Monday, April 30, 2012

UM Hosts M-Tech for Spring Training


'Tis the season for spring member trainings as each weekend campuses have been hosting close of service events for their members. This past weekend I was lucky enough to be a part of one of these training events as it took place here in Missoula. The collaborative event between UM and M-Tech kicked off first thing Saturday morning and members seemed to have no problem getting dirty during the service project with Garden City Harvest. After receiving a tour of the beautiful 10 acre PEAS farm in the scenic rattlesnake valley region of Missoula, we were given our assignment. No, not gardening or weeding: activities which most of us anticipated we would be partaking in. Instead, we were given the far more exciting job of making compost! This process consisted of laying alternate layers of manure and hay in a huge mound that will eventually decompose into compost. After a couple hours of hours spent productively playing in the mud (well, manure actually), we headed back to UM's campus smelling strongly of compost, for the remainder of the training. 


Corps Leaders Sean and Shanna planned a number of valuable afternoon sessions for their members covering topics such as how to best represent their Campus Corps term of service into one's resume.  Members also had the opportunity to participate in a civic reflection that allowed them the chance to reflect on the impact that their term of service has had upon themselves and upon the communities in which they served.

The training ended with a meaningful discussion on an especially relevant chapter of Paul Rogat Loes' book The Soul of a Citizen, which serves as an excellent resource for anyone with the intention of maintaining a high level of civic engagement in their local community.  Each member that attended the training received a copy of the book to take home with them and use as a resource in their citizenship development. The training wrapped up late Saturday afternoon and members left the experience with many new ideas as to how they can continue the Campus Corps mission of meeting the critical needs of our communities far into the future!



Thursday, April 26, 2012

Newman Civic Fellow Recipient, DCC's Kallie Madler


Prior to this year, Kallie Madler began volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club of Dawson County with Montana Campus Corps over the summer of 2010, between graduating from high school and coming to Dawson Community College for a degree in Education. At the beginning of this year, then, she was an ideal student for a second term of service. Little did her recruiters know that she would go on to become one of only a few 2012 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellows in the state of Montana.

Last year, after completing 300 hours of service in a short three months before beginning college, Kallie continued volunteering as a general student rather than an MTCC member. To list a few things, she volunteered at events like Harvest Festival and Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Washington Middle School. She also participated in the Walk to Read program at Jefferson Elementary School. In all of these things, she managed to accrue 130 hours of service through her own initiative while playing basketball for DCC’s Lady Bucs.

This year, her schedule is even more hectic with a full-time class schedule, with her second year of basketball and with student government. In spite of that, she still found time for another term of service with Montana Campus Corps at the Boys and Girls Club, where she is in charge of Power Hour, helps with the mentoring program and helps with arts and crafts. She also still listens to first graders read at Jefferson every Monday for the Walk to Read program.

Newman Civic Fellows are recognized for outstanding public involvement and motivation to create lasting change. Regarding student leadership through servitude, there is no better role model on campus. Kallie Madler continually impresses the people she encounters off of campus as much as on campus. She serves as a good reminder of what volunteerism looks like for a full-time student. Dawson Community College is very proud to celebrate her success as a student, as a volunteer and as an alumnus in May.

This blog post was submitted by Jacob Kilgore, Campus Corps Leader at Dawson Community College

Monday, April 23, 2012

Spring Training on the Hi-Line

This past weekend, members of the Campus Corps programs at Stone Child College, MSU-Northern, Aaniiih, Nakoda College, and Fort Peck Community College gathered at MSU-Northern for their spring training.  The collaborative event kicked off on Friday afternoon with a number of training sessions covering skills such as using the Education Award, resume building, continuing one's involvement in community service, etc. Saturday members were kept busy with two consecutive service projects. The first took place on the Fort Belknap Reservation on the campus of Aaniiih Nakoda College where they transplanted some seedlings from the greenhouse to the outdoor community garden. Next, they headed out to the Earth Day event at the Atrium mall in Havre, where they worked on Earth Day themed arts and crafts activities with local youth.  Overall, the weekend was a great success and members from each of the four participating campuses enjoyed the opportunity to get to better know some of their peers serving across the state.




