Here is why:

• Their mission, “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors”, aligns with the goals of the chapter.
• Their inclusive vision: “The American Red Cross, through its strong network of volunteers, donors, and partners, is always there in times of need. We aspire to turn compassion into action so that:           
  • All people affected by disasters across the country and around the world receive care, shelter, and hope
  • Our communities are ready and prepared for disasters
  • Everyone in our country has access to safe, lifesaving blood and blood products
  • All members of our armed services and their families find support and comfort whenever needed
• In an emergency, there are always trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills to save lives. The American Red Cross works to deliver vital services- from providing relief and support to those in crisis, to helping communities be prepared to respond in emergencies.
• An average of 90 cents of every dollar spent is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need. “Everything we do depends on the needs of the people that we serve”.
• Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org) scores The American Red Cross as 88.99/100, with a program expense ratio (percent of total expenses spent on programs and services it exists to deliver) of 90.2% and an impact score (actual impact on the lives of those it serves) of 100/100.

As you can expect, The American Red Cross is actively involved in relief efforts in Ukraine.  Many of us have seen stark images of the toll the war has taken on those who live there.  Close to 3 million people have been forced to leave their homes to date.  The Red Cross is providing lifesaving aid to those in need- both in the country and in neighboring areas.  Refugees urgently need food, water, shelter, emergency medical care, and psychological support.  Red Cross volunteers are also planning to work to reunite separated families, provide food and other household items, and increase awareness about areas contaminated by unexploded ordnance.  More detail about how the Red Cross is helping amidst the devastation in Ukraine can be found here:  https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2022/ukraine-red-cross-delivers-aid-to-families.html

The Red Cross urgently needs funds to continue to support its mission in Ukraine for whatever is needed most (blood, food, shelter, clothing, and refugee support).  To this end, PMI Phoenix is conducting a national virtual donation effort so other PMI members or concerned citizens can join us.  The chapter plans to match each dollar donated by members up to $500 so we can reach a goal of $ 5,000 together. 

Donate Now

Give back to schools by being a judge for the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair.  The Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (AzSEF) is the state science fair for Arizona. Managed by Arizona Science Center, AzSEF brings together first-place winners from school, homeschool, district, county, and regional science fairs across Arizona to compete for thousands of dollars in prizes and scholarships.  Judging occurs March 28 – April 1, 2022.

PMI Phoenix is requesting judges to assist with the science fair.  Judging is done virtually and all judges are provided with the appropriate judging information.  See AzSEF Judges Flyer for more information.

PMI Phoenix Academic Outreach is continually looking for ways to give back to our community.  This is an opportunity where we can provide educational mentoring and assistance to students so that they can get feedback from project management professionals.

Logistics

Judges should sign up via the following link for Arizona Science and Engineering Fair: AzSEF: Judges & Volunteers | Arizona Science Center (azscience.org)

• Please note all judges and volunteers will need to create an account when registering, even those who served as a judge or volunteer in the past.
• List PMI Phoenix as the organization that you are representing.
• Send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let him know that you are participating in this endeavor.
• Track the hours that you spend performing your feedback responsibilities.

If you do have questions regarding this, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Steve Poessnecker (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

We also know that today’s project professionals and changemakers face an increasing number of complex problems that require new skills, capabilities and experiences to solve. And we are committed to continually refreshing our portfolio of offerings to serve these needs.

As work is increasingly delivered through projects, more individuals will need to upskill and dive deeper into effective implementation. There’s a clear need that has gone unmet for too long—a single one-stop place for individuals to access resources that enable them to make change happen. Whether we call our vehicle for change a project, product or value stream, it nonetheless requires people skilled at not simply having great ideas, but delivering great results.

Evolving Our Portfolio to Enable Deeper Impact

In order to serve the diverse needs of project professionals and changemakers, we have expanded the offerings in our portfolio to meet stakeholders where they are, regardless of experience or industry, and help them gain the skills they need to create positive impact.

These newer offerings act as doorways to improvement—essentially ways that individuals can turn ideas into reality:

• Kickoff: A free 45-minute online course and toolkit that covers basic project techniques and tools professionals can use to drive change forward using either agile or traditional approaches.
• Navigator: A free tool to help professionals determine the next step in their career development, including opportunities for a comprehensive self-assessment of skills, interests and goals, while offering action plans to achieve objectives.
• Disciplined Agile Certification Suite: A range of agile certifications designed to help professionals learn when and how to use different agile practices, with an emphasis on tailoring to the unique needs of a team or entire organization.
• PMI Citizen Developer™: The first of its kind, platform-agnostic suite of learning tools and resources for professionals and organizations seeking to implement and scale citizen development initiatives, which utilize no-code/low-code platforms as an agile but secure way of developing apps.
• Wicked Problem Solving: An online, interactive design-thinking toolkit, created in partnership with a leading industry expert that helps changemakers collaborate and define both problems and solutions as a group.
• Organizational Transformation Series: A series of online courses and micro-credentials dedicated to helping professionals learn how to drive and lead successful business transformations of various sizes.
• PMIstandards+™: A digital solution for instant access to PMI standards and practice guides, as well as how-to content and more—all tailored to industry, approach and goals.
• PMI Project Management Ready™: An early-entry project management certification available to those who do not yet have a high school diploma and/or may not have the experience and education required for our entry-level professional certification, the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® exam.

Benefits of Broadened Portfolio

Let’s break down some of the unique benefits of our offerings that can help supercharge a career.

• Deliver Greater Value – Today’s professionals need a variety of tools in their tool belts depending on their unique context and environment. Our offerings enable professionals to tackle and overcome challenges with a multitude of approaches. Whether someone needs to increase their fluency in agile or step up their business acumen, they can find an offering tailored to their needs, allowing for opportunities to deliver greater value to their business.
• Customized and Personalized – We believe that project skills are essential throughout life. We serve individuals at every stage of their careers, from students and newly minted professionals learning the ropes of effectively managing projects, all the way to seasoned veterans seeking to better understand emerging technologies and ways of solving problems. Our offerings are customized and personalized to the individual and what they need at the moment they need it.
• Ready for Anything – COVID-19 proved that professionals need to be prepared to expect the unexpected and tackle unprecedented challenges. Ultimately our expanding portfolio is focused on ensuring that PMI is the place where anyone can find guidance, tools, knowledge and perspective on how to address their next big challenge, whether it’s building a hospital in record time, converting a large-scale event to a virtual experience or launching a new product.

Stay tuned on new ways that PMI will empower both project professionals and changemakers to turn all their biggest and boldest ideas into reality.

This article was originally published on the Official PMI Blog.