It's been a fun time in Louisville and getting re-acquainted with living in the USA since April of this year, but it's time to head out to a more permanent home: I'll hit the road the last week of July to move to Portland, Oregon and spend most of August getting settled there. As I already have two consulting gigs going on, that means I'm booked solid through mid-September 2009. Subscribe to my real blog via RSS or subscribe to my email newsletter, Tech4Impact, for updates on my location and availability.

And don't forget: on July 16, I will present a two-hour workshop about online volunteering/virtual volunteering at the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE) on 323 West Broadway, Ste 501 in Louisville. The presentation will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Visit the online CNPE training calendar or call 502 315-2673 to register for the class. Costs are $55.00 for members of CNPE and $75.00 for non-members (however, please note that this money goes to CNPE, not me -- I'm doing this pro bono). Space is limited. I hope people as far away as Evansville, Indiana, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nashville, Tennessee, and Bowling Green, Lexington, Frankfort and Henderson, Kentucky, will make the drive for this workshop - it will be worth it!

The government of Sudan has ordered at least 10 humanitarian groups expelled from Darfur per the International Criminal Court's issuing of an arrest warrant for the country's president on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

The non-governmental aid groups ordered out include Oxfam, CARE, Médecins Sans Frontières-Holland, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, the Norweigan Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Action Contre la Faim,  Solidarites, and CHF International.

The groups were informed by the Sudanese government that their legal registrations have been revoked, were given a list of assets for seizure by the government (offices have been sealed, and vehicles, computers, even drilling machines have been taken) and told they must leave north Sudan, which includes Darfur, "with immediate effect." Some local aid workers have been arrested. The local bank accounts of some groups have been blocked. Sudanese media is making false claims that the groups were engaged in political activities to create public support for the expulsion.

Aid groups are protesting, as they have no connection to the court and their absence will inevitably lead to a further crisis for many hundreds of thousands of already-desperate Sudanese who need such basics as shelter, food and clean water, as well as security.

What can you do?

• Sign up for the email updates published by any of the aforementioned organizations that you have the most interest in, and if any of these groups are on MySpace, make a friend request.
  


• Stay up-to-date on what is happening in Sudan, and let your friends know, through blogging about it on your MySpace account.
  


• Write your elected representatives in Congress and let them know you want the USA to pressure China to do something about the situation in Sudan (China is a major supporter and funder of Sudan).

The Do Something Award (formerly the BR!CK Award) identifies exceptional young social entrepreneurs, activists, and community leaders who have significantly changed the world for the better. "We celebrate young world-changers who are the pivotal 'do-ers' in their cause, issue, or field and empower their work through community grants, knowledge, and support."

For 2009, five winners will be selected. Each will receive a minimum of $10,000. One of those five will be selected to win the Grand Prize total of $100,000. Applicants must be age 25 and under and citizens or residents of the U.S. or Canada.

For information on last year's winners, more information, or to apply, please go to the www.dosomething.org. The application is due March 1, 2009.

Barack Obama, like the Bush presidents and Clinton and Kennedy before him, has issued a call to service. Like those presidents, he created yet another new web site for this call (just what we didn't need -- yet ANOTHER web site listing volunteering opportunities). Obama says he hopes citizens of the USA will turn out en masse this weekend to participate in community projects.

Ofcourse, as anyone who was involved in all the other Presidential promotional campaigns regarding volunteerism over the last 20 years, it's no problem to get people in the USA to turn out en masse for a just-show-up-and-feel-good experience. The challenge -- and it's a BIG challenge -- is having the infrastructure in place so that these volunteers aren't standing around waiting to do something, and so that they have such a great experience they decide to volunteer again.

Will this President actually be different from those before him, and instead of just saying, "Hey, everybody, get out there and help!", he'll also provide the call for funding the volunteer management needed to make volunteering worthwhile for both volunteers and the organizations wanting to involve them? Or, like the other Presidents before him, will he motivate thousands and thousands of people to try to volunteer, people who will become frustrated at the lack of follow-through and lack of support and who will give up on volunteering as a result?