Friday, April 20, 2012

Newman Civic Fellow Award Winner UM-Western's Sarah Foster

Introducing Sarah Foster, Campus Corps members and recipient of one of the 2012 Newman Civic Fellow Awards! Check out this excerpt from an article in the UM-W news to learn more about Sarah and the many ways that she is involved in serving her community:

"Campus Compact recognized the 20-year old biology major for her many volunteer contributions, including her efforts at her chosen service site, the South Central Montana Area Health Education Center (AHEC). The South Central Montana AHEC works to improve the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals. Foster plans to attend medical school after earning her bachelor’s degree from Montana Western.
Foster’s volunteer efforts go far beyond the AHEC and reveal a deeply instilled ethic of selfless service. Campus Compact participants need to complete 315 volunteer hours as a minimum term of service, but Foster said she hopes to have gone above and beyond the required service term with over 100 additional hours by the end of summer.




“My family instilled in me at a very early age that giving back to the community and others is just what you do,” Foster said. “I don’t think there’s anything equivalent to the feeling of seeing a smile on someone’s face when you have helped them and know you made a difference in the community.”


Foster serves directly at her service site with other regular weekly service opportunities to help meet the needs of her community. She has also assisted with Red Cross disaster preparedness projects, the Montana Western Campus Community Garden, the Women’s Resource Center, Veterans’s Day breakfasts and local food drives for the Beaverhead Community Food Pantry.


Foster said she hopes her efforts help to better connect Montana Western and the local community.
“It’s much bigger than the University,” she explained. “It lets the community know that students are not just here to get a degree but are also here to give back to the community.”


For all her recent accolades, Foster credited the Montana Western Campus Corps team for much of her recognition.


“My efforts could not have been accomplished without the effort of the entire team,” she added. “Campus Corps is such a great organization. I’m really grateful to coordinator Ilene Cohen, Corps leader Cheyanne Marcy and all members of Campus Corps.”


(http://news.umwestern.edu/2012/04/umws-sarah-foster-named-newman-civic-fellow/)

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Sunday April 22nd is Earth Day!

Sunday April 22nd is Earth Day! Montana Campus Compact Campuses are going all out this year with many organizing a full week of events to support efforts to further the "greening" of our world as well as to promote general awareness of environmental issues that threaten our planet on a daily basis. Campus Corps programs have joined on board with these initiatives with many hosting their own Earth Day events and others incorporating an Earth Day spin into their Global Youth Service Day Projects. Check out upcoming Campus Corps Earth Day projects to what's going on in your local community!


Aaniiih Nakoda College
Event: Nancy's Garden Boxes: Student volunteers will be planting garden boxes and talking about gardening with the Immersion School, located on the Fort Belknap Reservation. They will have an Earth Day presentation for the students.
When: Friday, April 20th, 2012 (12:30-1:30pm)
Where: The Immersion School located on the Aaniih Nakoda College campus (group will be gathering in Nakoda Hall prior to the event)
Contact: Alison Graham (406-353-2607/ agraham@mail.fbcc.edu)


Flathead Valley Community College (Kalispell, MT)
Event: Growing our Future: Evening of song and inspiring ideas, short filom, art activities for kids, and an environmental idea exchange.
When: April 20th, 2012 (7-9pm)
Where: FVCC Campus – Blake Hall and Arts & Technology Bldg. 777 Grandview Drive – Kalispell, MT

Contact: Ruth Rickenbacher – 837-0544 – recycle@fvcc.edu (FVCC Renewable Resources Club)


Event: Earth Matters Family Carnival - Educational booths, games, artwork, trivia, interpretive nature walk.
When: April 21st, 2012 (10am-3pm)
Where:  FVCC Campus – Blake Hall and Arts & Technology Bldg. 777 Grandview Drive – Kalispell, MT
Contact: Ruth Rickenbacher – 837-0544 – recycle@fvcc.edu (FVCC Renewable Resources Club)


Fort Peck Community College (Poplar, MT)
Event: Earth Day Cultural Seminar with Volunteer Recruitment Fair- Campus Corps will be working with Woksape Oyate to host an Earth Day Cultural Seminar, which will offer classes to the community about traditional practices and their relationship to conservation.


