Community Connections are Made Over Lunch in Poplar, MT

Post submitted by Katie Wise, Campus Corps Leader at Fort Peck Community College

Thursday, August 26^th FPCC Campus Corps hosted a connections lunch to mark the end of the Campus Corps term. Over a deliciously six foot long sub sandwich and deli fixings, community organizations, FPCC faculty and staff, Campus Corps Alumni and members celebrated the year and worked out new ways to connect with each other while the Campus Corps program is on hiatus.

The Giant Sandwich in action

Alumni were also awarded mini-diploma’s to congratulate them for completing the program and thank them for serving the community.

Awards given to Esley Sherman (left) and Michelle Buckles (right)

During the brainstorming session many ideas and connections were made some highlights:

Campus Corps Member Kylee Bushman, Campus Corps Leader

 Katie Wise, Boys & Girls’ Club Director Jeanette Charboneau

Jeannette Charboneau, director of the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wolf Point and Poplar Montana is going to work with FPCC’s Nursing department to bring students to the clubs for presentations and activities about the benefits of good nutrition and exercise. She will also be working with Richard DeCelles and Haven Gourneau to create work study positions for FPCC students interested in Health and Education fields, which would include continuing summer member Kylee Bushman’s current position into the academic year.

Debra McGowan with the Ft. Peck Library

The Ft. Peck Library has found more sources of people power to help continue their move, with many of the organizations pledging their 

help.

Esley Sherman has been offered a permanent position at Poplar Elementary, working with students with learning disabilities to find ways to work around them.

In all, it was an enjoyable and productive lunch, and a mark of the continued commitment between Ft. Peck Community College and the Ft. Peck Community.

Alumni Profile : Gerri Stiffarm

I thought it would be fun to reach out to some of our Campus Corps alumni to find out where they are now, and to hear what they had to say about their Campus Corps experience a few years down the line. I was able to track down former 2-term member, Gerri Stiffarm who had some great things to say about her experience with the program. Thanks for sharing Gerri!

Gerri (left) with current Campus Corps Leader
at Aaniiih Nakoda College, Ali Graham

Alumni Profile:

Name: Gerri Lynn Stiffarm 

Year(s)that you served your term: 2005 - 2006 & 2006 - 2007 

College that you served at: Montana State University - Northern

# of Campus Corps terms served: 2 as official Campus Corps member

Service Site(s):

2005 - 06: Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line working with America Reads and America Counts Program

2006 - 07: HRDC IV with the Mentoring for Tomorrow Program mentoring students in 4th through 8th grade.

Reflections on her Campus Corps Experience:

"My time with Montana Campus Corps was an exciting experience for me.  I have always enjoyed helping other people and these experiences just heightened my sense of compassion and service to my community. So when I found out about volunteer opportunities with MTCC, I was excited to apply.  My favorite experiences volunteering were the ELF (Everyone Loves Firemen) food drives. These annual events were a collaboration of the Havre Food Bank and the local Fire Department. I enjoyed helping coordinate the volunteers at the beginning of the drive and send them off to the neighborhoods with the ambulance and firefighters leading the way.  Yet, others of us would stay behind and get ready for the tons of food to come in and be sorted.  These events really showed the community spirit as there were volunteers from different organizations, church youth groups, community members, and college students helping make it happen.

Montana Campus Corps has been an excellent experience for me and I am grateful for all I was able to do for others while learning more about myself. I now work as the Success Center Coordinator at Aaniiih Nakoda College where I help students earn their GED diplomas, sign up for college, get tutoring help, and find ways for them to succeed.  I have worked this summer 2012 as the site supervisor through the Jump Start Academy and have enjoyed seeing our students serve their community and create new relationships. It has been a wonderful experience to share my past experiences and the spirit of service with them." 

