Funding for addressing core problems in health care

REGENCE GROUP (OPEN)
The Group, the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain region and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, has created a corporate Foundation. The Foundation estimates it will contribute $2.5 million in its first year and $4 million after that to organizations addressing its three funding priorities: Building Healthier Communities; Transforming Health Care; and End-of-Life. Grants in the Building Healthier Communities category support innovative programs addressing core problems in the health care system. Transforming Health Care grants create an environment where consumers partner with physicians to make informed health care decisions. End-of-Life grants seek to transform how the end of life is approached within the health care system. Grants must be used to serve residents of Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and/or Washington State. Online letters of inquiry are being accepted now for Building Healthier Communities and Transforming Health Care programs. End-of-Life applications may be submitted beginning Sept. 1. Additional information is available online. | Contact Info: REGENCE GROUP, Monique Barton, Executive Director, The Regence Foundation, 100 SW Market St., MS E-8T, Portland, OR, 97201, Ph: 503-276-1965, Send Email, Alternate email address: RegenceFoundation@regence.com

Volunteering in America

This just in from the Corporation for National and Community Service: Oregon is 16th in the country for our rate of volunteerism! Portland is third in the country for large cities! Eugene is 16th and Salem 23rd for mid-size cities!

Click here for a wealth of current statistitcs on US volunteering rates in addition to states and cities! This is great information.

Service Nation

Have you heard about Service Nation?

From their website:  ServiceNation is a campaign for a new America. To begin this journey, ServiceNation will unite leaders from every sector of American society with hundreds of thousands of citizens in a national campaign to call on the next President and Congress to enact a new era of service and citizenship in America, an era in which all Americans will work together to try and solve our greatest and most persistent societal challenges. This campaign will launch with a ServiceNation Summit, Sept. 11-12 in New York City, and build with a national grassroots movement aimed at inspiring widespread public support for a new and transformational national service act that will encourage all Americans to step forward and take the lead in bridging our divides, strengthening our communities, and building a more vibrant democracy.

In addition to the summit on September 11-12 in New York City, there will be a Day of Action of September 27th across the country. To learn more about Service Nation, click here. To read a recent letter from the editor of Time Magazine about Service Nation, click here.

Mercy Corps Youth Action Summit – Aug 14th at PSU

Mercy Corps is very pleased to announce that their Global Citizens Corps (http://www.globalcitizencorps.org/) will be holding a Youth Action Summit at Portland State University, Thursday, August 14.

The summit aims to educate young leaders (high school and college aged) about global hunger issues and the current global food crisis. The youth summit will equip young activists with the action tools and skills necessary to tackle these issues, both globally and locally. At the end of the summit, participants will be able, and encouraged to develop and implement action projects in their schools and communities.

The confirmed panel speakers include: Cathy Bergman, Food Security Program Officer at Mercy Corps; Michael Hiland, advocate at Bread for the World; and Nat Parker, Regional Manager for Sierra Club. Sessions will address awareness and advocacy, action planning and fundraising, impact and social networking.(Awareness+Action=Impact!)

Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

For questions or to register, send an email to Jake Gallardo at jgallardo@hq.mercycorps.org.  The registration deadline is August 10, 2008.

Funding for Engagement of Baby Boomers from the Oregon Community Foundation

The OregonCommunity Foundation (OCF) is exploring the engagement of Baby Boomer-age adults in services and issues directed to improving the lives of Oregon’s children from birth to age eight.  The Foundation plans to award between $10,000 and $40,000 to fund two to four projects that demonstrate innovative ways to engage older adults in paid (full time, part time, or stipend) or unpaid (volunteer) opportunities in this area.  Successful projects may be eligible for continuation or expansion funding for up to two additional years. For a pre-rfp, click here.

Oregon 150

On February 14, 2009, Oregon is turning 150 years old! There will be many opportunities to connect into this historical event including: Take Care of Oregon Days, Oregon Youth Legacy Project, and Oregon Stories. For more information on these opportunities and to stay in touch, please go to http://www.oregon150.org/. Oregon Campus Compact will keep you abreast of opportunities on this blog, but if you would like targeted information about Oregon 150, please send an email to info@oregoncampuscompact.org with “Oregon 150″ in the subject line. We will keep you connected including convening a conference call of folks on campuses who are connecting to Oregon 150.

Internships and volunteer opportunities are available, please click here for more information.

Social Media… a primer

Blogs. Wikis. FaceBook. My Space. Photo sharing sites. You Tube. Twitter. Mashup’s. RSS. Tags. Podcasts.

The vocabulary of Web 2.0 is building fast. Click here for a great glossary from the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.

A few recent resources worth noting:

• The Meyer Memorial Trust has recently launched Connectipedia, a wiki or shared learning environment for those working towards the common good. The brains behind Wikipedia and many of Oregon’s technology experts built this resource… check it out!
• The Case Foundation has recently published a paper and blog called “Social Citizens” about the millennial generation and their use of technology. A must read.
• Do you know about Tech Soup?  This is an organization and website focused on technology for nonprofits. Check out their learning center for help with all things techno.

What other resources have you found? Please post them in the comments section.