When: April 21, 2012 (9am-3pm)
Where: Great the Dawn building 605 Indian Poplar, MT 
Contact: Haven Gourneau /(406) 768-6329


Montana Tech of the UM (Butte, MT)
Event: M-Tech Earth Day Campus Clean Up:   The Campus Corps Team and student volunteers will be cleaning up the parking lots and surrounding forest at Montana Tech. We will be picking up trash and weeding in the parking lots, and creating mosaics using recycled materials to place in the medians to make the parking lots more “attractive”. We will also be raking the wooded area below Tech and removing all trash, and then laying down grass seed.
When: Monday April, 23rd, 2012
Where:   Montana Tech, 1300 W. Park St. Butte, MT 59701
Contact: Sean Cochrane (scochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

Stone Child College (Box Elder, MT)
Event: Earth Day Clean Up -  Members of Campus Corps and volunteers from the White Sky Hope Lodge will pick up trash at various locations around the reservation.  We will have a seperate trash bag for aluminum and tin/steel cans to be recycled
When: Thursday April 26th, 2012 (2-3:30 pm)
Where: Volunteers will be gathering in the Stone Child College parking lot outside of the White Sky Hope Center.
Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)
Additional Information: Event will be outdoors, so come dressed for the weather.  Bring gloves if you have them. Wear shoes/cloths that can get dirty


University of Montana (Missoula, MT)
Event: Earth Service Day & Ecopentathalon - Service opportunities  include river cleanup, prairie restoration on Mount Sentinel, sorting recyclables on campus and helping prepare UM's food gardens for another growing season. Those willing to help at several events are encouraged to take part in the Ecopentathalon, in which they participate in at least four activities and ride a bike to and from each one. Participants who complete the challenge will be eligible for prizes.
When: April 21st (river clean up) & April 22nd (Ecopentathalon). Events start at 9am
Where: Caras Park, downtown Missoula
Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu/406-243-5531)

University of Montana- Western (Dillon, MT)
Event: E-rase your E-waste! - Event is providing the community members an opportunity to safely recycle end-of-life electronics responsibly. 
When: April 21, 2012 (12pm-3pm) & April 22, 2012 (10am-3pm)
Where: Beaverhead County Fairground 4H building on South Railroad Street
Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)
Additional Information: Volunteers will be helping remove e-waste from vehicles, greeters, general help people will be indoors and outdoors dress appropriately for the elements.



Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Calling our Youth to Take Action!



This weekend all over the globe, people will be mobilizing our youth to participate in community service and service learning initiatives. Here in Montana, our member campuses have organized service projects that partner college student volunteers with local youth to foster the development of a sense of civic engagement in our future generations.


Some interesting facts about Global Youth Service Day:
  • Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is the largest and longest running service event in the world
  • GYSD is celebrated in more than 100 countries
  • GYSD is organized by Youth Serve America and its Global Youth Service Network
  • For the second consecutive year, First Lady Michelle Obama is the Honorary Chair of GYSD

Check out what our member campuses have going on to celebrate this National Day of Service!


Aaniiih Nakoda College, MSU-Northern, & Stone Child College (Havre, MT)

Event:Hands on History Day/Up-cycling Extravaganza - Student volunteers from the three area schools are partnering with the Hands on History Day in Have and doing recycling related craft projects for kids.  There will also be displays on the history of Earth Day and Global Youth Service Day.  Kids will make magnets, notes books, and flower pots from recycled materials.

