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| 20-09-2010 , Monday |
Most volunteers do not have enough knowledge on social development sector, NGOs and their working conditions, especially if they have not volunteered before. Therefore, providing exposure to this sector would enable them to understand their roles better, and make their volunteering more effective and meaningful. Motivating people to volunteer and sustaining them can be a challenging task. Some of the challenges of volunteering may be:
Therefore, training the volunteers for their roles is essential. A formal and extensive training may not be required but it should be long enough to link volunteers’ aspirations to NGOs expectations and objectives. For this purpose, Joining Hands conducts workshops on “Development of volunteers”. The objectives of training are (to):
The workshops cover sessions on motivation, development and management of volunteering, help volunteers develop their profiles and creating positive roles, clarifying doubts and filling gaps through interactive discussions, group work and presentations. |
| 13-09-2010 , Monday |
Volunteering is an initiative by people who believe in social change by contributing their time, skills and talents for the benefit of the community.Volunteers are valuable and powerful resources and provide project support to the NGOs. They can be dedicated, efficient and very effective. It is also equally important that volunteer resources and guidelines are easily available to prospective volunteers Volunteers come from different lifestyles and professions that include students, professionals, young and old with different experiences, motivations and have different expectations from their volunteering. It is necessary to bring them all on a common platform by sensitizing them to the social development sector and to make them work towards a common cause. Training Workshops are very helpful in preparing volunteers for their roles. These would include orientation to the social sector, understanding volunteering and volunteer roles. Joining Hands provides skilled, committed and dedicated volunteers to its partner NGO. We also conduct two types of workshops - "Development of volunteers" for volunteers and "Effective utilization of volunteers" for NGOs from time to time. The modules are prepared keeping volunteer and NGO needs, expectations and development in mind and to fill the gaps for making volunteering more effective. The workshop sessions include interactive discussions, group work, presentations, case studies etc to explore challenges the volunteer and the NGO may face; find various approaches to resolve them, understanding roles and responsibilities clearly so that they can fulfill their roles effectively and efficiently. |
| 6-09-2010 , Monday |
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Volunteering is a gratifying job and it is important to keep volunteers motivated. Recognition and appreciation play a significant role to keep volunteers inspired and encouraged. Follow ups from time to time also helps volunteers to optimize their potential, as it makes them feel accountable and keeps them focused. Monitoring and follow-ups have to be frequent, consistent, informal, sincere, timely and unique to make volunteering more effective. Our structured process for volunteer placement, monitoring and impact assessment makes us unique. Once the prospective volunteers meet volunteering criteria, they are given general orientation by Joining Hands, and specific orientation by the NGO where the volunteers will be working. Targets and performance plans are formulated to make volunteering more meaningful and effective. Emails/phone calls, visits allow us to monitor volunteering activities and help solve conflict if any. It is very essential to know whether or not volunteering was impactful to the NGO and beneficiaries, and meaningful experience for the volunteer. Impact assessment is carried out of each volunteering activity in order to assess the overall value added by the volunteer to the program. Along with that, feedback forms give our partnering NGOs the opportunity to give their opinion about volunteers and invaluable suggestions, which is helpful to improve our volunteering programs. It is also important to maintain relationship even after the volunteers have completed their assignment. We keep in touch with our former volunteers from time to time with useful information and do remember them on their important occasions like birthdays etc. |
| 30-08-2010 , Monday |
| The pluses of voluntourism are that well- managed spurts of volunteer help can be extremely productive for many types of projects that need willing hands. Joining Hands offers a whole variety of voluntourist opportunities to Individuals, groups and families allowing tourists a glimpse in the social development sector by connecting them to NGOs in the local community through short/long term volunteering opportunities. These include visit to NGO projects, interaction with underprivileged children or getting involved in workshops like pottery, dyeing fabric, making lac jewelry etc. This way voluntourists leave their impact in the community sometimes even leading to life-changing experiences for the underprivileged, and at the same time make their trip more memorable. When volunteering as a family, apart from family bonding the children learn to become responsible citizens. Joining Hands was happy to receive its first VolunTourists in April 2009. Two groups from America (who were part of ‘Global Scavengers Hunt’) visited us for facilitating Voluntouirst activity. They were engaged in two activities- teaching basic hygiene, and English to the children of our partner NGO. First group gave information on oral hygiene and demonstrated the right way of tooth brushing. The second group taught English, Nursery Rhymes and Painting techniques. It was a wonderful experience, not only for our VolunTourists, but also for the children. The children were also given tools of basic hygiene by the voluntourists. First group of voluntoursists came back in September 09 and carried out a different activity with the same NGO leading to more benefits. |
| 23-08-2010 , Monday |
The pilot project Joining Hands identified for ‘Corporate Returns’ Program focuses on three income generation activities for our partner NGO: Candle Making, Spice Processing and bag making.
