The Points of Light Foundation and the Open Society Institute have launched a program that will allow would-be volunteer coordinators from Eastern Europe learn from the programs and day-to-day operations of volunteer centers in America.

Called the Eastern European Volunteer Internship Program, the initiative will bring interns from Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Latvia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary and Ukraine and to volunteer centers in seven states.

"The tasks and obstacles facing these representatives are daunting, but the potential is so great," says Brian Smith, internship manager.

The program will provide the interns with experience in interaction and train them in cutting-edge strategies that they can apply to volunteer programs in their respective countries.