First Lady of California Maria Shriver addresses Volunteerism fellows at Glide Memorial Church on March 28

California First Lady Maria Shriver Speaks at Event for Volunteerism: United We Serve

Volunteerism: United We Serve fellows at Meridian in Washington

Oracle-sponsored service day at Golden Gate National Park

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom welcomes group to San Francisco on March 25 at City Hall

Inspired by the call from President Obama for renewed commitment to public service, Meridian designed and coordinated a major U.S. Department of State project, Volunteerism: United We Serve, which brought 103 community activists, government officials, nongovernmental organization leaders, educators and journalists from 95 countries around the world to experience volunteerism in the United States from April 12-30.

This people-to-people exchange initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ International Visitor Leadership Program—one of the largest ever created— highlighted America’s vibrant volunteer spirit and demonstrated the importance of civic participation in developing a strong civil society. In addition to designing and coordinating an extremely complex professional program, Meridian enhanced the project by securing a public-private partnership Visa Inc., and successfully managing additional partnerships with Oracle and Intel.

The partnership with Visa allowed Meridian to create the Global Leaders Collaboration Network, an online knowledge and networking platform that allows participants to extend their exchange and share resources and best practices after they return from their American experience. The Global Leaders Collaboration Network is the first neutral third-party hub to support post-program engagement among IVLP participants.

During the course of the three-week program, the 103 Volunteerism participants met with and volunteered alongside representatives of charitable foundations, non-profits, faith-based organizations, community groups and corporations. They examined the impact of volunteerism in U.S. communities, and how volunteers of all ages and backgrounds foster a culture of service and civic responsibility; learned best practices in volunteer recruitment, retention and management; examined the impact of corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship and technology in developing new avenues for civic engagement and participation; and participated in community service activities.

The participants met with senior Department of State officials during the project orientation in Washington, D.C. April 12-16. They also took part in a volunteer service event alongside students from George Washington University, and in conjunction with five area service organizations, including DC Central Kitchen and Washington Parks and People.

April 17-21, the International Visitors broke up into four groups for parallel programs in Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Salt Lake City, where they explored best practices in volunteer management and university service learning programs. From April 22 to 26, the group divided into two-person teams, traveling to 50 cities across the United States to take part in volunteer activities in communities large and small. This dynamic “service segment” was timed to coincide with Earth Day and Global Youth Service Days. Overall, during the three-week project, each participant performed an estimated 15 to 20 hours—collectively close to 2,000 hours—of volunteer service.

The Volunteerism International Visitors reunited in San Francisco April 26-30, where they were officially welcomed at City Hall by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Stuart Holliday, the Director of the Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program and the Chairman and CEO of Visa. On April 27, San Francisco-based Visa hosted a symposium focused on corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship and the role of state government in advancing civic engagement. Hon. Karen Baker, California Secretary of Service and Volunteering, presented at the symposium’s plenary session. Later in the week, the participants volunteered alongside Oracle employees on a project arranged by Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and they were honored to hear meet First Lady of California Maria Shriver, who addressed the group at Glide Memorial Church.

The Volunteerism International Visitors were so inspired by their American experience that they founded a global network, VOLiNTEER, which will promote volunteerism and service within and among their countries. At the conclusion of the project, in a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, leaders of the new organization announced their intention to extend their exchange with the support of Meridian International Center’s Global Leaders Collaboration Network online platform.