Brooklyn, NY 11231
If you cannot attend on April 24th but would like to make a donation to
Heifer International,
please visit our
Team Heifer Page
Donors will be recognized at the gala.

Heifer’s Heart: Volunteer Spotlight

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Heifer volunteer Donna Sosnowski (2nd from left) presenting the Golden Talent Award to an Armenian Family while on a recent Heifer Study Tour.

DonnaSosnowski has been a dedicated Heifer volunteer for seven years.  As an educator she has found Heifer’sresources to be an invaluable tool in her classroom, especially the “inspiring”Read to Feed program.  Last year herschool’s first grade students raised enough money to buy a goat and two flocksof chickens just by having book sales during recesses.  In addition, Donna had the initiative towrite several articles for the district-wide teacher newsletter, sharingHeifer’s educator resources with her colleagues.


During herfirst five years as a volunteer she spread Heifer’s message through booths atEarth Day, Peace Day, Make a Difference Day at the University of Nevada, andthe Nevada Reading Week Conference. This year she has the opportunity to be aReading Week Conference presenter and teach teachers how Heifer can make adifference in their classrooms.
Two years agothe Heifer Reno Group was established with Donne serving as the Area VolunteerCoordinator. The group has been very action-oriented.  Some highlighted activities are working withschools, gift wrapping at Barnes and Noble and Borders book stores during theholiday seasons, and crocheting hats, scarves, blankets, and pot holders tosell for donations.  They have also madecontacts to work with the University of Nevada, the Food Coop, and libraries.
One ofDonna’s favorite fund-raisers was held last year, when an enthusiastic highschool student arranged for her school to have a Heifer Day.  For several months leading up to the serviceproject event, classes made Cornerstone posters, collected donations, andlearned about Heifer. On the big day, the 600 students hauled water bucketsaround the football field to simulate people who get their water daily fromstreams, and for lunch they drank water and ate only rice with their hands. Thegym resonated with energizing excitement as the students did the wave ofstanding up and down while shouting Heifer’s mission statement to conclude thepresentations. A nursery donated a tree to be planted as a symbol of plantingseeds of hope and a way to remember and honor that special day. As the PromiseTree grows, the student’s knowledge, compassion, inspiration, and action willgrow too.
Donna isespecially grateful for the opportunity to attend both the Educators Study Tourto Honduras in 2008 and the AVC Study Tour to Armenia this past November.  Of her study tour experiences Donna says, “Toobserve the countless successes Heifer has accomplished to improve the healthand income of so many families was enlightening. To feel the love and warmth ofthe people who participate in community projects bonded us together in ourworldwide Heifer family . . . they reinforced my beliefs that mankind is one,and we all are connected with our hearts no matter what country we live in onthis one planet we share . . . There is an urgency and necessity to help thisailing world with Heifer’s remedy to end world hunger and poverty and to carefor the Earth”   

A Volunteer’s Letter to Our Founder (part 3)

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Report to the Founder/ Part 3 of 3

To: Dan West — Prophet, gadfly, dreamer, youth leader, motivator, peacemaker, and founder of Heifers for Relief.

From: Tom Lyon — Heifer volunteer for 26 years

Subject: Armenia trip — November 2011

Dan,

As I’ve said in parts one and two of my letter, I’m certain you would be pleased, and excited by all that I recently witnessed during my study tour to Armenia.  Here some additional things I saw that kept me thinking of you…

Youth Development   
While serving as National Director of Youth programs for the Brethren Church you were working with, motivating and empowering young people. You dedicated much of your life to youth. In Armenia, youth development in underserved rural areas has become a major focus of many of Heifer’s partner  groups. We visited two of the programs, modeled after the U.S. 4-H program, where youth are receiving training in “life skills.” They provide hands-on education in areas such as agriculture, business, logical thinking, journalism, ecology, and health education, giving new opportunities for growth in small communities otherwise lacking such important  services. With an emphasis on proactive peacemaking, youth empowerment and education, the YES Youth Clubs are having  a tremendous impact by increasing “social capital” for the nation. What a joy it was for us to visit these children so full of pride and dreams for the future.


