1999 Volunteers
1999 Volunteers
This is a list of people who participated as online volunteers with the Project in 1999, and their list of accomplishments with the Virtual Volunteering Project to date as of December 31, 1999. We are proud to have had so many of our online volunteers from 1997 and 1998 continuing on with us in 1999, as well as having many new volunteers onboard.
The online volunteer accomplishments listed below include only those tasks completed on behalf of the Virtual Volunteering Project, or coordinated by the Project for another program at the Dana Center or a collaborating organization. Many of these volunteers listed here completed online assignments for other nonprofit organizations, and most have also volunteered onsite for various other organizations.
Debbie Almeida [JDA0777@aol.com]
Tiverton, Rhode Island
Compiled a list of web sites and online directories that assist parents and teachers in their work with young people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, and evaluated sites compiled by other volunteers regarding their usefulness. This information led to resources on our page Accommodations for online volunteers who have learning disabilities or emotional and anxiety disorders. She also gathered information on "celebrity" foundations. Debbie started volunteering with the VV Project in 1998, helping to find material for Finding Technical Assistance Volunteers, and researching resources for the TENET Web site as part of its resources to help Texas teachers and educators with volunteer management and community engagement for and by students.
Tom Barron [view Tom's Web site]
Nashville, Tennessee
Provided feedback on the VV Project materials and strategies, helped design a draft online guide re: e-mail mentoring and tutoring that will be incorporated in 2000 into the VV Project web site, provided an overview for Project staff on how a client-side database could complete survey responses sent to use via e-mail or the Web, and gave advice for setting up a new online discussion group for online volunteers. In 1998, Tom compiled an extensive list of clip art for use by the AIR-Austin: Accessibility Internet Rally, an event that involved the VV Project, and frequently provided suggestions about the Project Web site; and created an archive of answers to surveys submitted by agencies to the VV Project.
Mario Bazan [mario_bazan@yahoo.com]
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mario helped create new pages for our list of collaborating agencies, breaking them up into regions and creating a new index page. He began volunteering with the Project in 1998, creating a new survey form for our site, and an archive of affiliate discussion posts since 1997 (almost 200 messages!). This archive was a critical project, as the Project Advisors are spread throughout the U.S., and various university-based researchers are interested in viewing this information for their own studies.
Brian Chan [brianchan4@yahoo.com]
Austin, Texas
Researched web sites with information about state-wide and city-wide mentoring programs in the U.S., evaluated and updated resources on some VV Project pages, and helped identify online resources for and examples of volunteers in police departments. Much of his research will be incorporated into our online volunteer management resources and in other projects we are undertaking.
Sharon Cheong [SCP36@aol.com]
Murray Hill, New Jersey
Helped prepare several new Web pages for the Austin chapter of DOVIA, converted e-mail survey responses to .HTML so the VV Project could share results with others, and has undertaken various and numerous online research projects, generating new material for various pages on the Virtual Volunteering Project Web site.
Celina Chung [cchung@nimbus.ocis.temple.edu]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The KEY person behind the VV Project archive pages, converting more than 200 applications submitted by individuals who wanted to volunteer online, and surveys submitted by both volunteers and agencies, into .HTML -- a daunting task! She also compiled an index of overseas volunteering opportunities for TxServe, and researched information on Internet-based fan groups that engage in philanthropic activity, compiled a list of online professional groups with a focus on Hispanic membership (the VV Project is interested in outreach to such groups because of a growing number of online opportunities for Spanish/English speakers), and reviewed the Project's new Web design for access and viewing quality.
John Clepper [JohnBoy512@webtv.net]
San Antonio, Texas
Researched online resources to help people find internships (on or offline), and Web-based resources for support groups for HIV/AIDS or Hospice to see find guidelines for interacting with people with HIV/AIDS, particularly online -- what to do, what not to do, suggestions for online discussions, guidelines, suggested resources, etc.
