Ellen and I shared many stories about our mothers--how they needed us and how we needed them. Janice was a force for good and she thankfully passed on her strength, vision, and compassion to Ellen. I am glad to help pay tribute to a beautiful person!

Great post! I have often struggled with the issue of how volunteers can best be mobilized to change the world. I think there are a few ways to encourage volunteer leaders to go beyond the act of organizing other volunteers. One is to encourage a reflection period at the end of a volunteer opportunity where volunteers are asked to explore the underlying causes of the “problem.” Volunteer leaders can take an extra step here by doing some research into organizations that work more deeply on the problem at hand and provide resources to the volunteer team.

I also think that some types of volunteer projects/programs are more effective than others at getting to the root causes of poverty rather than just treating the symptoms. Education programs in particular have always appealed to me for their transformative potential. I firmly believe that volunteers can be successfully utilized to teach basic personal finance, for example, to adults. And some policies on the books are good, but need volunteers to help low and moderate income people access them, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Hands On Nashville and the Nashville community have set an example for us all! Congratulations for accomplishing so much already!

Your entries are very moving. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!