Today, as the nation marked the eight year anniversary of September 11 with a renewed focus on community service and civic involvement, VolunteerMatch helped thousands of Americans commit to strengthening their communities through volunteering.

VolunteerMatch is the Web's most popular volunteer network and the preferred volunteer recruitment service for more than 70,000 nonprofit organizations. Potential volunteers can visit www.volunteermatch.org and search by location or interest for volunteer opportunities in diverse cause areas such as education, human rights, the environment, and economic development. By 4:00pm eastern time today, nearly 1,500 individuals had signed up for opportunities.

This is the first officially-designated September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. The anniversary received federal recognition as a National Day of Service and Remembrance through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year. The goal of the new service day is to help Americans honor the victims and heroes of 9/11 and rekindle the spirit of togetherness and compassion that followed the 2001 terrorist attacks.

At VolunteerMatch, interest in volunteering is at an all-time high as individuals, business leaders and civic organizations have responded to the recession and to President Obama's historic call to service. Since the start of the year, VolunteerMatch has generated more than 473,000 volunteer referrals, nearly 15% more than the same period last year. Since 1998, VolunteerMatch has generated more than 4.3 million total referrals - an equivalent social value of $2.4 billion.

To help celebrate and reflect this increased activity, today VolunteerMatch also released a new "Live Map" feature at www.volunteermatch.org/livemap. An integration of Google Maps, the new feature provides visitors with an inspiring glimpse into the real-time search and referral activity currently taking place in the VolunteerMatch network.

To commemorate the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance by volunteering:
http://www.volunteermatch.org

To post a volunteer opportunity or register an organization:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/post/

To see the new VolunteerMatch Live Map:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/livemap

About VolunteerMatch

VolunteerMatch is the Web’s most popular volunteer network and is committed to strengthening communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. Its award-winning online service, www.volunteermatch.org, helps visitors find local volunteer opportunities by location, interest area, and/or keyword. The VolunteerMatch network welcomed more than 10 million visitors in 2008, including millions of participants in employee volunteer programs, and has become the preferred volunteer recruiting service for more than 70,000 nonprofits.

VolunteerMatch

VolunteerMatch

VolunteerMatch believes everyone should have the chance to make a difference. As the Web's largest volunteer engagement network, serving over 122,000 participating nonprofits, 100 network partners, and 13 million annual visitors, VolunteerMatch offers unique, award-winning solutions for individuals, nonprofits and companies to make this vision a reality. Since its launch in 1998, VolunteerMatch has helped the social sector attract more than $13 billion worth of volunteer services. Learn more about VolunteerMatch at VolunteerMatch.org, and follow @VolunteerMatch.

 

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