Support from the Top, but it takes each one of Us

by Amanda Martin

Public service has been a priority for many of our past presidents.

FDR started the Civilian Conservation Corps, JFK created the Peace Corps, and Lyndon B. Johnson fulfilled JFK’s dream of a domestic Peace Corps by creating VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America).

In his 1989 Inaugural address, George H.W. Bush said, “I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding.” And it goes on. He created the Commission on National and Community Service to support his service agenda.

Then President Clinton started the AmeriCorps program, which is increasingly growing in popularity.

Most recently, President Obama signed the Kennedy Serve America act into law, boosting the budget for AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service, launching the United We Serve Campaign, and making civic engagement central to his presidency.

Thanks to support from the national level, in recent years we’ve seen record surges in American volunteering. Schools engage their students in service learning, businesses support employee volunteering, and industries such as the entertainment industry shine the spotlight on service.

Michelle Nunn, the CEO of the Points of Light Institute, leaves us with this thought from her blog on the Huffington Post Impact page:

“With challenges like unemployment, the drop-out crisis, prisoner reentry and environmental degradation looming across our communities, the call to citizens to step up and make a difference has never been more important.

Stage One: service through government. Stage Two: service through community. And now Stage Three: Service central to our national priorities.

Twenty years after Bush’s Points of Light, Obama’s call to service comes not a moment too soon.”

Photos and Cutlines for Publications

Printable Version Here –>Photos and Cutlines

Photos and Cutlines                                                                         Tanner Francisco

Photo illustration by Tanner Francisco.

The student run organization, Students in Action, invites high school and college students to volunteer within their community.  Students in Action is associated with the Volunteer Center of Story County. The office is located at 130 S. Sheldon Avenue just west of Campustown in Ames in the Collegiate Methodist Annex building. As the need continues to rise, Students in Action believes that everyone should volunteer to help their neighbors just by giving them their time and attention.

Photo illustration by Tanner Francisco.

Students in Action is a student-run organization founded on volunteerism and community service. The organization benefits Ames by assisting with charity such as meal programs as well as litter removal and landscaping in Ames’ parks. Every month high school and college students participate in at least one volunteering activity. Volunteers assisting with parks around Ames gives the community a pleasant and affordable place to go with their families. Picking up trash and litter frees up significant funding which can then be spent on more philanthropic ways.

Printable Version Here –>Photos and Cutlines

Fact Sheet for Students in Action

Downloadable and Printable Version Here and at Bottom of the Page

Fact Sheet — Students in Action

Students in Action

Fact Sheet

• The Ames community is not immune to the financial crisis our country is facing.

• Fifty percent of the Ames population are college students.

• Students have the energy and expertise to help others through volunteering.

• Few students volunteer except when they will get academic credit for it.

• Want to help others but can’t afford to donate to charity?          Volunteer!

• Volunteerism and community service goes beyond helping one person at a time. It gives people someone to admire and inspires them to help others too.

• Students in Action gives high school and college students in Story County the opportunity to develop leadership skills, volunteer experience, and philanthropic behavior while helping people their community.

• President Obama is calling to us to volunteer in our communities and strengthen our interpersonal and community ties.

• Your time, service, and compassion are more valuable than you will ever know without putting them to use. Increased volunteerism on the part of ISU students can greatly influence the Ames community.

• Now is the time for Action.

Fact Sheet — Students in Action

Memo Template with Letterhead for Members

Volunteer Center Letterhead Memo Template by T.Francisco

Attached is a memo template I created with a letterhead of the Volunteer Center’s “red heart” logo. Just fill in Your name and Your information and you are good to go. Feel free to use this for school assignments or when communicating between and within the organization.

–Tanner

Volunteer Center Letterhead Memo Template by T.Francisco

Remembering volunteering as a family

I have fond memories of volunteering as a child with my family. Every Christmas my family and I would volunteer at our church, organizing gifts from our Adopt a Family tree and delivering them to the families. I remember the looks on some of the kids when we brought them gifts – they were so excited.
My mom has worked at a nursing home my whole life, so I also would go and visit with the residents and have piano recitals there. It was so natural because it was just like going to work with my mom, but in a way it was volunteering. These values have been ingrained in me since I was a young child.