Cheryl Cole Dodwell
Washington, D.C.
Returning for a second year as a Project advisor, Cheryl reviews and contributes information for new Web materials, drafts of outreach materials and various program reports. She also offers program, funding and outreach suggestions and helps promote the Project. More information about Cheryl.
Chris Colpitts [colpitts@nh.ultranet.com]
Durham, New Hampshire
Helped compile summary information for our archive project, and was the first of his Information Technology in Social Work class at the University of New Hampshire to experience virtual volunteering first hand.
Jenny Feng [jenfeng@prodigy.net]
West Palm Beach, Florida
Gathered contact information for national mentoring agencies; researched the Web sites of six top U.S. Presidential campaigns to see if they involved online volunteers; researched online resources relating to school-to-career programs for another Dana Center program; researched online information about computer viruses for our Handbook for Online Volunteers; researched contact information for state volunteerism/community service offices, and looked for news stories regarding supposed lacks in the number of skilled workers emerging from high school and college in the U.S.; compiled and compared agency usage statistics in January 1999 for the three largest online volunteer opportunity databases (VolunteerMatch, ServeNet and Action Without Borders); created an index to help volunteers already engaged in volunteering, and to help people who want to volunteer prepare for volunteering; helped format new surveys to use on the Project Web site to gather information from agencies on how they use the Internet as part of volunteer management; and helped convert emailed survey responses to .HTML so we could share results with others.
Kristian Gallagher [view Kristian's Web site]
Austin, Texas
A professional web designer, Kristian forwarded information she found in the course of her work relating to web accessibility for people with disabilities to the VV Project, and forwarded VV Project and other volunteer information to various professional associates.
Stuart Geary
Nottingham, England
Converted e-mail survey responses to .HTML so we could share results with others.
Lisa Gibbs [Lisa.Gibbs@us.origin-it.com]
Flower Mound, Texas
Researched and compiled information on corporations who have supported major volunteerism campaigns and events in the U.S. in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
Steve Glikbarg
San Francisco, California
Returning for a third year as a Project advisor, Steve reviews and contributes information for new Web materials, drafts of outreach materials and various program reports. He also offers program, funding and outreach suggestions, helps promote the Project, and acts as a sounding board to many of the VV Project Manager's ideas, random musings and struggles toward lucidity. Steve, a co-founder of Impact Online, was the first manager of its online volunteers and, therefore, one of the first people in the world to manage a virtual volunteering program.
Sripriya Gomatam [sripriyatg@excite.com]
Longmont, Colorado
Compiled information about PTA Web sites and a list of all Texas-focused online discussion groups, in support of outreach efforts and other programs at the Dana Center. He also researched community network web sites to evaluate their use of the Web to recruit and involve volunteers at their organizations, corporations that have supported volunteerism efforts in 1997 and 1998, identified volunteer applications on various Web sites, and has undertaken various and numerous online research projects, generating new material for various pages on the Project Web site.
Betzaida Hachfeld [xchild@roadrunner.com]
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Gathered URLs for "unofficial" web sites by former Peace Corps volunteers, for possible inclusion in a new page on the VV Project site; searched for and gathered information on the various nonprofit organizations and nonprofit-based programs with a focus on helping nonprofits use technology effectively; researched web sites for national organizations that sponsor mentoring programs and iniatives; researched articles and news about the "Open Source" movement, to find resources for the Handbook for Online Volunteers; and gathered online information regarding mandatory community service programs, including court-ordered community service and school-related programs. This information will be used in the Dana Center's index of volunteer management resources.
Jackie Hartmann [jjhart@fmis.net]
Charlestown, New Hampshire
Gathered contact information for several education-focused organizations we had only partial information for.
Philippa Hindle [philippa@well.com]
San Francisco, California
With coordination assistance from the VV Project, helped the Austin-area United Way create material, including an online form, for its Web site, and introduced the organization to the "joys" of virtual volunteering. In 1998, she helped compile new information for the Project's ever-expanding Online Resources for Volunteer Managers.
