HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020​

Thank you NAVPLG Members for your support of community and our mission overtime. Thank you NAVPLG Board of Directors for service and guidance. As we look forward to the new decade, let us be mindful of our personal merit and influence in the world. May everyone be blessed with superpowers to accomplish heroic deeds in our communities.

What are you looking forward to in 2020? I am prepared for Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day of Service on January 20. My community will celebrate the 3^rd annual Four Corners MLK Day of Service with a breakfast gathering and nondenominational prayer service before dispersing to complete projects around the county. I am also establishing the 1^st annual Mayor’s Volunteer Partners Works of Heart Volunteer Fair to be hosted at San Juan College on January 30, and the 23^rd annual Works of Heart—Kindness Volunteer Appreciation Awards banquet sponsored by the City of Farmington on February 27.
 
This is my 2^nd year as president of NAVPLG and 3^rd year as a member. It is also my 2^nd year as City of Farmington (COF) Volunteer Program Manager, and my 26^th year as a COF employee. I am thankful for NAVPLG, my community, nation, and world. May we continue to sustain each other beyond measure.
 
I’m looking forward to 2020, and I hope to see many of you at NAVPLG’s Annual Meeting & Session at the Points of Light Conference in Washington, D.C., June 10-12. Our meeting will be held there on Monday, June 10 from 9:00-10:15 a.m. Please take advantage of the extended early-bird registration by January 17 at the following path: https://web.cvent.com/event/bd001afe-0cea-4b22-ab54-32e56a04f185/summary .

Blessings to you and yours,

Kandy LeMoine, CVA
Mayor’s Volunteer Partners
Volunteer Program Manager
City of Farmington Human Resources
klemoine@fmtn.org
505-599-1421
WWW.FMTN.ORG
NAVPLG President (2018-2020)
WWW.NAVPLG.ORG

With the new decade, I’ve recommitted to practices that will move us toward a more just and inclusive society. I’m grateful to our local libraries for providing the following essential resources in so many accessible formats. 
 
Looking back, I remember when I first heard the terms “White Fragility” and “virtue signaling” and how my lenses shifted after attending an exhibition focused on Intersectionality. The most resonant refrain was that the responsibility for educating folks about disparity and the impact of “Othering” should not fall to those who have been excluded. It rests firmly on the shoulders of those of us who have benefited, systemically, from these flawed practices. Finding resources, informing ourselves, and changing our behaviors are key to affecting positive change. 

As a white, cis-gendered, neuro-typical woman, I’ve stumbled - repeatedly. Yes, shame and regret are part of the process, and the goal is to keep moving forward with an open heart and mind. 
 
Here are some resources that have been particularly helpful heading in to 2020 —and all are available online and through your local library. 

Organizations
 
Race Forward

Center for Othering and Belonging

Centre for Global Inclusion

Books

So you want to talk about race?
 
How to be an anti-racist.
  
Podcasts

Code Switch from npr

New York Times Still Processing

 

 

Lori Geres comes to NAVPLG from the Portland’5 Center for the Arts in Portland, Oregon where she is responsible for over 500 volunteers working in the performing arts complex of 3 theaters, a concert hall and an auditorium.   Lori has worked in volunteer management for over 25 years, in both Oregon and Colorado. She has worked with small local nonprofits, international non-governmental organizations and national nonprofit service agencies.   “The greatest joy in my career has been working with individual volunteers” she said “I have had the good fortune to work with wonderful, interesting people who are focused on making the world a better place.” 

 
A native Oregonian, Lori makes her home in Portland with her adult son and a house full of animals.  She loves being close to the ocean and the mountains, tolerates the rain and dreams of the tropics.  She loves social media as it has the ability to link the world in uplifting ways. Two platforms (personal and professional) that are her favorites include Twitter, she follows the adventures of 5 golden retrievers in Key West, the upcoming lambing season in Ireland, the haunts of an academic cat in Warwick, England and the stark beauty of winter in Siberia.  LinkedIn is a wonderful tool centered on building community with like-minded professionals. Connections, leads and resources are all shared in LinkedIn, and serves as a great way to expand capacity for organizations.
 

VQ Volunteer Strategies has partnered with Offero to develop a new, free and downloadable guide designed to help government leaders (particularly leaders on city and county levels) build a case for a citywide engagement strategy. The guide was developed in response to inquiries and feedback that both parties have received as a leader in developing technologies to support municipal/county engagement.

NAVPLG board members Mary Lynn Perry (City of Sacramento, California) and Corina Sadler (City of Plano, Texas) are both featured in this guide.

To download your copy of the guide, visit Offero's website.  

Thank you to both Volunteer Strategies and Offero for making this resource available and for including NAVPLG as a partner.