When: April 21st, 2012 (10am-4pm)
Where: The Atrium in Havre
Contact:  Alison Graham (agraham@mail.fbcc.edu/ 406-353-2607)/ Grace Milanowski (campuscorps@msun.edu/ 406-265-3577)/ Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)


Dawson Community College (Glendive, MT)
Event: GYSD with the Boys & Girls Club of Dawson County: Montana Campus Corps, club employees, club members and club parents will work together to create four 4x8 raised garden beds and plant vegetables. There will be a potluck dinner afterwards.
When: April 22, 2012 (1-4pm)
Where: Boys & Girls Club of Dawson County
Contact: Jacob Kilgore (volunteer@dawson.edu/406-377-9460)


Flathead Valley Community College (Kalispell, MT)
Event:GYSD at FVCC: Youth-oriented volunteer events, food and garden workshops, and art projects.
When: April 21st, 2012 (10am-2pm)
Where: FVCC Campus – Community Garden -  Bldg. 777 Grandview Drive – Kalispell, MT
Contact: Katie Wheeler, katie.t.wheeler@gmail.com



Montana State University (Bozeman, MT)
Event: Trails Project - MSU student volunteers will be working with the Jr. High and High School Service clubs to refurbish the trails at a local Folf course
When: April 21st, Check in at 9:45, project from 10-12, lunch 12-12:30
Where:  Rose Park (map)
Contact: Alex Black (teamleader@montana.edu/ 406-994-7571)


MSU-Billings & Rocky Mountain College (Billings, MT) 
Event: Youth in Action Day with the United Way of Yellowstone County : MSU Billings has invited students of Campus Corps and MSUB Student United Way to volunteer with United Way of Yellowstone County’s Youth in Action Day project. There are multiple opportunities for involvement and something for everyone, including trail work, animal shelters and much more.
When: April 21st, 2012 (morning or all-day shifts)
Where: multiple locations
Contact: Hazel Todd (hazel.todd@msubillings.edu/ 406-896-5817) & Jill Washburn (campuscorps@rocky.edu/ 406-238-7394)


MSU-Great Falls (Great Falls, MT)
Event: Fresh Food Forum - From Gardens to Garbage, with some help from Campus Corps student volunteers, are organizing fresh food vendors to display their wares at MSU-Great Falls.  They will teach cooking classes, composting methods, and show the film Dirt!
When: April 14th, 2012 (11:30-3pm)
Where: MSU-Great Falls 2100 16th Ave S. Great Falls, MT
Contact: T.C. Knutson (campuscorps@msugf.edu/ 406-771-4324)


MSU - Western (Dillon, MT)
Event: The Walking School Bus- High School students associated with Montana Behavioral Initiative will be joining the bus to provide mentorship to the elementary and middle school walkers.
When & Where: April 20th, 2012 (Route #1 begins @ 7:25am on the corner of Dillon and South Dakota streets. Route #2 begins @ 7:30am on the corner of Noble Avenue and Sunrise St.)
Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)\


Montana Tech of the UM (Butte, MT)
Event: Little Digger Day - MTech's Campus Corps is hosting the 9th annual Little Digger Day! 900 elementary school children on campus partaking in fun, hands on, science activities. 
When: April 21st, 2012
Where: M-Tech campus
Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)


Event: Science Mine Grand Opening - The Science Mine of Butte, a new hands-on science learning center for kids is finally open for regular business hours and Campus Corps members will help explain exhibits and lead tours. 
When: April 21st & 22nd, 2012
Where: Science Mine is located in the basement of the Hennessy market building (32 East Granite St. Butte, MT 59701)
Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

University of Montana (Missoula, MT)
Event: Clark Fork Clean Up- Campus Corps members will be mobilizing 25-35 youth to take part in their efforts to clean up the Clark Fork River. Specifically, volunteers will be vegetating, pulling weeds and collecting trash along the Clark Fork.

When: April 21st, 2012 (10am-12pm)
Where: Caras Park, downtown Missoula
Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu/406-243-5531)






Visit http://gysd.org/ to learn more about this global initiative!

