Campus Corps and the American Red Cross of Montana Launch Red Cross Month

March is Red Cross Month!

During March, the American Red Cross of Montana is asking everyone to help people in need by supporting the lifesaving services it provides.  Campus Corps programs throughout the state will be showing their support of Red Cross through a variety of initiatives.

The chief initiative will be centered on disaster preparedness to help Montana communities prepare for and handle disasters. “Increasing a community’s ability to handle potential disasters from flooding to forest fires is an essential part of our mission,” says Red Cross Disaster Volunteer, Jill Washburn.  In addition to disaster preparedness, campuses will also be hosting blood drives, Citizen CPR courses, and actively seeking volunteers to join the Red Cross in support of its mission.  Campuses will be participating in a competition to see who can have the greatest impact on their local community and will be rewarded points in the competition for each Red Cross month event they host.

The disaster preparedness initiative is part of the “Be Red Cross Ready” campaign for which Campus Corps members will be distributing 6,100 disaster preparedness bags to households throughout the state.  The preparedness bags, which have been provided by the Governor’s Office of Community Service, will give residents the guidance needed to shelter in place or evacuate to a shelter during a disaster.  Additionally, six colleges are seeking to identify at least one certified emergency evacuation shelter for their communities, which will enable them to provide relief services to their communities during times of crisis.

Another important event scheduled for Red Cross Month is “Save A Life Saturday” scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 24.  (Note: some communities will be hosting this event on an alternate date). In support of this initiative, participating campuses will host a free, compression only Citizen CPR course.

Stay tuned for updates on events happening in your local community and to keep up with the competition taking place between all of our member campuses!

T.C. Knutson Wins Serve Montana Award!

T.C. (second from left) with First Lady Nancy Schweitzer (left), Commision Vice Chair  Karin Olsen Billings, &  Lt. Governor John Bohlinger

Congratulations to MSU-Great Falls Campus Corps leader T.C. Knutson, who was a recipient of one of this year's highly esteemed Serve Montana Awards!  T.C. was recognized for his outstanding commitment to serving his community and for the attitude with which he executes all of the work that he does. Attendees of the Serve Montana Symposium, which took place in Helena, MT last week, had the chance to celebrate T.C.'s achievement during Thursday's Awards luncheon. It was truly an inspiring event, as we had the opportunity to recognize and learn about all of the recipients and the valuable services that they have provided to communities throughout the state. Campus Corps is proud to have T.C. represent our program in group of truly remarkable people that have all demonstrated a tremendous commitment to serving their communities.

Campus Corps Leaders Take A Half-time Break at Winter Retreat

Halfway through our terms of service, our team of 13 Campus Corps leaders convened in Townsend, MT for a mid-year winter retreat.  While the schedule for the short-but-sweet get together was pretty jam packed with training sessions, the gathering still managed to provide leaders with some much needed informal "hang out" time. We enjoyed the chance to relax and take in the beauty of the Canyon Ferry Lake region in which we were staying.  Furthermore, we took full of the accommodations provided by Canyon Ferry Mansion which hosted our group for the event. Sharing stories amidst a group of peers going through an experience similar to our own always proves to be an enriching and refreshing experience.

The training provided leaders with new skills and knowledge aimed to enable them to better serve their campuses for the remaining six months of their terms of service. Additionally, it allowed for an opportunity for leaders to learn from each other, providing a venue for all to bounce ideas off of each other and to share the wisdom they have gained from the first half of their year. As a group, we came away with valuable insights gained from hearing about both the successes leaders have had and also from the challenges and struggles that they have encountered along the way. Most importantly, this year's winter leader retreat allowed us to foster a stronger sense of community within our group and to build upon the relationships we have made with the exceptional members of our 2012 team.

When it Comes to Reflection, There is Always Room for Improvement

This past weekend, Krissy and I had the opportunity to attend a training hosted by the Project on Civic Reflection which took place in Chicago, IL. The Project on Civic Reflection is a Chicago based organization whose mission is to actively assist civic groups in building capacity, commitment, and community through reading and discussion Despite our somehow picking the most wintery weekend of the year so far, the trip was a great experience and an overall enriching experience. The two day training provided us with  many new techniques to further develop our facilitation skills and provided us with an opportunity to learn by putting our skills into action amongst a group of peers.

