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National Day of Service
Omicron Delta Kappa National Day of Service
Lead. Serve. Unite.
Mission:
Designed to provide opportunities for OΔK members to engage in their communities through public service, the first annual OΔK National Day of Service will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010. This nation-wide event will be a united effort between OΔK Circles to create and participate in a service project that addresses a specific need within each campus or community. Those participating will be actively exemplifying one of the five founding principles of Omicron Delta Kappa: Service. As a national organization, we hope to provide members with opportunities to interact with their communities, share and gain new skills, connect with a diverse group of people, and experience new things. We hope this day provides each Circle with a national sense of purpose and unity.
Get Involved!
There are many ways to be involved with your community and it doesn’t have to be restricted to just one Saturday. We encourage our members to serve in a variety of ways. Service projects come in all shapes and sizes. Some are sponsored by single organizations – like your OΔK Circle, while others involve wide-ranging cooperation with charities, communities of faith, government agencies, and businesses. Some take place at a local level – a college or community – while others are citywide or statewide. Still others are designed as single-day projects, while some continue long into the future. Whatever your project might be, we hope it connects with other OΔK Circle projects in uniting people around the OΔK ideal of service.
More specifically, we identified three different types of projects your Circle might plan for the OΔK National Day of Service.
National Day of Service a Success!
1. Plan your project:
Any OΔK member of your Circle can be in charge of planning, promoting, and participating in your service project. Many Circles have a community service chair – this is the perfect opportunity to get involved! Many of you are already involved in some form of community or public service, so you’ll have plenty of experience. For your convenience, we assembled a detailed service project planning kit to use as a guide to plan a project. Here is the link to download a PDF version of the Project Planning Kit.
Check out this list of resources that might help plan, promote, and execute an OΔK National Day of Service project! These forms can be found in the Planning Kit or downloaded individually using the links below:
* Sample Timeline for Planning Your Project
* Sample Checklist for your Project Site Visit
* Project Planning Form
* Sample Checklist for the Day of Your Project
* Sample Project Agendas
* Project Information Form for Volunteers
* Service Evaluation Survey
* Volunteer Sign-Up Form
* Volunteer Sign-in Form
* National Day of Service Press Release
2. Tell us about your project!
We want to know about all the great Circle service projects on April 10! Register your Circle project online by subitting OΔK National Day of Service Circle Project Form.
Link to form: http://www.odk.org/ndsform
3. Serve!
This is the most important step! Make sure everything is in order for your Circle's OΔK National Day of Service Project. Remember that regardless of the size, scale or significance of your project, your Circle will be making a difference.
4. Document your project:
Keep accurate records of your event. This will help future OΔK members in planning successful service projects, and it will help maintain the relationships you’re building within the community. Get quotes from volunteers, take photos and video; this will come in handy when promoting future service projects. Submit any information about your OΔK Circle's National Day of Service Project to OΔK National Headquarters including press releases, photos, and videos. You can submit any information to OΔK Fellow Matt Hopper at matthopper@odk.org.
Opportunities for Service:
Here are a few examples of some project ideas that your Circle might use. You can find more project ideas in the updated version of the Omicron Delta Kappa Programming Guide for 2010.
OΔK has partnered with the HandsOn Network to provide each Circle the opportunity to register their National Day of Service Project on the HandsOn Volunteer Opportunity Portal. By registering your OΔK Circle project, you give your volunteers the opportunity to participate in the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. program and receive a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to the DisneylandŽ Resort or Walt Disney WorldŽ Resort, free to celebrate volunteerism and service.
To learn more about the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program, visit their website at www.disneyparks.com.
Click here for more information and to learn how to register your Circle Project.
Who’s Doing What?
Click here to check out the list of projects that are already planned for our OΔK National Day of Service on April 10, 2010.
Additional Information:
Here are a few websites that might be helpful in planning a service project.
Lead. Serve. Unite.
Mission:
Designed to provide opportunities for OΔK members to engage in their communities through public service, the first annual OΔK National Day of Service will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010. This nation-wide event will be a united effort between OΔK Circles to create and participate in a service project that addresses a specific need within each campus or community. Those participating will be actively exemplifying one of the five founding principles of Omicron Delta Kappa: Service. As a national organization, we hope to provide members with opportunities to interact with their communities, share and gain new skills, connect with a diverse group of people, and experience new things. We hope this day provides each Circle with a national sense of purpose and unity.
Get Involved!