"What A Year" A Great Story by Hazel Todd

Check out this truly great, Great Story from MSU-Billings' Campus Corps leader, Hazel Todd:

"What a Year"

This Friday I will take my last walk into the Office for Community Involvement at MSUB. I very clearly remember my first day and first walk to the office; I was excited, nervous and ready to go. I also distinctly remember wondering about my last day and how I would feel that morning, and now that I know I have not been disappointed. I walk away from MSUB with a entire new set of skills and experiences that have helped me grow personally and professionally. I was able to do so much, be a leader for a team, recruit and manage hundreds of volunteers, network with non profits, coordinate service projects, engage students in service and the list goes on. The Campus Corps leader role at MSUB is truly a unique, challenging and inspiring position and I am so proud of my accomplishments, the wonderful people I have had the opportunity to work with and meet and the experience as a whole. 

Hazel (center) with MSU-B coordinator Meg (left) and MSU-B
Office of Community Involvement Director Kathy (right)  at Relay for Life event.

2011-2012 Campus Corps Leader Awards

Our 2011-2012 team of Campus Corps leaders has certainly turned out to be an exceptional group of people, each bringing their unique strengths and talents to the work that they do and to leverage the work of our group as a whole. At last month's Summer leader retreat, we took some time to recognize and celebrate each of our leaders and all that they have accomplished over the year. Here is the list of the 2011-2012 Campus Corps leader Awards:

The "In it to Win it" Award went to MSU's Alex Black for bringing her A-game to every Campus Corps competition and for putting her competitive nature to good use to benefit her community!

The "Team Spirit" Award went to Hazel Todd for her endless energy, for her bright smile, and for her positive approach to all that she does!

The "Unsung Hero" Award goes to MSU-Northern's Grace Milanowski for leading by example, for making impressive contributions to her program, and for never tooting her own horn in the process!

The "Lifesaver" Award goes to Rocky Mountain College's Jill Washburn for her commitment to saving lives when disaster strikes!

The "I Can't Wait to Say I Knew Him Back When" Award goes to Dawson Community College's Jacob Kilgore, who is destined for greatness. We can't wait to see what the future has in store for you!

The "Heart & Soul" Award goes to Fort Peck Community College's Katie Wise for giving it all she's got this year and for triumphing over tough challenges that were thrown her way!

The "Merriwether Lewis" Award goes to Ali Graham for successfully mapping out a new program at Aaniiih Nakoda College!

The "William Clark" Award goes to Stone Child College's Michael Yegerlehner for being our Campus Corps pioneer on the Rocky Boy Reservation!

The "Git'er Done" Award goes to M-Tech's Sean Cochrane for always

 being ahead of his to-do list!

The "Least Afraid to Go Our and Get Her Hands Dirty" Award goes to UM's Shanna Ungate for always being up for an adventure and for giving her members plenty
of opportunities to play in the dirt!

The "Where There's a Will There's a Way" Award goes to MSU-Great Falls' T.C. Knutson for biting off more (than you would assume) he could chew, and then proving everyone wrong!

The "ABCD (Above the Call of Duty)" Award goes to UM-Western's Cheyanne Marcy for hosting a week's worth of events for each National Day of Service and
for always going the extra mile!

Finding Her Home in Havre, MT

This Great Story was submitted by MSU-Northern's Campus Corps Leader, Grace Milanowski

"A Sense of Community"

 by Grace Milanowski 

One thing that I have enjoyed most about being part of Campus Corps is the diversity of volunteer work I am able to do because it has allowed me to fully experience the good characteristics of small town life. Moving to Havre was a bit of an adjustment for me from living in bigger cities my whole life-- but I was instantly impressed with the welcome I received. My volunteering this year has allowed me to experience first-hand this town’s cohesiveness, incredible generosity and willingness to help their neighbors in need. From things like volunteering regularly at the soup kitchen, registering donors for blood drives, helping kids make recycled crafts at one time events and site visits to farmers’ and ranchers’ land, I constantly met people who were invested in their community and genuinely cared for their neighbors. Those qualities of small town living: generosity, genuine friendliness, lending a helping hand without question, and relying on a community are things I quickly learned to appreciate and am certain I will carry them with me wherever I go next. 

Grace (3rd from left) and some of her fellow AmeriCorps members serving in Montana's Hi-Line region

Dream Big, Read! Montana Libraries’ Summer Reading Program

Check out this post submitted my Katie Wise, Campus Corps Leader at Fort Peck Community College!

