Queens VISTA grows healthy partnership with local school

For NC Campus Compact VISTA Christina D'Aulerio, managing Queens University's growing partnership with nearby Sedgefield Elementary School is the best kind of challenge. "It's project overload. Basically, organized chaos," she says. "Queens is connecting with the school in so many ways." Now in its second year, the partnership keeps finding new ways to engage Queens students with the students, staff, and families of Sedgefield Elementary, a Title I school where more than 90% of students receive free and reduced price lunch.

VISTA Christina D'Aulerio

One of the new connections Christina is most proud of is the Sedgefield garden, built and maintained by the current freshman class at Queens. As their Freshman Core project, the students built 8 raised beds, compost bins, and picnic tables at Sedgefield. "Each table is painted to show a theme, like math or geography," Christina explains. "My favorite is the one with hand prints of all the people who worked on project, including the principal."





A garden club comprised of Queens students works with the afterschool program to engage youngsters in planting, garden maintenance, and educational activities organized around topics like "Carrots!" "The kids are always getting their hands in the garden and doing cool projects," Christina explains. "When they wrote songs about vegetables, one kid made up a rap about radishes." The Freshman Core group will work with the garden project throughout their four years at Queens. This fall, the young gardeners have harvested over 30 pounds of produce to donate to Friendship Trays, a local non-profit that prepares and delivers nutritious meals to the elderly and infirm.

Queens engages with its school partner in many other ways. Students volunteer as lunch buddies, or with the afterschool program; they assist teachers during special classes like art and music; and two dozen serve as mentors to students at the school through a special partnership with Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Next semester, many Queens volunteers will support the school's Read-A-Thon through a book drive and participating each week in the Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) project. Christina is also working to bring a "super secret special guest" to Sedgefield who will inspire students to keep reading. In her role as a VISTA this year based at Queens' Center for Active Citizenship, Christina helps coordinate all this volunteer activity, visiting the school at least once a day. As the relationship becomes established, her goal is better "communicating with Sedgefield about what they want, trying to ask them."

"When I started, I didn't know I was capable of doing it, " Christina recalls. She has surprised herself. She learned much from her prior year of service as an AmeriCorps member with Boys Hope/Girls Hope, a residential program for urban, at-risk youth in Baltimore, MD. "It was an amazing experience and changed my life for sure," she declares. A flutist and music major at Stetson University, her "ultimate goal is to open my own non-profit music organization. I wanted to do a year of VISTA service so I could see all that behind-the-scenes work - all the business side, project management, volunteer management, finding resources - that you have to do in the non-profit field."

A native of central Florida, Christina had never visited Charlotte, NC before coming as a VISTA, but she's found it very hospitable. "People are so nice here!" she marvels. In her free time, Christina is active in a local church, and she enjoys taking advantage of the cultural and social events at Queens.

You can read more about the Queens-Sedgefield partnership in a VISTA VIEW post here.

APPLY NOW TO HOST A VISTA IN 2013 - 2014!

The 2013-2014 NC Campus Compact VISTA Host Site Application is now available for download. The application deadline is Feb. 22.

What do NC Campus Compact VISTAs do?

AmeriCorps VISTA members serve full-time for one year to develop or expand programs that fight poverty. NC Campus Compact VISTAs will build a campus/community partnership designed to fight poverty by meeting community needs in one of three priority areas: 

• Economic Opportunity
• Education
• Healthy Futures/ Food Security

Rather than performing direct service with clients, VISTAs undertake capacity-building activities such as: recruiting or training volunteers, writing grants and soliciting donations, creating publicity and outreach materials, conducting needs assessments or creating sustainable systems and structures.

Who can host an NC Campus Compact VISTA?

Member campuses are invited to host a VISTA in partnership with a community-based organization. Community-based organizations are also invited to host a VISTA with a member campus partner. 

Traditionally, our VISTAs serve in an office of community engagement or center for service-learning, and we support this model. But we also encourage Campus Compact liaisons to share this opportunity with other university-based departments or programs OR with key community partners who might be interested in hosting a VISTA.

If your organization currently hosts a VISTA, you can continue the same project and partnership, but you must re-apply. (You will have the option to omit some sections of the proposal.)

What is the cost to host an NC Campus Compact VISTA?

Approved host sites must pay an administrative fee of $3000 (in the first 3 years of VISTA hosting) or $6000 (in host year 4 and beyond) to NC Campus Compact by July 1, 2012. The Corporation for National and Community Service provides VISTA members with a living stipend, health benefits, and an educational award upon completion of the year of service.

Host sites must also provide supervision, office space, computer and phone access, and a small budget for work-related travel and transportation. Sites are also encouraged to provide meal or housing assistance, though such support is not required.

