Last month in my Illinois Jaycees newsletter article I talked about what you could do with 10 dollars and the Nothing But Nets Program. How cool is this, today I came across a you tube video asking the same question. The point of the matter is for 10 dollars you can save a person from malaria. Get involved in the Nothing But Nets campaign it can prevent the spread of a disease.
What can you do with 10 dollars? Hmmm buy a shirt, buy 2 footlong subs at subway, buy a couple gallons of gas, 2 cups of Grande coffee at starbucks, or save a life. Yup it’s true for just 10 dollars you can save a life. Malaria infects nearly 500 million
people each year and kills more than one million of those who become infected. Last year State Chairwomen Sue Warmuskerken introduced us to the JCI Nothing But Nets program and with yours along with all the members of JCI efforts we have made an impact on this disease. It use to be every 30 seconds a kid was dying from Malaria. Since our participation in JCI Nothing but Nets, it is down to a kid dying every 45 seconds. Now that’s a impact, but I think we can increase that impact this year. Now if you’re not familiar with this program let give you a quick overview. The program is run by the UN and JCI our international organization is a partner in helping the fight. But of course their not along tons of major sports teams, fortune 500 companies and other non for profit groups are helping too. The way it works is for every 10 dollars donated a bed net is manufactured and given to person in need within Africa. Malaria carrying mosquitoes generally bite between 10:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. A bed net is typically hung above the center of a bed or sleeping space so that it completely covers the sleeping person. One bed net can safely last a family for about three years, thanks to a long-lasting insecticide woven into the net fabric. This year our goal is to STEP UP double the funds raised across the state in 2010 and to provide 300 nets. Visit the Illinois Jaycees 2011 team’s website to get involved http://www.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org/goto/2011iljaycees.
This year I’ll be serving as the Illinois Jaycees 2011 National Programs / Government Involvement State Chairmen or NPGI State Chair for short also I’ll be serving as the North Region Treasurer oh and also the Website Program Manager for the US Jaycees once again. The goal this year is promote the programs The US Jaycees and JCI have established to all of our chapters across the state. The Jaycees have a have long history of bring fourth change throughout the nation with programs like Get Out to Vote and other Government Involvement programs, Outstanding Young Farmers, Support Our Troops, Distinguish Service Award which became the Ten Outstanding Young Americans, Relay for life and just added in 2009 Riley’s Toys. These programs really bring home our last line of our creed “service to humanity is the best work of life”.
Each year members of the Illinois Jaycees support Camp New Hope through various community drives and as part of our annual fund raising campaign. Camp New Hope Respite building started construction 10 years ago, but due to the loss of State and Federal funding and the despair of our current economy, the construction remains unfinished. This building is used for the year round respite program which gives reprive to those families with members with special needs. Vote to give this idea 25K: Finish Camp New Hope Respite Building for the developmentally disabled http://pep.si/fZ5MDa and you can learn more about and support them through their website at http://www.myfavoritecamp.org
When the Mount Prospect Jaycees needed a update to their aging website which i first built back in 2008. I worked with the chapter executive board to bring a fresh new look to their website. For this site it required moving over all the current chapter contain as well as introducing some new features. I choose WordPress as the platform to host their site because two of their board members were familiar with it and training the rest of the board wouldn’t be a problem. Also sent just about two hour training the sites webmaster and off she was running making updates and changes on her own. The Mount Prospect Jaycees is a leadership development and networking group for adults between the age of 18 and 40 in Mount Prospect, Illinois. Check out the groups website at http://www.MountProspectjaycees.org
You every want to plan a project or host a committee meeting virtually but don’t have a conference call 
number of your own or know where to start? Well your in luck thanks to a little company called Dimdim you can now host online meetings, trainings, and brainstorming sessions from the comfort of your own home for free. Dimdim is a software company that provides a web-based platform for real-time, rich-media collaboration and meetings. Dimdim provides free web conferencing service where users can share desktops, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam. Dimdim was recognized in 2009 as a up and coming startup and received many awards over the years. Dimdim is free for meetings under 20 people and only 25 dollars month for meetings larger then 20 but with that extra cost you get tons of premium features such ask online meeting logging meeting attends automatically and recording of the meeting and online signups of the meetings. Which comes in handy for tracking who attended your training and allowing for people to sign up for it up for them online. Dimdim is a awesome product i found out about from Kevin Rose and it comes in handy so often. if you have questions about it let me know and i would love to tell you more about it.