I personally have a lot of fun memories of my home library’s summer reading program, it made reading more than something I did at school, but part of my life. This summer I had the pleasure of volunteering with the Ft. Peck Library’s Summer Reading Program, and get a whole new bunch of kids into reading outside the school room. Libraries throughout Montana are hosting their Summer Reading Programs. 

This year’s theme is Dream Big, Read! which encourages kids to consider dreams both as nighttime visions and goals for their futures, and how reading can enhance both of them.  The reading program has children from Kindergarten through Fifth grade marking off the hours they’ve read with stickers with prizes awarded at the end. The goal of the reading program is to keep kids reading and thinking over the summer, retaining the skills they learned in school, and encouraging reading as a fun activity outside of the classroom. Most Montana libraries are participating in the program, and including activities over the summer to keep kids involved with the program.

 At the Ft. Peck Library, Shawn Kennalty and I hosted a summer reading day camp, with mornings filled with reading, crafts, and even a puppet show. We invited Poplar Elementary School’s Summer program to some of our activities and encouraged the students to sign up. We held a dream jar, where participants could write down their dreams to be shared at the end of the program, and had kids share their dreams of growing up (with plenty of Veterinarians, Nurses, Firefighters and Video Gamers). We also put together a special book shelf full of titles surrounding the subject of dreaming, nighttime, and goal reaching for the participants to peruse. All of this was topped off with an awards party with pizza, prizes and face painting.

Most Libraries are running their summer reading programs through July and even into August. The supplies and resources for the reading program are distributed by The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP), its surrounding activities are run by individual libraries. Although the  Parmly Billings Library and the Bozeman Public Library  both have online information about their events, every library is doing different activities for the program and the best way to find out how you can contribute is to go to the library and ask how you can help. The library may need help with everything from reading to kids at story time, gathering and distributing craft materials, monitoring activities, or even fundraising to ensure every kid gets a prize for completing their reading hours. If your library doesn’t offer the program, you can ask them to join CSLP. By volunteering for this program you are encouraging children to love books and see the library as fun place to go.  

UM-W Enters National AmeriCorps Photo Contest

Each year AmeriCorps members throughout the country are challenge to submit a photo that highlights the impactful ways in which they served their local communities over the course of the year. Photos are evaluated based on certain criteria including overall impact, creativity, composition or technical quality, memorable content and delivery, and expression of this year's theme "AmeriCorps Works".


Cheyanne, our leader at UM-Western took advantage of this opportunity to highlight some of the successes that her outstanding Campus Corps team experienced over the past school year. We have yet to learn which photos were selected to win the contest; but, wether or not they walk away with an award, these photos are well worth sharing with the Montana AmeriCorps community. Check them out!

"AmeriCorps members join together for 9/11 National Service and Remembrance day to further build capacity of the recycling programs. The members hosted a talk on "Why recycle Plastic" facilitated through the local Forest Service Green Team. The finale project of the week, connected local volunteers and college students for a city-limits wide curbside plastic pick-up. The first time ever our community produced several bales of plastic to recycle amounting to over 1000 pounds collected in one day. These efforts directly impacted our community and provided the statistics that generated enough recycled plastic for a collection bin. We now recycle glass, mixed paper, aluminum & steel, cardboard and PLASTIC. The committee even held a electronic waste recycling weekend. Environmental stewards at their best coming together to make the world we live in a greener, one step at a time."

"Local Campus Corps team impacts their community through a series of service projects. Team members geared up to delivery 1000 disaster preparedness bags to their community during March’s American Red Cross month in alignment with AmeriCorps Works week. Volunteers including AmeriCorps members, VISTA members, and local community members persevered through a late March snow storm that accumulated to over 6 inches of snow while walking the streets of their community delivering bags door to door educating citizens on the importance of being prepared for disasters that could strike at any given time. The team won a state wide competition and received a reward to have a celebration, instead of using funds for their achievements the members chose to turn the money around into a donation for the local campus community garden of which a Food Corps VISTA had diligently worked over her term of service to build the capacity of the garden forming partnerships with local schools and cafeterias. The donation was enough to purchase needed materials for summer education programs at the garden."

