New Beginnings

New Beginnings

“And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” - Meister Eckhart, German theologian & philosopher

July has come and gone! It was full of wrapping up the Youth Ambassador program, staffing the Photovoice Bennington County viewings, creating an End of Service presentation, and working on the Legacy Manual for VISTA year 2, and recruiting for new VISTAs who will be coming to Bennington to fill our positions at the beginning of September! We had our final SerVermont training on July 23rd and it was a bittersweet experience. It was emotional to say farewell to my SerVermont friends. Nicole and I gave our End of Service presentation to our group and got to hang out with ladies who have been with us since our service began. 

Tomorrow is our final day of my AmeriCorps VISTA contract and I will miss the amazing people I have met along this journey. I will also miss the beauty of Vermont, especially the mountain vistas I've been able to enjoy throughout my time here.

I still haven't seen a moose but I am hopeful I will see one in the future! :) 

Thank you for reading this blog :) Thank you to my colleagues at Southwestern Vermont Health Care for helping me grow this year. Thank you to the SerVermont VISTAs and the SerVermont staff; it has been a pleasure to serve with you! A huge thank you goes out to the entire community of Bennington for being welcoming and supportive of all of our projects especially the I Have a Dream Community Service Day, Beautify Bennington & the Youth Appreciation, and Photovoice Bennington County. 

I am grateful for the VISTA experience and the chance to building capacity by working with community partners to develop projects. Above all, I am grateful for the wonderful friendships and relationships I have had the opportunity to create. 

Here's to a new adventure! 

Catching up!

Catching Up

April Showers! Oh Wait... I meant May Showers & June Showers...

May and June were very rainy up here in Vermont! A record amount of rain fell in this area & it even rained on our Photovoice opening! 

May and June were mainly spent working on the Photovoice Bennington County exhibit, Way to Go initiative, wrapping up ACT and transition planning. ACT promoted the Way to Go initiative from May 13-17. Way to Go is an initiative put forth each year by the Vermont Agency of Transportation to encourage Vermonters to use alternative modes of transportation and cut down on carbon emissions. Throughout May we also worked on wrapping up the Youth Ambassador Program by supporting the Youth Ambassadors through their last health education project and coordinating a recognition event.

We received an enormous amount of community support for the Photovoice Bennington County project. We are very grateful for the sponsors and everyone who was able to attend the Exhibit Opening on June 7! I was blown away by the quality of the photographs the participants submitted for the exhibit. Over 50 youth participants from throughout the county participated in this collaborative art project. The exhibit featured work from: Arlington Memorial, Mount Anthony Union High School & Middle School, Teens for Change youth outreach group, and The Collaborative after-school group. The Photovoice method is a form of participatory action research that utilizes photography and is used globally as a means of empowering people to speak their truths about the world in which they live.

The goals of the project were to:
- Amplify the voices of youth in our communities
- Engage youth in the process of identifying what aspects of their communities enhance or hinder their ability to live vibrant, healthy lifestyles
- Empower youth to advocate for their health and the health of our communities.

We were able to have the exhibit up through July - every week we chose a different week day - and the last viewing was on Friday, August 2nd as part of the First Fridays in downtown Bennington.

It was wonderful to see the participants and their families enjoy their work being shown in a community space! I hope that each participant was proud to share their observations and their stories! :)  

                                                                                  

Global Youth Service Day - Beautify Bennington & Youth Appreciation Celebration

Pictures from Global Youth Service Day

 Beautify Bennington & Youth Appreciation Celebration

Youth Appreciation Celebration Reading of the State Resolution declaring Saturday, April 27th as Youth Appreciation Day in the State of Vermont!

Nicole & Me :)

The wonderful band from Bennington College that played during the Youth Appreciation Celebration

Nicole, Ali, Kevin & Me

Volunteers ready to go beautify Bennington!

Teens for Change Volunteers!

The crowd at the Youth Appreciation Celebration

Volunteers beautifying Bennington's downtown district

Volunteers beautifying Bennington's downtown district

Volunteers from the Cadets beautifying Bennington's downtown district

Registration at the TD Bank parking lot

Volunteers beautifying Bennington's downtown district

Maple March & Appreciation April

Maple March

Hi Everyone! It has been another long break from blogging again...

Maple March was fantastic and busy! There was so much happening! Our programs continued along very well. The Photovoice groups took pictures and and prepared for the last few months before the June 7th exhibit! In addition, the Youth Ambassadors continued to work on their awareness projects! They chose to pursue projects in raising awareness for Nutrition Month, Stress Awareness Month, and Better Sleep Month. The Youth Ambassadors also helped recruit volunteers and spread the word for the Beautify Bennington Global Youth Service Day event.

A great friend of mine, Emily, came to visit at the beginning of the month and we got to see some maple sugaring occur at the Sugar Shack in Arlington, VT. That was a grand adventure. While March wasn't all that warm, some days were nice and Nicole and I got ready for Spring. A trip to Penn State for a visit made March great too! Easter came and went and it was great to be able to spend it with my family! 

Nicole and I spent March getting ready for Global Youth Service Day on April 27th! Which brings us to Appreciation April! :)

Appreciation April

Global Youth Service Day is the largest community service event in the world and over 100 countries participate in it every year! For more information: www.gysd.org. The event we coordinated in Bennington was the "Beautify Bennington" community service day held on April 27th from 1-4pm. This was an early "Green Up Vermont" day where over 100 community members of all ages came out to serve together by picking up litter, cleaning up sidewalks and storefronts, and beautifying the River walk. Volunteers were encouraged to pre-register with Nicole and were asked to bring rakes, brooms, and water bottles. 

