Send the VISTAs Gifts!

Don't worry - we're not pocketing them! These gifts are for eight families in Bertie County, NC where our fellow VISTA Derrell serves (Hi Derrell!). Thanks to everyone's generosity, deliveries are starting pile up in the Winston-Salem Office and though we have a ways to go, this is certainly a promising beginning!

As we mentioned in our Cyber Monday post, you can make the holiday season brighter for families in need via our Target Registry. Each item on that list - no matter how small or basic - represents something on someone's special wish list. So far we've received toys, socks, tools, and family games. It's really neat to see packages arrive regularly like that. It brings smiles to our faces every time! Bertie County has gone through a rough year and we want to do all we can to support our neighbors in rural North Carolina. These gifts are much appreciated. Never before have we seen children put items like "socks" and "school supplies" on their holiday wish lists...


It's not too late to give back! Visit the registry today and pass on the link to friends and family. You can even order items with a large group to save on shipping. As you can tell by some of these images, we VISTAs are getting in the spirit of things. Please join us in this merriment. Doesn't it look fun?

Cyber Monday for a Cause!

Once upon a time there was a young, innocent little girl who was dragged to an outlet mall at midnight on Black Friday. Claustrophobic and unprepared, she tried her best to keep up with the sea of people scurrying to sales and discounts. Much like salmon swimming upstream, it was natural selection and only the strong survived. Eventually she emerged from the crowd, but had no bags. The only thing she had to show for this late night adventure in consumerism was PTSD (Posttraumatic Shopping Disorder).

Yes, I am that girl. She is me. We are one. Even now, years after that fateful night, I stubbornly refuse to participate in Black Friday.

Recently a new tradition has emerged: Cyber Monday. I haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, but I have a feeling this day involves less waiting, shoving, and cramped spaces than its in-person counterpart. This makes me hopeful. After all, giving is one of the greatest parts of the holiday season and shopping is often a necessary step to get there!

With that in mind, I have some uplifting news. You can now participate in Cyber Monday with a greater cause in mind! This year, One Economy has complied has a special registry at Target.com that includes the wish lists of eight families from Bertie County, NC. Items include everything from small toys to toolboxes. Some children even asked for school supplies. The list goes on and includes many basic needs - things that we Winston-Salem VISTAs have unfortunately taken for granted in our own lives. We hope you consider giving back this holiday season. Even one gift goes a long way!

So, guess what? Holiday shopping doesn't have to be terrifying. In fact, it can be inspiring! As a victim of Black Friday madness, I'm relieved to discover this.

'Tis the Season!


Denise and the Winston-Salem VISTAs

Motivational Monday Resurrected

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

~Anne Frank

P.S. - The VISTAs are on Twitter! Follow us @1Economy_VISTA

My_time_at_One_Economy_rev3.ppt

Before I say anything else, I have to say a big thank you to all the VISTAS here in the W-S office for making my birthday ridiculously awesome yesterday. In particular, I appreciate their enabling my Halloween Oreo addiction.

In terms of work, my trail to One Economy was slightly unorthodox and at first, I wasn't sure how I felt about working with a non-profit that is driven primarily by technology. I'm a political science major and technology is not my forte. My friends would tell you that the scene in Office Space where they take the copier out to a field and completely destroy it... is one of my favorite moments ever. I've wanted to re-enact that scene on numerous occasions. However, most of my previous work has generally involved working with policy affecting low to moderate-income individuals and families. Working to change predatory lending laws, point out flaws in the indigent defense system and identify shortcomings of the federal poverty measure are what I know. Not computers. Not digital literacy.

So, I was a bit anxious starting out but that anxiety has long since vanished because it is hard not to get excited about one's work when you are surrounded by passionate and dedicated individuals. The VISTAS and staff in the Winston-Salem office and the staff elsewhere that I have met are incredibly hard-working and approach their work with a zeal that is contagious. Despite powerpoint's best efforts, I have found myself extremely excited about my work, both what I have done and what I will do by June. For example, a fellow VISTA in the office informed us that he has a birthday in mid-April. Now, after a statement like that, there are a large number of directions you could go. You could talk about how your cousin has a birthday near then or how that's still a good ways away. One could ask if it is a major birthday or if there is a trip planned. But me? Oh, none of that would suffice. In choosing to add to the conversation, my comment was "oh... that's right after the tax season comes to a close!" If zeal is a disease, I believe I may have it.

