Ideal’s Post

Benefits of Volunteering: 😃 Personal Fulfilment: Volunteering can provide a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and personal growth. 💡 Skill Development: Gain new skills and experiences that can enhance your professional and personal life. ❤️ Community Impact: Make a tangible difference in your community and contribute to positive change. 🤝 Social Connections: Build a network of supportive and caring individuals. By following these steps, you can find fulfilling volunteer opportunities and make a meaningful impact in your community.

Volunteers Week 2024 🫶🏼 This week is National Volunteers Week -time for us to celebrate the amazing contribution people make to the community. 🙌🏽 Volunteering was a gift to me after I moved abroad. It is something embedded in Western societies: it is made a lot more accessible and possible than it was in Hungary (maybe just life struggle was too draining, or I was too young and didn't care to do it? not sure). Either way, volunteering became a big part of my life since 2015. A few great experiences I had, just in case you need ideas: - Sundays in Durrell Zoo: I truly miss being surrounded by animals🐻, cleaning up their areas💩, food prep, or manning butterfly house 🦋 - Bat monitoring: I fell in love with bats big time while in Jersey, so recording their sounds and monitoring bats was a great experience 🦇 -Water testing in Citizen Science Program in Jersey: shocking but hugely important results... Let's not even mention water quality and sewage spillage going on in UK (disgrace)💩 - Sussex Wildlife Trust: I enjoy the HIT squad days clearing hedges, wood chopping, planting native wildflowers or litter picking🚯 - Brighton Permaculture Trust: orchard planting in hail and gale force wind wasn't on my list but I did enjoy it nevertheless! 🍎🌳 - Parkrun: the thing is I am NOT a runner, just tackling a beginners-course, but I either join as marshal (cheering) or tail-walker.🏃🏽♂️➡️ - I try and join lot of beach cleans organised by Leave No Trace, Marine Conservation Society, the Sussex Dolphin Project (their boat trips are fab by the way, if you haven't been yet!) 🐬 I know a lot of people who help other charities, support wonderful initiatives and are doing great things. Huge thank you to all of those who dedicate time and effort to volunteer!👏🏼 Share your volunteering experiences- maybe someone else is just looking for inspiration. Volunteering actually helped me hugely when I struggled with my mental health: so can highly recommend it as a remedy. It gives purpose, perspective, and it is a joyful focus time. 🫂 #volunteersweek #volunteering #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness

https://lnkd.in/d3jq-2CQ “The simplest and most immediate way concerned parties with some resources, whether an individual or institution, can help is to donate more to small #wildlife #conservation organizations and volunteer when and where it is logistically possible,” a new op-ed argues.

🌱 Join us in supporting Urban Harvest this #TransformationTuesday 🌱 Since 1994, Urban Harvest has been cultivating thriving communities in Houston through gardening and access to healthy, local food. 🥕 Their mission is not just about planting seeds but also about nurturing vibrant neighborhoods and improving lives, soils, and plates across the city. From launching thriving gardens to organizing farmers markets and educational programs, Urban Harvest has been at the forefront of creating sustainable change. 🌿 Urban Harvest hosts one of Texas’ largest farmers markets, today supporting over 100 local Houston farmers market vendors, providing an outlet for community and backyard gardeners to sell fresh produce harvested directly from their own soils. But Urban Harvest is more than just about gardening—it's about fostering connections and building communities. 🌻 Community gardens in Houston serve as hubs for inter-generational interactions, bringing people of all ages together to connect with the land and each other. These green spaces aren't just about growing plants; they're about nurturing mental well-being. 🌳 They provide a sanctuary for people to de-stress, meditate, and find solace in nature. By supporting Urban Harvest, you're not just supporting a nonprofit—you're supporting a movement towards healthier, happier communities. 🌟 Join them in sowing the seeds of change and cultivating a brighter future for Houston! ▶️ UrbanHarvest.org #UrbanHarvest #CommunityGardens #HealthyLiving #Donate #Nonprofit #Dogood #Philanthropy #Nonprofitorganization #Socialgood #Causes #Changemaker #Notforprofit #Activism #NonprofitSpotlight #CommunityImpact

This is a really frustrating and short-sighted article. I want the charities I care about and invest in to have leaders that are dedicated AND paid appropriately. To suggest that a board isn’t doing its job by compensating leaders at market rate - yet often far below the rate of a private company - is irresponsible. Consider the downward pressure on the rest of the staff’s compensation structure. When you pay the executive below market, you’ll likely pay everyone below market. Good luck attracting or retaining talent - no matter how much they care about the cause. Everyone has to feed their families. Focus on the impact of the organization and not on the compensation.

