Ombuds Day 2022 Proclamations – Call for Volunteers

By the 2022 Ombuds Day Committee

 

We need your help! Please continue reading if you are interested in supporting our “Ombuds Day 2022 Proclamation Request-a-thon” scheduled for August 8th – 12th, 2022. Volunteering for this effort is a great way to create awareness and improve understanding of the ombuds profession.  It’s also a great way to meet and connect with other ombuds across the nation.   If you’re interested and short on time, you can skip to the bold text below.

Our 5th annual recognition of Ombuds Day is coming up on Thursday, October 13, 2022.  With the support of volunteers like you in 2021, we requested Ombuds Day proclamations from all 50 states and Washington DC.  Despite the ongoing challenges with COVID last summer, we obtained 34 proclamations, including 31 states. You can see the list of the proclamations here and a collage of the proclamations here.  The proclamations were posted on our Ombuds Day Twitter account as they were received.

How did we achieve this accomplishment?  Some ombuds requested proclamations from their local states, but most of the proclamations were requested by a team of volunteers. The Ombuds Day Subcommittee prepared some template text that could be used for requesting proclamations across the nation. We also prepared some instructions for how to request proclamations and scheduled dates and times for volunteers to work together during a video conference.  It was kind of like a virtual version those old telethons, where volunteers answered the phones to accept donations.  Instead of answering the phones, we had our internet browsers open and were following a set of instructions, copying and pasting text into online forms.  It was easy. It was fun. It was successful.  Let’s do that again this year!

Please let us know if you’re interested as soon as possible.  Once we hear back from you, we will send you the instructions and a number of meeting invites for various dates and times during the week of August 8-12. You can accept or decline as your schedule permits. We plan to submit all of the requests during that week, and someone will join all of the video conferences to explain the process in more detail and answer any questions. Also, if you have any colleagues, friends, or family that might want to support us, please feel free to forward this message to them. This opportunity is open to everyone!

Ken Skodacek, past Chair of the ABA Ombuds Day Subcommittee from 2020 and 2021, will be coordinating this effort for 2022.  If you’re interested, please contact him via email with a short message saying “Yes, I want to support this effort.” Alternatively, you can also contact him directly if you have any questions before making a commitment.

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