Peacemaking   
Your life was a constant journey to find practical ways to bring about world peace. You believed that ending hunger was the first essential element to bringing about lasting peace. Heifer Armenia has incorporated that vision as a major component of everything they do. Heifer’s country director, Dr. Anahit Ghazanchyan, reminded me of you when she expressed her strong belief  that “instead of just talking about peace, we need activities to bring people together to solve social problems,  and in the process get to know each other.”  Heifer Armenia’s practical activities include using the Heifer model  of conflict resolution through group decision making, “Peace in our Homes” programs targeting youth, addressing issues of domestic violence and gender equity, and cornerstones training that applies not just to raising livestock, but to virtually all phases of life development. 


I once received a Heifer T-shirt that said ”Peace begins with food and dignity for all.” That simple phrase, to me, became synonymous with your life’s work and Heifer’s long term vision. And on this trip I was privileged to see its practical, everyday application in a small, faraway country: 

  • Food: The result of honest hard work, teamwork, training, and careful stewardship of a fragile land. 
  • Dignity: Based upon pride of place, shared goals, hope for the future, and a humble desire for peace. 

We saw life-altering miracles evolving every day throughout rural Armenia. Miracles brought about by  a dedicated staff; a proud, determined and historic people; a proven process; and a set of universal values expressed in the 12 Cornerstones. This is what we shall always remember about Armenia.We all return to the US with new friends, new understanding and a renewed dedication to do all we can to create “a world of communities living in peace.”

Years ago, you wrote the following: “Nothing binds people closer than fellowship in a great adventure.” After this journey, I cannot think of a better way to explain the worldwide Heifer “family” that exists and is thriving in so many places today. Together we are ending hunger. There is no greater adventure than that!

Thank you Dan for your dream, your persistence and your founding of an organization that brought me to a place — both physically and in my heart — that I would never have gotten to alone!  


Editor’s Note: Dan West, a relief worker and dairy farmer, founded the organization that is today Heifer International. Though Dan passed away in 1971, his principles still guide Heifer and its work.

A Volunteer’s Letter to Our Founder (part 2)

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Report to the Founder/ Part 2 of 3

To: Dan West — Prophet, gadfly, dreamer, youth leader, motivator, peacemaker, and founder of Heifers for Relief.

From: Tom Lyon — Heifer volunteer for 26 years

Subject: Armenia trip — November 2011

Dan,

As I said yesterday in the first part of my letter, I’m certain you would be pleased, and excited by all that I recently witnessed during my study tour to Armenia.  Here some additional things I saw that kept me thinking of you…


Strengthening Communities
Just as the animals were the tools that led to new opportunities for individual families, Heifer’s  cornerstones trainings have become  catalysts for empowering entire villages. During 70 years in the Soviet system, many Armenians were workers on collective farms or in factories. Heifer staff told us how this legacy left many Armenians feeling that they had little control of their own destiny or motivation to improve things. Cornerstones training and lessons about Passing on the Gift™, “full participation,” and “gender equity” have actually become important lessons in democratic participation and group decision making.

In the small, mountain village of Debed we learned some details. Initially, the Heifer families in the group had to agree on two animals that they would receive.  They selected cows and bees. Heifer Armenia staff did a feasibility study of conditions and markets to ensure a good chance for success.  With approval and an established community structure, animals (and beehives) were placed. They have multiplied, and their production has been shared, bringing a renewed sense of possibility. The community, with Heifer’s assistance, is now raising other animals and partnering with the Fuller Center for Housing to improve living conditions and sanitation throughout the village.

Volunteerism
Dan — although you founded Heifer, you were never a paid employee. You established a model of dedicated professional staff working with and through volunteers to achieve the most benefit and impact. And that model is alive and well throughout Armenia. In addition to Heifer’s incredible country staff, there is a network of volunteers at all levels — district project leaders, ethno-veterinarians, teachers, and peer educators ages 14 to 70. Many are past recipients who have long ago paid back any contractual obligation to Heifer.   