Lisa Hinely [Lisa_M._Hinely@bulk.org]
Austin, Texas
A volunteer manager herself, Lisa is a DOVIA member and plays a lead role in maintaining the DOVIA Web site. For the VV Project, Lisa passes on various helpful information and resources, and has taken on several online research assignments, such as indexing human resources/personnel management online information that could be helpful to volunteer managers, and identifying state Workforce Development Council information available on the Web for the entire U.S., as part of a joint project for Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Sharon Hooker [sharon4157@earthlink.net]
Bowie, Maryland
Researched contact information for selected Hispanic professional associations, and undertook several online research projects relating to school-to-career programs for another Dana Center program.
Robyn Hunt [RJHunt96@aol.com]
Sacramento, California
Helped compile a list of online resources and information relating to intergenerational activities that involve grade school kids (K - 12) and other age groups (elderly with grade school kids, for instance), particularly around mentoring, tutoring or working with computers. This information will be used in new materials by the VV Project and in projects with the Charles A. Dana Center.
Ibrahim Ibis [ibrahim_ibis@hotmail.com]
Istanbul, Turkey
Helped with various online research projects, such as researching online volunteering activities outside of the United States, and compiled contact information for various Texas media resources, to help with the Project's outreach efforts.
Harry Knobler [hknobler@bcpl.net]
Baltimore, Maryland
Undertook MANY online research projects to benefit the VV Project and various other projects at the Dana Center, including compiling a list of volunteer associations of professionals, researching online resources relating to school-to-career programs, researching e-mail pen pal programs, finding contact information for groups we had only partial information for, reviewing sections of the VV Project site to make sure links were still valid and to update URL information, and sharing information on how these projects helped him learn to use various features of his computer hardware and software, as well as the Internet in general. Much of his research helps with the Project's outreach efforts. Through the VV Project, he also helped a nonprofit music festival organized via the Internet to update its press/outreach list with contact information for Web sites featuring information about early American music.
Matthew Koenn [mkoenn@hotmail.com]
Merritt Island, Florida
Researched school-to-career resources on nonprofit museum web sites for another Dana Center program; helped compile a list of national and state conferences in Y2000 relating to volunteer management, volunteerism and online communities, researched articles for possible inclusion on our web site, researched articles and news about the "Open Source" movement for the Handbook for Online Volunteers; gathered information on "celebrity" foundations, and reviewed some of the Web sites listed on our index of agencies involving online volunteers, to make sure our information was still accurate; and gathered contact information for all agencies who had posted opportunities to the VolunteerMatch database in January, and all volunteers who had e-mailed interest in these assignments during a selected week, so that the Project could survey them about their virtual volunteering experiences.
Peter Kwan (Kwan Wai Bong) [cs_kwb@stu.ust.hk]
Hong Kong
Helped with some web page creation, including formatting task descriptions into web pages, researched online resources relating to school-to-career programs for another Dana Center program, and performed many, many other online searches for the VV Project to gather new information for our Web site.
Daniel Lee [Daniel7187@aol.com]
Bellevue, Washington
Researched city offices of volunteerism and online mentoring programs, evaluated schools Web sites that featured information about how to volunteer at the school and how students at the school perform community service, reviewed volunteer management and volunteerism information available via numerous national organizations' web sites, to determine what information the VV Project should link to via its indices of such resources; helped research schools for young people with hearing impairments in the U.S., to help the Project in its online outreach efforts; researched online information about school safety and preventing school violence; and offered MUCH valuable feedback about the usability of various sites, tools he found most helpful in doing assignments, and what he learned from doing assignments, which helps the Project in designing its online resources.