There are many ways to be involved with your community and it doesn’t have to be restricted to just one Saturday. We encourage our members to serve in a variety of ways. Service projects come in all shapes and sizes. Some are sponsored by single organizations – like your OΔK Circle, while others involve wide-ranging cooperation with charities, communities of faith, government agencies, and businesses. Some take place at a local level – a college or community – while others are citywide or statewide. Still others are designed as single-day projects, while some continue long into the future. Whatever your project might be, we hope it connects with other OΔK Circle projects in uniting people around the OΔK ideal of service.
More specifically, we identified three different types of projects your Circle might plan for the OΔK National Day of Service.
- Organize members of your OΔK Circle to volunteer with an already established community service organization like Habitat for Humanity or Relay for Life. For example: OΔK members at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio are partnering with the non-profit organization Project Linus to help provide homemade quilts to families in need.
- Plan and execute a small-scale project that involves members of your Circle. Spend the day at a local soup kitchen. Clean up an under-served neighborhood. Plan a spring game day for the kids in your community.
- Plan a community wide or campus wide project by inviting students and community members to participate in a service activity with your OΔK Circle volunteers.
National Day of Service a Success!
1. Plan your project:
Any OΔK member of your Circle can be in charge of planning, promoting, and participating in your service project. Many Circles have a community service chair – this is the perfect opportunity to get involved! Many of you are already involved in some form of community or public service, so you’ll have plenty of experience. For your convenience, we assembled a detailed service project planning kit to use as a guide to plan a project. Here is the link to download a PDF version of the Project Planning Kit.
Check out this list of resources that might help plan, promote, and execute an OΔK National Day of Service project! These forms can be found in the Planning Kit or downloaded individually using the links below:
* Sample Timeline for Planning Your Project
* Sample Checklist for your Project Site Visit
* Project Planning Form
* Sample Checklist for the Day of Your Project
* Sample Project Agendas
* Project Information Form for Volunteers
* Service Evaluation Survey
* Volunteer Sign-Up Form
* Volunteer Sign-in Form
* National Day of Service Press Release
2. Tell us about your project!
We want to know about all the great Circle service projects on April 10! Register your Circle project online by subitting OΔK National Day of Service Circle Project Form.
Link to form: http://www.odk.org/ndsform
3. Serve!
This is the most important step! Make sure everything is in order for your Circle's OΔK National Day of Service Project. Remember that regardless of the size, scale or significance of your project, your Circle will be making a difference.
4. Document your project:
Keep accurate records of your event. This will help future OΔK members in planning successful service projects, and it will help maintain the relationships you’re building within the community. Get quotes from volunteers, take photos and video; this will come in handy when promoting future service projects. Submit any information about your OΔK Circle's National Day of Service Project to OΔK National Headquarters including press releases, photos, and videos. You can submit any information to OΔK Fellow Matt Hopper at matthopper@odk.org.
Opportunities for Service:
Here are a few examples of some project ideas that your Circle might use. You can find more project ideas in the updated version of the Omicron Delta Kappa Programming Guide for 2010.
- Help prepare and serve meals at a homeless shelter
- Remove graffiti from a building, paint a mural, or clean up a public space
- Bring meals to homebound neighbors
- Make a public space accessible
- Build a playground or community garden
- Organize and participate in a neighborhood watch
- Collect clothing, canned goods, and other items for a local shelter
- Register bone marrow and organ donors
- Perform small chores and home maintenance projects for elderly neighbors
- Arrange a health fair
- Teach seniors how to surf the Internet
- Sponsor a legal clinic
- Devise craft projects for children in hospitals
OΔK has partnered with the HandsOn Network to provide each Circle the opportunity to register their National Day of Service Project on the HandsOn Volunteer Opportunity Portal. By registering your OΔK Circle project, you give your volunteers the opportunity to participate in the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. program and receive a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to the DisneylandŽ Resort or Walt Disney WorldŽ Resort, free to celebrate volunteerism and service.
To learn more about the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program, visit their website at www.disneyparks.com.
Click here for more information and to learn how to register your Circle Project.
Who’s Doing What?
Click here to check out the list of projects that are already planned for our OΔK National Day of Service on April 10, 2010.
Additional Information:
Here are a few websites that might be helpful in planning a service project.
- www.serve.gov
- www.handsonnetwork.org
- www.nationalservice.gov
- www.americorps.gov
- www.mlkday.gov
- www.usaweekend.com/diffday
- www.thearc.org
