Our Mission
Community Voice Mail empowers people in crisis and transition by distributing free, 24-hour voice mail access nationwide-directly linking people to jobs, housing, and stability.
You Can Help
Karl Greene
Scot More
Fall – 2007
Welcome to the Fall issue of The Wire!
In this issue:
- Partner Spotlight: Chicago CVM Recognized for Excellence -
Inspiration Corporation's Community Voice Mail program & manager
Karl Greene received the "Creating Community that Works" Award.
Read More - Leadership Conference: CVM National hosted its annual conference which brought together 60 participants including 31 site mangers, prospective sites, board members and national staff to examine best practices and share successes and challenges. Check out some highlights
- CVM Joins the Virtual World: CVM joins the Non-Profit Commons in Second Life creating a virtual portal to raise awareness about phonelessness...
Read More
Congratulations to Chicago CVM and Manger Karl Greene:
“Creating Community That Works”
Karl Greene accepts award from North Lawndale Employment Network
On September 12, Inspiration Corporation's Community Voice Mail program received the "Creating Community that Works" Award at the North Lawndale Employment Network's 8th annual membership meeting.
The organization awards partnering agencies and individuals for their respective successes. Inspiration Corporation was the only agency to receive an award this year, highlighting the effectiveness of the Community Voice Mail program.
Karl Greene, Community Voice Mail Manager, accepted the award. Greene noted that "The award shows that Community Voice Mail addresses the needs of the community and the individuals it serves."
Chicago Community Voice Mail has 730 active numbers assigned to people affected by homelessness and poverty. The program is administered both for Inspiration Corporation's guests and participants, as well as 57 other programs in the Chicagoland area.
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CVM Annual Conference Brings Together Federation of Sites and Examines Best Practices
CVM National hosted its 10th annual Leadership Conference in Seattle, WA on October 4-5th. This is a highlight of our year and a welcomed opportunity to share insights amongst our peers.
Among the discussions about Next Generation CVM was one devoted to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) campaigns. The EITC is an element of Asset Building, which is a growing part of economic and social justice work and has drawn the participation of United Way, Catholic Charities, and 211s across the country. CVM National encouraged CVM Managers to participate in a national CVM EITC Campaign using broadcast messaging as a way to promote the program and educate clients on the value of free tax programs & the EITC.
A network of 500+ agencies across the country offer tax preparation services as currently 60% of low income people are using paid preparers.
The goals of the CVM EITC campaign are as follows:
- To have all CVM’s participate
- For CVM sites to get experience with broadcast messaging
- To track the responses and outcomes of clients receiving the EITC
- To use the data from the campaign to help with future endeavors
- To use it as a model for future campaigns
Golden Phone Award
The Community Voice Mail Golden Phone Award is an annual award to recognize the contributions of outstanding CVM sites and CVM supporters. Scot More, the CVM Manager in Houston, was awarded this year’s Golden Phone for excellence in his field and was voted the winner from his group of peers.
Among his peers, Scot is best known for is his commitment to excellence, his willingness to try new things, and his devotion to his clients.
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Second Life: Expanding the scope CVM
CVM joined the Non-Profit Commons in Second Life, which is a 3 – Dimensional virtual world imagined and created entirely by its residents, a way to socially network in real time with real people in a virtual world. Being a part of the nonprofit commons not only allows us to spread the word of CVM to viewers. We hope to use this as an interactive medium to really spread the word about the issue of phonelessness.
Interested in learning more about Second Life?
-Check out the Second Life website here: www.secondlife.com
To get “in world” you’ll need to download the program and have a computer that is up to the task.
-See more about the nonprofit commons here: http://secondlife.techsoup.org/
CVM’s office space: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/241/27/26
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