Join the nonprofit organization Knowbility for the eighth annual AIR-Interactive competition, in which professional Web developers will volunteer to create exciting, media-rich and imaginative Web sites for Austin-area artists, arts organizations and musicians. The best sites will then be chosen according to how accessible they are to everyone, including people with disabilities. Nonprofit arts organizations, as well as bands, musicians and artists get Web sites that are more accessible for people with disabilities and others using assistive technologies, and web designers learn skills they can take back to their professional work.

The Accessibility Internet Rally Interactive (AIR-Interactive competition) is a unique, award-winning program that has received local and national media coverage. Winners of the AIR-Interactive event receive public recognition and a trophy at a high-profile awards ceremony. And have an incredible experience -- web designers come back year after year to participate, because of the great time had by all!

Web Developers: This is no ordinary AIR competition. AIR-Interactive is your chance to really shine as developers, and participate in one of the most happening events in Austin – the SXSW Interactive Media Festival, held each year along with the SXSW Music and Film conferences. In addition to the training you will receive as a participant, and the incredible experience of participating in this event, you will also attend an awesome Kick-Off party and gain free access to the SXSW Interactive Tradeshow!

Artists, Musicians and Non-Profit Art Organizations in Austin: Is your web site accessible? If not, you may be chosen to have a professional Web site created, or your existing Web site professionally redesigned, and hosted FREE for one year! And nonprofits -- having an accessible web site, and participating in this event, looks GREAT in your annual report and in grant proposals!

Learn more and register now at the AIR-Interactive web site!!!

Even us atheists volunteer and otherwise donate to help make the world a better place, including during all the holidays around the Winter Soltice. I talk a lot about how you can get involved to support the causes you believe in, and even use volunteering to network for your career, but do I walk my own talk? You bet.

One of the things I do is invest in the tiny income-generating activities by women living in some of the world's poorest countries, through KIVA, a nonprofit that partners with credible, established NGOs all over the world to identify individuals and small groups of people who want to start a business and need small loans (micro loans) to do so. You aren't giving; you are investing. You will probably get all of your money back! Via the KIVA web site you browse people's profiles, people who are living and working in a developing country. It could be one woman trying to start a small food stand. It could be a group of women wanting to start a cooperative ranch to raise goats. You choose the individual or group you want to lend to, and then you make a loan to that person or group via the site. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back into your KIVA account, you can re-lend to someone else in need.

I also give outright to CARE International, which is focused on building the capacities of women and girls in developing countries, helping them access education and employment opportunities. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by conflict, economic downturns, environmental chaos or violence. In addition, it's proven again and again that helping men in a village or community helps the men, but helping the WOMEN in a village or community helps everyone. I think CARE is doing outstanding work, and I'm proud to support them financially.

I also make small donations each year to MADRE, which is also focused on women in developing countries.

And, ofcourse, I volunteer a lot.

So that's me, walking my talk.

The US Peace Corps for decades has been dispatching mostly young, well-meaning volunteers around the world to teach English or help out in other ways in developing countries. But the U.S. agency increasingly is tackling more complex issues, such as HIV and environmental problems, and per the requests of developing countries themselves, the Corps has launched a fresh effort to attract older, more skilled volunteers, including retiring baby boomers. Good story on this from the Christian Science Monitor, including a good comparison with the UK's VSO program. Want to volunteer for the Peace Corps or another organization seeking highly-skilled professionals as volunteers? See this resource.

The media has lots of stories about very famous, very wealthy celebrities starting schools or their own nonprofits. There are also stores about young people starting their own nonprofits. The impression you might get is that, to make a difference, you have to start your own organization, and mobilize several thousand, if not millions, of dollars.