In the short time that I've been here, even this political science major has come to realize the value that the internet can bring to one's life. Changing policy is one way to affect someone's life in a positive way but providing folks with a vast amount of resources at their fingertips works just as well... if not better.

-S.J.

Maps!

I know what you're thinking. What's so exciting about maps?* During my first two months of VISTAhood, I guess you can say my appreciation for them has grown - especially in relation to the stimulus project. I've made quite a few and have adopted a somewhat unconventional patchwork approach to mapping due to resources. Also, it turns out that the supervisors at PSO were right! There are many ways to get to any one goal and creativity is key. Usually, one would use GIS software to map information like Census data, but those tools are very expensive and not accessible in most public libraries. With that in mind, I'm presenting this list for VISTA posterity which I fondly call...

"Mapping when you don't have GIS" (yes, it's possible) :

1) Try ArcGIS Explorer - PRO: You can download the tool or use the online version. It's FREE and you can feel your way around enough to get your project done, no GIS experience needed. CON: You have to piece together all the right data and shapefiles yourself, which can be daunting if you're rusty or have never done this before. Luckily, if you choose this mapping method, there is lots of free data to use online - searchable on data.gov.

2) Random Internet Tools - Thank you, Internet. Thanks to free user-made tools, it's surprisingly easy to find websites to help you with mapping. My favorite census-related example is this the KMZ Census Mapper developed by a University of Tennessee Professor. It's so simple and takes you step-by-step through making a map either by census tracts in states of counties. You can choose your subject (poverty, population, education, households, etc.) and view the results on Google maps. Also, Texas A&M has this free DIY website that let's you maps states with customized, color coded counties. Freemaptools.com is also a good place to go. I used it to generate a radius from a point, save the information as an RMZ, then upload it on my own Google maps. I know that there are tons of tools online, so if anyone is reading this and has an addition to this list, please comment!

3) "Mapping by Numbers" - Sonja christened this old fashioned mapping method after those little paint-by-number sets when she saw me squinting at a computer screen and labeling these paper maps by hand. I'm a digital native, but paper is not below me! When the free mapping tools online cannot deliver, a trusty highlighter and office scanner will never let you down.

4) Make Friends with Someone who has GIS - We are very lucky in Winston Salem because the Center for Community Safety has a GIS lab. Last week MaryKarinna and I went on a field trip to their offices and made some maps. When all else fails and you simply need GIS resources/a GIS expert, sometimes community resources or public universities can be of service.

I've written this post for both selfish and archival reasons. If I didn't centralize all of these links soon, I would've forgotten about them for future projects!

*If you still need an answer to that question, you should definitely watch this clip from the West Wing. It will make you want to map something.

Best from NC,

Denise

Hello OE VISTAS!

Hello all,

I'm Marykarinna and I have been working in the Winston-Salem OE office since August. The past month has been great! It seems like we're getting a lot accomplished, especially with our National Corporate Volunteer program. I can only hope that the rest of the year goes as smoothly as the past month has. I am really lucky to be in the WS office with three other VISTAS!

I also want to thank the WS VISTAS for participating in the National Day of Service on 9/11. Thanks to everyone for coming out!

Walltown Digital Connectors Graduation!

Last week Thursday, August 12, the Digital Connectors program I've been working with held their graduation. We graduated 7 youth, which is a smaller than average class size, but a huge accomplishment for the Walltown community.

It has been quite the year -- full of ups and downs and learning about the most effective way to reach these youth.

One thing I will never forget is how excited they all were when they grabbed their computers and gear to leave the graduation ceremony. I hope this is not the end, but instead, the beginning of a new chapter in their lives with all the tools to succeed within their reach.