One Last Leader Gathering

Our team of 2011-2012 Campus Corps leaders had the chance to get together one last time before our terms of service come to an end and we move on to what's in store for us after this impactful year serving with the Montana Campus Compact. There was certainly something very bittersweet about our final gathering, but ultimately the retreat was a blast and certainly did our best to make the most of our final few days together as a team.


Our group enjoyed the accommodations of the Medicine Flower Lodge located in the scenic town of Red Lodge, MT right at the base of the Beartooth Mountain Range. The final retreat of the year provided the group with plenty of time to celebrate our many successes, to reflect upon the impact that this year has had on our lives, and to enjoy each others' company one last time. 

Grace, Hazel, Sean, & Alex soaking up some sunshine

Additionally, we gained some useful skills that will help us in our future endeavors, whatever they may be. Specifically, we received some guidance in resume building from guest facilitator, Jana Nelson of Billings Job Services who tailored the training session to our unique group and considered the individual career interests of each of our leaders. While we spent plenty of time looking ahead to our lives after AmeriCorps, we did not overlook the fact that we are not yet finished with the work that we have left to do for our communities during our final weeks as leaders. To support these efforts, we focused a few of our sessions on program sustainability and ensured that each leader was able to walk away with some concrete tasks to accomplish before it's time to leave. 


A Campus Corps sponsored event would of course not be complete with out some sort of service involved, and we were lucky enough to be able to support an MTCC VISTA projects taking place in the area. We spent an afternoon volunteering for the Red Lodge Food Partnership Council where we covered a hoop house in their youth community garden, removed rocks from the garden space, and did some weeding. Alyssa, our MTCC VISTA working on the project was especially grateful that the hoop house finally had a roof, as this addition will allow for a much longer growing season that can continue well into the fall months.  

Happily working on the hoop house!

Although we were all sad to say our final goodbyes, we were grateful for this experience, and grateful for the opportunity to gain a sense of closure to such a meaningful chapter of our lives. Here's to the 2011-2012 Campus Corps Leaders! You will be missed!

MSU-Billings Relays to "Give Cancer the Boot"

Every year in February when the air is frigid and the sidewalks are icy the OCI starts gearing up for another year of excellent fundraising for the Yellowstone County Relay for Life!  For five thrilling months, weekly fundraisers are held to help us reach our goal of $10,000. The fundraising dollars help to fund research in the fight against cancer and assists local cancer patients currently battling who are in need of wigs, rides to appointments and lodging during treatment.

Anywhere between 80 and 100 MSUB faculty, staff, students and family members join the Relay team every year. For 2012, the MSU-B theme is Toy Story and we are having fun as we work to “send cancer to infinity and beyond” and “give cancer the boot”.  A week in the life of Relay at MSUB can be wild, exciting, hopeful, fun, busy and detailed. Our standard fundraisers that continue to bring in thousands of dollars and raise the bar of Relay excellence at MSUB include: Blue Jean Wednesdays, weekly Relay Lunches sponsored by different departments on campus, popcorn Wednesdays, multiple dessert auctions, a raffle basket drawing every Friday and of course the continuous sale of luminaries, which are purchased to honor a loved one who has battled cancer and placed around the track at the Relay event.

MSU-B Relay for Life committee members work tirelessly every year to ensure that fundraisers and activities run smoothly. There are so many people to thank, celebrate and remember as we inch closer to the event on July 13^th and 14^th. 

Post submitted by Hazel Todd, Campus Corps Leader at MSU-Billings

An important component of the Campus Corps program is to make our programs sustainable: to work with local communities from the get-go to develop programs that the community is invested in and takes ownership of. Developing a program by means of this community-driven method ensures that the services that the Campus Corps has made possible will continue far into the future regardless of our involvement. With Campus Corps leaders transitioning out of their positions in just a few short months, this task of transitioning   has become a central focus for many of them.