How can I learn more?

NC Campus Compact will conduct 2 Technical Assistance sessions for potential applicants on 1/23 at 10 AM and 1/29 at 1 PM. The sessions will be conference call/webinar format.

You will find links to application materials and more information on our VISTA Host Site page here.

Please contact Chad Fogleman via email or phone (336-278-7197) to discuss any questions related to your proposal. And be sure to review other VISTA View blog posts to see examples of VISTA work throughout the state!

VISTA Scrum

scrum [skruhm] (noun) -

1.  a Rugby play in which, typically, three members of each team line up opposite one another with a group of two and a group of three players behind them, making an eight-person, three-two-three formation on each side; the ball is then rolled between the opposing front lines, the players of which stand with arms around a teammate's waist, meeting the opponent shoulder to shoulder, and attempt to kick the ball backwards to a teammate.
2. British. a place or situation of confusion and racket; hubbub.

In November of 2012 we decided to try a new way of communicating with our VISTAs. Right before the Thanksgiving holiday we had our very first VISTA Scrum.

The idea stemmed from conversations with NC Campus Compact VISTAs from all over the state. The volunteers expressed their desire to communicate and bond with their cohort. Many also wished they could meet the group face-to-face. NC Campus Compact's response? The VISTA scrum.

Screenshot of a December Scrum

The VISTA scrum is a 30-minute, online event that happens twice a week and uses webcams and chat software to help NC Campus Compact VISTAs connect. Together they solve problems, and refine ideas in a mostly casual, occasionally loud, slightly chaotic environment. The sessions take place in a meeting room in Adobe Connect, but Skype or Google Hangouts (both of which are free) would work equally well.

Each scrum starts with a set of round robin questions:

1. What have I been working on since we last talked?
2. What do I plan to work on this week/month? or What projects/events do I have coming up?
3. What challenges or obstacles am I facing/might I face?

VISTAs are asked to reflect on their projects, examine their goals, and hold one another accountable. Sometimes this process takes the majority of the allotted 30 minutes, sometimes it goes by in a flash. The important part is not the length of time, but in the self-reflection and group accountability. Any time left is devoted to any of a wide range of subjects including MLK Day of Service preparation, reporting, resume development, and skill development.

The sessions end precisely at the 30 minute mark. If the conversation is good, participants may stay and continue, but their obligation is done at half an hour. They're busy people, their time is valuable, and nobody likes a 30 minute meeting that lasts an hour.

VISTAs are required to attend just two a month and so far the response has been positive. Some have attended every scrum and each time they have something new to contribute. The hope is that by getting to see and interact with one another, the NC Campus Compact VISTAs will feel more connected to their cohort and their projects, and treat one another as resources and allies as they continue their service.

A VISTA in Haiti

The Friday after Thanksgiving, bloated from family dinners and pale from sitting in my windowless office all semester, I embarked on a week-long journey with over 600 new friends from around the world to Haiti. Our goal? To build 100 homes for Haitians displaced by the earthquake in the community of Santo in Leogane. We had been harassing our friends, relatives, and neighbors for months to raise funds for the build, and this would be our chance to finally see our money in action and get our own hands dirty.

International service is one area of community engagement that raises mixed feelings for me and many others. I have plenty of relatives who like to remind me of the adage "charity begins at home," and I wonder whether the thousands of dollars spent to transport volunteers to another country might be put to better use funding work for locals. Aid programs in developing nations are ripe for exploitation, and participants risk becoming disaster tourists with make-work projects. Yet in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, I found myself desperately wanting to do something more than making a donation. When I'm upset and frustrated, either with personal or global issues, my first instinct is to go to work and find something to do to make things better. I wanted to wait, however, until I could find a volunteer opportunity with an organization that I trusted, that could make the best use of my skills and money, and that had already established relationships with communities in Haiti before the earthquake. I believe I found that through Habitat for Humanity.

In my first term as a VISTA, I had formed a partnership with our local Habitat affiliate while looking for service opportunities for students, and I had been impressed with their work in Durham. Habitat works worldwide to address the issue of poverty housing. In the United States, Habitat helps low-income families build, purchase, and repair their own homes. Homeowners, who apply and are selected by an advisory board of community members, provide sweat equity hours, helping to build their own homes and others in the community, and pay zero-interest mortgages. Funds are used to build more Habitat homes. The organization also provides financial education to new homeowners. Internationally, Habitat builds homes as well as providing disaster response and management and community training in construction techniques and business development. Volunteers have the opportunity to serve abroad with Habitat through the Global Village program, participating on international builds for 1-3 weeks and learning how to become advocates for affordable housing. Each year, two of Habitat for Humanity's most prominent supporters, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, serve for a week to bring attention to this critical need. Our trip marked the 29th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project and was the second year the project took place in Haiti.

