The True Meaning of Memorial Day

The first official Memorial Day was observed on the 30th of May, 1868. Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, gave a general order to place flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Decoration Day, as it was called back then, was to be a day of unity and reconciliation to honor those who gave their all in what was at that time referred to as the Nation War.

It wasn't until after World War I that the holiday was changed to honor all those who died in war, instead of just the casualties of the Civil War. Even though it has been a federal holiday since 1971, there are still some states that either don't officially participate in the national Memorial Day or that do so in addition to a separate day honoring the Confederate war dead.

Teen Leadership: How to Find and Retain Volunteers for Your Teen Leadership Programs

Youth leadership classes are impossible to run without adequate staffing, but your budget may not allow for enough employees to implement quality teen leadership training activities. Therefore, it is important to be able to recruit, train, and retain volunteers to help you.

How to Recruit Volunteers

Since it is not common for individuals to come to your organization looking to volunteer, chances are that you will have to go out and find them. However, don't despair, helpful and capable volunteers may not be as far away as you think. It is simply a matter of knowing good methods of finding them. Then recruiting volunteers becomes fairly simple.