I was also privileged to share this study tour with, and learn from, more than a dozen amazing creative, dedicated volunteers from across the US. We talked often and late of how we would return to share stories, teach and preach, network, recruit, and motivate. We were learning that Heifer’s success is due to hundreds of dedicated volunteers in the US, but also due to a Heifer volunteer network in every country where we have programs. Today, our fellow Heifer volunteers worldwide must easily number in the tens of thousands.


I’ll share the third and final part of my report from Armenia this Friday.

Editor’s Note: Dan West, a relief worker and dairy farmer, founded the organization that is today Heifer International. Though Dan passed away in 1971, his principles still guide Heifer and its work.

A Volunteer’s Letter to Our Founder

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Report to the Founder/ Part 1 of 3

To: Dan West — Prophet, gadfly, dreamer, youth leader, motivator, peacemaker, and founder of Heifers for Relief.

From: Tom Lyon — Heifer volunteer for 26 years

Subject: Armenia trip — November 2011

Dan,

Everything I have learned about you over the years convinces me that you would be proud, pleased, and excited by all that I recently witnessed in the new/old nation of Armenia.

This fall my wife, Barbara, and I were privileged to join 14 other Heifer area volunteer coordinators and three Heifer staff from across the US on a 10-day study tour to learn in person about Armenia and Heifer’s work there. We all came away profoundly moved.

When Barbara and I first discovered you and Heifer Project and became volunteers many years ago,  Armenia did not exist as an independent nation. But Armenia, the people, the culture and the proud heritage were already almost 3,000 years old. We, like most Americans, barely knew!

Armenians worldwide celebrated the “new” nation’s 20th anniversary this year. Yet these have been years of incredible hardship due to such factors as separation from the Soviet Union, a devastating earthquake, an unresolved border war, economic isolation, a stagnant economy, and major population shifts away from the countryside and out of the country.

Ironically,  these circumstances  have  become  fertile ground for a 10-year partnership between a determined people and the organization you created. A partnership that is bearing life-saving and life changing fruit in amazing abundance.

Over the next couple of days, I’ll share some things that we observed that kept me thinking of you. In the interest of brevity, I’m sharing just the first one today.

Life-Changing Livestock

As a family dairy farmer, you would have been thrilled by the stories we heard from these small farm families. So many of them talked about the difference in their lives since receiving  Heifer livestock and training. The animals have been a catalyst for moving them from subsistence levels of farming to the creation of small, efficient family farm enterprises. Families, after completing their “pass-on” requirement, are reinvesting income from Heifer animals, expanding their holdings, adding new animals, rebuilding their homes, and planning for the future with new-found optimism.

Dan — I’ll share more of my observations from Armenia over the coming days, and I hope this blog’s readers will come back tomorrow to hear more of the exciting things happening with Heifer Armenia.

Editor’s Note: Dan West, a relief worker and dairy farmer, founded the organization that is today Heifer International. Though Dan passed away in 1971, his principles still guide Heifer and its work.

Volunteers Will Help End Hunger and Poverty

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Post written by Sarah Donaghy, Heifer International community volunteer coordinator. Photos taken at the 2011 Living Gift Market in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, by Sutheera Phimolthitikul, Heifer Thailand administrative manager.

The outrage of hunger amidst plenty will never be solved by “experts” somewhere.  It will only be solved when people like you and me decide to act.  – Frances Moore Lappé 