Those are great initiatives -- but don't assume that you will have to either become a celebrity or start your own nonprofit to help others. There are simple ways you can make a difference or promote the causes you believe in:

• Volunteer locally. The Internet offers several places to look for volunteering opportunities:
  • VolunteerMatch
    
  • Idealist
    
  • HandsOn Network
    
  • CraigsList
    
  • Network for Good
    
  • 1-800-volunteer.org
    
  • ServeNet
    
    
• Educate yourself about causes, and see what others are doing to promote those causes. One of my favorite resources for this is Change.org
  
  
• Use your MySpace blog and friends links, as well as those of all your other online profiles, to promote the organizations and causes you believe in. For instance, you could link to all of the animal shelters and animal-related organizations in your area, as well as nationally, and blog regularly about why people should spay and neuter their pets, the importance of adopting from shelters rather than pet stores, where to find help with animal behavior problems, etc. Or you could simply blog about your own volunteering activities.
  
  
• Think about aligning your professional training with a career in nonprofits or with aid, relief and development agencies. More tips for this here.
  
  

Those are a few ideas on how you can make a difference. Also see these tips especially for teens. You don't have to be Oprah or Angelina Jolie or a wunderkind to make a difference in the world.

50% of new HIV transmissions take place amongst 15-24 year olds, so we need to connect with each other, empower ourselves and make change. Project Stitch is a youth focused HIV awareness project brought to you by AIDS Vancouver and YouthCO AIDS Society. The Digital AIDS Quilt is a multi-media collage created by young people. Now 289 pieces strong, this quilt expresses our experience and understanding of HIV’s-s impact. Add your piece to the ever-evolving quilt and you could potentially win a digital camera! Submit here

If questions submitted by Yahoo!Answers Community Service is any indication, young people in the USA want to get involved as activists in causes they care about, but aren’t sure how. Here are a few tips to get engaged:

• Look online for local, national and international organizations that are addressing the issues you feel most passionate about. Read their information, get involved in the advocacy efforts they promote, and subscribe to their email newsletters, if they provide such. Your goal is to stay educated and up-to-date about the issue(s) you care about, and to be able to be fact-based in your interactions with others when talking about this cause.
  
  
• Link to these organizations on your online social networking profiles (MySpace, FaceBook, Change.org, etc.), so that visitors to your profile will see these links and, perhaps, click on them themselves.
  
  
• Volunteer with these organizations, if you can, and attend their events if at all possible. This will keep you educated about their work and the issue(s) you care about, and will allow these organizations to demonstrate grassroots support for their work.
  
  
• Write your local, state and national representatives, as appropriate, to tell them you, as a individual citizen (not representing any organization), are concerned about whatever issue it is you feel passionate about and why you think they should address such. For instance, for international issues, such as regarding Sudan, you would write your national representatives (US Representatives & Senators), but for local issues, such as the lack of a recycling program in your community, you would write city and county officials.
  
  
• Write a letter to your local newspaper editor as a conerned individual, saying why a particular issue is important and encouraging others to care and get involved.
  
  
• Look to see where people running for local, state and national offices stand on the issue(s) you care about most. If a candidate’s web site doesn’t make it clear on where the person stands on the issue(s) you care about, write that candidate and ask.
  
  
• Create a blog on your MySpace, FaceBook or other social networking site and write about your experiences as an advocate, about what you are learning from the organizations working on a particular issue, about campaigns or events these organizations are undertaking, what kind of responses you get from political candidates, etc.
  
  
• Let the organization(s) you are supporting know about your advocacy efforts; you can send them copies of letters you have sent to the media or local officials, or let them know you are blogging about their cause.
  
  
• Be ready to register to vote as soon as you turn 18, and encourage everyone in your family to register to vote.
  

In all of your own advocacy efforts, stay fact-based. Also, make it clear in your efforts that you are acting as an individual, not as a representative of any organization. If an organization would like for you to speak to local groups about their efforts or to network on their behalf, they will contact you -- but you shouldn’t do such unless you have an agreement with the organization to do such.