Monday, April 16, 2012

"It made me realize that my time can be donated to something better than just playing video games"

During our site visit to Fort Peck Community College last month, I had the opportunity to interview two outstanding representatives of the Campus Corps program: member Daniel Schauer and his site supervisor Ron Jackson. Listen to these inspirational words that they had to share with us about the impact that their involvement with the Campus Corps program has had on their lives individually, and on the Fort Peck community as a whole. 


Spring Trainings Prepare Members for "Life after AmeriCorps"

With the 2011-2012 school year wrapping up on our member campuses many members are also wrapping up their Campus Corps terms and have begun to focus on transitioning to whatever next steps are in store for them.  In hopes of providing some guidance to them during this process, our campus affiliates are hosting "Life after AmeriCorps" trainings to provide members with opportunities to further develop their skills in a variety of areas including resume composition, interviewing techniques, continuing one’s involvement in community service, and how to go about using the Education Award. A number of these gatherings are collaborative efforts between two or more campuses and will offer members an opportunity to gain a sense of closure as their Campus Corps experience comes to an end.

Some campuses have already hosted their training events and leaders have been pleased to share that so far, members have overwhemlingly found them to be valuable and informative training experiences.  MSU-Billings' close of service allowed their service team members a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of campus for a night and head out to scenic town of Red Lodge, MT. There they participated in a number of reflection activities to process their experiences over the past year and heard from MSUB coordinator, Meg O'Neil, who facilitated skills-specific trainings intended to equip members with knowledge needed to successfully transition out of their Campus Corps experience.


This past weekend, Campus Corps members from UM-W traveled to Bozeman to participate in a collaborative training with MSU that also included 2 service projects in the area. The training utilized the expertise of two guest trainers from local Bozeman organizations with Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director of Hopa Mountain,  presenting on the subject of appreciative inquiry and Shannon Stober of Montana Conservation Corps, who facilitated a reflection with the group.  In addition, Campus Corps program staff provided trainings that covered topics including how to use the Education Award, resume composition, interviewing skills, and ways to maintain a high level of civic engagement well into one's future career. Campus Corps leader Alex Black coordinated the two service projects that were built into the training experience: on Saturday members participated in one of her 7 Service Saturday events and on Sunday they spent the morning at Community Cafe, the newest site of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank which will soon be serving hot meals daily to local community members in need. Campus Corps student volunteers helped out at the site by doing some grounds work at the site as well as an overall cleaning of the space in preparation for its upcoming grand opening.

Shannon Stober facilitating a reflection for the group. 

National Volunteer Week!

This week is National Volunteer Week and our member campuses have put together a variety of events to support this National Service Initiative. The National Volunteer Week initiative, which is sponsored by the Points of Light Institute and the Hands on Network, was first celebrated in 1974 and has grown exponentially since its inception.  Its mission according to its sponsors is as follows:


National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, 2012 is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities. It’s about demonstrating to the nation that by working together, we have the fortitude to meet our challenges and accomplish our goals. National Volunteer Week is about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change—discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to foster positive transformation (nationalserviceresources.org/calendars; 2012).


Check out what is taking place around the state in celebration of this inspiring National Service Initiative:


Dawson Community College (Glendive, MT)
Event: Makoshika Clean Up: Volunteers from the local community are being put to work at Makoshika State Park to help out with a number of projects that Montana Conservation Corps members began last fall including creating 2 bridges, working on trail delineaton for the Blue Bird hiking trail, and installing signs for the FOLF course.
When: April 14th, 2012
Where: Makoshika State Park
Contact: Jacob Kilgore (volunteer@dawson.edu/406-377-9460)


Montana State University (Bozeman, MT)
Event: Service Day at Community Cafe : Volunteers from the Campus Corps programs at UM-W and MSU spent the morning volunteering at the new Food Bank venue "Community Cafe" which will be serving hot meals daily to local Bozeman residents in need. The group participated in some much needed groundswork as well as a general cleaning of the space in preparation for its grand opening.
When: April 15th, 2012
Where: Community Cafe, Bozeman, MT
Contact: Alex Black (teamleader@montana.edu/ 406-994-7571)