---Laura, Durham, NC

Hello from Winston Salem!

Greetings fellow Vistas!

I just wanted to write a quick shout out and say hello from lovely Winston-Salem. I'm Denise, a new OE VISTA from Virginia (that's me to the left). I'm actually leaving for PSO in Atlanta tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I'm enjoying the experience so far - mostly research, resource mapping, and excel - and I'm especially looking forward to meeting and working with the other VISTAs in the office!

It's been just two weeks so far, so I sadly have little wisdom/motivation to impart! Still, I thought I might pass along a resource tip just in case there are some VISTAs out there planning to make presentations or teach classes this year. I'm currently obsessed with Prezi, the zooming online presentation tool that will forever convert you away from power point. I love it and I hope you will too! I made a One Economy demo presentation you can see below. It's sort of lame since I made it quickly, but I think you get the idea!

Best wishes and happy Americorping,

Denise

One Economy on Prezi

Motivational Monday!

Good morning team!

Here's a quote to get your week started off right:

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be – Douglas Adams

---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Monday!

Good morning Team!

And happy August -- time has really flown by this year. Here's your motivational quote for the week:

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson


---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!

A little dose of motivation to get you started this Monday morning:

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. ---John Quincy Adams

Have a great week!
---Laura; Durham, NC

The Holy Grail

Two Mondays ago when we were celebrating other victories here on the VISTA blog, the Winston-Salem office celebrated with me about some big news. In November 2009 I started working with Sonja to apply for grant funding in Winston-Salem to launch a Digital Connectors program. LaDeara Crest has benefited from every other aspect of One Economy's programming except for the youth technology piece. With help from our miracle working grant team, in April 2010 I submitted the final version of our grant application.

They kept pushing back the time for when they would notify us of our award. If they waited one more cycle my VISTA term would have been over. Deep down I felt that there was no way we wouldn't get funding but I knew the reality that all VISTAs do that nothing is a sure thing until it happens.

In the end WE GOT THE GRANT!!!! ($25,000)

For me this grant is the holy grail of my year. It was a project where all of the responsibility fell on my shoulders and if successful the community would benefit greatly. The residents in LaDeara Crest have been looking forward to having more opportunities for their young people and I am so elated that I can say at the end of my year that I was able to help them see this accomplishment.

So I leave Winston on a big high with a little side of bittersweet because the operation and success of the actual program is now in someone else's hands. However, that's how sustainability works. Someone passed this project on to me and now I'm doing the same. I'm happy that even without me here the show will go on.

Take that Indiana Jones!

~Adwoa

Motivational Mondays

Good Morning Team!

Hope you all have great weeks! Keep up the good work that's been happening around the country. Here's your quote for the week:

Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. ~Wendy Wasserstein


---Laura; Durham, NC

Eating on the Cheap

Hey VISTA team,
Do you have any tips or tricks for eating well on the VISTA stipend? Have you started cooking with your friends more? Do you have a go to meal you cook when you're waiting for your next stipend check to come in?

Share what you've learned -- whether its what to buy, where to shop, or a recipe -- in the comments section!

I'm curious to hear what you've been doing and eager to hopefully add a little variety to my recipe collection during the last couple months of my service.

---Laura; Durham, NC

Successful summer service-learning sessions!

Just so that this blog doesn't end up being Laura's blog (as Tommy says), I'll post some recent info about my summer computer lab workshops facilitated by my Rockhurst service-learning Education grad students:

Computer lab workshop outcomes where Rockhurst service-learning students led one-on-one sessions:
-30 service hours provided by 8 Rockhurst students
-19 program participants (residents and their guests) attended 9 workshops in 2 buildings - mostly resume/job search and a few computer basics
-14 unique people were served
-10 job applications submitted online
-7 Beehive accounts created
-9 resumes created
-4 email accounts created

Note that this was all accomplished in just 3 weeks in June! I'm waiting to hear reflections from my volunteers but the direct feedback I've received so far has been really positive. One student was recently laid off during the workshops -- she was so enthused about working with my residents, that she offered to continue volunteer past her service learning requirements since she had "more free time now"!