Our trio of leaders serving in the Havre community and surrounding areas of the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy Reservations have collaboratively come up with a plan to encourage local community leaders to take on more ownership of the programs initiated by the Campus Corps program. The three of them joined forces in their sustainability efforts to create a plan of action that will support all three of their campus communities in sustaining volunteer programming. Grace Milanowski of MSU-Norther, Micheael Yegerlehner of Stone Child College, and Ali Graham of Aaniiih Nakoda College have each identified members of their respective communities that are especially dedicated to service and/or have leadership positions with organizations that support such work. They have recruited this targeted group of people to be a part of a community council that will provide a venue for members to network with each other, to form partnerships, to create collaborative projects, and to raise community awareness of each of their individual initiatives. While local AmeriCorps members are playing a key role in organizing this initiative, they are doing so in a way that ensures that the council will sustain well beyond their individual terms of service. Their role is limited to making initial connections, gaining community investment in the initiative, and helping to identify the key players that will take on leadership roles within the council.So far, the council's first few meetings have been successful, and our leaders have been very pleased with the enthusiasm that community members have shown in response to the idea. At their next meeting, they hope to decide on a name for the council and anticipate that things will quickly move forward from there!

Campus Corps Leader Lends a Hand with Tribal Workforce Development Program

Michael Yegerlehner, Campus Corps leader at Stone Child College, has had the opportunity to be involved in an exciting program taking place on the Rocky Boy Reservation this summer: the Tribal Summer Workforce Development Program. The job preparation program, which was offered to any interested parties living on the Reservation, gives each of its members a job assignment whom they report to for work 4 days a week. On Fridays they attend instructional classes aimed to provide them with the skills and knowledge necessary to make them successful employees upon transitioning out of the program and into the workforce come fall. The classes cover a variety of topics including resume building, interviewing techniques, professionalism, etc.

   

In his role as Campus Corps leader, Michael was offered the opportunity to instruct a few of these courses and agreed to take on this challenge. So far he has presented on "positivity in the workplace" and shared that his experience was a good one. He was pleased to report that his class was full of "people who were very engaged and active" during his presentation of the material.  Upcoming topics that he has been asked to share his expertise on include sustainable agriculture and a seminar on civic engagement. 

Rocky Boy's Summer Tribal Workforce Development program has been a success from the get-go, with numbers for enrollment far exceeding what they had anticipated (over 375 participants!) This initiative certainly illustrates the positive momentum of progress currently present on the reservation and serves as a sign of hope that their struggle with high unemployment rates will soon be a thing of the past. Michael shares that it is something that he is "very happy to be a part of".

Summer Service Projects

Yes, it's true, school is out until fall but that doesn't mean Montana college students have to also take a break from community service  during the summer months. Even if you don't have time to enroll as a summer Campus Corps member, there are a number of one time service projects to participate in that will give you the opportunity to spend some time helping out your community over the next few months. Campus Corps leaders have sought out a number of exciting service project opportunities open to anyone interested in participating. There are many projects that are still in the works (further details to come on those), but below is a  current list of upcoming events in need of volunteers:

Aaniiih Nakoda College (Harlem, MT/ Fort Belknap Reservation)
Event: Diabetes Prevention Project: Pending funding, Ali will be organizing a multi-project initiative with the Diabetes Prevention Program in Chinook. This will include a presentation and info session with a nutritionist and a Fun Run/Walk to raise money for the cause. 
When:TBD
Where: Fort Belknap Reservation
Contact: Alison Graham (agraham@mail.fbcc.edu/ 406-353-2607)



Event: Taking Back the Night: We are having a night/evening event for the community to teach them how to deal with depression, bullying, and death.  This event will be in the first week of July. Activities so far will include a “letting go” of issues by tying them to balloons and letting them float off.  We are going to have the counselor come in and talk about signs of depression and how to deal with death.  We will also be making t-shirts with the kids. 

