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Editor's note: This post was originally published on January 15, 2018, but we recently updated/expanded the list. New conferences for 2019 are denoted with an asterisk.

New year, new opportunities! If one of your 2019 goals is to keep your finger on the pulse of key issues, trends, and topics impacting your agency and/or community, industry conferences are a great way to get started.

We've vetted and attended a lot of conferences over time, and we like to start each new year with a list of recommendations. This list represents events that not only have amazing programming and speakers, but also build in time for attendees to network, share ideas, and discuss how they're addressing key opportunities and challenges.

This year's list is full of expert content, inspirational stories to remind you why you do what you do, and other resources to help you utilize social work technology.

Happy reading!

(By the way, want to get more great articles like these written just for human services delivered straight to your inbox next year? Subscribe here.)

In recent years, “adventure therapy” has emerged as an engaging and effective way to help and heal children who have experienced trauma. Last month, several Northwoodians volunteered at a 3-day, immersive camp dedicated to this cause. They had such an overwhelmingly positive experience that we felt compelled to share a little bit about adventure therapy and how these camps can impact kids.

Looking for a worthy cause to support this giving season? For #GivingTuesday, we asked our employees to highlight non-profits that share our mission of helping vulnerable children, individuals, and families.

Social workers are superheroes. Here at Northwoods, we wholeheartedly believe that.

In honor of Social Work Month, we want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the brave and amazing social workers and caseworkers who inspire change, no matter how small, every day.

Since this year's theme is "Social Workers: Leaders. Advocates. Champions," we're sharing some of the best things we've heard about what motivates social workers to help vulnerable kids and families overcome some of life's toughest challenges. 

Don Abney, Northwoods’ Chief Technology Officer, has spent the last 20 years developing and delivering technology services across several industries. He’s also one of the smartest humans you’ll ever meet.

Don recently sat down with our Business Development team to answer some questions about how Product Delivery (PD) at Northwoods continues to evolve and innovate to meet customers' needs.

His answers were just too good not to share!

It's that time again! As each year comes to a close, we like to recap the top blog posts from the last 365 days. If you're a new reader or subscriber, this is your chance to catch up on all the good stuff you might have missed.

Today is #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving celebrated annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Since its inauguration in 2012, #GivingTuesday has become the unofficial kickoff to the year-end/holiday charitable season.

For many, "giving back" simply means making a monetary donation to the charity of their choice.

However, we recognize that not everybody has the means to support their favorite causes financially. 

In celebration of #GivingTuesday, we've compiled 10 ways you can give back without breaking the bank.

Social workers spend so much of their time in the field visiting families and traveling between appointments. But workers don't have to be away from important information just because they're away from their computers.

Here are 35 apps that can help mobile social workers stay safe, save time, engage kids and adults, find resources for clients, and even deal with stress.