MSU-Billings (Billings, MT)
Event: National Volunteer Week Apprreciation & Recognition PartyThe MSU-B Office for Community Involvement is hosting an outdoor celebration to honor and appreciate their student volunteers that have worked so hard this year. The event will provide snacks and entertainment in the form of a live performance by singer/songwriter James Hersch. The event will be going on all afternoon and volunteers are welcome to stop by at any time !
When: April 19th, 2012 
Where:  MSU-Billings Campus, 1500 University Dr. Billings, MT 59101
Contact: Hazel Todd (hazel.todd@msubillings.edu/ 406-896-5817)


MSU - Western (Dillon, MT)
EventThe Walking School Bus - High School students associated with Montana Behavioral Initiative will be joining the bus to provide mentorship to the elementary and middle school walkers.
When & Where:  April 16th, 18th, & 20th.  Route #1 begins @ 7:25am on the corner of Dillon and South Dakota streets. Route #2 begins @ 7:30am on the corner of Noble Avenue and Sunrise St.
Additional Info:   Volunteers walking students to school should dress appropriately for weather and expect a 30 minute walk outdoors
Contact: Cheyanne Marcy (campuscorps@umwestern.edu/406-683-7202)

Montana Tech of the UM (Butte, MT)
Event: Donate Life Month Drive: In conjunction with Donate Life Month the Campus Corps team at M-Tech will be setting up a table in the Student Union Building where students and campus faculty and staff can go to learn more about Organ Donation and will be able to register as donors using their on-site the laptop computers.
When: April 16th-23rd
Where: Montana Tech Student Union Building1300 W Park St.
Contact: Sean Cochrane (SCochrane@mtech.edu/406-496-4692)

Rocky Mountain College / MSU-B (Billings, MT)
Event: Can-struction Competition:  The Canstruction Competition challenges the areas best builders and architects teams to use their expertise and creativity to create structures completely out of canned goods that will then be donated to Family Services, Inc. of Billings. 

When: April 15th, 2012
Where: Rimrock Mall, Billings, MT
Contact: Jill Washburn (campuscorps@rocky.edu/ 406-238-7394)


University of Montana (Missoula, MT)
Event: Annual Run for the Trees: Campus Corps volunteered their time to help set up for this 5k fundraiser for Missoula Parks & Recreation.
When: April 14th, 2012
Where: McCormick Park, downtown Missoula
Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu/406-243-5531)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Campus Corps Leader Profile: Jill Washburn



          Jill is one of our two returning Campus Corps leaders having spent her first term in Billings serving as the first ever Corps leader at Rocky Mountain College. Upon visiting Jill's campus this past fall, I was amazed by how much she was able to accomplish in her first year as a leader in terms of expanding the Campus Corps program at Rocky.  She made great strides in raising the campus community's awareness of the program and establishing the strong presence that it now has throughout the local community. This quick growth and success can be attributed to Jill's dedication to the program, to her expert networking abilities, and to her relentless work ethic that drives her to devote far more than the required number of hours to her service. Jill implemented many fun new service projects at RMC that had a significant impact upon her campus as well as upon the greater Billings community. Students and local community members took part in events such as Suessville University and Can-struction, both of which Jill has worked to make even bigger and more successful during her second year as Campus Corps leader.


          In addition to leading the Campus Corps Program at Rocky, Jill also devotes her time to the American Red Cross of Montana, where she focuses her efforts on providing disaster relief services and preparing communities across the state for potential disasters. Upon asking Jill what her official role is with the Red Cross of Montana it became apparent that she really does it all, serving as a Disaster Action Team chair, International Humanitarian Law instructor, and Duty Officer just to name a few. Last month Jill took the lead in coordinating our Red Cross Month initiative which achieved a number of great successes thanks in part to her exceptional leadership. 


