HandsOn Network is now welcoming nominations for the 2010 Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) Awards. The awards honor outstanding performance from Corporate Volunteer Councils.

The nearly 100 Councils in the U.S. are a primary local resource for encouraging, educating and connecting businesses that support employee volunteer programs. The councils promote volunteerism in the workplace and provide a place to network and exchange ideas for those who manage employee volunteer programs.

HandsOn Network makes these awards in two categories - CVC of the Year and the Fast Start Award. Both awards recognize a Corporate Volunteer Council's success in employing the CVC Principles of Excellence, but the Fast Start Award is specifically for newer CVCs established within the past three years.

Nominees are judged based on adherence to the Corporate Volunteer Council Principles of Excellence, which are benchmarks established to help councils maximize their operations, effectiveness, and accomplishments.

The benchmarks address:

• Does the council have a clearly articulated purpose and mission to address community needs through its employee volunteer programs?


• Are the council’s structure and activities clearly connected to its purpose and how do they support businesses interested in developing or strengthening their employee volunteer programs?


• How does the council use evaluation and measurement to improve continuously its performance and that of its members?

The 2010 CVC Awards will be presented during the annual National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government and corporate sectors. The conference will take place June 28 - 30 in New York, NY. For more information on the annual gathering please visit www.volunteeringandservice.org.

The Award recipients will be showcased to other CVCs and the larger service community through various marketing and communication vehicles during their award year. In addition, they will receive:

• Two registrations to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service


• Opportunity to present during a HandsOn Network council training webinar


• Recognition on the HandsOn Network Web site


• Recognition in various HandsOn Network communications and newsletters

HandsOn Network, the volunteer-focused arm of Points of Light Institute, is the largest volunteer network in the nation and includes more than 250 HandsOn Action Centers that reach more than 83% of the nation’s population and extend to ten countries. HandsOn includes a powerful network of more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations that are answering the call to serve and creating scaled impact. In 2008, the network delivered approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at $615 million.

Points of Light

Points of Light

Points of Light is a global nonprofit organization that inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that changes the world. We envision a world in which every individual discovers the power to make a difference, creating healthy communities in vibrant, participatory societies. Through 145 affiliates across 39 countries, and in partnership with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 3.7 million volunteers in 16.7 million hours of service each year, contributing $498.7 million of value in people power into communities around the world. We bring the power of people to bear where it’s needed most. To learn more about Points of Light visit pointsoflight.org. 

Partnering with Points of Light means you’ll have the expertise and support you need to mobilize your colleagues and create community impact using all aspects of civic engagement. We've helped companies with a variety of needs including implementing large-scale employee volunteer events, tackling your larger social impact vision, expanding how you engage communities and consumers, infusing new ideas to your annual employee engagement programs, connecting with peers to bring the latest and greatest ideas on impact measurement, and getting company leadership investment and buy-in. Learn more today.

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