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Tapping into the Volunteer Generation

January 26, 2011 by

[HTML1] During this past holiday season, Y Gen Out Loud and Offers.com presented a contest to recognize and celebrate Gen Y who give back to their communities, whether that’s locally, nationally, or globally. In today’s episode of Keeping Up with Gen Y, we talk with Joni Watson, one of the winners of the “Y Gen Cares at the Holidays” Contest. The 29-year-old Austin, Texas, resident is program director of the Nurse Oncology Education Program, a nonprofit project of the Texas Nurses Association/Foundation that provides cancer education to all nurses.

In the episode, Joni explains why nurses, particularly Gen Y nurses, should be at the top of nonprofits’ volunteer recruitment lists. She also discusses how volunteering only a small number of hours a month can make a big difference in the lives of people who need our help.

More about Joni Watson
Joni Watson is a 29-year-old wife and mother of three, who is program director of the Nurse Oncology Education Program, a nonprofit project of the Texas Nurses Association/Foundation that provides cancer education to all nurses. She also recently started Nursetopia, a blog of random stream of consciousness about nursing, nonprofits, and other passions.

The Austin, Texas, resident holds nursing and business degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Tyler. She volunteers often with her church, FreeChapel Austin, and one of her favorite charities, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, which provides food and clothing, and promotes dignity to our homeless brothers and sisters.

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About Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Y Gen Out Loud, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that provides a platform for Generation Yto discuss national politics and public policy issues.

Tamara began her journalism career as a staff reporter for the Dallas Times Herald. A few years later, she moved to York, Pa., as a political reporter for the York Dispatch, covering local, state, and national government as well as writing investigative stories for the mid-sized daily newspaper.

A Texas girl at heart, Tamara returned to Dallas a year later to work as press relations director for the re-election campaign of U.S. Rep. John Bryant. The next year, she moved to Austin and the Texas Legislature, where she stayed for 15 years. While at the Legislature, Tamara worked for Democratic House members as Chief-of-Staff and Press Secretary, and as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Senate State Affairs Committee chaired by a Republicansenator.

In 1996, Tamara became co-owner of a political newsletter covering state issues and elections. As Editor-in-Chief, Tamara helped shape the weekly publication into a must-read for state officials, legislative aides, and lobbyists. More recently, Tamara wrote a regular column analyzing coverage by the Texas Capitol Press Corps for an online political publication. She also works as a lecturer in the Advertising Department at The University of Texasat Austin.

Tamara has also been a judge for the 2010 Bright Ideas Award given by the Texas Daily Newspaper Association, served as a panelist at the Society of Professional Journalists 2010 Region 8 Conference where the theme was How to Save Journalism, and has been a guest lecture for the Advertising Department’s Internship course, speaking about the jobs outlook for graduating seniors.

Tamara earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University. She resides in Austin with her son, Jackson.

Tamara Bell is also the Host of Keeping Up with Gen Y on WomensRadio. Keeping Up with Gen Y offers discussions, interviews, and commentary about important issues of the day from the perspective of Generation Y (18-to 30-years-old). Aimed at all generations interested in learning about and inspiring young people, this show features professionals, experts, researchers, and members of Gen Y who share insights and experiences about the topics on the minds of today’s young adults.