When:TBD: first week of July
Where: Aaniiih Nakoda College campus
Contact: Alison Graham (agraham@mail.fbcc.edu/ 406-353-2607)



Event: Cancer Awareness Walk: Come walk for someone you know that has cancer or has passed away from cancer. 
When:June 13th, (11:00AM-1:00PM)
Where: Aaniiih Nakoda College campus
Contact: Alison Graham (agraham@mail.fbcc.edu/ 406-353-2607)


Fort Peck Community College (Poplar, MT/ Fort Peck Reservation)
Event: Fort Peck Warrior's Center Welcoming Ceremony: The program will be hosting an informational lunch introducing themselves, their program and its benefits to the Ft. Peck community.   
When:  June TBD
Where: Ft. Peck Warrior's Center: 305 C Street East & 307 D Street East, Poplar, MT
Contact: Katie Wise (kwise@fpcc.edu/406-768-6333)

Event: Children's Reading Program: Fort Peck Tribal Library would like to invite your children, grandchildren or any other child you know to attend Dream Big READ Summer Reading program starting Monday morning at 9:30 in LC 2.  Each child should register at the Library to participate.  
When: Monday - Friday (9:30AM-11:30AM) Program will run through July 13th with a final party on July 16th.
Where: Fort Peck Public Library
Contact: Katie Wise (kwise@fpcc.edu/406-768-6333)


Event: Poplar Wild West Days: The town of Poplar will be hosting Wild West days, a large community wide event celebrating the town and its history. There will be presentations and tables by local community organizations, many tournaments, booths and sales, comedy shows, stunt shows and more. Many volunteers are needed to make this a success.
When: June 15th - June 17th, 2012
Where: various locations, Poplar, MT
Contact: Katie Wise (kwise@fpcc.edu/406-768-6333)


Event: Community Connections Luncheon: The lunch is meant to break down the silos in the Ft. Peck area. All nonprofits and community agencies  in the region are invited provided they RSVP by July 18th. It will be a time to connect and plan larger, integrated projects that serve the Ft. Peck community.
When: July 20th
Where: Greet the Dawn Auditorium, FPCC Campus
Contact:  Katie Wise (kwise@fpcc.edu/406-768-6333)/ RSVP by July 18th\


MSU-Bozeman (Bozeman, MT)
Event: Community Cafe : Campus Corps volunteers are lending a hand at the local Community Cafe, a branch of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank that offers free hot meals to those in need on a daily basis.
When: ongoing, Wednesday evenings (5:00PM-7:00PM)
Where: 302 N. Seventh Ave.
Contact: Alex Black (teamleader@montana.edu/ 406-994-7571)


MSU-Billings (Billings, MT)

Event: Heart & Sole Run MSU-Billings summer service team members will lend a hand at the Heart & Sole Run which was coordinated by the MSU-B member serving with the Big Sky State Games.
Where:  1106 North 30th, Billings, MT 59101 (5K starts at 8:30am 10K and 2 mile start at 8:45am) 

Contact: Hazel Todd (hazel.todd@msubillings.edu/ 406-896-5817)


Event: Relay for Life: MSU-Billings has organized a team for this year's 12 hour relay event around the track at Billings West high School. This flagship event of the American Cancer Society raises both money and awareness for ACS's efforts to prevent, cure, and support those diagnosed with all forms of cancer. If you cannot make it to the event itself, there are many other ways that participate. Visit http://www.msubillings.edu/relay/ to learn more.
When: July 13th - 14th (6pm - 6am)
Where:  Billings West High School/ 2201 St. Johns Ave, Billings MT 59102

Contact: Hazel Todd (hazel.todd@msubillings.edu/ 406-896-5817)


MSU-Great Falls (Great Falls, MT)
Event: Laying Sod with NeighborWorks:  Volunteers will participate in an informational tutorial   to provide them with basic information about sod and the sod-laying process. They will then lay sod for the backyards in 2 newly built Neighborworks homes covering a total square footage of 2,700 square feet.
When: June 2nd, 2012
Where: 
Contact: T.C. Knutson (campuscorps@msugf.edu/ 406-771-4324)


Event: Red Cross Blood Drive: The MSU-GF Campus Corps program is organizing a campus blood drive to benefit the American Red Cross of Montana.
When: June 13th
Where: MSU-GF campus
Contact: T.C. Knutson (campuscorps@msugf.edu/ 406-771-4324)


MSU -Northern (Havre, MT)
Event: Gear Up/Super Camp: . Academic and life skills camp for about 80 middle school students. Volunteers will help with logistics at check-in and at various fun activities throughout the week.