Another little vignette that will stick with me during this semeseter was working with a resident to create a resume on the Beehive. When we got to the work history part, I asked her what her last job was, she was quiet and then started crying. I was surprised and felt bad that I might have said something that triggered a sad or bad memory. When I returned with a tissue, I asked if that was the case but she said no -- she was just overwhelmed with emotion that she was able to take this positive step in her life. It was a really poignant moment, and summed up my year of service really well.

--
Tina from KCMO

Milestone in Atlanta: Community Technology Center

After 11 months of service I finally opened the Community Technology Center (a.k.a computer lab) at Seven Courts Apartments.

The first attempt, the apartment assigned was broken into.
Second attempt, new management was hired and the apartment assigned for the CTC was rented out.

And finally my last attempt with the help of April Penn, the AmeriCorps Summer Associate for Seven Courts, we finally open the doors on June 18, 2010.



April was influential in advocating to the new property management the importance of having a Community Technology Center in her community. We are now conducting training on The Beehive and GCFLearnFree (Word 2007 & Excel 2007). In addition, I am also using the curriculum that Ruqiyyah developed in subjects such as, Internet Basic's, Homework Help and Safety Online, etc.

-andy j. santamaria
Atlanta AmeriCoprs*VISTA

Motivational Mondays!

Good morning team!
Can you believe its almost July?! Time flies... Here's the quote for the week:

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. Robert Collier

---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Tuesday

Hi Team!
I hope everyone's week started off strong. Here's something to help you make the push to Friday:

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal--a commitment to excellence--that will enable you to attain the success you seek." Mario Andretti

--Laura; Durham, NC

I was getting technology pictures off of http://www.engadget.com/ and came upon this picture and had to send it to Tommy D and post for you all to see. I thought it was just too random of an occurrence not to pass along.

-Daniel

Meet the Summer Associates!

Team,
As mentioned on the last VISTA conference call, we have been joined by 11 Summer Associates serving in North Carolina and Georgia. We're excited to have them aboard to share their time and talents with the communities they're working with.


Kimberly McIntee joins us from Columbia, SC. She will be working in the Winston-Salem One Economy office on the Corporate Volunteer Project.








Marche' Davis will also be serving out of the One Economy Winston Salem, NC office on the Stimulus project. Marche' is originally from Asheville, NC.








Leslie Raymond is the third summer associate serving out of the One Economy Winston Salem office. She joins us from Hollywood, FL and will be working on the Stimulus project.







Tanya Tuttle, originally from Winston Salem, NC, will be serving with the Forsyth County Computer Training Bridge. She will be working with the training bridge program to help educate, train, and expose people of all ages to the use of computers.








Geniece Bey will be working in the Walltown Neighborhood of Durham, NC, her hometown, on Computer training and Community Outreach projects.





Alyssa Wright, from Atlanta, GA, will be working in Clarkston, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) this summer. She will be working with refugee organizations in Clarkston to establish sustainable programs which train immigrant residents to teach their community how to manage their finances and find jobs through using the Beehive resources.



Ashley Anderson is serving out of the OE Atlanta office.
April Penn is serving at PRI, a partner organization in Atlanta, with Andy Santamaria.

In addition, Patricia Cooper will be serving out of Bertie County, helping with the Bertie Middle School. Teneisha Small and Darrius Wessell will also be serving out of Bertie County.

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!
I hope you all had great weekends. Enjoy the weekly quote:

Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. ― James Arthur Baldwin

---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!

Can you all believe its the first Monday in June?! Time has flown by this year. Here's the weekly quote for you:

It's not too late at all. You just don't yet know what you are capable of. Mahatma Gandhi

Have a great week.

---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Tuesday

Good afternoon team,

I hope you all had a great long weekend! Here's your quote for the week:

The art of happiness is to serve all.

---Laura; Durham, NC

Spreading the Word About the Beehive EVERYWHERE!

Photoshop has actually been a very useful skill I've acquired this past year.

