Thursday, May 24, 2012

Looking for something to keep you busy this summer? Interested in serving your community? Why not join Campus Corps this summer and earn an Education Award by devoting some of your spare time to volunteering at a service site in your community?

Campus Corps programs at our member universities throughout the state are now in the process of recruiting current students (and incoming college Freshman) for their summer service teams. Positions include a wide variety of service work including serving at local Boys & Girls clubs, supporting local parks departments, serving as a counselor at college access Gear Up camps, and building the capacity of a local non profit. Contact your local Campus Corps coordinator to find out what summer service options may be available in your community!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Campus Corps Leaders Perform Direct Service to their Communities

The role of a Campus Corps Leader is a unique full time AmeriCorps position whose existence ensures that Montana Campus Corps programs throughout the state receive the support that they need to flourish. Our group of leaders dedicate the majority of their time to building the capacity of their campus' program: providing support to their Campus Corps members, setting up service projects in the community, recruiting more students to be involved in community service, building new community partnerships, etc. These tasks  require a great deal of "behind the scenes" work and do not necessarily entail that the leader has regular contact with the community members that their initiatives provide services to. In order to compensate for this lack of regular direct contact with community members, each leader is also required to select a direct service site which gives them the opportunity to develop relationships with community members whose needs their program aims to meet.

The services provided by this year's leaders at their direct service sites support a variety of community initiatives and admirable organizations across the state for which they are helping to build the capacity. Check out the list of direct service placements that our leaders are serving at this year, as each has selected a position that gives them the opportunity to use their unique skills and talents to help their local community:

Cheyanne (UM-Western) - Cheyanne has been serving with the Barrett Hospital & Health Care Diabetes Prevention Program to help fight the presence of this devastating epidemic in her local Dillon community. Cheyanne has developed her own fitness class geared towards those who are at a high risk for developing diabetes that is aimed towards motivating them to be active and be healthy.

Michael (Stone Child College): Through anti-povery non-profit Opportunity Link, Michael has spearheaded several initiatives to improve financial literacy on the Rocky Boy Reservation. From completing a number of financial literacy presentations to local high school students to serving with VITA to assist in tax preparation efforts, it is evident that Michael has made a significant impact upon his community.

Shanna (UM) - This past fall, Shanna worked with the local NPR affiliate to help produce a woman's radio program. For the spring semester, she switched things up and is now volunteering at the UM radio station, 89.9 KBGA Missoula. 

Grace (MSU-Northern): Grace volunteers for the Natural Resources Conservation Service which focuses on assisting producers in implementing environmentally friendly practices such as efficient grazing plans, water conservation strategies, and wildlife preservation plans. Additionally, she volunteers for the VITA program which kept her busy during tax season, providing free tax assistance services to local community members.

Alex (MSU-Bozeman) - Alex brings her upbeat and fun personality to brighten the lives of some of the disabled children living in her local community. Specifically, she serves with the Eagle Mount organization, and specifically is a part of its ice skating program, which thanks to the help of its volunteers allows children with disabilities the unique opportunity to get out on the ice rink each week! During the winter months, she also volunteers with their skiing program where she uses her snowboarding expertise to assist a disabled individual safely down the slopes each week.

Hazel (MSU-Billings) - Hazel volunteers at Eagle Mount and specifically works with their arts and crafts program. Hazel also spent time this past fall volunteering at the Yellowstone Art Museum, serving at their special events and welcoming and guiding visitors to the museum. hazel certainly keeps herself busy serving as she has just taken on a third direct service opportunity with Venture Theater, where she will be volunteering at their summer theater program for young children.

Katie (Fort Peck Community College) -Katie spends many of her afternoons volunteering her time with the after school tutoring program for the Poplar Public schools. When the school year comes to an end, she will transition to serving at their summer camp program. Additionally, Katie is involved with Reading for Babies program at the Fort Peck library. 

Sean (Montana Tech) - Sean volunteers at the Butte Public Library where he serves at an after school tutoring program open to all local elementary and middle school students.

