VolunteerLebanon Association for Volunteer Services

Issue 3: August 21, 2007

Dear Friends of AVS, of Lebanon, and of volunteerism worldwide,

This letter is the first of four we will send in the coming month to update you on our achievements and our dreams, with the invitation for you to share in both. In this issue of VolunteerLebanon, I will present our vision and our approach, and in each of the coming three issues I will highlight one of our most important programs in greater detail: our Learning to CARE Program, Global Youth Service Days, and our Volunteer Directory.

When we established the Association for Volunteer Services in 1998 to promote, facilitate, and improve volunteering throughout the country, the idea of bringing a professional approach to volunteering was a new one in Lebanon and, indeed, throughout the region. Lebanese culture already had a rich tradition of helping relatives, friends, and neighbors without any expectation of a direct return, financial or otherwise. AVS has built upon that tradition, encouraging people to apply that spirit to those broader social needs that extend far beyond one's personal network.

From our first orientation meetings in 1999, we have made a point to go to the different areas of Lebanon to invite organizations to participate in our volunteer fairs, workshops, programs, and service projects. We are very proud that the schools and organizations that have participated in our programs (now numbering in the hundreds) come from all the regions of Lebanon, and cross over all the country's significant social boundaries, bringing people of all ages together to help improve their society. Over the years, we have helped organizations learn how to recruit and manage volunteers better and we have taught volunteers their rights and responsibilities while helping them understand how much they benefit (in non-financial ways) while they help their society. And we have facilitated that interaction through our directory, our volunteer fairs, and our direct referral services.

For those of you who have already contributed as volunteers and donors, our past achievements are yours as well, and we hope you will continue your support. We invite everyone who shares our vision to help further our efforts - and to forward this message to others who also might be interested. Whether your cause is Lebanon or volunteerism or simply a better world, know that your cause is ours as well. Your support can help us:
- Sustain our ongoing programs
- Reach out to more individuals and organizations in Lebanon and beyond
- Train more schools and their community partners
- Involve more donors and sponsors in supporting youth service projects, and
- Encourage more people to share their time and their talents t
---- Help the elderly, the orphans, and the disabled
---- Protect their country's heritage
---- Improve the environment, and
---- Support cultural enrichment programs to increase quality of life for all.

For those who are ready to do so, we invite you to DonateNow. Just click here to make a direct donation by credit card (tax deductible in the US). If you would prefer to donate by check, cash, or bank transfer, or want to learn more about tax deductible donations or corporate matching, please click here. While we welcome contributions of any size, we would like to give a special thanks to those of you who donate $500 or more by sending you a signed copy of our book, Learning to CARE: Education, Volunteering, and Community Service.

With our best regards,
Dr. Patricia Nabti
AVS President and Director

DonateNow: http://www.avs.org.lb/donatenow.html
Donation Information: http://www.avs.org.lb/support.html
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VolunteerLebanon is a new e-publication of the Association for Volunteer Services (AVS) primarily for those living outside Lebanon who wish to support AVS objectives to promote, facilitate, and improve volunteering and community service throughout Lebanon and beyond. We invite you to forward VolunteerLebanon to others and send us their addresses so that we can send them future issues. To automatically translate VolunteerLebanon or any other text from English into French and many other languages go to http://world.altavista.com/tr.

Dr. Patricia Nabti, AVS President and Director

ASSOCIATION FOR VOLUNTEER SERVICES
P.O. Box 136104, Beirut, Lebanon 2039 4232
Phones: 01-797247 / 01-800170 / 03-757098
Fax: 01-797247
avs@avs.org.lb www.avs.org.lb
Office: Mona Building (1st Floor), Impasse 83 off Saqiat
al-Janzir Road, 'Ain al-Tineh, Beirut

Website: HERE