          Jill is originally from Montpelier, Vermont and has RMC to thank for bringing her out to Montana, as she made the move to Billings in order to attend the college a few years back.  Currently, Jill is enrolled as a part-time student in the FEMA Emergency Management Institute to further develop her skills in providing disaster relief services. In her free time, Jill enjoys river rafting and is very dedicated to her yoga practice. 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Newman Civic Fellow Award Winner Liz Collins

Meet Liz Collins, MSU-Billings Campus Corps member and one of the recipients of this year's Newman Civic Fellow awards. I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet with Liz during our site visit to MSU-B back in the fall, and again this spring when I had the opportunity to see her in action serving at her placement site of St. Johns Lutheran Ministries Senior Residential Facility.  I was so impressed with Liz on all accounts and upon getting to know her, it became evident why she was selected to receive such a highly esteemed honor!



MSU-B Campus Corps leader Hazel shared with us this profile on her award-winning member:


Liz Collins is a junior at MSU Billings majoring in Human Services. Outside of the classroom she serves as a Campus Corps member at St. John’s Lutheran Ministries and as the President of Student United Way. Her accomplishments in the classroom, at work and with student organizations are wildly successful because Liz has the innate ability to lead. Her enthusiasm and passion for people is a magnet for students who thrive under confident, friendly and organized leadership. When asked about her various community connections and involvement in the past three years, Liz stated “ I am constantly amazed at the impact young leaders can have on a community, the energy , passion and enthusiasm of  dedicated college students is truly making an impact on communities.” Congratulations Liz! 

Monday, April 9, 2012

April is Donate Life Month!



During the month of April, Campus Corps programs throughout the state will be reaching out to their communities to encourage people to register as organ, eye, and tissue donors as part of National Donate Life Month. This year Donate Life America is launching the very ambitious "20 million in 2012" campaign and Campus Corps has come on board to be part of this exciting initiative. Student volunteers will be a part of efforts to educate their communities about the value of registering as an organ donor and will be providing on-site registration for all interested parties.  Visit DonateLife.net to learn more about the national campaign  and visit Donatelifetoday.com to register yourself as an organ donor if you have not yet done so!


Campus Corps events taking place in honor of Donate Life Month: 


Flathead Valley Community College (Kalispell, MT)

Event: Organ Donor Drive: Information tables with the opportunity to register or update information in the national registry.

When: April 16th-21st, 2012
Where: FVCC Campus – Blake Hall and Arts & Technology Bldg. 777 Grandview Drive, Kalispell, MT

Contact: –Wendy Jeschke  (406-756-3372 /wjeschke@fvcc.edu)


Fort Peck Community College (Poplar, MT)
Event:Organ Donation presentation at the Wolf Point Community Organization - Campus Corps will work with Richard DeCelles and the Wolf Point Community Organization to present the value of Organ Donation to the public with the hopes of registering more potential donors   


When: TBD
Where: TBD

Contact: Katie Wise (kwise@fpcc.edu/406-768-6333)


MSU-Great Falls (Great Falls, MT)
Event: Campus organ donor driveVolunteers will be raising awareness about this important issue and will be helping those who are interested register with Donate Life: a registry for organ donors.
When: April 25, 2012 (11:30am-3pm)
Where: MSU-Great Falls 2100 16th Ave S. Great Falls, MT

Contact: T.C. Knutson (campuscorps@msugf.edu/ 406-771-4324)


MSU-Northern (Havre, MT)
Event: New Donor Registration Drive - Campus Corps volunteers will be hosting a new organ donor registration drive. Computers will be accessible to easily and quickly register to be organ and/or tissue donors.
When: TBD
Where: MSU-N Student Union Building
Contact: Grace Milanowski (campuscorps@msun.edu/406-265-3577)

