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by Randy TylerAbout Online Volunteering: Information Non-Profit Organizations Can Use by Macdonald Youth Services Randy Tyler
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How to Record and Send Voice E-Mail to Your Online Volunteers - An Instructional Video
27/08/2007
Download How to Create Voice E-Mail Winnipeg, Canada, August 27, 2007: Voice e-mail is one productivity application that non-profit organizations should be using to communicate with their online volunteers. There are certain situations where text-based e-mail is not as effective or efficient as voice e-mail in conveying a message to your Internet-based volunteers. "I often use voice e-mail to communicate with our online volunteers", commented Macdonald Youth Services' (MYS) Online Volunteer Program Developer, Randy Tyler. "Not only is voice e-mail an efficient method to communicate or clarify an online volunteer assignment, it is a powerful way to personally recognize an online volunteer's efforts and results", added Tyler. Why Use Voice E-Mail? Some Advantages Efficient: Considering the same amount of content, a voice message can be recorded and mailed much easier and faster than typing a test-based e-mail message. Personal: Voice mail with its ability to convey one's emotions (versus emoticons), is more personal and intimate than text-based e-mail. Inclusive: For people with a disability that makes typing difficult, voice e-mail is enabling. Ergonomic: Sending voice mail may help reduce one's risk of developing a repetitive strain injury (RSI) from typing. Considerations in Selecting a Desktop-Based Voice E-Mail Application Will the application record a voice message in an audio format that can be easily played on most operating systems and platforms (currently this would be the mp3 format)? Does the application allow audio recording parameters (such as: bit rate and sampling rate) to be configured to accommodate an online volunteer's Internet connection (larger file size = better quality)? Can the voice message be recorded directly to the preferred destination audio file format (that is, mp3) versus having to first record your message in an uncompressed format (such as a wav or aif format), and then converted to the mp3 audio format before sending? Can the duration and file size be easily observed during the recording of your voice message? Does the application pause (stop recording) during a certain level of silence? Can the message be easily played back (without requiring an external audio player, for example) prior to sending? Does the application require an accompanying e-mail application or can the voice message be recorded and sent from within the voice e-mail program? If one application will both record and send the message, does it also have the capability to store a list of e-mail address for faster execution? How to Record and Send a Voice E-Mail Message: An Instructional Video As part of the how to multimedia best practices publication about Online Volunteering Randy Tyler is currently developing, MYS online volunteer Yu Cheng (now living in China), created an easy-to-follow instructional video that shows how to download, install, configure, record and send a voice e-mail message using a PC-based application called "Audio Record Wizard" (please note: there are other similar programs such as NCH's "Vemail Voice Email"). To download the six minute instructional video (which is available in Flash, PC and Mac Flash Projectors, WMV, AVI and MPG4 formats), please visit the following URL now: http://www.mys.ca/volunter/how-to To subscribe or unsubscribe from MYS’s Online Volunteering News and Announcements E-Mail List, please see the URL below: http://www.mys.ca/cgi-bin/media/mail_list.pl Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a trusted and respected registered charitable healing and support agency based in Winnipeg, Canada, has been Building Better Tomorrows for Manitoba's at-risk children since 1929. Through a variety of innovative and leading programming, MYS provides services for thousands of Manitoba’s young people on a yearly basis. Since 1998, MYS has been at the forefront of successfully utilizing highly-skilled online volunteers from around the globe to enhance
Online Volunteers Play a Key Role in Success of Special Events
30/07/2007
Download Thanking Special Event Online Vols Download Thanking Special Event Online Vols Winnipeg, Canada, July 30, 2007: Most not-for-profit organizations still rely (only) on face-to-face volunteers to help plan, organize and execute their special events. However, Canadian-based charitable organization, Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), has demonstrated that Internet-based volunteers can play a key role in the success of special events. To mark their major milestone, MYS held a series of special events to illustrate and celebrate their remarkable 75 year history helping at-risk children: A digital client art exhibit, showcasing the talents of their clients, whether in sculpture, pencil, poetry or paintings; a narrated time line presentation that conveyed MYS's humble beginnings in 1929 to today, where service is provided for thousands of Manitoba's at-risk children; a concert fundraiser, wherein bands donated their time and talent to a fund to buy arts and cultural program materials for MYS's clients; a reception at the Dalnavert