Corporate employees can be of a great support by their inputs and suggestions in documentation and operations for a long-term vision on how the respective produces could be manufactured to attract target groups at lower development costs; improve quality assurance; create stronger distribution networks in an achievable and sustainable manner in the long run. Join us in individuals/professional capacity or as a corporation to volunteer for this program |
| 16-08-2010 , Monday |
| For successful and effective business practices, it is very important for corporations to support community development. The ‘Corporate Returns’ program developed by Joining Hands is designed to bring together Corporations and Micro Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in rural India on one platform. Program involves matching experts from the corporate to play a facilitating role by studying and help designing/improving business modules for the NGOs engaged in vocational and income generating activities. Corporate employees will get a chance to work in close coordination with MSMEs for three days in rural India and undertake concrete business cases resulting in workable and result oriented inputs to enhance MSMEs’ profits. This would involve visit to the project site, meeting the beneficiaries (self-help groups), dialoguing with local staff and other stakeholders to analyze and prepare business modules by conceptualizing and providing short term and long-term solutions for a sustainable model. The team will also be engaged in discussing and help developing methodology to implement, monitor and conduct impact assessment for growth of the program. ‘Corporate Returns’ program aims to help NGO beneficiaries to become economically independent through sustainable income generating activities for the most disadvantaged of community members. With a concrete business plan and marketing strategy, more marginalized sections will be able to participate in the project, thus, increasing their profits margins. It would also be challenging for corporate employees to give a proposed solution that will cause social impact in the local area: employment, income generation, and community involvement. |
| 09.08.2010, Monday |
Joining Hands is pleased to announce UNV's organizational theme for IVD this year, which is: Volunteering for the MDGs. This is a crucial year in furthering the support needed to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Millions of volunteers need to get actively involved to help achieving the goals. We would like the Corporate, Civil Society Organizations, Government etc to join and involve with us in our efforts to influence and motivate more people to volunteer by reaching out to the community to celebrate International Day of Volunteering; and support the 7th MDG- 'Ensuring environmental sustainability' through following activities that have been initiated by one of our partner NGO - OISCA, who will also assist us in its implementation.
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| 02.08.2010, Monday |
| Along with all our volunteering programs, Joining Hands plans events specifically targeting the corporate sector, to influence, motivate and mobilize corporate employees to volunteer with NGOs during International Day of Volunteering (IVD) celebrations. The main aim of IVD is to acknowledge and thank the contribution made by volunteers to help in the community development. It is a great opportunity to show gratitude for the contribution made by volunteers and encourage more individuals to volunteer by creating awareness on volunteering. To commemorate International Volunteers Day on 5th December, Joining Hands invites corporations to join and involve in our efforts to promote employee volunteering. Experiences like these are much needed to bring awareness and sensitivity into the corporate towards social development sector, and promote employee exchange programs and long term associations with the development sector. In words of Swapnil Gupta (employee at Philips, India) - "had it not been for this wonderful initiative by Joining Hands, we would have missed this opportunity of meeting the next generation of our country. They helped us reach the corners where our little gesture made a positive difference in someone's life". Corporate employees also act as role models and inspire the underprivileged to aspire them do well in life through hard work. Last year corporate employees reached out by sponsoring and participating in activities for NGO beneficiaries through quiz contests, and monument walk organized by us. |
| 26.07.2010, Monday |
| Indian women face a lot of challenges and here is a long way to go till we can claim Gender Equality. But the good thing is that a lot of efforts are being made by government and civil society organizations. E.g. - Gender Resource Centers by Government of N.C.T. of Delhi to address all issues relating to women empowerment like-health, legal rights, literacy, and income generations etc. The resource center run by NGO Praytan in Okhla is attended by around two hundred women everyday who receive lessons on bags making, embroidery products, beautician course, health and hygiene, legal awareness etc. All these skills combined with basic education allow them to find a better job and live better lives. Joining Hands organized a visit to the Gender Resource Center in Okhla by the student delegation from Europe on July 09 2010. Students learnt about different programs run at the center. The delegation also got an opportunity to observe a counseling session by a lawyer, who visits the center twice a week- one week to hold lectures, and the other week to track down cases of domestic violence, mistreatment, or other problems for women. The session on day of the delegation visit was a lecture on- ‘right to inheritance to property’ and ‘dowry law’ (under which the giver and taker of dowry are punishable). At the end of the session students also got a chance to ask questions pertaining to women right viz a viz Indian Law. |
| 19-07-2010, Monday |