Jacob ( Dawson Community College) - Jacob volunteers his time working as a cashier at the Farm to Table store in Glendive, which was created as part of the VISTA project that MTCC sponsors in the area. The store has built a partnership between local community members and farmers in the region by providing farmers with a venue to sell their products locally.  This winter, Jacob also volunteered at WATCH East, where he taught a Community Service class for those enrolled in the DUI program. He also spends time serving as a cashier at the Farm to Table Store to support the host organization, the Prairie Development Center.

Ali Graham (Aaniiih Nakoda College) - Ali is a member of the VITA team, providing tax services and assistance to her local community free of charge. Furthermore, Ali additionally volunteers at USDA, supporting local farming initiatives in the Fort Belknap community.

T.C. (MSU-Great Falls) - T.C. builds the capacity of the Heisey Youth Center, a community center dedicated to providing recreational opportunities for youth and adults of Cascade County, by serving as the volunteer coordinator for a number of programs. Additionally, he coaches one of the youth basketball teams.

Jill (Rocky Mountain College) - Jill fills her time volunteering for the American Red Cross of Montana. Utilizing her expertise in disaster relief services, Jill contributes to the organization in a variety of ways.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Women for Wellness Fair at SKC

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the annual Women for Wellness fair at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo MT.  Now in its fourth year, the event aims to provide women in the Lake County area with a place to go to learn more about a wide spectrum of health issues and to be more aware of the resources and service providers available to them. The fair, which took place in the Joe McDonald Health & Fitness Center located on SKC's campus, hosted over 100 vendors! They offered a variety of services selling health products, providing information on health issues, and handing out free materials like toothbrushes and cookbooks. In addition, many of the service providers were offering on-site health screenings and services. Attendees could get their blood pressure tested, foot examined, receive a breast exam, and get  there glucose levels tested just to name a few.

Campus Corps member Robert volunteering
 at the tobacco prevention table.
The Campus Corps program at SKC is currently based in the Nursing Department and many of our members at the college were volunteering at the event. I ran into Robert, a second year nursing student and second term Campus Corps member while he was working at the Tobacco prevention table. He was excited by the large turnout at the event and expressed how exciting it was to be a part of something that has such a large impact upon his community!






Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Resources for Campus Corps Alumni to Stay Involved

The Montana AmeriCorps Alumni network (logo above) maintains an active facebook page
 to keep former members in the loop!


It's that bittersweet time of year when Campus Corps members are completing their terms and being exited from the program, happy to have had a positive impact upon their communities but at the same time sad to see such a good thing come to a close.  As they move on to their next steps, we ask that they not view this as an end to their involvement with the Campus Corps program, and with their affiliation with the national AmeriCorps program.


There are numerous ways to remain part of the Montana Campus Compact and the AmeriCorps community well into the future. Whether former members participate in National Service Day events and seek out other special projects taking place in their area or possibly one day become a resource for creating future partnerships with whichever organizations they may be employed.  Social networking has greatly expanded the ease with which we can network with other alumni, as well as with current members of the programs that so greatly impacted us. For instance, there is both a national AmeriCorps Alumni Facebook page as well as a facebook page for AmeriCorps volunteers that specifically served in the state of Montana. AmeriCorpsAlums.org and the Montana Campus Compact website,  MTCompact.org, provide additional venues to catch up on the latest happenings with our service programs. So as you submit those final timelogs and say your goodbyes to fellow Corps members, remember that there are plenty of ways to continue your involvement with the AmeriCorps Campus Corps program!



Monday, May 14, 2012

Member Appreciation Banquet at FVCC



        The Service Learning/Campus Corps office at FVCC hosted a Campus Corps member appreciation banquet on May 7, 2012 in the Arts and Technology building.  The members enjoyed dinner, fellowship, and numerous door prizes.  Dean McGovern welcomed and thanked everyone for their service and recognized Cory Ledbetter, Newman Civic Fellow Award recipient.  George Cowan, our guest speaker and FVCC faculty member, gave an excellent speech on volunteerism and being a hero.  Mark Reasner from the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team gave a short presentation on the need for volunteers.  Members were divided into 2 groups for a Meaning of Service activity with Humanities Montana facilitators.  All members received a thank you gift and an FVCC Campus Corps drawstring bag.  It was a success with 20 members in attendance and 15 guests!