GUESS WHO IS SPONSORING THE 2024 LA NATIVE PLANT GARDEN TOUR THIS YEAR? 🤭   You didn't see THAT coming, DID you? (or maybe you did 🤣) 🌿💎🪴 The Olympia Collective is a proud sponsor of the 21st Annual Native Plant Garden Tour happening April 13-14 in Los Angeles hosted by by Theodore Payne Foundation. This is a self-guided, two day tour of selected West and East LA native gardens containing at least 50 percent native plants. Since 2003, more than 700 public and private landscapes have been featured on the tour, ranging from coastal container gardens to modernist foothill estates to experimental urban homesteads. Each garden is a harmonious creation of Southern California’s climate, soil, natural vegetation, and native wildlife in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. If you are wondering where this came from, we’re starting to get intrigued by how nonprofits can learn from nature to GROW, CULTIVATE, NURTURE, and PROPOGATE donors and revenue. We're so convinced of this connection that we’re ALL IN for growing our knowledge of all things plant-related. In fact, Olympia is now obtaining her Certificate of Horticulture from the UCLA Extension.  And we’ll be at both days of the Native Plant Garden taking in observations about how love and nurturing can grow more than just gardens. West side gardens are featured on Saturday, and East side gardens on Sunday. You can find out more at https://lnkd.in/gPCfnB6T. So, maybe it’s time to think about this: How does YOUR donor garden grow? 🌱 #nativeplantgardentour #theolympiacollective #sayhello #corevalues #health #trust #teamwork #connection #fun #generosity #growth #nonprofitconsultant #nonprofitfundraising #fundraising #fundraiser #fundraisingcounsel #gratitude #horticulture #cultivate #cultivation #nativeplants #californianatives #donorgarden

The ongoing scrutiny on overhead expenses such as the narrative put forward in this article, is outdated and is hindering charities potential for impactful change. It's time to shift the narrative. Robust investment in infrastructure, talent, and innovation is pivotal for sustainable growth and social transformation in the charitable sector. By valuing efficiency over impact, we limit our capacity to solve complex issues. Embrace a new mindset: allow non-profits the freedom to invest strategically. Let's focus on outcomes and the lives we touch and assist. Together, let's empower organizations to thrive, to create a stronger, more effective and compassionate world for us all. As Dan Pallotta would say “We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interesting that we don't have a visceral reaction to the notion that people would make a lot of money NOT helping other people." #charity #overhead #impact

🌱👩🌾 Young Cooks Dig Into Community Garden Project! 🍅🥕 Exciting things are happening at The Kind Kitchen Group! Our Young Cooks have rolled up their sleeves and gotten their hands dirty (quite literally!) as they begin building planter beds for our community garden project. This initiative is about more than just growing fresh produce - it's about cultivating a sense of ownership, responsibility, and pride in our young people. By involving them in every step of the process, from building the beds to planting the seeds to harvesting the vegetables, we're helping them develop valuable life skills and a deeper connection to their food and community. As they assembled the beds, our Young Cooks demonstrated incredible teamwork, problem-solving, and perseverance. It was inspiring to see them encourage and support one another, share ideas, and work collaboratively towards a common goal. This community garden project is a perfect example of the hands-on, experiential learning we believe in at The Kind Kitchen Group. By engaging our students in real-world projects with tangible outcomes, we're helping them build confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning. We can't wait to see how this garden grows and its positive impact on our students and community. Stay tuned for updates as our Young Cooks continue to nurture this project from seed to harvest! If you'd like to support initiatives like this that empower youth and strengthen community bonds, please consider donating https://lnkd.in/dRe_YDu8 Every contribution helps us plant the seeds of change! #CommunityGarden #YouthEmpowerment #ExperientialLearning #GrowingTogether #SustainableFuture #CulinaryStorytelling #FoodMemories #YouthEmpowerment #VirtualLearning #GratefulForOurCommunity #Durham #Food #FoodAccess #resilience #WhereFoodMeetsPurpose #KindKitchenGroup #CulinaryImpact #SupportYouth #YoungCooksSociety #ChefSicilyJohnson #CulinaryArts #SocialImpact #YouthEmpowerment #CommunityBuilding #CulinaryArts #YouthEmpowerment #CommunityBuilding #KindKitchenGroup #ChefMelanieWilkerson

🦜📢 We need your help! 📢🦉 We’ve just launched a crowdfunding campaign → http://t.ly/QpYWz to support our new nest box research project 🐥🏡 and we could really use your help 🙏 Our project will explore the value of a new nest box design that helps minimise thermal variation and better mimics natural hollows. Bushfires, drought and land clearing have wreaked havoc on the habitats of native wildlife in Australia. My team and I have the chance to monitor the installation of new nest boxes to give returning wildlife a safe place to shelter and breed in revegetation in Gippsland, Victoria. Our research could ensure these animals have a greater chance of survival. But we need your support to purchase the equipment necessary to carry out this new project. THREE WAYS YOU CAN HELP → 🫱 Donate via http://t.ly/QpYWz. It's so easy and your support goes directly to the project. Every dollar counts and every donation means someone cares for our precious wildlife. 🗣️ Share this post and the link with your network. The more we let know about our work the greater impact we will have. 👋 Reach out to me if you want to know more. There may be other ways you can help the project, e.g., by volunteering some time to help us go through the camera footage once we start our data collection. Our fundraising goal is quite small and we will be making every dollar go a long way. We’ll keep you updated throughout 2024 with regular posts on our research so you will hear all about the impact of every donation. DONATE NOW → http://t.ly/QpYWz