VolunteerNow Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Social justice, inequality, systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and nationwide unemployment have dominated our newsfeeds and our thoughts, leading many of us to question our values and how we can improve our community.  At VolunteerNow, we care deeply about all these issues and know the best way to improve our community is through service to others.
 
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Mahatma Ghandi

As we embark on the 50th Anniversary of VolunteerNow (formerly the Volunteer Center of North Texas), we reflect on how lives are impacted through the gift of volunteerism and serving others.  The impact of volunteers in today’s environment has even more significance as the importance of thoughtful, safe, influential service has never been more valued or more needed.
 
At VolunteerNow we strive to improve the lives of those in our community by providing resources to nonprofits and connecting volunteers to causes that align with the needs of our community.  
 
It is our commitment to listen to our community, to leverage our deep nonprofit relationships, and to translate that learning into actions that our 300,000 volunteers can take to build a diverse, inclusive and equitable community.
 
Natalye Paquin, President and CEO of Points of Light, an international association of volunteer centers founded by George H. W. Bush and of which VolunteerNow is a member, wrote in a recent op-ed about this need to act, “...there is a lot to be said, but much more to be done,” Paquin said, “And for every voice and word written there are multiple actions we can all take.” 
 
Over the next few weeks, we will share eight action steps that we embrace suggested by Points of Light that will help to create a just community with a thriving civic life.  These action steps range from volunteerism to advocating through your personal social media to using your vote to support policies and people that will enact meaningful change. We welcome you to join us on this journey to make our community the best it can be.
 
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” ― Mother Teresa