Original picture: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/240105/92127/Soviet-leader-Vladimir-Ilich-Lenin-addressing-a-crowd-in-1920

Tina's KCMO & VISTA photos

Here are some photo links to preface my upcoming Capstone presentation on Thursday. Those of you who are my Facebook friends will probably already have seen these. Those who aren't, please send me a FB request!

A Year with AmeriCorps*VISTA: My picture album of KCMO, Troost Ave, and all things AmeriCorps

KC Public Art: Murals & Art works in urban core of KCMO

And Finally: Troost Avenue Light Show video

If you slogged through my FB albums you will notice that this video was taken inside of my loft apartment - this is just a snippet of my night-life experience living on Troost ;-) I tried to upload the video but it didn't seem to work so you can download it from my google docs site.

"Troost Avenue in Kansas City is the historical racial dividing line for the city and as such has become a symbol of commercial disinvestment, the struggle of an inner-city area to attract business development, and the problem of overcoming racial divisions within an economic development strategy."

-- Tina

Motivational Mondays

Good morning everyone!

Muhammad Yunus delivered Duke University's commencement speech this year. This quote is from that speech:

"Technology is like a vessel, it is like a car. It is the driver who decides where you want to take it. If you want to use this technology to make money, it will make you money. If you want to take this technology to change the world, to make a better world, definitely it will take you there. It is your choice what you want to do with it."


---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!

Go to the people. Learn from them. Live with them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. The best of leaders when the job is done, when the task is accomplished, the people will say we have done it ourselves.
Lao Tzu

Hope you all have good weeks!
Laura; Durham, NC

Corporate America Gives Workplace Volunteerism a Strong Vote of Confidence as Means for Long-term Social Change

Deloitte survey finds businesses believe volunteerism has power to make real difference

http://bit.ly/d0F8Nj

- Meg

AmeriCorps Week

Happy AmeriCorps Week! I'm sure everyone will be getting lots of presents :)

But seriously I think we are a part of something really great so keep that in mind throughout the week when you find yourself struggling for motivation or encouragement...or if you just want to celebrate yourself and the work that you've done this year in spite of all the odds.

~Adwoa

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team,

Welcome back into your office. I hope you all had a nice, relaxing, recovering weekend. And the quote for today:

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
- Edward Everett Hale

--Laura; Durham, NC

OE VISTAs Get Your Cameras Out!

Grab Your Camera...
And Tell the AmeriCorps Story!

The 2010 AmeriCorps Video and Photo Contest is open.

Across the country, AmeriCorps members are helping communities fight poverty, mentor youth, recover from disasters, raise graduation rates, and tackle our toughest social challenges.

AmeriCorps is expanding, and we want your help spreading the word and recruiting the next class of AmeriCorps members.

We challenge you to create a video or take a photo that tells a compelling story about how AmeriCorps has made an impact on your community.

The AmeriCorps Video and Photo Contest is open to anyone.

http://www.americorpscontest.org/

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team and Happy Monday,

"You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result." ---Mahatma Gandhi

Have a good week,
---Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team,
This quote is hanging in the room where the Walltown Digital Connectors meet. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

--- Laura; Durham, NC

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” --- Marianne Williamson

Motivational Mondays!

Good morning team.
I hope you all enjoyed Tommy's post. I'm curious to see what the rest of you have been up to...Tommy's sure been busy the past quarter.

Here's a little something to add to your Monday:

Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
Doug Firebaugh

--Laura; Durham, NC

The Final Stretch

Is this Laura's blog now? I do think it's pretty funny that the last page of updates is all Motivational Mondays only broken up by free Ice Cream day. With my supervisor out for the week and things a little slow at LINC, I guess I'll take on the heavy burden of making a non-Laura blog post.

Writing out this last quarterly report, it's started to hit me that we're in the last quarter for the July class. The last part of my VAD is only a couple sentences about sustainability; I imagine it staring back at me saying in a confused voice "Uhhhhh... sustainability or something, we'll figure this out later". Over the next few weeks, I'm hoping to become involved in writing out the project plan for our next VISTA and taking what I've learned to benefit them. I think there's a lot of value for future Beehive VISTAs, but the focus needs include more non-Beehive projects that can get you out to the community.