Teams from Houses 703-706, homeowners Hones Sainsulme and Katorsky Dupre, and President and Mrs. Carter.

 When we landed in Port-au-Prince, I was shocked by the state of the city. Even more shocking still were comments from returning volunteers, who assured me that conditions looked much improved. Homes, businesses, schools, and churches had been reassembled from crumbling walls, aid agency tarps, and pieces of tin. Waste is everywhere, as no facilities or services exist to deal with sanitation issues in most areas. During the day, most people sat outside along the streets to stay cool, as tents quickly reach over 100 degrees F after the sun rises. Leogane, the epicenter of the earthquake and the location of our camp and build site, lies approximately 25 miles from Port-au-Prince. My morning commute from Raleigh to Durham at a similar distance takes me about 30 minutes. In Haiti, this drive took three hours due to poor road conditions.

Housing by the bay, between Port-au-Prince and Leogane

A United Nations canal project, Port-au-Prince

The community of Santo, where we were building, was established by families who fled the city of Leogane and set up camp in an abandoned sugar cane field. Many were afraid to return to the city and what was left of their homes after the earthquake, fearing aftershocks and future tremors would cause what was left of buildings to crumble. Over the course of the week, volunteers worked side-by-side with these families, building 100 homes to add to the 155 constructed the previous year. Future homeowners were chosen by a community council, who selected those who were most in need. Like in the United States, these families will receive training in financial literacy and home maintenance, and they must provide sweat equity hours, however their homes were fully funded by donations and they will receive them at no cost. Habitat has worked with the Haitian government to secure a 100-year lease on the land where the community is being built, as property rights are often contentious due to a lack of proper documentation and an overabundance of corruption. The master plan for the community also includes a school, market, and activity field, which Habitat is seeking funding to complete.

Volunteers arrive at the build site, Santo

Although I went on the trip for a chance to give back, I found myself continually blessed with new knowledge gained, new Haitian friends, and a renewed drive for my work back home. Souvenirs also included a wicked sunburn, busted boots, and more bandanas and mosquito bites than I can count. This journey was perhaps once in a lifetime for me, as I'll never get rich on a non-profit salary and there's not a lot of fun in fundraising, but the renewed drive to fight poverty in all its forms is a gift that will sustain me through the rest of my term. For more information about Habitat's work in Haiti, and photos and video from the project, visit http://www.habitat.org/cwp/2012

#cultureshock

In this post Rachel, NC Campus Compact VISTA Leader , reflects on her experiences attending two consecutive Pre-Service Orientation events.

Every AmeriCorps volunteer goes through a week of off-site training called Pre-Service Orientation, or PSO. The Corporation sends you to a hotel where you spend twenty-four hours a day surrounded by fellow VISTAs.

In my case, I attended regular PSO and then VISTA Leader training. I spent two weeks in Lombard, IL (a suburb of Chicago) surrounded by some of the most dedicated, hardworking, selfless people I've ever met.

During PSO we talked about what it means to be a VISTA. What it looks and feels like to be on call as a volunteer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We looked at what we’re giving up, what we’re gaining, and why we’re all taking a year (or more) of our lives to engage in service.

We discussed our projects, exchanged ideas, and connected with our fellow volunteers. Those of us doing a second, third, or even fourth year of service traded war stories, and passed along techniques for living on an extremely restricted budget.

We examined our privilege, our prejudices, and our biases. We had difficult conversations about race, gender, and poverty. We were honest. We learned and grew, and then we all went our separate ways.

I came back the next week for VISTA Leader Orientation. The group was smaller this time, 40 people instead of the almost 200 of the previous training. Most of the leaders I met had already started their service, many had already encountered some of the challenges we would later discuss in small groups. It was a quieter session, less like a pep rally and more like being part of a highly motivated think tank.

Sessions were dedicated to problem solving, mediating conflict, and addressing specific scenarios common to the VISTA Leader experience. In one group we spent several hours constructing a year-long communications plan to be used by leaders who worked with VISTAs at a distance (much like the Campus Compact model).

Once again, on a chilly Friday afternoon, we all went our separate ways. Then, a few days later I was reading the enthusiastic tweets and facebook status messages from my new friends and one of them posted simply, “#cultureshock.”

That’s when I realized how hard it can be coming back to the “real world” after a week or two of AmeriCorps immersion. The world we come back to is full of the very real, seemingly insurmountable problems we discussed at training. It’s uncomfortable. But that feeling of discomfort is important. It is that feeling which pushes us to make change. It motivates us to serve.

