Tech's Team Focuses on Teaching Life Skills to Youth Offenders

A first hand account of working with the Reintegrating Youth Offenders program. Written by one of Tech's Team Leaders, Heather Corcoran:

I was extremely nervous about going to RYO. I envisioned the inmates acting up and we would be caught in the middle. Yes, that sounds crazy, but thats how I felt. I also didn't know how they would act toward us. Would they accept us? Would they just sit there with an angry attitude? The first drive out there on October 18th seemed so long. My nerves were getting the best of me.
By the time we arrived, had a tour of the facility and were able to meet the staff, I was more at ease, that is, until we went into the first block. Seeing all of those faces just staring at me was intimidating. I was incredibly nervous, but once we started doing our first activity, things were falling into place. They were communicating with us through laughter and concern; my heart started to beat its regualr pace. Just as I was starting to get comfortable here, it was time for us to pack up and head to the second block. As we were leaving, they were all asking when we were coming back and telling us they had a good time. As we walked out there was one big "THANK YOU" from everyone. I SURVIVED! We were able to break the ice with the inmates that day and it was such a great feeling!

UM Celebrates Service Learning Course Designation

In conjunction with the National Learn and Serve Challenge Week and the Associated Students of University of Montana's (ASUM) formal endorsement of the Service Learning course designation, the Office for Civic Engagement (OCE) held a Service Learning & Volunteer Kickoff. University of Montana President George Dennison, who is also president of the Campus Compact Board of Directors, spoke about the history of the Service Learning course component, as well as the importance of student action at the University.

Mason Giem, Campus Corps Volunteer & Events Cordinator at the OCE, collected an estimated number of hours that UM students have contributed to the community. Combining the hours from internship services, ASUM groups, and OCE, Mason found that 107,904 hours of service work have been completed over the past year, totaling $1,457,783.

Polly Pillen, Campus Corps Service Learning Liason for the OCE, spoke about the unprecedented Service Learning course designation. There are currently 15 designated Service Learning courses being offered at UM and additional courses will be added this spring. This designation increases the visibility of the service learning that is already being done on campus, while giving students the opportunity to earn credits for their service work.

This event was also a kickoff for the year of volunteering here at the University of Montana and a promotion of the OCE's new "Service Saturdays" student volunteer group, which gives students the opportunity to get a taste of local non-profits through one-time weekend service events.

Northern is Helping People Help Themselves

The purpose of the Mutual Self-Help Housing program is to help low-income families who are unable to purchase clean, safe housing through conventional methods. Particpiating families perform approximately 65 percent of the construction on eachother's homes, reducing labor costs and making the homes affordable to low-income clients.

At MSU-Northern, the Campus Corps team has been working to get the university community involved in making Mutaul Self Help Housing a great project. First, they signed on electrician, plumbing, and carpentry students to help construct these homes. Then, they involved both a promotions class and a graphic arts class in designing, developing, and implementing an advertising campaign for the Mutaual Self Help Housing program.

(Talk about engaging students from all over the academic spectrum in learning that really meets a community need! Way to go Northern!)

Campus Corps Kick-off

Campus Corps members have officially kicked-off their year of service with the Building Engaged Citizens Conference in Butte, September 26-28. New and returning members were officially sworn in by reciting the AmeriCorps pledge, which was lead by Paul Babb, CEO of Butte-Silverbow county.

Members took their oath on the evening of the 27th, after having participated in a service project for the National Day of Action. For the service project, Campus Corps members joined forces with MTCC VISTAs to clean up the Butte Rescue Mission. All at the rescue mission were focused on "getting things done", which was the promise they made later that evening.

This year's Campus Corps teams are lead by Liz at MSU-Bozeman, Megan at MSU-Billings, Ruth at Fort Peck Community College, JJ at Flathead Valley Community College, Christie at Blackfeet Community College, Roe at University of Montana and returning leaders Sue at MSU-Northern and Heather at Montana Tech.

All are looking forward to a great year with Campus Corps, and members from across the state will convene once more a few months from now for the Spring Summit.

Welcome Campus Corps Members!

You've reached your online Member Resource site! Here, you can Get Oriented!, Get Enrolled!, Know Your Rights as a Member, Access the MyAmeriCorps Portal and keep up-to-date on Campus Corps news and program updates! The new blog is also a great way to connect with other Campus Corps members and learn about what's going on throughout the state!

Congratulations on your decision to commit to a year of service with Campus Corps! Stay tuned, as the blog evolves, and come back often to find out what's new in the Campus Corps world.

Cheers,

Eric Cardella
Campus Corps Program Manager