Laura Malavé [malave@eng.usf.edu]
Tampa, Florida
Helped research online discussion groups for a not-for-profit organization to use in its recruitment of subject matter experts and online mentors, and developed two online assignments for other online volunteers. She began volunteering with the Project in 1998, helping with various web page building assignments for both the VV Project (a primary activity was breaking up large Project pages into smaller, easier-to-read pages) and one of our collaborators, TxServe.
Subra Mayilvahanan [subramayil@yahoo.com]
Fremont, California
Gathered information on school-support organizations (such as local chapters and the national chapter of the PTA) to see what information they had on their web sites relating to volunteer recruitment and management.
Erin McDermott [emcdermott@hotmail.com]
Scotia, Nebraska
Researched online resources relating to school-to-career programs for another Dana Center program, reviewed and updated some of the links on the VV Project site, and compiled and summarized resources to help people find paid internships.
Paul Miller [http://members.aol.com/millerpr/conifer2.htm]
Riverside, California
Working through the VV Project, helped update Knowbility's Gallery of Accessibility.
Pat Mitchell [aviontech@home.com]
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Created a Web site for the AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education Program (ACEE) , and helped ACEE staff members learn the realities of working with an online volunteer. She also helped prepare pages for the VV Project web site, submitted redesign ideas for the site, and helped compile information to help organizations learn when, why and how their volunteers can and should engage in advocacy/lobbying offline.
Tinny Montoya [SkyLarkK33@aol.com]
Los Angeles, California
Tinny gathered contact information for more than 50 organizations we had only partial information for.
Zuzanna Muszynska [c1milosz@us.ibm.com]
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
In addition to assisting SmartGrrls (now GirlStart) with various online projects, Zuzanna researched the involvement of online activists by environmental groups for the VV Project, and wrote information on using DOS to ftp files for the Handbook for Online Volunteers.
Shelley Naivar [snaivar@aol.com]
Austin, Texas
Gathered information about nonprofit organizations who had recently visited the VV Project web site, to see if any had volunteer information on their sites, for-profit organizations who might be potential supporters of the VV Project, and the Web sites of top U.S. Presidential campaigns to see if they involved online volunteers.
Gina Ng [LilBitzy1@aol.com]
Brooklyn, New York
While recuperating from knee surgery, Gina helped research stories about online romances (for an upcoming article on our web site) and tracked down URLs for various Austin organizations for the DOVIA Web site, a program the VV Project is involved with.
Sue Ellen Peters-Herbert [SEPeters@drc.com]
Lanham, Maryland
Helped convert text documents to .HTML for uploading on the DOVIA Web site, a program the VV Project is involved with; and helped convert emailed survey responses to .HTML so we could share results with others here on our Web site.
Angel Gabriel Polonia [view Angel's Web site]
Queens, New York
Helped convert text documents to .HTML so we could share them via our VV Project archive here on our Web site, submitted artwork and layout ideas for the Project Web site, and has undertaken various and numerous online research projects, generating new material for various pages on the VV Project Web site.
Gabriele Schuster
Sunnyvale, California
Researched online resources relating to school-to-career programs for another Dana Center program, researched alternative weekly papers in major Texas markets, helped compile a list of top ISPs, so the VV Project could pursue partnerships with these companies, provided general feedback about the VV Project site and its resources, and served as the Project's "News Hound," looking for news stories relating to innovative involvement of volunteers, corporate volunteerism, volunteerism in schools, and online volunteering.
Kathy Setzer[wordmule@jump.net]
Austin, Texas
Provided various online research tasks and updated links for VV Project pages, and taught the VV Project Manager how to check to see what sites are linking to ours. One of her biggest undertakings was researching and evaluating the various "clearinghouse" web sites that allow users to donate to many different nonprofits, through contributions managed through the site, through logo "clicks", or the purchase of a particular product. Her evaluation was passed on to other organizations who were inquiring about this form on online philanthropy.
