Celebrating Our Global Volunteer Community: The Power of Movement Building

By Shanna Lee, Director, Global Volunteers, DataKind

As  Global Volunteer Month approaches its end, we thank our global volunteer community past and present for your support of DataKind. We hosted a volunteer appreciation and networking event on April 21. It was a great time to reflect on recent DataKind happenings that we couldn’t have done without (you!) our volunteer community. DataKinders also participated in speed networking, where they were paired with others to meet and greet. We talked about volunteering opportunities for this summer too (so make sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn!). 

While Global Volunteer Month may be coming to a close this week, we appreciate our amazing, dedicated volunteer community every day. As we celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we recognize each of you and the power of movement building that has propelled Data for Good. Here are 10 highlights from the past year to celebrate:

 You inspired us through your commitment and passion in support of DataKind’s mission. 

 You shared your hopes and predictions for 2022 with us.

 You worked alongside us on exciting projects that supported our key
issue areas:

• Empowering Health Worker and Community Health Systems
• Data to Drive Housing Loss Decision Making
• Pathways to Increasing Trust in Public Health Data

 You contributed as members of our  Chapters and continued to share, engage, and collaborate on
Data Science and AI for Good within your communities. 

• Increasing Data Capacity in the Social Sector
• Uncovering Inequalities & Fraud in COVID-19 Stimulus Spending
• Covid-19 Tracking in India
• Practitioner’s Guide to Data Ethics

 You came together with over a 100 volunteer peers globally last summer for two days of collaborative professional development and community building at our Volunteer Summit.

 You helped us launch our Scoping Squad a year ago. This year, over 60 volunteers joined to be a part of our second and larger cohort. Scoping Squad is our team of expert volunteers who  discover and scope Data Science and AI for Good projects. 

 You presented project showcases (here and here), highlighting the impactful work you’ve done with partner organizations.  

 You contributed to our data science for social good exploratory survey, sharing volunteer motivations and limitations. 

 You joined us for our virtual DataDive® event with the theme of Shining a Light on Community to Advance a Nation, enabling DataKind to work with project partners and volunteers to address needs from Florida communities with the potential for a much broader impact.

 You co-created with us to develop the public release of the DataKind Playbook, our globally-accessible, living knowledge base that enables the reader to design, implement, and follow-up on a Data Science and AI for Good project.

We continue to be humbled by the overwhelming interest that continues from people wanting to get involved with DataKind. We’re honored to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and the Power of a Decade of leading the Data Science and AI for Good movement, and we wouldn’t have been able to make it this far without the incredible work of our supporters and volunteers. THANK YOU!

Celebrate with us! Check out our digital swag to showcase your Data for Good support.

We look forward to sharing more updates and opportunities in the upcoming months. Stay tuned and follow us on social media (Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook)!

Shanna Lee is focused on creating an environment in which volunteers can contribute in meaningful ways to our partners, feel valued for their unique abilities, and reflect the diverse communities they represent. She brings 12 years of volunteer engagement, community engagement, strategy, public health, and partnership experience to DataKind.

If you want to see the social sector transformed, join us in advancing the use of data science and AI to support causes that can help make the world a better place. 

• Interested in supporting our work? Donate here.
• Interested in sponsoring a project? Partner with us.
• Interested in volunteering with DataKind? Look no further.
• Interested in working at DataKind? Apply now!
• Interested in submitting a project? Go for it!

As always, thank you for your support of this critical work! 

Quick Links

• Our Ethics + Responsible Data Science Practices at DataKind
• Introducing DataKind’s Playbook
• Co-Creating to Codifying Processes Across a Global Network of Volunteers: How We Built DataKind’s Playbook
• DataKind UK’s Practitioner’s Guide to Data Ethics Toolkits
• Empowering Communities, Serving Humanity: DataKind x Teradata Host NYC Community Event
• Why Data For Good? Findings from our Volunteer Survey
• DataKind’s Center of Excellence