2018 Annual Member Meeting
Join us for MAVA’s Annual Meeting – in Two Locations!
Topic: Inclusive Volunteerism in Action: Building Relationships Across Cultures
This year MAVA will offer our Annual Meeting and Training event on two dates and in two locations: St. Joseph on October 30 and St. Paul on November 8! Please join us as we expand upon our work on inclusive volunteerism by exploring the topic of building relationships across cultures.
Dates and Locations:
Tuesday, October 30, 2018 from 10:00am-2:00pm at St. Benedict College in St. Joseph, MN
Thursday, November 8, 2018 from 9:00am – 1:30pm at Mount Zion Synagogue in St. Paul, MN
The training will feature:
· A workshop from the YWCA: Building Relationships Across Cultures
- This workshop is designed to give participants concrete skills in learning to ask questions well, build relationships and understand key cultural differences in communication, work styles and community building. We will respond to questions like: “What if I say the wrong thing?” “How do we build mutual value?” and “How do I become more aware of my own culture?”
· Small group dialogues around workshop topics and action planning
· Panel discussion and Q and A with volunteer engagement leaders who have experience in successfully building relationships across cultures
· Lunch and MAVA Annual Meeting/Programming Update
· MAVA Excellence in Volunteerism Awards (St. Paul only)
Volunteer engagement leaders across Minnesota have communicated to MAVA that their volunteers do not reflect the diversity of the communities served, and have asked MAVA how this can change. MAVA's "8 Strategies for Creating a More Inclusive Volunteer Program" are an initial response to this need, but now it is time to deepen the conversation. We believe that equipping leaders with the tools, resources and courage to build relationships across cultures is the first step toward creating real change in how volunteerism is perceived and approached - by staff and communities alike - across Minnesota. MAVA’s 2018 Annual Meeting is designed to build the confidence of volunteer engagement leaders and provide valuable skills to approach new communities, start difficult conversations, bounce back from the inevitable mistakes, and begin to understand and ground the work in an equity framework.
You will leave the events with a better understanding of:
· What volunteerism looks like across cultures and how differences are reflected in "formal" (serving at an organization) and "informal" (helping your neighbor) volunteerism
· How current systems and structures around volunteerism need to be assessed for inclusion and equity
· New ideas for approaching relationship-building across cultures
· How to present the value of a relationship to communities before asking for their time
· Resources for how to repair relationships and recover when mistakes are made
· How their own culture and experience shape their approach to relationship-building.
Register here for the St. Joseph training on October 30.
Register here for the St. Paul training on November 8.
*The 2018 Excellence in Volunteerism awards will be presented at the St. Paul annual meeting. Nominations are now OPEN for the Excellence Awards! Submit your nominations by October 5. Click here for more information. Download the nomination form.
Questions? Contact Lisa Joyslin, Inclusive Volunteerism Program Manager, at ljoyslin@mavanetwork.org.