Montana Tech of the UM (Butte, MT)
Event: Organ Donor Drive  - Campus Corps volunteers will be hosting a table in the Student Union Building with laptop computers available that students can use to register to become Organ Donors in the State of Montana.
When: April 16th-23rd, 2012
Where: Montana Tech Student Union Building, 1300 W Park St., Butte, MT 59701
Contact: Sean Cochrane (scochrane@mtech.edu/(406) 496-4692)

Stone Child College (Box Elder, MT)
Event: Donate Life Advertising Blitz- Fliers will be handed out to faculty via their mail boxes at the college.  They will be encouraged to shair the web site [donatelife.net] with their classes. A large poster will be consructed and displayed in the main building.  At drum mondays it will also be anouced that this is donate life month.
When: The month of April
Where: Stone Child College Campus
Contact: Michael Yegerlehner (myegerlehner@stonechild.edu/ 573-822-6171)


University of Montana (Missoula, MT)
Event: Organ Donor Drive- Campus Corps volunteers will have a table reserved in the UC to sign up organ donors and talk to people more about organ donation.
When: April 23-27th, 2012
Where: University Center, UM Campus
Contact: Shanna Ungate (shanna.ungate@mso.umt.edu)


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

UM-Western Wins Red Cross Month Competition by a Long Shot!

Congratulations to our Red Cross Month Champions, the Campus Corps team serving at UM-Western, who succeeded in accumulating an astounding 1,076 points during the month of March! What an achievement!  Under the leadership of Corps Leader, Cheyanne Marcy, members worked diligently going door to door to deliver 1000 preparedness bags throughout the community of Dillon, MT and in doing so made their local neighborhoods far more equipped to effectively deal with a potential disaster. The group also hosted a blood drive on their campus. The UM-W Campus Corps team will be planning a celebration in honor of their win, which will be hosted by the Campus Corps Network Office. Excellent job UM-W; your victory was certainly well deserved!!


See how other campuses did in the competition. Final results below:


1.) UM-Western: 1,076
2.) MSU-Northern: 838
3.) M-Tech: 522
4.) MSU-GF: 505
5.) FVCC: 439
6.) MSU-Bozeman: 313
7.) Fort Peck Community College: 264
8.) Dawson Community College: 250
9.) Carroll College: 200
10.) UM: 127
11.) MSU-Billings: 109
12.) Salish Kootenai College: 100
13.) Aaniiih Nakoda College: 73
14.) Stone Child College: 53


Congratulations to all of our participating campuses! We were incredibly impressed with your scores overall and more so by the tremendous impact that your service had on local communities throughout the state! All together we delivered a grand total of 5,287 preparedness bags - an incredible accomplishment on all parts! Thanks to everyone who participated in this initiative; it is because of  your hard work and dedication that Red Cross Month has been such an overwhelming success!!


I also want to honor the competition's "Honorary Participant", Jill Washburn. Jill ALONE succeeded in distributing 1,100 preparedness bags to the communities of the Eastern Montana including the Northern Cheyanne Reservation, the community of Round Up, and Carbon County. Jill certainly deserves recognition for this astounding achievement as well as for the time and effort she put in to coordinating this statewide initiative with all of our participating campuses. We could not have it without her. Thanks again Jill!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Blood Drive at SCC



Check out this video that Stone Child College Campus Corps Leader Michael made as a tribute to the very successful blood drive that they hosted on campus as a part of Red Cross Month!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

MSU-Billings Can-struction masterpiece is in the works!

During last week's site visit to MSU-Billings, I was lucky enough to catch a sneak peak of their "Cansturction" competition entry.  The Canstruction Competition challenges the areas best builders and architects teams to use their expertise and creativity to create structures completely out of canned goods that will then be donated to Family Services, Inc. of Billings. This year's annual event will take place in the Rimrock Mall in Billings on April 14th. However, the team at MSU-B, made up mostly of students studying design at the College of Technology, decided to do a pre-build prior to the event to ensure that their structure will be sure to turn out as planned. In line with this year's theme of food, the MSU-B team will be assembling a giant cash register out of more than 2,000 cans!