The Points of Light Institute says volunteering as a family is so important, that they created a whole National Day of Service for it. Family Volunteer Day falls the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year, and organizations around the country hold service projects for families to become engaged in their communities.

In Story County, families will have the opportunity to decorate pots and plant tulip bulbs in them. The plants will then be donated to a local nursing home and to Meals on Wheels recipients to help brighten someone’s day during the holidays.

The project will take place Saturday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Click here for more information. Hope to see you there with your family, friends or co-workers!

-Amanda Martin

Support from the Top, but it takes each one of Us

by Amanda Martin

Public service has been a priority for many of our past presidents.

FDR started the Civilian Conservation Corps, JFK created the Peace Corps, and Lyndon B. Johnson fulfilled JFK’s dream of a domestic Peace Corps by creating VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America).

In his 1989 Inaugural address, George H.W. Bush said, “I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding.” And it goes on. He created the Commission on National and Community Service to support his service agenda.

Getting Things Done

I am super excited to welcome two new AmeriCorps VISTAs to the Volunteer Center office. Trish and Laura started 2 weeks ago and have been getting their feet wet and figuring out what they’re going to do all year.

Whenever I’m speaking with groups I ask who has heard of AmeriCorps VISTA, and two or three hands usually go up. Then I ask who has heard of the Peace Corps, and almost every hand shoots up. So, I like to explain VISTA as the domestic Peace Corps. We commit to one year of service (or 2 years, in some cases such as mine). VISTA stands for Volunteers in Service to America, and is focused on eliminating poverty. We do capacity building at an organization, rather than direct service. (There are other AmeriCorps programs, like NCCC, that focus on direct service).

The Volunteer Center has been really fortunate to have VISTAs supporting the office the past few years. Heather and I leave in December, but I’m excited to have these two months of overlapping time where we can all work together. Volunteerism is growing tremendously and it is such an exciting time to be a part of a national service program and in the heart of things at a Volunteer Center.

Anyway, Laura and Trish will probably be blogging on here from time to time, so we’ll be sure to sign our names so you know who is talking. As always, if you have any comments or want to guest blog, let us know!

- Amanda Martin

9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance

by Amanda Martin

This year, we commemorate the first September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, inspired Americans to come together in a remarkable spirit of unity and compassion.

In April, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which among many other wonderful things, officially recognizes Sept. 11 as a Day of Service and Remembrance.
This year, the President is asking all Americans to remember that day eight years ago and recommit to service in their communities throughout the year.

Between now and Sept. 11, please visit our virtual open house to see how you can get involved. Just go to www.vcstory.org to read a special message from Volunteer Center staff, and find volunteer opportunities that you would be interested in signing up for. While you’re there, participate in an online scavenger hunt for a chance to win a volunteer gift basket!

If you’re already doing great work, we’d love to hear your stories. Send them to info@vcstory.org.

9/8/2009

Teens Rock!

by Christina Blakley
By the age of 15, I had already fallen ‘in love’ with a senior in my high school, tripped in front of that senior in my cheerleading uniform and had that senior informed of my crush by a ‘well-intended’ upperclassmen.

Remember when you where 15?

Check out Taylor Swift’s video for @15 about her life when she was 15.

@15 is an initiative by Best Buy to inspire teens to have a voice in their community. Why? Because teens have opinions that should and need to be heard. They have the power to influence and create change in their communities if given the resources and necessary support.

Isolation

by Christina Blakley

Last night I was at a dinner at a local church where people from all over Ames can come for a free meal and a support group. The support group helps those in poverty build community and share resources.

I sat at a random table where I didn’t know a single person sitting at my table. All of them were around my age, a few looked in their 20s, another few were high schoolers and the rest younger. Perhaps because of the age similarity, I thought it would be easy to sit down and have a conversation with them.

What happened is that it brought back terrible memories of being the new girl in school. Sitting there awkwardly while everyone else around you is ignoring you and having their own conversation.

If you’ve ever been new to a place or new group, you can hopefully remember the feeling–it’s terrible isn’t it?