New York Volunteerism Summit Friday February 27

Groups gather for emergency summit on volunteerism as response to
economic crisis

Key organizations from around the country will attend February 27 event in
New York City

(NEW HAVEN, CT) - With the philanthropic giving index down 22 percent, and
the economic crisis affecting nonprofit organizations nationwide, the Knights
of Columbus and Fairfield University's Center for Faith and Public Life will host
a summit this week to discuss the role volunteers can play in helping their
communities to recover from the financial crisis.

The summit, "A Nation of Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Summit on
Volunteerism as a Response to the Economic Crisis," will be held at the
Marriott East Side in New York City on Friday, February 27, from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. It will be webcast live at www.kofc.org.

Executives from more than three dozen educational, corporate, charitable and
governmental organizations will discuss the ways in which volunteers and
volunteer organizations can respond community needs made increasingly
acute by the economic crisis. The organizations include Habitat for Humanity,
United Way, the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, the National Fraternal
Congress of America, the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, General
Electric, the Foodbank of Greater New Jersey, the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, Goldman Sachs
and Volunteers of America.

In a Jan. 23 speech at Fairfield University, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson
called for the summit and laid out a vision of what it could accomplish. "If
greed – one of the worst aspects of human nature – helped push us into this
crisis, then one of the best aspects of our nature – generosity – will be
necessary to help pull us out of it," Anderson declared.
(http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/news/releases/detail/548277.html)

New York Governor David Patterson sent a letter in which he applauded
participants for focusing on "how we can harness the energy of this renewed
commitment to service to fuel our great Nation's turnaround." The summit
sponsors, he said, "remind us of the power of volunteerism to unify and to
bring light and hope to so many."
(http://kofc.org/un/cmf/resources/communications/documents/vol_gov.pdf)

The summit will feature three panel discussions with speakers from top
national and regional volunteer organizations and programs. Additionally, all
attendees will participate in roundtable discussions on the issues raised during
panel discussions. A complete schedule can be viewed at
http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/volunteers/index.html.

Contact:

Patrick Korten 203-752-4474 (ofc) 203-430-6695 (cell)
Andrew Walther 203-752-4253 (ofc) 203-824-5412 (cell)
Peter Sonski 203-752-4182 (ofc) 203-410-4693