Such true words from a woman who dedicates herself to taking action for causes that matter to her.  What matters to you?  Since you’re reading this blog, it’s probably safe to say that you, like Ms. Lappé, are interested in ending hunger, as well as ending poverty and caring for the Earth.  That’s the mission of Heifer International, and it bears repeating: to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.  Further, we envision a world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet.  Sounds good, eh?! 
As we find ourselves in the thick of holiday hustle and bustle and approaching a new year, there is no better time to reflect on what matters to us and how we want to take action toward those causes. One such action is volunteering, and it just so happens that the United Nations has declared today International Volunteer Day.  Volunteering with Heifer is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to ending hunger and poverty and caring for the Earth.  Our volunteers educate the public about the issues of hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation and inspire people to take action to solve these problems. 
Heifer’s Community Volunteers promote Heifer by raising awareness and raising funds by sharing the Heifer story with schools, congregations, and civic groups and by representing Heifer at conferences, benefits, and other events in their own regions.  Heifer’s Learning Center Volunteers deliver education programs, care for livestock and gardens, and provide administrative and physical support at one of three specific sites: Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas; Heifer Village in Little Rock, Arkansas; or Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts.  Presently, both Community Volunteers and Learning Centers Volunteers are organizing and staffing alternative giving markets across the country, which offer visitors the opportunity to learn more about Heifer’s work around the world and to purchase gifts of food- and income-producing livestock benefit resource-poor communities around the world in honor of friends and family near and dear.  Last month, the Heifer Club in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, hosted their annual Living Gift Market in support of Heifer, raising more than $40,000 and hundreds of new fans for the organization.
When you volunteer with Heifer, you are actively cultivating a world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet.  In honor of International Volunteer Day, learn more about getting involved with Heifer by visiting www.heifer.org/volunteer.

Hopeful Youth Mean a Bright Future for Armenia

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A group of our volunteers from across the United States are visiting Heifer projects in Armenia this week. Our community volunteer coordinator Kate Merrill is chronicling this study tour on her blog, and some of my favorite stories and images from her trip depict smiling, hopeful children. As with any nation, Armenia’s hope for a bright future lies in its young people.

Heifer Armenia knows this, and in recent years they’ve established a number of youth clubs that give rural youngsters training in such disciplines as agriculture, ecology, civics, journalism, healthy lifestyles, and business.You can read more about this program in one of our previous posts.

In the video below, two children from one of Heifer Armenia’s youth clubs sing in Armenian for the study tour group. The youths sing a cappella — their only accompaniment is the clapping of the audience. They sound really good. 

Here’s another video that shows the type of skills Heifer is teaching Armenian youth. Two children who received a calf as part of Heifer Armenia’s YANOA project showcase their calves at a local fair.

Hungry for Truth

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What are the most formidable obstacles in the fight against hunger? Well, first of all there’s just not enough food for everyone, and there’s nothing we can do to predict when famine will strike. Luckily in the modern era, hunger is only a problem in times of emergency, which is good because we have more important problems to solve.

Wait. Is that right? Actually, no. None of it is. This week the World Food Programme put out a list of 11 Myths About Global Hunger. Some of them are obvious, some are surprising and some are simply good reminders that tackling hunger is doable with the right strategies.

My favorite was Myth 7, Hunger and famine are not easy to predict and cannot be prepared for. Wrong! We have tools to predict trends in food production, rising food prices and weather that can create food scarcity. And since we know what’s coming, we can make the necessary preparations to keep people from going hungry.

At Heifer, we bump up against many of these hunger myths every day. The one that’s most important to set straight is Myth 11, There is nothing we can do to help hungry people. Definitely wrong! You can donate to Heifer, volunteer or look here for more ideas.

Heifer Staff Lend a Hand in Hughes, Arkansas

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Continuing today’s conversation about poverty in Heifer’s homestate, we take you to Hughes, Arkansas, which has a poverty rate of 38 percent. This past Monday, Heifer Headquarters staff, visiting Country Directors and Heifer’s United States Program staff took a road trip to Hughes to lend a hand cleaning up the Mildred Jackson Elementary School for a Day of Service with Hughes citizens. Heifer Copywriter Falguni Vyas was among the staff to participate, and she shares the following reflection.