Dean McGovern kicked off the event with an inspirational welcome speech.







Newman Civic Fellow recipient Cory Ledbetter with MTCC's Dean McGovern.
Attendees participated in Meaning of Service Activities to reflect
upon the service work that they performed over the past year.
Post submitted by FVCC's Wendy Jeschke

Red Cross Month Winners Choose to Give Rather than Receive

UM-W Campus Corps members posing at the Community Garden's annual Garden Jubilee with the supplies that they donated in lieu of throwing themselves a celebratory party to reward them for winning the Red Cross Month competition.


During the Month of March, the Montana Campus Corps program launched a statewide campus competition as part of our Red Cross Month initiative. The Campus Corps team at UM-Western wowed us all with the impressive number of points they collectively accumulated by hosting CPR trainings, blood drives, and distributing preparedness bags to the local community. The MTCC Network Office offered to fund a celebratory party for their team as their prize for winning the competition. However, the UM-W team instead requested to use their prize money to support a noble cause in their community. Specifically, they used their winnings to purchase garden tools and supplies for the UM-W Campus Community Garden: an on-campus garden that serves both as an educational resources as well as a source of  local and sustainable food to the Dillon community. The organization was thrilled to receive some much needed gardening materials for the upcoming gardening season and was very grateful to the Campus Corps team for their generosity.  Furthermore, the garden receives ongoing support from several Campus Corps members who often find time to volunteer at the site. The donated supplies were presented at the Community Garden's annual Garden Jubilee event! Congratulations to the members of UM-W - you certainly illustrate what it means to serve others and to put the needs of your community before your own!


The crew that delivered 300+ bags between the two of them!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Call for Submissions: AmeriCorps Video & Photo Challenges!

AmeriCorps has challenged each of its members to submit a photo and/or video that best illustrates the effect that AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps projects have had on local communities and the nation. With all of the outstanding services that Campus Corps members are providing to local communities throughout the state of Montana, it is only fitting that we should have ample entries to illustrate the impactful ways that AmeriCorps works to meet the needs of our Montana communities.



The deadline to submit photos and 60 second video submissions is July 1, 2012. For the photo challenge winner will receive $2,000 and runner up $500. For the video challenge winner will receive $4,000 and runner up $1,000.


Visit http://americorpsvideo.challenge.gov/  to learn more.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Great Stories : Telling our Tales of Service

          At some point during each Campus Corps Member's term of service, he or she is required to submit at least one Great Story: a brief narrative retelling a memorable experience that occurred at some point during one's service. These can be viewed on our MTcampuscorps.org website and provide valuable anecdotal documentation of the impact that the services that our members perform have upon their communities. 
         Below is one such Great Story, shared by member from UM-Western who tells about her experience tutoring a student at the local elementary school:


              First Step on Becoming a Teacher, Teach. by Litcelle Parahan 

                      Every day since November of 2011 to April of 2012, I worked with a 1st grader named Lucy at Parkview Elementary school. She has a difficult time reading at her level. My job as a volunteer was to give her a little push towards success with some extra reading practice every morning. She is a bright, wonderful, and funny little girl. 
                      When I started at this service site for the first time, I was nervous to be working with little kids. I had never worked one on one with students like Lucy before and I didn't know what it was going to be like. I knew I wanted to continue my goal of becoming a teacher and this was the only way to start experiencing it full on. Every day got easier and Lucy got better at her reading. My heart was jumping for joy when she was able to go through an entire lesson without a problem. I would help her sound words out by doing it together and we would snap our fingers as a sign to move on. 
                     She enjoyed the lesson most of the time and when she got frustrated I would have her tell me a story. It didn't matter what story she told, just as long as it was something that would distract her and keep her from giving up on the lesson. Overall, she did great. I am sad to have left her before the end of the school year, but in my heart she will always be the first student I had ever worked with one on one, in my goal of becoming an elementary teacher. 




As many of our members are just now finishing up their Campus Corps terms, I am eager to see an influx of great-Great Stories in the very near future.  A big thanks to all of our members for taking the time to share their stories. You are an inspiration to us all!