To celebrate its 10th birthday, internet giant Google has launched the US$ 10 million Project 10 to the 100, "a call for ideas that could help as many people as possible, and a programme to bring the best of those ideas to life."

Voting begins in January 2009, but for now check out one of the entries, an idea for a free website "in which volunteer organizations, volunteer project coordinators, and would-be volunteers can gather to find, connect and help each other."

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The ServiceNation Movement launched with a national Day of Action on 27 September 2008. Citizen organizers rallied their communities at hundreds of events across America, calling on their friends, families, and neighbours to advocate for a new culture of volunteerism in the US.  Visit site

WoMEDIA has created a range of media resources specifically for the wider community and volunteer groups to help you effectively engage with your local media. Submitting news or information to your local media has numerous benefits with the general public sometimes best placed to provide relevant and compelling news.  Visit site

Former Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell, who was recently appointed as British High Commissioner for Malawi, has thrown his full weight behind a drive to get Malawians in diaspora to volunteer back in their homeland.  Visit site

John McCain and Barack Obama found common ground on the virtues of volunteering at a forum on national service that ended a day largely free of the partisan broadsides that will define the presidential campaign.  Visit site

Despite heavy investment from the government and the sector, charities are still struggling to recruit volunteers. An independent inquiry into young adult volunteering in the UK, published in June, advised that greater recognition of volunteering as a legitimate job-seeking activity is needed, along with better support from the business community.   Visit site

The Beijing Olympics received more than one million volunteer applications, of which 74,715 were accepted, plus 30,000 for the Paralympic Games. However, Zhang Juming, deputy director of the Volunteer Work Department of the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games, says that 1 million people in fact volunteered services in various fields, including medical, traffic and security assistance.  Visit site

Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah has called on fellow wives of Barisan Nasional elected representatives to set an example in fostering the spirit of volunteerism. Jeanne, the Prime Minister's wife, said many social problems in the country such as neglected old folk, abandoned babies and addiction to drugs needed to be given attention.  Visit site

The United Nations in China and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) Volunteer Department hosted a high-level celebration on the eve of the opening of the 29th Olympiad to recognize the service of Beijing's volunteers both in preparations for the Games and contributing to development in China.  Visit site

David Brettel, director of the volunteer programme of the Sydney Organizing Committee for Olympic Games, sees that volunteerism has grown into a thriving tree in Beijing.  Visit site