Hundreds of thousands of volunteers turned across the US to help their communities today, in response to President Barack Obama's call for a day of public service in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

Click here for the website, USAservice.org.

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Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is lending his stature to an initiative from the incoming administration to connect volunteers with causes that need them.

President-elect Barack Obama's 'Renew America Together' initiative will officially launch a Web site on Martin Luther King Day, 19 January, to help people answer the call. Obama's inauguration is the following day.

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The Building Bridges Coalition is a consortium of leading international volunteering organizations, colleges and universities, corporations and government agencies working collaboratively to double the number of volunteers serving abroad by 2010, while improving programme quality and maximizing positive impacts in the communities where volunteers serve.  Visit site

The present crisis challenges us to new ways of using our resources; hopefully, wiser. One of the most abundant and underused natural resources is volunteer collaboration power. Let’s broaden our minds and rethink volunteerism as something embedded in every aspect of our lives.  Visit site

HRH Princess Basma, who was an honorary person for the International Year of Volunteers in 2001, on Thursday underscored "the remarkable progress of the volunteer movement" since the UNV programme was introduced to Jordan in 2000.  Visit site

On her message for IVD, Joyce Yu, Deputy Executive Coordinator of the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, calls for everyone to continue to make every effort to raise awareness, measure impact, and prove to communities, to governments and to volunteers themselves, that their voluntary efforts are making a positive difference.  Visit site

Dr. Kang-Hyun Lee, President of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) extends his best wishes to all readers on the occasion of International Volunteer Day 2008.

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It would probably also be a world where people smile less, where local communities are falling apart and where everyone does things only for money. Despite being a huge social, economic and human phenomenon, volunteering is easily overseen by people and decision-makers.  Visit site

The "Consejo Nacional del Voluntariado" (CONAVOL) is a volunteering committee that promotes volunteerism in Bolivia.  Visit site

AAVA is a professional association for individuals across all sections of the community who are involved with managing volunteer programs within the Australasian region, including Australia and New Zealand.  AAVA is concerned with 'building the sector' through the support, encouragement and recognition of people involved in leading volunteer programs.  Visit site