9th Annual Harley Riders Never Forget

Catherine Avery at Montana State University-Great Falls College of Technology found a real fun project for her National Service and Remembrance Day. Look at what she had to say!

"On Saturday, September 11, 2010, at 5:00 p.m. the 9^th Annual Harley Riders Never Forget ride from the Harley Davidson parking lot at 38^th Street and 10^th Avenue South in Great Falls, Montana began. An impressive roundup of nearly 500 riders rumbled into their destination across town, the Montana Veterans Memorial on a vista overlooking the sparkling Missouri River, at 7:00 p.m. for a memorial service.

Mayor of Great Falls, Mike Winters, then officially declared 9/11 a Day of Remembrance for the City of Great Falls, to be honored by the Harley Davidson motorcycle Club by an annual ride and memorial service at the Montana Veterans Memorial site.

AmeriCorps Campus Corps of Montana State University was honored to assist in the memorial event by providing security services at the Montana Veterans Memorial site. Barriers were erected to reserve the memorial parking lot for the riders who were scheduled to arrive for the memorial service. Volunteers stood watch and listened for the signature sound of the Harley Davidson motorcycles to arrive, and pulled the barriers aside to allow them passage.

A sometimes rowdy bunch of riders, the group was quiet, respectfully listening to the speakers who honored the men and women who sacrificed their lives and offered their service on 9/11. Tears filled the eyes of many gathered.

The volunteers then removed the barriers to allow the group to depart the memorial service site. Several American flags yet to have lighting to remain standing after dark, were then taken down and the volunteers assisted in folding the flags and carefully putting them away.

The ceremony was a true way for AmeriCorps volunteers and others to show their colors, and a lovely way to spend a remarkable day."

If you have any questions about this project, you can email Catherine at catherine.avery@msugf.edu

Photos taken by the Great Falls Tribune

University of Montana - Missoula, Day of National Service

Katie Koga over in Missoula planned an action-packed day for 9/11. Take a look at the Facebook Album HERE! Looks like an awesome time! Here is what Katie had to say about the Campus Corps team:

"Students at the University of Montana devoted their day of service to three local non-profits in the Missoula community. Onions were harvested at Orchard Gardens, the clothing bank was organized at the Poverello Center, and yards were groomed at the YWCA’s Transitional Housing Units. In just one afternoon, several great needs were met thanks to the hard work of these active students. This day not only benefited those who were served, but our volunteers also learned about the meaning of service and opportunities for them to continue staying involved."

Sure does sound like a lot was done in one day! Nicely done! I want to wear some sweet overalls and harvest some onions...

Montana Western National Day of Service and Remembrance 2010

Looks like Jon Stephani and his members, over at The University of Montana - Western, had an incredible time on their Day of National Service and Remembrance!
Take a look at the Facebook Photo Album! for proof :P

I asked Jon to write up a summary of what they did that day. Here is what he had to say:

" The first set of photos with us driving around in trucks and sorting recycling was the first part of our project. We enlisted the help of community members, campus corps members, Montana Youth Challenge Cadets and of course, our new service learning floor students, to help with a curbside recycling pick up and food donation drive. We were able to collect around 200 pounds of plastic, and filled the majority of the recycling bins here in town with aluminum, steel, paper, cardboard and glass.

The second section of pictures is an art project that we did for Dillon's youth. We invited all students from grades K through 8 to come down to Jaycee park (our version of Central Park) to learn how to make their own canvases out of recycled paper and found objects. While their canvases were drying we taught them how to make edible, biodegradable paint out of items they could find in their parents cupboards. We had around 35 children show up, which is an amazing turnout for Dillon youth."

Wowzas! I want to make edible, biodegradable paint...

Looks like a great turnout with great weather and smiling faces. Keep up the great work over there in Dillon, MT!

I'm going to post up the flier than Jon used around his campus to enlist volunteers. I think it's an awesome example of an effective way to spread knowledge about your projects. Click on it to make it bigger!Keep on sendin' in those service projects! I'm living vicariously through you all :P

2010 Fall Leader Retreat

This year's Fall Leader Retreat was over at the Blacktail Ranch in Wolf Creek, MT from September 1st-3rd. For those who don't know, the proper way to say "creek" is "crik." ;)

All 16 Leaders from around the state of Montana gathered and exchanged hellos and welcomes! We have lucked out this year by having 5 returning leaders: Wendy, Jenny, Jon, Del & Laura. We have also lucked out by having an incredible, enthusiastic group of new leaders! Those being Ruth, Katie, Anne, Stephen, John, Jill, Julia, Catherine, Jacob and myself. I'm so excited to be working with y'all (!!!!) as I see us making some serious headway in terms of service in the state of Montana. Our energy is spot on!

I have uploaded all the photos that were taken at the retreat. They can be found HERE!
Please enjoy them as much as I have and feel free to share them with whomever you'd like. That is a public link that anyone can see. Also, feel free to Tag yourself in any of those photos. In fact, I'd encourage Tagging in order to let everyone know (friends, family) what you've been up to!

Not only were the leaders oriented and welcomed, we also did some service work in Wolf Creek! Half of us worked at Wolf Creek Elementary doing necessary yard work, maintenance, and organization. We had Jon S. and Eric tackling weeds, while John D. utilized his power mowing skills. Laura and Ruth both helped in the library, organizing and categorizing books. Jenny, Marina, and Emily sanded and stained the bleachers. Ruth also helped taking some great photos! Y'all did great work, and we know that the school appreciated it judging from Bonnie's smile and kind thank yous!

The other half of us were at the Fire Station washing some Fire Trucks and Emergency Vehicles. Boy oh boy, did we have a good time! Well, it was fun until you got a spray of water from a mysterious source up above. We found out later, that was coming from Julia. THANKS JULIA. All in all, we washed 2 Fire Trucks, and 1 Ambulance, and 1 Emergency Response Unit. The worst part was probably getting squashed bugs off the grill :P But, the best part was probably being surprised with POPSICLES! AHH! Where did that Popsicle guy come from? Heaven? I think so. ALSO, how could we forget Mr. Stephen Johansson mowing that field, in sandals?! That field needed to be mowed, badly - and Stephen stepped up to the plate. I'm sorry, but I had to laugh a few times as you ran the mower into a hidden ditch (which it seemed that the whole field was made of...) Also, we had Catherine on those benches! Those benches needed a serious coating of some paint, and you provided them with that. They looked incredible when finished!

That is all for now! Take a look at those photos, they're great. I hope you all had as great a time as I did.

Let's play some Mafia soon, as I know Wendy is itching to throw some people off again :P