Category Archives: Volunteer

We’re grateful to those who have served their country. Civilians can never understand all that is entailed in military service for our country but we can be thankful, acknowledge this service, and support where we can.

Along those lines, we have an update on one of our favorite service organizations – Canine Companions for Independence – and their program for veterans called the Canine Companions Wounded Veterans Initiative.

Two years ago our first puppy, “Barbie”, flunked (only about 40% pass!), and she is now a “civilian” in the MarshallGIS office. In August 2016 our second CCI puppy “Ginnie” (image to the left) went back to Santa Rosa, where she made it all the way through advanced training only to be turned down because of future hip problems.

Late last September, our third green eared CCI puppy (green from the ear tattoo – see photo on right), “Safire” – entered our lives, third times a charm! When we picked up Safire at the Boise Airport, we met Charlie Linville, his daughter, and his CCI graduate working dog Devon.

It was a real honor to meet Charlie and his daughter, and his CCI dog Devon. Just last year, Charlie Linville summited Mount Everest with a prosthetic leg. Charlie is nothing short of awesome, and you can read on CBS News how Charlie was a member of a Marine Corps bomb-disposal unit in Afghanistan in 2011 when he stepped on a buried explosive and suffered traumatic injuries.

Below: Charlie and Tim Medvetz of The Heroes Project summiting Mount Everest. Source: CBS news / The Hero Project.

We were inspired by Charlie’s story, and happy to be apart of the CCI Puppy Raisers.

Read More about Charlie, and the CCI Wounded Veterans Initiative.

Maps tell a story and help us understand our world. Behind every map is the spatial data that makes this understanding possible. For the humanitarian community the development of much of this data is reliant on the efforts of volunteers.

The Office of Information Technology Outreach Services (ITOS) at the University of Georgia maintains and collects a global archive of spatial data that supports the humanitarian community in their mapping and analysis efforts. When Dr. Karen Payne, the administrator of the repository, becomes aware that a dataset requested by users is not readily available she often turns to the GIS Corp, a group of volunteers with GIS and IT experience.

As one of these volunteers I recently contributed over 50 hours of work assisting in the development of a GIS dataset of the capital cities of Indonesia’s Provinces and Regencies, as well as Kotas (independent cities). A variety of sources was used to find these locations in order to provide the highest level of location and name validation possible. As I journeyed through unfamiliar names and places, I learned much about the geography and people of another region of our world. I took side trips, tasted the culture, and learned some interesting history, albeit virtually.

Being able to make a contribution to our GIS and humanitarian communities was a personally fulfilling endeavor for me. It expanded my horizons and reminded me of how we are all connected.

For more details on this project, follow this link to the full article.

– By Paula Dillon (Product Support Manager, MarshallGIS)