Hughes,Arkansas: a small blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town located in the Arkansas delta wasonce an agricultural boomtown. At its height, Hughes was a town of 1,900people, a mix of sharecroppers and farmers that put the town on the map as anagricultural hotspot in northeastern Arkansas.
Today,Hughes tells a much different story.
Now,there are more stray dogs than people, more abandoned or run down buildingsthen there are live-able habitats. It’s a town that as little as two years agoechoed a pre-civil rights America (not that racial tension has completelydisappeared today). It’s a town in desperate need to find itself and regain itsformer glory.
Hugheshas become yet another fallen soldier to the mechanization of the agriculturalindustry as well as the dearth of support America’s small farmers receive.Whatever food is produced in the area is normally sent out to the big buyers,leaving little to no healthy food choices for those who grow it. In addition,there are few options for the town’s small farmers as land is expensive anddifficult to acquire. The big farmers in Hughes (and there are a few verysuccessful ones out there) employ very few people, making employment hard tocome by. The town’s economic mainstay? Public assistance.
Whenthe industry started to collapse, many of the town’s small farmers left,leaving the sharecroppers to take over. Because this segment of Hughes’population had so little training, the area went into rapid decline.
“Lackof leadership is the biggest problem in the delta,” said mayor Larry Owens.Owens, the first black mayor in Hughes, has only been in office for 10 months.A Vietnam War veteran, in his past life he also served as a special agent withFish and Wildlife Services with the Department of the Interior. He moved toHughes with his wife five years ago and was appalled by what he saw. With a lotof know-how and more can-do spirit than your average person, he has made it hismission to restore Hughes to its rightful place.
HeiferInternational’s United States Program, several visiting Country Directors fromaround the globe, and Headquarters staff from various departments joined Hughesfor a day of service this past Monday. The event kicked off at 11 am with apress junket, where Mayor Owens, representatives of the state, Heifer and othernonprofit partners said a few words in honor of the shared goals of creating betterfood options, developing the local economy and preserving local naturalresources.
Day of Service Volunteers
Heiferstaff rolled up their sleeves alongside Hughes citizens and got down and dirty.Armed with saws, brooms and a few machetes, these agents of change spent anafternoon clearing away weeds, trash and debris from the Mildred JacksonElementary School.
Hughes community volunteers at work
Heifer staff members Jason Woods, Suzanne Munson
and Gretchen Schirmer bag trash at the end of the day
Translator Sam DuBois takes out the trash 
Hughes Mayor Larry Owens and Heifer
United States Program Director Perry Jones
“It’simportant to recognize that dire poverty exists here in the United States aswell as in developing countries,” said Perry Jones, director of Heifer’s United States Program. “Heifer’s model encourages long-term changes to take hold in acommunity so that healthy food becomes more accessible for everyone.”

World Humanitarian Day

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Today is World Humanitarian Day. It is a day the United Nations set aside to recognize “sacrifices and contributions of [humanitarian aid workers] who risk their lives to give others help and hope.”
There are dozens of aid organizations working right now, for example, in the Horn of Africa. It’s a dangerous place to try to get aid in to the people who need it most. Militant and terrorist groups are thwarting humanitarian efforts, and aid workers lives’ are at risk. 

But aid work hasn’t ever been easy. From the U.N. site:
Over the past years humanitarian work has become more dangerous. The level of threats and number of deliberate attacks on aid organizations – our people, equipment and facilities – has risen dramatically. In 2010, 242 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped.

On 19 August 2003, a bomb was detonated at the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, killing 22 people. World Humanitarian Day is held on the anniversary of the attack.

As a humanitarian organization that’s been working for nearly 70 years to end hunger and poverty, Heifer wants to recognize all aid workers who risk their lives for the betterment of the world. We also can’t forget those who have helped us in our mission—from the staff in our 40 country offices to the 1,200 volunteers and our myriad donors from around the United States. 
We also want people to be aware of the small actions they can take to make a difference in countries far and wide.
Like the U.N. recommends: take action, spread the word, volunteer.  The World Humanitarian day website offers ways everyone can help with the Horn of Africa crisis. Or get involved with Heifer. Go here for more information on how you can help us end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth.