Maria Shriver Discusses the Importance of Volunteerism



Maria Shriver Discusses the Importance of Volunteerism

Maria Shriver Discusses the Importance of Volunteerism

Written by Imperial Valley News

Sunday, 04 November 2007

Maria Shriver Discusses the Importance of Volunteerism;

Hi, this is Maria Shriver with this week’s California Report.

Our work to help people recover from the terrible southern California wildfires is well underway and we are seeing the very best in generosity and compassion from thousands of individuals.

The Governor’s CaliforniaVolunteers Office is coordinating many of these efforts and the response from the people of our state has been extraordinary.

More than 4,200 volunteers are on the ground in the affected areas.

And in San Diego County alone 10,000 new volunteers have registered with the local center since the fires began.

Volunteers are helping at shelters, supporting command centers, processing donations and taking care of animals for evacuees.

The stories are truly heartening.

A military family who lived through the 2003 fires sent breathing masks to help volunteers who are working amid all the smoke.

A high school senior from San Diego County helped his mom evacuate their home, then he went to a local church to assist others. Every day, more people ask me what they can do.

Well, the first step is visiting the CaliforniaVolunteers website at: www.CaliforniaVolunteers.org.

From there, we can refer you to the organizations in the areas directly affected by the fires.

I urge you to sign up now because the recovery is expected to take months and our fellow Californians will need our support long after the news of these fires fade.

Nothing provides more personal satisfaction than volunteering for a worthy cause and by giving back during a time of tremendous adversity.

WE can make a difference.

WE can keep reaching out to help, rebuild and comfort.

WE can lend our strength and share our compassion.

That is the Power of WE.

I hope you will join us and the thousands of volunteers who are helping their fellow Californians recover from these fires.

Again, our web site is www.CaliforniaVolunteers.org.

Thank you for listening.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2007; Maria Shriver; Sargent Shriver; California

When this story was posted in November 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

---

Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Senator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them."

---

---

October 14, 2007: This Month's Top Stories UN Secretary-General Visits Peace Corps 12 Oct David Robeck adopted four orphans in Russia 14 Oct Juan Donald Dontugan remorseful for killing Julia Campbell 12 Oct PCV John Roberts dies in accident in Vanuatu 12 Oct Richardson proposes PCVs earn back their college tuition 10 Oct Bruce Cumings writes: North Korea: neutral instead of nuclear 9 Oct Volunteerism is dropping significantly 9 Oct Josh Swiller recalls being deaf in the Peace Corps 8 Oct Bob Bates gained near-legendary status as mountaineer 7 Oct New search for Peace Corps Volunteer Walter Poirier III 6 Oct James Rupert writes: Attacks by Taliban mounting 6 Oct Peace Corps Returns to Ethiopia 4 Oct Chris Matthews and “the book interview from hell” 3 Oct Knox College starts Peace Corps preparatory program 22 Sep Julia Chang Bloch exhibits African American Art Treasures 19 Sep Garamendi says students should push for change 17 Sep NPCA raises $1 million in Microlending program 13 Sep Dodd says Iraq Has Left Us More Vulnerable 12 Sep David Whitman's photo exhibition opens Sep 9 in Key Biscayne 8 Sep Dodd-Feinstein increases Peace Corps funding by $10 million 7 Sep Kevin Denny writes: Malawi Village uplifts AIDS orphans 3 Sep

---

What is the greatest threat facing us now? "People will say it's terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing? I would approach this differently, in almost Marshall-like terms. What are the great opportunities out there - ones that we can take advantage of?" Read more.

---

Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Hearings Read PCOL's executive summary of Senator Chris Dodd's hearings on July 25 on the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act and why Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter does not believe the bill would contribute to an improved Peace Corps while four other RPCV witnesses do. Highlights of the hearings included Dodd's questioning of Tschetter on political meetings at Peace Corps Headquarters and the Inspector General's testimony on the re-opening of the Walter Poirier III investigation.

---

Paul Theroux: Peace Corps Writer Paul Theroux began by writing about the life he knew in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His first first three novels are set in Africa and two of his later novels recast his Peace Corps tour as fiction. Read about how Theroux involved himself with rebel politicians, was expelled from Malawi, and how the Peace Corps tried to ruin him financially in John Coyne's analysis and appreciation of one of the greatest American writers of his generation (who also happens to be an RPCV).

---

Ambassador revokes clearance for PC Director A post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania.

---

Suspect confesses in murder of PCV Search parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences .

---

He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Read the stories and leave your comments.