National Council members Jim Walker and Rebecca Cartier attended the AFS-USA Hosting Conference in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 8-10) and along with an overview of the National Council purpose and organization, they shared opportunities that exist for volunteers to contribute at the national level.  These opportunities include Advisory Groups, National Council Committees and workgroups, and the National Council Steering Committee itself.  All these groups are volunteer/staff partnerships and work to address organizational needs and/or challenges from a national perspective.

Advisory Groups review different areas of the organization and provide recommendations to senior staff on how to improve the processes, tools, and/or resources needed to effectively deliver and support our AFS programs, volunteers, communities and participants.

The National Council Committees do work falling under the responsibility of the National Council.  There are currently 3 National Council Committees: The Volunteer Recognition Committee, the Nominations and Selection Committee and the Communications Committee.

The Chairs of these committees, along with National Council volunteer and staff Co-Chairs, Vice-Chair and Secretary, come together to form the National Council Steering Committee.  The Steering Committee works to maintain a high level of coordination and consistency between the various groups in a manner that best positions these leadership groups to be effective and successful in their work.

The Travel, Hosting, and Sponsored Programs Advisory Groups, along with the National Council Communications Committee, are seeking new members at this time.

There is a new recruitment and screening process in place for volunteers who have an interest in joining one of these national level groups.  The process is designed to consider applicants based on competencies (skills, attributes and attitudes) rather than who knows who or previous national roles.

Volunteers are encouraged to learn more about these groups on MyAFS Help and Learning (just search ‘National Council’, ‘Advisory Groups’, and/or ‘National Volunteer Opportunities’) and submit an interest form to be considered.  Interest forms are available here.