This is National Volunteer Week which is appropriate for the topic of my speech I gave yesterday. I was honored to present the keynote address at the University of Notre Dames’ Alumni Senate on Leadership and Volunteerism. This group of almost 270 people, presidents of Notre Dame Alumni Clubs from around the world, meets annually in South Bend. While there is paid Alumni Association staff located at the University, it is up to these local volunteer leaders to ensure that the Clubs are vibrant and relevant. One of the core tenets of the University, as well as the Clubs, is service to others. As many of us are working to increase the quality and impact of volunteering, my focus of this talk was just that. These Clubs regularly volunteer. I challenged the group to think of different ways to create change beyond the usual activities. Skill based volunteering is a powerful tool and is usually discussed in the context of business. These Clubs, or any group, can also have skill based programs. And what a better group than experienced college graduates. The questions are the same. What are the needs of the community and specifically what needs of identified nonprofits can Club members address? There was a lot of interest in this from the audience. I was pleased to see, and then speak with many afterwards, who are up for the challenge. They recognized the aspects of the continuum of service and how the level of impact increases with skill based service. As we face more challenges in our communities, regions and globally, we need to also use the same brainpower that we use in our paid jobs in our volunteer jobs. This speech was a skilled based/pro-bono volunteer opportunity where I used my expertise to specifically address how to improve and sustain a critical component of the Alumni Association. While I didn’t attend Notre Dame, and in fact my alma mater is a rival on the football field, the needs in the community are too great not to work together. We must use our volunteer time and talent in a more effective and efficient manner. Notre Dame President Emeritus, Father Hesburg, said it beautifully: “The world always needs energy, imagination, concern, idealism, dedication, commitment, service.” http://www.pointsoflight.org/our-work/research/sbv