| Joining Hands was happy to receive a student delegation from Europe on 5th July 2010 as part of the Flagship Project of AEGEE-Europe – The United Nations Millennium Development Goals-A Challenge for Today’s youth. The project is aimed at creating awareness on MDGs, recognize the importance and involve youth for sustainable development through this case study trip. A presentation on Joining Hands’ Programs was followed by an interactive session. Two project visits were organized for them in collaboration with our partner NGOs. The first project works on restoration of a degraded eco-system in Aravalli hills, and the other is a Gender Resource Centre in Okhla. The delegation was taken to the Manger on 5th July where our partner NGO is engaged in rural tourism, education and women issues. Spread over 15 acres, it is a unique example of the restoration of a degraded ecosystem and offers a fulfilling experience in rural eco-tourism propagating organic farming using vermin-compost and bio waste. This is an ideal place for Voluntourists as there are ample volunteering opportunities along with home stays. The NGO runs school for the underprivileged and a crafts center for women. The hand-embroidered and stitched clothes made by these women are supplied to a famous retail outlet in Delhi. Student delegation had a wonderful time touring the project, and interacting with the stakeholders and the beneficiaries. They also bought a lot of stuff made by the women at the center. |
| 12-07-2010, Monday |
| It is interesting to note that corporate sector has a growing interest in development issues as the educational backgrounds of most of Joining Hands’ volunteers are business and management. Along with the corporate interest, NGOs also need to play an active role to link CSR initiatives to the community needs. To facilitate a better linkage to the Corporate and the Development sector, Joining Hands conducts NGO need evaluation and prioritization for the Corporate, by assessing and intervening to give a realistic perception of important needs and segregate short and long term goals for the NGO and the corporate CSR. This needs multilevel discussions with all our stakeholders like our NGO partners, CSR department, top management, HR managers etc. Keeping the importance of CSR in mind, research is an important component of our volunteers/interns profiles. The interns are involved in research work, and suggest ways and means to create linkage for good impact of business in the community. Lilla Cseke our intern from Hungary was part of such an internship. She came to Joining Hands to conduct her research on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in practice’. Apart from conducting research on her thesis, she provided assistance to expand our database to connect us to HR departments and HR Managers of Corporations for networking. She learnt coordination and Strategic Relationship Management skills and also put them to good use. Her skills came very handy when she provided valuable assistance to commemorate International day of Volunteering, 2009. |
| 6-07-2010, Monday |
| ‘Corporate Volunteering’ is an important constituent of our mission. We collaborate with Corporations for encouraging corporate employees to volunteer with NGO’s working on social development projects and share their expertise. Our aim is to encourage and facilitate ‘Corporate volunteering’ for supporting NGOs working towards achieving millennium development goals. Corporate volunteering not only makes Corporate Philanthropy more effective, it gives a company an edge over others in recruiting and retaining employees. Corporate volunteering also benefits the corporate, as employees become adept at working in varied environments thereby enhancing their ability to provide better solutions. Joining Hands initiated work in the field of CSR with intervention in education sector in the year 2007. Noida was the starting point where we got a chance to work with our NGO partner Sai Kripa and Corporate partner WNS. The wholesome development of children was the driving force for us. Joining Hands believes that, it is very important to involve stakeholders to gain confidence for credibility and authenticity of interventions. With that in mind we approached WNS for Corporate Volunteering and Fund Management for our partner NGO two years back. It has been a successful association and our partner organization has immensely benefited.During the same year we also began to interact with different stakeholders in trying to understand the dynamics of business and their impact on associated social issues. This also helped us develop NGO perspective on CSR and to promote good business practices like 'corporate volunteering' to help improve community projects." |
| 28-06-2010, Monday |
| Students from International Universities have completed their internships through Joining Hands on different issues like health and education etc. A majority of them have been girls. We have connected many of them to organizations that work to promote gender equality and women empowerment. In the process of their internship, they become highly involved. Often their enthusiasm and active participation leads to highlighting more vital issues and creation of new projects. Take the case of our enthusiastic intern Ieva Lace from Netherlands. She came to Joining Hands to conduct her research on Corporate Social Responsibility. Ieva found Joining Hands a good platform not only for her thesis but also got a chance to explore project planning and execution when as part of a study tour to Sidhbari in Himachal Pradesh she planned a project called "Smile Connects". She also raised funds, coordinated and executed the project with the support of Joining Hands Team and fifteen volunteers (including professional doctor, two theater teachers, and international students in Delhi) she mobilized through her own efforts. The project was executed in April, where 100 slum children were taught basic health and hygiene by lessons on the right strokes of tooth brushing and hand washing with soap. They were also provided with hygiene tools to be passed to other children. The internship not only provided her with avenues to conduct her research but also helped her in career development |
| 21-06-2010, Monday |
| Student groups are involved with Joining Hands for social initiatives and social innovation programs. Our Indian student volunteers come from institutes like BITS Pilani, Delhi University, JNU, and JIIT to name a few. We are associated with IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi) and SOIL (School of Inspired Leadership, Gurgaon). The students bring in their classroom learning and innovative ideas, subject knowledge and assist with strategies connected to capacity building, branding and networking. The relationship with IIFT goes back to four years (since our inception). Each year a student group has been interning with us through their Social Awareness Programme, an initiative by IIFT and included in the curriculum of their MBA (IB) program. The Social Innovation Project by SOIL for their MBA students aims to develop leaders who will use their knowledge to make rational and conscious decisions with workable solutions based on values and ethics.