Museum, the former home of MYS's founder, Hugh John Macdonald, and a Diamond Dinner. Whether it was, for example, voicing Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to promote their events, poster or advertisement creation, restoring old photographs, scanning photos, retyping old documents, designing invitations and programs, crafting new releases, developing multimedia presentations and DVDs or producing a video PSA for broadcast on local TV, online volunteers from around the globe played a key role in the success of MYS's 75th anniversary events. To co-ordinate the anniversary events, MYS hired Julie Fine. Although an experienced event planner, Fine had not worked with online volunteers before. "I have worked on a number of events in the past, but this is the first time that I have been able to work with virtual volunteers and it was an absolutely amazing experience", stated Fine "I had no idea the quality of work that was available and the variety that the virtual volunteers could provide; and I was constantly amazed as I worked over the past eight months on a number of projects, " continued Fine. "Digital presentations, as opposed to physical exhibits and presentations, were easy to display and distribute via a number of mediums, from the Web to DVDs," stated MYS Online Volunteer Program Developer, Randy Tyler. "Moreover, (digital) multimedia content can be easily archived and re-purposed (for example, our narrated multimedia time line presentation is now part of our employee orientation package), added Tyler. “Without the virtual volunteers, we would’ve had to pay for a number of services and this would’ve meant money taken away from an arts cultural trust fund we’re preparing for youth, so that they can take arts classes, theatre and dance,” said Fine. To recognize and show appreciation for the significant contribution online volunteers made towards the success of MYS's anniversary events, Event Co-ordinator Julie Fine delivered a video thank you message to them. The 1.5 minute video, which was produced by MYS's New York based online volunteer Richard Wagner, speaks to the amazement Fine experienced in working with these highly-skilled online volunteers. The video can be viewed above or is available for download in various formats (WMV, Flash SWF, FLV Flash, MPG4, MPG2 and DivX) at the following URL: http://www.mys.ca/volunter/how-to To subscribe or unsubscribe from MYS’s Online Volunteering News and Announcements E-Mail List, please see the URL below: http://www.mys.ca/cgi-bin/media/mail_list.pl Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a trusted and respected registered charitable healing and support agency based in Winnipeg, Canada, has been Building Better Tomorrows for Mantoba's at-risk children since 1929. Through a variety of innovative and leading programming, MYS provides services for thousands of Manitoba’s young people on a yearly basis. Since 1998, MYS
Online Volunteering: A Great Fit for Retired Albertan
21/06/2007
Download Interview with Gail DrinnanWinnipeg, Canada, June 21, 2007: It was 2005 and retired Albertan Gail Drinnan couldn't find a local online volunteer opportunity that matched her skills and interests. Now two years later, Drinnan still continues to share her time and talents via the Internet to help Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a charitable organization located 800 miles away in Winnipeg. Drinnan, who had not volunteered via the Internet before, sees online volunteering as flexible and in sync with her retired lifestyle. "It just suits my lifestyle and schedule, ... I get up in the morning and ... usually have some free time ... and I can sit at the computer with my coffee and put in some time," stated Drinnan. "... if I have other things I have to do I can just work when I need to, if its something late at night, I can put in a few hours - it's just really convenient ...," added Drinnan. "Using a professional presentation application called ProShow Producer, Gail has produced some remarkable DVDs for us," commented MYS Online Volunteer Program Developer Randy Tyler. "Whether it was recognizing the 40th anniversary of our longest-serving employee or developing an orientation for our Treatment Foster Program, Gail has demonstrated flexibilty, a diverse skill set and a commitment to high standards," added Tyler. To learn how Drinnan originally got involved with MYS and what has motivated her to contribute over 350 hours of online volunteer service, MYS South Dakota-based online volunteer audio producer John Small interviewed Gail. To download the Skype to land line phone interview (mp3: 5.33 MB), please see the download link at the top. Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a 77 year-old trusted and respected registered charitable healing and support agency based in Winnipeg, Canada, provides a variety of innovative and leading programming for thousands of Manitoba’s young people on a yearly basis. MYS has been successfully utilizing highly-skilled online volunteers from around the globe to enhance their programs and services since 1998. For further information: Randy Tyler Macdonald Youth Services Winnipeg, Canada T: 1-204-949-4292 W: http://www.mys.ca/ E: http://www.mys.ca/cgi-bin/randy_email.cgi Skype: randytyler_canada
Online Volunteering - How to Productively Manage Your E-mail (An Instructional Video)
06/06/2007