I came away from training with new friends, new resources, and a renewed sense of purpose. Training reminded me why I’m doing this and that I’m not alone. I’m ready to work. I’m ready to serve.

Three new VISTAs join NC Campus Compact team!

On the fateful date of 12/12/12, three new NC Campus Compact VISTAs and their site supervisors attended an orientation meeting hosted by NC Campus Compact at Wake Technical Community College. We discussed the history and mission of NC Campus Compact and AmeriCorps VISTA, principles of VISTA service, and the different ways these projects will structure their VISTA's work with key community partners. VISTAs and their supervisors also had a chance to discuss their communication preferences and work styles, and took some time to dig into their VAD, picturing long-term success and clarifying capacity-building activities.

The 12/12/12 group - won't happen again for another 100 years!

VISTA Member Jennifer Evans (Wake Tech), Erin O'Donnell (Feast Down East/UNCW), and Bevelyn Ukah (Guilford College) had met at the November PSO in Atlanta, but they were happy to come together again and to have time to talk with VISTA Leader Rachel Rogers. Check the blog in the new year for an update on these VISTAs' exploits. Thanks to all who attended, and good luck as you "fight poverty with the power of higher education" this year!

VISTA Jenn Evans with Leader Rachel Rogers

Evans and supervisor Melody Wiggins organized Wake Tech's
toy drive to benefit Helping Hand Mission.

Warren Wilson VISTA welcomes Asheville homeless home

Jacqui Trillo came to Asheville for "the sunshine," but she stayed at Warren Wilson College for the service. Now a NC Campus Compact VISTA at her alma mater, the Washington state native helps others make a home in Asheville through her work with Homeward Bound. In her role as a VISTA with Warren Wilson's Service Program, Jacqui is deepening a partnership with Homeward Bound by supporting the agency's new Welcome Home Project.

The project supports homeless people's transition to permanent housing by providing donations of furniture and household goods - everything from beds to dish towels - along with move-in assistance from student volunteers. "The reason this project is important," Jacqui says, "is it helps people get into the mentality of living in a home, rather than viewing it as a place to set up a temporary camp. The Welcome Home Project can start to give clients that sense of permanence."

Jacqui is creating and implementing systems and procedures to organize donation collections, volunteer coordination, and neighborhood outreach; and she acts as a liaison between college student leaders and the agency's case managers. She's created donation lists for the organization to post on its website and a system of online Google documents that students and agency staff use to manage donation inventory and volunteer scheduling. She is also found unused space on campus to hold excess donations for the agency, and she's organized student teams to conduct neighborhood outreach and collections each week. She's even connected volunteers from the local Junior League and nearby Mars Hill College to Homeward Bound activities.

One of the project's biggest challenges so far has been the lack of public housing units available for move-in's, as several complexes underwent renovations in September and October. But now that repairs are complete, move-in's have picked up. The project has accomplished three move-in's so far, including two last week. "It is so nice to meet the people who are moving in," she says. Jacqui expects the pace will pick up in the coming months. "We've been trying to do these all semester, and now the week before finals we are just getting going!" she laughs.

During her student days at Warren Wilson, Jacqui spent a lot of time doing community service. The college's service ethic and the "amazing, active non-profit community of Asheville" drew her to school as a transfer before her junior year. When the Dean of Service, Cathy Kramer, asked Jacqui last spring if she'd be interested in the VISTA position, the former Girl Scout didn't hesitate: "I'd been doing service for so long, it made total sense." Asked what it's like to serve at her alma mater, she replies, "It's funny. I thought it would be more of a challenge than it turned out to be. My prior connections with staff and faculty have been really helpful to build trust quickly. And even though I'm still a recent grad, the students honor that distinction. I don't feel like a student at all - it's really different working full-time."

Jacqui still finds time for some fun, usually involving Netflix or eating. "Mela's Indian buffet on Saturday is one of my favorite things in Asheville," she says. "So good, pretty cheap, and lots of vegetarian food!" Over the holidays, Jacqui will be heading home herself, traveling back to her hometown of Burien, Washington to spend time with her family. She's looking forward to her favorite holiday desert, her mom's "Mexican Wedding Cake" cookies.

In the spring, Jacqui is looking forward to more move-in's, to learning more about public policy related to Asheville's 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, and to facilitating new campus and community connections with Homeward Bound. "My goal," Jacqui says, "is to leave behind a system where no VISTA is needed to connect Warren Wilson students with Homeward Bound, and student volunteers and case managers sustain the relationship."