Association with Joining Hands allows the students to obtain optimum utilization of their overall goals and objectives, and to come together on issues, which connect them to work towards a common cause for the benefit of society. The students are engaged in different types of activities like website designing, developing business strategies, fundraising, proposal writing to name a few. The interaction with communities exposes them to new challenges, experiences and skills that give them more confidence to face different situations in their careers. |
| 14-06-2010, Monday |
| Volunteers are valuable and powerful resources and Joining Hands is the medium to turn their aspirations into actions, and at the same time working toward making volunteering a mass movement. Our Volunteers are also our change agents for spreading awareness on volunteering in the community along with providing project support to the NGOs they volunteer with. They can be dedicated and very effective. For e.g., our first volunteer who came from US, volunteered only for one week but made an immense contribution to the NGO run school. Moved by the poor classroom conditions and infrastructure she decided to help the NGO through fundraising , and organized presentations to her colleagues and their families on her return to the US. Thanks to her contribution of one lakh that she raised, the school bought desks for the students and set up a library with books. Students, Corporate employees and Individuals form Joining Hands' resource pool of volunteers. Our international volunteers come from across the globe. Students from Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands, and Peru have interned with us and our partner NGOs, either through their universities internships programs or on their own initiatives. Foreign interns and volunteers have good learning experiences leading to great exchange of ideas, learning and satisfaction. Not only that, on their return they help our incoming volunteers from their respective countries by providing them useful information about Joining Hands projects thereby demonstrating their confidence in our work. |
| 7-06-2010, Monday |
| Civil society Organizations/NGOs and citizens’ participation is very important for steady progress, as it is difficult for the Government to reach everyone. CSOs and NGOs are very active presently in India but citizen participation is not very visible. Active citizen participation is a powerful force that can bring about changes it wants to see. What better example than mobilization of the whole nation to attain independence. Volunteering is a great way to help the NGOs in achieving their goals with volunteers’ skills and expertise. Joining Hands is an initiative to motivate and mobilize people to address the problems of society through volunteer action. Motivating people is a challenging task, but trust and goodwill can be created with ease through sincere and dedicated efforts. Our first task at hand was to plan and strategize our operations and programs. We approached and partnered with NGOs that work at the grassroots level on a variety of social issues like education, health, equal rights, environment, social interaction and rural development, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of people living in socially deprived circumstances. After the need assessment of their volunteering requirement, the next plan of action was reaching the potential resource pool of volunteers. Presently, Joining Hands sensitizes and facilitates volunteering/internships of individuals/students from colleges and universities across the world; collaborates with corporations to encourage corporate employees to volunteer with NGO’s working on social development projects, which could benefit from their support and expertise. |
| 31-05-2010, Monday |
| Summer of 2007, Renate (student at University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) was avidly looking for an opportunity to work with an NGO abroad and ended up in India, at Joining Hands. During the next eight months she learnt and contributed more than can be described in a few lines. |
| It also inspired her to start volunteering in her own country on her return. During the time Renate was in India, little did she know that after three years she would motivate, inspire and guide Ieva Lace in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to come to India to Joining Hands. Just like Renate connected Ieva to us, Joining Hands aims to connect people from all over the world for causes they believe in, and bring vibrancy and smile to each one they get in touch with. |
| It all started in June 2006 when a two-member team set out to understand volunteering trends in Indian NGOs. They learnt that there were not enough volunteer resources and guidelines easily available to prospective volunteers. This led to the establishment of Joining Hands, an NGO that began its work, by focussing on Volunteer Management Issues. |
| IJoining Hands was born on 1st November 2006, to address the need of NGOs in accessing unaffordable but much required skills and professional talent, as well as in supporting the aspiration of people who believed in social change by contributing their time, skills and talents for the benefit of the community, but were uncertain about how to do so. More next week. |
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