A Conference That Includes A Day Of Volunteering Is A Good Conference

If a volunteer sending organization like GeoVisions is going to belong to an association, that association should support volunteering by including a volunteer project in the agenda.  And that is why GeoVisions belongs to WYSTC and WETM-IAC.  At every conference, we take a day to volunteer locally.  It's where the rubber meets the road.  It also provides conference attendees with an opportunity to get out into the community, to rub elbows with the locals and understand what it's like to live there.  So many times we attend a conference and we never leave the 4 or 5 star hotel.

During the WETM conference last week in Miami, I had an opportunity to volunteer for a day with , the Haitian Women in Miami.  FANM is 16 years old and has a rich past of providing counseling, outreach, education, access to care and advocacy services.

FANM sustains itself and it's programs through grants and donations.  Their greatest challenge is funding for their programs and the support of earthquake victims.  Many earthquake victims are sent to Miami for medical care.  These victims, often invisible once in the U.S., can count on FANM to become their voice and advocate for medical procedures, rehabilitation and housing after treatment.

So how did our work for the day actually help?  We

• assembled 150 emergency medical kits to be distributed in Haiti;
• assisted FANM's staff at their shipping warehouse by organizing donations;
• labeling boxes of food and clothing for transport to Haiti;
• loaded school buses with domestic goods;
• and filled a truck trailer with thousands of bottles of donated water.

We were able to do all of this work at the International Port of Miami, which is administered by Homeland Security.

What conferences do you attend that provide opportunities to get involved locally and volunteer?  Do you agree that it also provides an opportunity to get to know the locals better?