Contests and volunteering seem to be a couple of hot topics these past few months.   The We Do Good Contest was launched on Monday by WE TV to celebrate their Volunteer Initiative, a three year initiative to empower women and the people in their lives to volunteer for one day to causes and organizations they care about.

I wanted to like NBC's new show, The Philanthropist, but I didn't.

Today Michelle Obama announced the creation of the Summer of Service initiative, at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. I was irrationally excited to see her in person, and to be there as "media" as a live-Twitter and blogger! Take a look at http://serve.gov, a central point for people in the U.S. to find volunteer work. The interface for this site is very slick!

Photo by James Jordan

Kjerstin Erickson is one of those "shiny" people who lights up a room. After meeting her at the Global Engagement Summer last spring, I knew I wanted to grab her for an interview before she became too famous. Erickson founded FORGE (Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment) in 2003 when she was a 20 year-old junior studying public policy at Stanford University.

Today I had the opportunity to attend the Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) 35th Anniversary Luncheon and to hear Donna Brazile speak. I was thrilled to learn about the work they are doing to advance civil rights.

Screen capture of video blogI was an early adopter of video blogging and screencasting.  In the last year or so, I've gotten away from it.  I really miss making videos and screencasts. 

Father's Day is next week (June 21). Do you know what you're getting your dad? Below are a few gift ideas to add to my Do-Good Gifts for Dad list from last year:

Today I used Kiva.org to loan $25.00 to Elizabeth, a beauty salon owner in Queens, New York who needs $6,000 to purchase new chairs, hair dryers, and other items for her salon. This is the fourth loan I've made to an entrepreneur using Kiva, but the first one to an entrepreneur in the United States.

Camfed is an organization that supports the education and empowerment of young women in Africa.  The organization focuses on helping young women in rural areas of Africa get to school.   You learn more about their philosophy and approach from their web site. 

Livingston Communications has launched a new ranked list of cause-related blogs called List of Change. If you are using your blog for social impact, you can submit your site to be included on the List by filling out this form.

Think back to a time when you took a risk that succeeded. Now reflect on a time when you tried something and it bombed. What did you or others do differently in the first instance and the second? How did you recover from your failure in the second instance, and what would you do differently if you had another chance?