Download How to Use ThunderbirdWinnipeg, Canada, June 5, 2007 - By its very nature, managing an online volunteer program involves an extensive amount of e-mail communication. Thus, failing to manage your e-mail in an efficient and effective way can result in an extensive waste of time and lost productivity. Fortunately many e-mail applications (such as the free cross-platform open source e-mail program, Thunderbird) contain rich feature sets to assist a non-profit organization to productively manage their e-mail communication with their online volunteers. Setting up folders to organize your mail, configuring a range of simple to complex filters (with associated actions, such as automatic printing, playing a certain alert audio message when a specific type of message arrives, message re-direct/transfer, auto replying or deleting of messages) and creating stationary files for commonly used messages, are just some of the many ways that many e-mail applications can be configured to assist an online volunteer program manager to successfully control their mail exchanges. As part of the best practises multimedia publication about Online Volunteering that Randy Tyler is currently developing, many how-to videos have (and are) being produced. In this context, Macdonald Youth Services' Ireland-based virtual volunteer, Becky Heaman, recently produced a video that aims to show you how to download, install and configure some of Thunderbird's most powerful features to assist you in better managing your e-mail communication. To accommodate various users, the 16 minute "How to Use Mozilla's Thunderbird E-mail Application" video is available in the following formats (at different resolutions): Flash, Windows Media Video, AVI, DivX and MPEG-4. To choose your preferred download option, please visit the URL below now: http://www.mys.ca/volunter/mte To subscribe or unsubscribe from MYS’s Online Volunteering News and Announcements E-Mail List, please see the URL below: http://www.mys.ca/cgi-bin/media/mail_list.pl Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a 77 year-old trusted and respected registered charitable healing and support agency based in Winnipeg, Canada, provides a variety of innovative and leading programming for thousands of Manitoba’s young people on a yearly basis. MYS has been successfully utilizing highly-skilled online volunteers from around the globe to enhance their programs and services since 1998. For Further Information: Randy Tyler, Volunteer Co-ordinator/Webmaster Macdonald Youth Services http://mys.ca/volunter Winnipeg, Canada Ph: 1-204-949-4292 E: http://mys.ca/cgi-bin/randy_email.cgi Skype: randytyler_canada
Does Job Satisfaction Encourage Online Volunteering?
02/05/2007
Download Interview with Middle East Online Volunteer Eugen BodolakMiddle East-Based Software Developer Contributes Online to a Canadian Charity 6,000 Miles Away Winnipeg, Canada, May 2, 2007: Eugen Bodolak, a computer programmer living in the Middle East, sought out a rewarding online volunteer opportunity via an Internet search. Unfamiliar with online volunteering, what attracted this programmer to virtually volunteer with Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a Canadian charitable organization almost 6,000 miles away from his residence in Cyprus? "I am working in a big company and a big team ... and you know when you have big team, you have a small, small, small part in it, so you don't feel like it's yours...," said Bodolak. "I am pleased that we were able to offer Eugen online volunteer programming opportunities which allowed him to use more of his skill set and thus have more of a sense of ownership, stated MYS Online Volunteer Program Developer, Randy Tyler. "The type of virtual projects that Eugen undertook highlights that certain online tasks may also, in certain situations, be assigned to a team of online volunteers where sharing of skills and time will maximize production, added Tyler. MYS South Dakota-based Online Volunteer John Small connected with Eugen when he was home on vacation in Romania. In the approximate 10 minute Skype to Skype interview, Eugen speaks, among other topics, about the nature of his job as a computer programmer in Cyprus, his impetus to seek an online volunteer opportunity, the importance of considering one's available time before committing to an online volunteer role, the concept of volunteering and how a team of online volunteer programmers may advance a project when time becomes a barrier for one volunteer. To download or listen to John Small's interview with Eugen, please see the mp3 (6.8 MB) link at the post entry above. Subscribe or Unsubscribe from MYS’s Online Volunteering News E-Mail List http://www.mys.ca/cgi-bin/media/mail_list.pl To easily add your Web site to our Link Directory, please see: http://www.mys.ca/addlink Macdonald Youth Services (MYS), a 77 year-old trusted and respected registered charitable healing and support agency based in Winnipeg, Canada, provides a variety of innovative and leading programming for thousands of Manitoba’s young people on a yearly basis. MYS has been successfully utilizing highly-skilled online volunteers from around the globe to enhance their programs and services since 1998. For Further Information: Randy Tyler, Volunteer Co-ordinator/Webmaster Macdonald Youth Services http://www.mys.ca/volunter Winnipeg, Canada Ph: 1-204-949-4292 E: http://www.mys.ca/cgi-bin/randy_email.cgi Skype: randytyler_canada