The training brought together a diverse group of people from all over the country, whose wide range of experiences and knowledge certainly enhanced the quality of our group discussions, providing them with many unique perspectives and insights. We returned to Missoula both re-inspired about the work that we do and eager to share the skills and knowledge gained from the training with our colleagues throughout the state!

Learn more about the Project on Civic Reflection at civicreflection.org

Jacob Kilgore: Second Year Leader & First Time Teacher

Coming into my role as Campus Corps leader this past fall, I was especially lucky to have the opportunity to work with two returning leaders whose willingness to share with me insights gained from their previous year and an abundance of well informed advice proved invaluable in helping me ease my way into the new position. One of these leaders, Jacob Kilgore, who is currently completing his second year of service as the Campus Corps leader at Dawson Community College has continued to impress me with his commitment both to his campus and to the community of Glendive, with his insights into the meaning of service, with his leadership skills, and finally with the way that he has used the opportunity of serving a second term to engage in new experiences and service opportunities that have challenged him to continue to grow and ever broaden his horizons.

Not only has Jacob worked to expand and diversify the Campus Corps program at DCC, he has also sought out several new opportunities to utilize his talents and skills in a way that provides valuable services to his local community.  Such a commitment is exemplified in his recently established role as a teacher at WATCH East: a residential treatment facility for DUI felons located in Glendive.  Specifically, Jacob is teaching a three week Community Service class to residents during which he plans to utilize reflection and discussion in order to facilitate a unique learning experience for the students. He hopes that each student will put this newly gained knowledge into action by becoming civically engaged citizens upon being released from WATCH East. I had the opportunity to interview Jacob about this truly unique experience and here is what he had to say:

How did you come to be involved with the WATCH East Program?

Last year my direct service site was with the Boys & Girls club and I would pass WATCH East on my way to and from volunteering each day, which is how I initially became acquainted with the organization. This year I was approached by the director of extended learning at Dawson about potentially teaching a class there. Later, I got to visit the site with the Student Leadership Glendive group and it was during this experience that it became clear to me that I wanted to be involved with the program.

Is this your first experience working with this population?

Yes, it is.

What have you found to be the most challenging part of the experience so far?

It has honestly been a lot less challenging overall than anticipated, which I accredit to the great group of students with whom I am working. I would say that the most difficult part of this experience would be finding the time to grade papers. Each of my 50 students writes an essay over the weekend and submits it on the following Monday and it has been hard to find time to review and provide feedback to each. I certainly have a new respect for English/Literature teachers; or for any teachers that have to grade papers for that matter!

What has been the most memorable/valuable experience thus far?

That I can genuinely say that my students have by far exceeded all of the expectations that I held for the class. I went into the experience with uncertain, maybe even low expectations of what the class would have to offer and have been shocked by the level of engagement from my students, and by the willingness and eagerness to learn exhibited by each and every one of them. It is evident that they treat this class as an opportunity to better their situation, and are taking full advantage of it as such, rather than viewing it as just another obligation required of them to get through the program. Having facilitated countless reflections in my past experiences, I am proud to say that this is my best experience yet. There is seldom a moment of silence with this group and their willingness to share keeps the class moving. The most impressive part is that rather than each student sharing extraneous thoughts, their contributions build off of each other to further develop ideas. 

February's Service Saturday is an Overwhelming Success at MSU!

MSU's Campus Corps program hosted it's February Service Saturday this past weekend and was floored by the overwhelming number of volunteers that came out for the events, which in many ways reflects the high level of commitment that their campus community has to civic engagement and to serving others.

MSU Campus Corps leader, Alex Black, was very pleased by the success of the event and very proud of her local community's commitment to service. Overall, they had 95 volunteers serve a grand total of 220 hours in 7 projects with 7 different community partners. Very impressive! Great job MSU - keep doing what you're doing!

Big Brothers Big Sisters Event

Tidying Up the Bozeman Children's Museum

Helping out with the Habitat for Humanity Restore Program