Sallie Swales [Golfnsalli@aol.com]
Newark, Delaware
Most recently, Sallie created a summary of answers sent in via various online surveys we've conducted so we could share these results with others. She also helped compile a list of web sites and online directories that help parents and teachers in their work with young people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, many of which were used in our suggestions to accomodate people with disabilities as online volunteers.
Devon Tutak [BdwyBby@aol.com]
Kearny, New Jersey
Reviewed Web sites that had won awards for their design, to find out which (if any) also passed the BOBBY test; such sites will be included in Knowbility, Inc. Web Accessibility Curriculum. She also helped develop pages for Directors of Volunteers in Austin. Devon began volunteering with the VV Project in 1998, when she helped format many pages into .HTML for the VV Project archive.
Randy Tyler [http://www.mb.imag.net/~tyler]
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
As an online volunteer for the Project, Randy offered redesign suggestions for the VV Project logo. As a collaborating organization (Randy's full-time job is as webmaster and coordinator of the volunteer program for Macdonald Youth Services, which involves online mentors and other online volunteers, and has shared information about this program as well), he's offered information about his own involvement of online volunteers. You can see a profile of this organization here on our web site.
Douglas White [dwhite4@bellsouth.net]
Delray Beach
Compiled a list of online communities, guilds, and associations for Web developers, which will be incorporated into our Web site to help agencies find volunteers.
Madeline Whyte [madeline.whyte@worldnet.att.net]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Through the VV Project, helped a music festival organized via the Internet to update its press/outreach list with contact information for area newspapers and for related online discussion groups; served as a VV Project "News Hound," looking for news stories each month relating to corporate volunteerism, volunteerism in schools, and online volunteering; and researched online resources relating to school-to-career programs, in conjunction with a project at the Charles A. Dana Center. She began volunteering with the Project in 1998, when she reviewed EVERY site on our Online Resources for Volunteer Managers so that all of these organizations' Web materials could be indexed by resource on our site; her work formed the basis of a new index of online resources for volunteer managers.
Claire Willis [iclairewillis@yahoo.com]
East Point, Georgia
Helped input several volunteer opportunities for a local elementary school working with the Virtual Volunteering Project, and has taken on several online research projects, including gathering online resources relating to school-to-career programs for another Dana Center program and researching "anti-volunteerism" information online (sites that offer opinions opposed to volunteerism) from across the political spectrum.
Nancy White [nancyw@fullcirc.com]
Seattle, Washington
Researched web sites relating to teen issues and teen advocacy.
Jeff Wiedner [jeffwiedner@yahoo.com]
Reston, Virginia
Through the VV Project, helped a music festival organized via the Internet to update its press/outreach list with contact information for music-related magazines; compiled newsgroups and lists relating to specific professional groups to help an agency working the the VV Project recruit online mentors; and continues to frequently advise the VV Project manager on outreach for the program to broader audiences. His MANY contributions from 1998 include tracking down what Web sites link to the VV Project Web site, providing information on how to use Hot Bot to do this in the future, researching state offices of volunteerism and community service, and beta-testing the Project's temporary delivery system of virtual opportunities. Jeff also developed part of the Handbook for Online Volunteers, writing chapters on using online search engines, particularly to find news articles. Jeff is a marketing professional, and has provided the Project with advice on how to approach the media and researched appropriate technology-related publications to approach in the future.
Everardo Ybarra-Hilton [Cajeme46@aol.com]
San Antonio, Texas
Helped translate a page on our site into Spanish, and offered advice on translation in general.
Melanie Zauscher [nunuz@juno.com]
San Diego, California
Helped identify all of the various organizations and online resources focused specifically on helping nonprofits use and infuse technology as part of their mission-based programs.
If you find this or any other Virtual Volunteering Project information helpful, or would like to add information based on your own experience, please contact us.
If you do use Virtual Volunteering Project materials in your own workshop or trainings, or republish materials in your own publications, please let us know, so that we can track how this information is disseminated.