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NEWS
For Immediate Release:
September 15, 2003
Contact: Richard Coffin,
Co-President at 888-313-7227
or
rCoffin@SVNusa.org
High School Seniors
Launch Network to Connect
Nonprofits, Student Volunteers
(Denver,
Colorado) While most high school
seniors are looking forward to
graduation and college, three
local seniors have other issues
on their minds: launching a
nonprofit organization to help
fellow students meet
increasingly widespread service
learning requirements. The
Student Volunteer Network (SVN)
connects high school student
volunteers and nonprofit
organizations through a simple
Internet portal. SVN is the
first student-initiated,
student-run organization in
Colorado to link nonprofits with
teen volunteers.
Created by seniors Patrick
Jobin, Stephen Julia, and
Charlie Miller, SVN offers a
website with a comprehensive
database of volunteer
opportunities in Colorado
specifically for
 students.
Through this online portal,
students search for service
opportunities that interest
them, and nonprofit
organizations access
enthusiastic young volunteers.
“We found it hard to find
meaningful volunteer
opportunities,” says Stephen
Julia, one of the founders. “And
we knew lots of our peers had
the same problem. So we started
SVN.” SVN’s goal is to help
students realize there are many
interesting and fun
opportunities for service in the
nonprofit sector, and to help
organizations take advantage of
the large population of student
volunteers.
Over 180 local nonprofits have
signed up to use SVN’s services,
and five schools—East High
School, Colorado Academy, Kent
Denver, George Washington High
School, and Graland Country Day
School—have committed to use the
site. As the technology is
perfected and the site proves
its usefulness, more schools and
organizations will join and
participate.
SVN is the first student-led
project ever accepted by the
Colorado Nonprofit Development
Center, which is currently
supervising fifty nascent
nonprofits. In addition to
guidance from the Center, SVN
has formed a partnership with
Metro Volunteers to share
resources and promote teen
volunteerism. The three students
share all administrative
responsibilities, with Jobin
overseeing technology and Julia
and Miller managing
communications ,
public relations, and marketing.
By donating all of their time
and securing support from forty
donors, the founders have
ensured that SVN will always be
free of charge for every
student, school, and nonprofit.
The founders are looking to the
future, working hard to create a
successful and stable
organization before they go to
college. They are partnering
with community leaders to
establish an advisory board that
will ensure the future of SVN,
and also planning an application
process for new student leaders
so that SVN will remain true to
its goal of being 100%
student-run and
student-oriented.
For more information, visit
www.SVNusa.org or contact
Richard Coffin,
Co-President at 888-313-7227 or
rCoffin@SVNusa.org.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
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