Back to my service, though, I'm trying not to become too complacent. My two biggest outcomes are already out for all to see: Beehive traffic has crushed any and all expectations while the Tax Van's time in K.C was a big success. There's still a few months left, though, so I don't want to become the lame duck VISTA leaving all the big projects to the next person.

Anyway, thought I'd just throw down the accomplishments section on my most recent quarterly report, because I'm always curious what everyone is doing.

· 8115 visitors to the Kansas City Beehive.

· Successfully e-filed over 140 returns using MyFreeTaxes.

· Helped Tax Van project by working on the ground, contacting site coordinators, and answering questions.

· Achieved Advanced level Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) certification.

· Led two tax workshops in the community, at Crestview Elementary and Georgian Court Apartments

· Facilitated a well-attended focus group in the community about technology use and useful Beehive content.

· Published relevant local content to the Kansas City Beehive

o Medicaid in Missouri

o Quality Healthcare Together (website with local patients' doctor ratings)

o City of Independence Health Fair

o Tax Filing Instructional Videos

o Avoiding Foreclosure Scams

o Finding Rental Housing

· Updated and expanded local content on:

o Kansas GED information

o Free Immunization for kids in K.C

o Food Stamps in Kansas

o Applying for Missouri Unemployment

· Created a tax van video to communicate the cause, shown at LINC commission meeting

· Uploaded hundreds of photos to the LINC website and recorded narration

· Shot and edited video for Pitcher and Fairmount Elementary Schools

· Attended the Missouri Homeownership and Preservation Conference

· Provided audio/visual assistance at LINC site coordinator meeting

· Designed and printed flyers for community events with LINC communications staff

-Tommy D in KC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.” -Cesar Chavez

Happy Monday! Laura; Durham, NC

Free Ice Cream day!

Hi Team,
It's Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day today. From noon-8pm at participating locations, you can get one free scoop of ice cream! Check here to see if there's a way for you to take part in your city. http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/feature/free-cone-day/

Enjoy!
Laura

Project Management Training

Hi team,
Earlier this week, I had the chance to participate in a VISTA Leader webinar training on Project Management. Even though this training was given via webex, the facilitator made it very interesting and interactive. Here are some of the highlights:

• Project Management can be thought of as process facilitation -- You need to ask the right questions from the right people to help the process run smoothly and accomplish your task
• The facilitator talked about 3 key stages of a project process: 1) Need Identification, approach and selection; 2) Planning and Implementation; 3) Process monitoring, Improvement and Evaluation.
• During each stage you want to be talking with and asking questions of yourself, your supervisor, the beneficiaries of the project, and people/groups collaborating with you.
• Clearly defining and communicating your strategy will help the collaborators and beneficiaries take ownership and accountability for the success -- a key for sustainability!

If you have any questions, let me know!
Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Tuesday

Good morning team,
I hope you all started your week off strong. Here's a quote for you to think about through the rest of the week:

A wise man adapts himself to circumstances as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it. Chinese Proverb

Happy Tuesday!
Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Happy Monday Team!

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”

Hope you're all having a great start to your week.
Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team,
It was great seeing most of you last week at training! I hope you all arrive at your offices today re-energized and motivated to complete the second half of your service.

Here's your weekly Monday quote: The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting out aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.
- Michelangelo


--Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!
I hope you are all enjoying your President's Day, whether in or out of the office. Regardless, here's a little something to keep you going:

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
--Francis Bacon

Hope you all have great weeks!
Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning team!

"Goals: There's not telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There's no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There's no telling what will happen when you act upon them."
-Jim Rohn

Happy Monday,
Laura; Durham, NC

"Black History Month 2010: Movers and Shakers"

The "Black History Month 2010: Movers and Shakers" slideshow is up on the Beehive. Go check it out, I bet you will see 2 very familiar faces. Wink. Wink.

http://www.thebeehive.org/special-features/slideshow-black-history-month-2010

-Meg

MLK Day in Austin, TX

Meg here...