When: June 10th-13th, 2012
Where: MSU-N's campus
Contact: Grace Milanowski (campuscorps@msun.edu/ 406-265-3577)

Event: American Red Cross Community Blood Drive: Volunteers will help with registration, handing out refreshments, or as donors.
When: July 9th (11:00AM-5:00PM)
Where: St. Jude's Parish in Havre
Contact: Grace Milanowski (campuscorps@msun.edu/ 406-265-3577)

Event: Runway to Recycle: Energy interns and Campus Corps members are organizing a fashion showof items made only of recycled materials to raise awareness about the  importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.
When: TBD (late August)
Where: TBD
Contact: Grace Milanowski (campuscorps@msun.edu/ 406-265-3577)

Montana Tech of the UM (Butte, MT)

Event: Hoop House construction with NCAT: M-Tech volunteers will lend a hand to the National Center on Appropriate Technology (NCAT)'s efforts to construct hoop-houses and to transport greens from the Green houses to the fields.

When: June 18th, 2012 (6:00PM-9:00PM)

Where: TBD

Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

Event:Science Mine Clean Up: The Campus Corps team will be at the Science Mine Tuesday night cleaning up the Science Mine and moving exhibits in preparation for school visits that weekend. We will also be involved in building and preparing new exhibits.

When: June 19th, 2012 (6:00PM-9:00PM)

Where: Basement of 32 East Granite St.

Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

Event:Ice Cream Social at Marquis Vintage Suites: Our team and members of the Upward Bound Summer Academy will be visiting the residents of Marquis Vintage Suites Assisted Living home on Wednesday Night. We will be constructing a 70-foot long banana split and visiting with the residents.

When: June 20th, 2012 (6:00PM-9:00PM)

Where: 30 Mount Highland Dr.

Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

Event:Sunshine Camp Clean Up: Our students will be involved in extensive clean-up around the Sunshine Camp before the campers arrive in July. We will be involved in general maintenance work around the housing buildings, as well as building and repairing facilities around the camp.

When: June 25th-June 27th (6:00PM-9:00PM)

Where: Sunshine Campgrounds

Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

Rocky Mountain College (Billings, MT)
Event: Freshman Orientation Service Projects: Incoming freshman will be required as part of their orientation be participating in a two hour service project in Billings. There will be a reflection activity, bbq and gathering back at the college after the event. There will be 7 service sites and we hope to have 30-40 students at each site.
When: August 25th, 2012 (10:00AM-12:00PM)
Where: various locations throughout Billings
Contact: Jill Washburn (campuscorps@rocky.edu/ 406-238-7394)

Stone Child College (Box Elder, MT/Rocky Boy Reservation)

Event: Trash Pick up and 50/50 Raffle for the Havre Food Bank: Volunteers will spend an afternoon doing some much needed cleaning at the Food Bank in Havre, MT. They will also be organizing a 50/50 raffle to raise money for the organization. 

When: June 15th, 2012 (raffle tickets will be for sale until June 15th)
Where:  Havre Food Bank, 253 5th St. North

Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)

Event: Walmart Recycling Drive: Members will lend a hand at the recycling drive at the Walmart in Havre. They will be collecting recyclable plastics. 
When: June 16th, 2012
Where:  Walmart in Havre

Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)

Event: Weekly Trash Pick-ups: All are welcome to help efforts to clean up trash on the Rocky Boy Reservation. The group will be targeting a different area of the reservation each week and they will be prioritizing collecting aluminum and metals that can be recycled. 
When: Ongoing every Saturday
Where: location varies by week, contact Michael (below) to learn where they will be meeting each week

Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)

Event: Cooking with Commodities: SCC's Campus Corps team will volunteer at the 4-day workshop geared to guide families that rely on commodities as a food source in preparing healthier meals. The local Wellness center is hosting the event, which is free and open to adults and children living in the Rocky Boy Reservation. 
When: TBD (late July)
Where:  TBD

Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)

Event: Rummage Sale to Benefit the food bank: Donate items to be sold in a community wide rummage sale. All proceeds from the sale will go to the local food bank.
When: TBD 
Where:  TBD

Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)

Event: Grow Your Own Garden Box Program: Program will allow community members the opportunity to plant their own individual garden boxes to be taken home. Their will also be an educational component to this event.
When: TBD 
Where:  TBD

Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)

University of Montana (Missoula, MT)

Event: National Trails Day at Milltown St. Park: We will be planting over 300 native species such as snow berry, service berry, woods rose, ponderosa pine, larch and aspen along the newly constructed interpretive trail that leads to the Milltown Bluff Overlook.  This project will be the first volunteer project ever at the new state park and is being organized by the State Parks AmeriCorps member serving at this site. 

When: June 2nd (10:00am - 2:00pm)

Where: Meet at the Milltown Bluff Parking Area located at 1353 Deer Creek Rd

Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu/406-243-5531)

Event: Student Services Fair: The Office of Community Engagement will be tabling to recruit new UM students to participate in their programs and events and to learn more about the OCE and its mission.  

When: June18th & June 28th (8:30PM-10:30PM)

Where: University Center at UM
Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu/406-243-5531)

Event: Service Friday for Gifted High School Students: High school students will spend the afternoon volunteering at a variety of local service sites: PEAS Farm, the Joseph's Residence, and at Free Cycles

When: June22nd (1:30PM-4:30PM)

Where: Various locations
Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu/406-243-5531)

Event: 100th Birthday Celebration of the Girls Scouts of Montana & Wyoming: We are anticipating that there will be over 300 girls from MOntana and Wyoming attending this historic celebration that will take place in Missoula. Participants will explore areas of physics, biology, engineering, chemistry, architecture, and the world of sound, and have the opportunity to explore Historic Fort Missoula, all while camping Girl-Scout style! Volunteers will be needed to hlep out with parking, event registration, campsite volunteers, and at first aid stations. 

When: July 13th & July 14th
Where: Fort Missoula

Contact: Stephanie Lefevre (stephaniel@gsmw.org) 

UM - Western (Dillon, MT)

Event: Hospital Grand Opening: Volunteers will be helping with the open house of Barrett's Hospital and Healthcare's new hospital and emergency services facility. Duties will include helping direct traffic and providing directional guidance to view the different wings of the facility. Volunteers will also be helping to escort disabled individuals around the tours. 

When: June 9, 2012 (9:00am-4:00pm)
Where: Barrett Hospital & Healthcare

Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)

Event: Dinner in the Park Series: Volunteers will be helping Southwest Montana Arts Council with their summer series of Dinner in the Park. The organization will need help setting up tents and vendor booths for the events. During the event they will be helping at the children's art table. Then they will help after the event is over with clean-up and breaking down of tents and booths. 

When: July 2nd, 12th,19th, & 26th (4:00PM-8:00PM)
Where: Jaycee Park in Dillon, MT

Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)

Event: "Bannack Days" at Bannack State Park: Volunteers will be joining AmeriCorps State Park members in servicing Bannack State Parks living history days "Bannack Days." This year is the 150th anniversary and they are expecting 5000-10000 visitors. Parking, general direction and guidance, information about the park and surrounding areas, trash control and preventing vandalism are just a few of the duties the volunteers will be helping out with.

When: July 20th (4:00PM-8:00PM)/ July 21st & 22nd (rotating 4 hour shifts)
Where: Bannack State Park

Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)

Event: Fly Fishing Fundraiser: Volunteers will be helping one of our community partners the Women's/Community Resource Center with their annual Fly Fishing Fundraiser. They will be providing assistance with set-up directional signs for the event. Sign-up participants and briefing on rules of fishing competition. Helping set-up silent auction items, and the events afternoon gathering for other fundraising activities along with the awards ceremony. 

When: July 28th (all day beginning with set-up at 7:30 AM)
Where: Women's/Community Resource Center

Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)