NASW members are being encouraged to provide their current e-mail addresses to the association in order to take full advantage of member benefits and services.

By taking a moment to visit the NASW member center.

Web site, members can easily sign in and verify their e-mail addresses, said Susan Rubin, marketing manager at NASW. At the member center, members can modify or change their notification preferences, their profiles, renew their memberships and learn more about membership benefits.

Having a working e-mail address registered with the association keeps members informed and on top of the many NASW activities and events that are important to their careers and to the overall profession.

Some of the benefits of having an updated e-mail address on record with NASW include:

• Keeping current and well informed through monthly news alerts, the Social Work journal, and other electronic publications;
• Reducing the need for voicemail, "phone tag" and wait time when seeking information;
• Improved promptness to member questions;
• Assisting the association in verifying membership status;
• Opportunities to participate in social work-related surveys;
• Updates on the latest distance learning programs for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through teleconferences, Specialty Practice Sections Teleconferences and the NASW Lunchtime Teleconference series;
• Updates taking place at the Social Work Career Center, including JobLink and other career tools;
• Staying informed on legislative issues that affect the profession and payment guidelines;
• Making voices heard through social work advocacy efforts locally and nationally;
• Opportunities for special member discounts;
• The opportunity to purchase NASW merchandise;
• Updates about the latest projects taking place at the NASW Center for Workforce Studies, the NASW Credentialing and Continuing Education Center and other departments.

When members have a working e-mail address with NASW, it also assures that membership benefits follows them wherever they move, said Nonya Miller, marketing specialist at NASW.

"Updating your contact information is quick and easy to do," she said.

Another benefit realized by viewing NASW materials electronically are its positive effect on the environment, said Rubin. "It lends itself nicely to NASW's Going Green initiative," she said. "This is a great way to help preserve the environment's natural resources."

In 2008, NASW started its Green initiative. The NASW Board of Directors decided that the association would host a Virtual Delegate Assembly for the first time, which reduced the number of people who would have to travel to Washington, D.C., from around 300 to only four. In keeping step with this effort, the NASW Press announced it would issue its flagship journal, Social Work, in an electronic-only format starting with the January 2009 issue, thus reducing the use of paper and ink in the production process.

NASW's Annual Practice Conference, "The Aging Boom: Is Your Clinical Practice Ready?" taking place in Las Vegas March 15-16, is also Going Green by eliminating paper copies of presentation materials. Attendees will be given a flash memory stick containing all the necessary information about the conference.