National Volunteer Week, a signature event of Points of Light Institute, celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation.

Future National Volunteer Week Dates

• April 10 - 16, 2011
• April 15 - 21, 2012
• April 21 - 27, 2013

National Volunteer Week 2010 was an opportunity to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and the Volunteer Generation Fund, while also -- Celebrating People in Action -- our theme. The week was about honoring individuals who take action and solve significant problems in their communities.

National Volunteer Week Highlights:

• Advanced the Get HandsOn! campaign goal of mobilizing 500,000 volunteer leaders by activating volunteers in service for Global Youth Service Day and the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
  
  
• LEAD - A Get HandsOn! Summit
  HandsOn Network and the University of Phoenix convened LEAD to join the most creative thinkers and explore how individuals are using social media tools and other innovative strategies to change the landscape of service. Social innovators shared interesting experiences such as locating disaster victims with cell phones, quickly gathering thousands of volunteers for one-day projects and organizing person-to-person service efforts through Web-based technologies and other tools.
  Click here for more information on the summit.
  
  
• "Inspire… Serve… Solve. A Reception Celebrating National Volunteer Week and the Serve America Act." Co-convened by Points of Light Institute and ServiceNation, the reception was a time to recognize and celebrate extraordinary people who exemplify service as a solution. The 2010 Extra Mile inductees were announced, and the event served as a moment to celebrate the first anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
  
  This celebration brought together a remarkable cross-section of people engaged in service, including special guests Patrick Corvington ,CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service; U.S. Congressman David Price of North Carolina; U.S. Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa; Alan Khazei, Founder and CEO of Be the Change, Inc.; Washington Redskins players Reed Doughty and Lorenzo Alexander; comedian Michael Jr., and more. Actress Gabrielle Union also addressed the group and made a special announcement on behalf of sponsor P&G's Bounty brand.
  
  Also during the reception, actress Gabrielle Union announced on behalf of P&G's Bounty brand that Procter & Gamble's Bounty® brand (NYSE: PG), in partnership with HandsOn Network and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, is launching the "Make a Clean Difference" program which will unite over one thousand volunteers to transform the learning environments of 30 public schools in 10 cities across the country.
  
  
• ServiceNation Leadership Luncheon. Sector leaders joined together for a luncheon discussion about the power of service to address record unemployment and crippling budget cuts, providing our citizens with critical skills and our communities with much-needed capacity at low cost and with no new bureaucracy.
  
  
• ServiceNation Solution Sessions. These sessions focused on specific areas of opportunities and challenges facing the service field over the next several months.