I did my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in Austin, Texas through Hands On Central Texas, a program of United Way Capital Area. I live and serve in North Carolina but was traveling during this time. I still wanted to volunteer so I looked up opportunities in the Austin area. In Austin the day of service was held on Saturday, January 16.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday, drove to Huston-Tillotson University, and checked in for our service project. The room was packed with an assortment of national service volunteers, students, and community members. I knew I was in Texas when I saw burritos for breakfast. They were delicious with coffee and orange juice. The kickoff program included the MLK Oratory Competition recipient, Dr. Richard Reddick (the keynote speaker), and a performance by The Cipher – Austin’s Hip-Hop Project. We also remembered the people of Haiti whose tragedy reminds us to put things in perspective.

After the conclusion of the kickoff we headed over to the Austin Nature and Science Center in Zilker Park, the location of our service project. There we met Ruth, the horticulturist at the Center and about 6 students from St. Edward’s University, a school in Austin. For the next four hours we enjoyed getting to know each other while we cleared beds, swept paths, and raked leaves.

Late Saturday afternoon I had a good nap, my body satisfied from working outside and my mind in a positive place from being part of an important movement. MLK Day of Service is about people coming together, working to make communities better places to live, for everyone. On that Saturday in Austin, I felt like I had been a part of a successful MLK Day of Service!

Motivational Mondays

Hello Team,

A little something to think about as you begin this week:

"Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory." Ghandi

-Laura; Durham, NC

Motivational Mondays

Good morning Team!

I hope you all had great weekends.

"Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand."
–– Bruce Barton


--Laura; Durham, NC

Midwest Philanthropy Conference

Great post by Tina a couple days ago! This post is seriously out-dated, but I thought I'd throw it up here anyway. This is video from me and Tina at last November's Midwest Philanthropy Conference. LINC has given me some good video-editing software (Premiere Elements) so I can finally use and edit some of the newer flip camera footage I've taken. The new flips save in MP4 files, which have been a huge pain since those don't work with Windows Movie Maker.

So take a look. I added some cheesy effects and credits, with at least two spelling errors. See if you can find them! This event was attended by higher-ups from different K.C area non-profits, and was definitley a good place to raise Beehive awareness. We were disappointed, though, that there wasn't enough time for exhibits considering that it was a pretty steep price just to have a booth.

-Tommy D in K.C

Service to the Youth

As part of our service in Winston-Salem we teamed up with HandsOn of Northwestern North Carolina to participate in a Read-In Day to engage youth in literacy and teach them about social justice. From the "VISTA Hub" Jennifer, Laura, Daniel, and I all volunteered at the event. Plus OE's own Laurie Williams, Ralph Raymond, and our new tax van drivers all came out to serve. 100s of volunteers showed up to help at this community event. I was able to head up the social media team to document the event and put up postings on facebook, twitter, and a town hall forum through Americorps. From all the photos and interviews we conducted I will share two to help you hear directly from the volunteers and youth about how Dr. King's legacy lives on through our work today.

-Adwoa

MLK Day On in KCMO

Warning: the video is using UNSTEADY CAM so you may get queasy watching :-)

Tommy and I spent our MLK Day On service at Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry, a homeless outreach agency in Midtown, Kansas City, Missouri. We joined other AmeriCorps and VISTAs from Washburn University in Topeka. Washburn does something similar to One Economy with their VISTAs where they place up to 60 VISTAs and AmeriCorps workers around the country.

We spent the morning stocking the food pantry, then attended an MLK celebration at the Kansas City Art Institute (we sang happy birthday and had cake!). MLM provided great sack lunches as well.

We returned to MLM after the celebration and during reflection time we wrote cards to homebound seniors. The later afternoon, Tommy and I split up and he went to Blessings Abound Thrift store in Overland Park and I stayed at MLM to help finish up at the food pantry. It was a great full day of service and fellowship! And Domo joined us too :-)