The Governor’s Office of Volunteerism (GOV) offers New Jersey’s 1.5 million volunteers technical assistance, the latest information about trends and best practices in volunteerism, and provides recognition to individuals and groups that enhance New Jersey’s communities through service.

The Governor’s Advisory Council on Volunteerism and Community Service supports the work of the GOV, helps to analyze and prioritize community needs, and identifies the resources to meet those needs through volunteerism and service. GAC members build partnerships with the business community, county volunteer centers, voluntary organizations active in disasters, schools and colleges, the public and non-profit sectors, and volunteers of ages and backgrounds.

Major initiatives of the GOV and GAC includes the state volunteerism conference and the annual Governor’s Jefferson Awards.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks prepare to face off in Sunday's Super Bowl, the mayors from the two cities have come up with a friendly wager that focuses on the importance of volunteering and community service.

Mayor Ed Murray of Seattle and Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver agreed that the winning mayor would host the mayor from the opposing team for a day of volunteer service with AmeriCorps members. This service project will be carried out in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund, and other programs.

"Mayors are leaders who get things done, responding every day to needs in their cities," said Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS. "With this friendly wager, Mayors Murray and Hancock highlight the impact and power of national service and volunteering. No matter which team wins the game, both cities—and all football fans— can celebrate the Service Bowl."

This is the second year of the Service Bowl bet. In 2013, San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and more than 100 AmeriCorps members to transform a vacant lot into a community park in Baltimore, Md.

"AmeriCorps is a valued member of our community, and its commitment to service helps make us the city we are today. With this wager between Mayor Murray and I, we want to show that the traditional mayors' bet can be more than just putting items on the line. We're committing ourselves to improving our communities and improving our quality of life," said Mayor Hancock. "Our teams have shown that Seattle and Denver are national leaders in football. With this bet and in partnership with AmeriCorps, Mayor Hancock and I wanted to showcase our cities' leadership in service to our communities as well," said Mayor Murray.

Mayors Hancock and Murray join more than 800 U.S. Mayors in their focus on service. Both have signed on to participate in the second annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service. Mayors across the country will participate in a national day of recognition this April 1 to highlight the impact of national service in their cities and thank individuals who serve.

As the federal agency for service and volunteering, CNCS annually engages more than five million citizens in service at more than 70,000 sites across the country through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and other programs. These national service participants meet critical community needs -- strengthening education, fostering economic opportunity, helping communities recover from disasters, supporting veterans and military families, providing health services, and preserving the environment.

The Seattle area ranks fourth among large cities for volunteering and service, and last year, 993,700 million volunteers served a total of 116.3 million hours, an economic value of $2.6 billion. This year, CNCS will invest more than $8.4 million in Seattle nonprofits, schools, and community groups through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Social Innovation Fund, leveraging an additional $2 million in outside support to strengthen community impact. This funding will support more than 790 AmeriCorps members and 1,400 Senior Corps volunteers in Seattle.

In Denver, 610,500 volunteers gave a total of 71.9 million hours, an estimated value of $1.6 billion, making it 13th in volunteering among major U.S. cities. The city receives $22.5 million in CNCS funding, which generates an additional $9.8 million in other resources. This combined investment will support more than 2,000 AmeriCorps members and 900 Senior Corps volunteers serving in the area. Americans looking to participate in their own Super Service Day can find a volunteer service project in their area using the search engine at www.serve.gov.

The organizations listed below are deploying urgent relief efforts on the Philippine Islands:

The American Red Cross has launched a family tracing service among other aid operations. If you are unable to reach a family member in the Philippines, you can contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross to initiate a tracing case. Representatives added that it has deployed two people to assist with assessments in the Philippines. It asks those who want to support relief efforts to mail a check to their local American Red Cross chapter, with "Philippines Typhoons and Flood" in the memo line. Go to redcross.org for local chapter information or redcross.org.ph to donate directly to the Philippine Red Cross.

The Philippine Red Cross said it has mobilized teams on the ground to help with rescue and relief operations. Click the link to learn more.

UNICEF is taking donations to help provide children with shelter, clean water, nutrition and vaccines. Representatives said its staff in the Philippines is being repositioned to help in relief efforts and 66 tons of emergency supplies are being sent from Copenhagen. An airlift set to arrive on Tuesday will include water purification systems, storage equipment and sanitation supplies. Donations can be made to UNICEF at unicef.org/support.

World Food Programme (WFP), a United Nations organization, said it will send more than 40 tons of high energy biscuits and work with the Filipino government to help with logistics and emergency communications systems. Representatives said they have allocated $2 million for the disaster response and officials joined an assessment mission to survey damage in Leyte and Samar provinces. It asks for donations at www.wfpusa.org or by texting the word AID to 27722 to instantly donate $10.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has launched a $10 million appeal and sent an emergency team to Manila who have already started to work on the ground. For more information, visit www.rescue.org.

Save the Children is also mounting disaster relief efforts to help children and families in the region with emergency assistance.

Catholic Relief Services is accepting donations on its website as it begins moving supplies and staff to respond to the typhoon.

World Vision said it will provide food and water to those in evacuation shelters. Representative said it is putting together resources to assist 1.2 million people, including food, hygiene kits, emergency shelter and protection. It asked for one-time donations to be made at worldvision.org.

Habitat for Humanity plans to offer shelter repair kits for families who need to re-build their damaged houses.

Operation USA said it will allocate donations directly to relief and recovery efforts.

The NJ Department of Corrections is seeking individuals and organizations to embrace the ‘Call to Service’ to assist us in strengthening our educational initiatives through prison tutoring. This meaningful volunteer opportunity is a satisfying way of giving back to your community and making a difference in someone’s life.

The average reading ability of our incarcerated population is only
at a 5th grade level. The Office of Educational Services needs
tutors to assist with our Adult Basic Education program and our Adult Secondary Education program to help improve the reading skills
of our population and prepare them to obtain a high school equivalency diploma.

Whether you decide to volunteer once a week or a couple of days per week, committing yourself to service is a major step. Your time spent as a volunteer will have a significant impact on these individuals and give them a chance to make a better life for themselves.

Volunteerism also brings great benefits to the state of New Jersey including reduction in the recidivism rate by enabling the offender to be better prepared to reenter our communities. We need any help you can offer and look forward to hearing from you.

Do not hesitate to respond to the “Call for Service” for contacting the NJ Department of Corrections - Office of Educational Services at 609- 292-4036, Extension 5324 or 5325.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno encourages those who need assistance with cleaning up their homes and property damaged by Hurricane Sandy to contact the 211 assistance system. The information will be entered into the Collaborative Work Order System, which provides the information to volunteer groups that have already helped hundreds of New Jersey families.

• The 211 contact information in English
• The 211 contact information in Spanish

This service is a joint initiative of the 211 system and New Jersey's Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NJVOAD).

Please join New Jersey's 1.5 million volunteers who are making a difference in our communities through 170 million hours of service each year. In dollars, their combined service is estimated at $3.5 billion. In terms of meeting the needs of our communities, their value is priceless! Across the Garden State, volunteers mentor and tutor students, prepare and distribute food to the needy, protect and beautify the environment, sustain our arts history and cultural institutions and stand ready to assist during emergencies and disasters.

Learn more about:

• Volunteer Centers
• Community Service-Based Organizations
• Other Volunteer Groups

The Governor's Office of Volunteerism has produced the "Volunteerism and National Service - New Jersey Program Directory. It is a listing of the various volunteer centers, Americorps, Vista and Senior Corps programs in New Jersey.

The directory can be downloaded here