This event would not have been possible without the community support and may partnering organizations! We partnered with the Better Bennington Corporation and John Shannahan, the Town of Bennington, Bennington College's Sam Tymchyn and Sage Ober and their fantastic volunteers from the ACTS program - Advocating for Community Through Service. We also worked with Kevin and Ali, ACT volunteers, and several local sponsors to coordinate this event. This event was also made possible through the Stewart's Shops Holiday Match Program grant that the Youth Ambassador Program received. Thank you to all volunteers who participated!

The ACT coordinated a Youth Appreciation Celebration that was held on the Town Office lawn after the Beautify Bennington event at 4pm. This Youth Appreciation Celebration included a presentation of the State Resolution by state representatives - Rep. Campion & Rep. Corcoran, and the Town Proclamation by Select Board Chairman Joseph Krawczyk. These documents were created by the Career Development's Pre-law class. A President's Volunteer Service Award was presented to Cindy Krauthiem for her service to youth. And finally, a band from Bennington College played great tunes and pizza and drinks were provided to volunteers! 

It was a wonderful experience to see Bennington community members of all ages come together to honor the youth in their lives and give back to their town! I am grateful for the experience of being able to work with a diverse team of partners and volunteers on this special event. 

For more information: http://actsvhc.org/2013/04/29/beautify-bennington-greatness/

The Power of Youth and Young Adults

The Power of Youth and Young Adults

"This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."  

- Robert F. Kennedy

A hiatus is sometimes a necessity...it's been quite a while since I've posted! This post summarizes the last two months. I cannot believe that I have almost completed 7 months of service! It has been flying by! 

January was a whirlwind! Preparing for the I Have a Dream Community Service Day was time-consuming but very worthwhile! This day was the first community service day in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. held at the Bennington Armory on January 21st! It was a joy to work with our fellow VISTAs Kevin and Ali! 

To the over 50 volunteers who dedicated their day to give back, thank you! 
To the over 50 volunteers who participated in "service-to-go" (service activities designed for those who could only volunteer for a short period) over the last 4 weeks, thank you! 
To the four non-profit organizations who partnered with us to host volunteers, thank you! 
To the ten community businesses or organizations who sponsored our event, thank you! 

The event was a wonderful success that could not have been possible without the community partnerships we had the privilege to make! 
The service opportunities included: 

• preparing the cafe for the noon meal at the Meals on Wheels cafe
• painting and cleaning at the Bennington Coalition for the Homeless (BCH)
• sorting donations at a BCH emergency shelter
• painting stairs and radiator covers at the First Baptist Church.

Service-to-go activities included: 

• making activity sheets for young hospital patients
• thank you cards for National Guard members
• Valentine's Day cards for nursing facility residents.

The majority of the 50 volunteers who were engaged in the I Have a Dream Community Service Day were young adults from Southern Vermont College (SVC), and youth from Teens 4 Change, an outreach program through United Counseling Services, and the Alliance for Community Transformations Youth Ambassador Program. 

These volunteers inspire me! They gave up their day off from school to give back to their community and make a difference for a local non-profit, and they did a fantastic job! In the future, we are planning a Global Youth Service Day service event! I believe in the power of young people working together to accomplish great things and the capacity of young people to give back compassionately and to make a difference. 

Updates

My belief in the power of youth has been a driving force throughout my year of service. Throughout the process of building the Youth Ambassador Program and coordinating the Photovoice Project with Nicole, the power of youth inspired us to create programs that will amplify their voice in the community of Bennington.

Both of these projects are ramping up! The Youth Ambassadors are planning some excellent projects for National Nutrition Month (March), National Stress Awareness Month (April), and Better Sleep Month (May)! The Photovoice Project has expanded to include new partners: The Collaborative (a youth-focused coalition in the northern part of Bennington County), and Teens 4 Change.   

"We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends." - Mary McLeod Bethune

Young Adults' Impact on Economic Development

Another project I worked on in February that inspired me was focused on amplifying the young adult voice in the economic development plan for the town of Bennington. This project was accomplished through the Bennington Economic Development Steering Committee which is a committee of community members and leaders from different businesses, the education sector, and health care who are creating a plan to be adopted by the town. 

I worked with students at Southern Vermont College and members of the steering committee to generate strategies for the town's economic plan that are centered on enhancements or opportunities that young adults value. The two workshops that we facilitated for a group of students from a business class and a philanthropy class were full of excellent ideas and were quite energizing! There is a plan to have a similar workshop to gain insight from Bennington College students as well.

Because the two colleges in Bennington bring a multitude of students and visitors to the town each year, there are opportunities for economic improvement that can be unlocked by incorporating the student voice into the fabric of the culture of the town. I believe that acknowledging the value of the student voice and including strategies created by students into the plan for economic development are important first steps. 

"Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies." 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

"Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day." - Michael Josephson

It is time to welcome in the New Year! 2013 is going to be a great one! I can feel it! 

Well, a little reminiscing never hurt anyone ... 2012 was full of significant happenings: completing my last semester at Penn State, graduating, moving to a new state, navigating a long-distance relationship, taking the oath of service to become a VISTA, and starting at SVHC with a new colleague/'VISTA partner-in-crime.'  I am so grateful for these events in my life and the wonderful family and friends who have been there with me through it all!

Although there are many fantastic moments I would love to revisit in 2012, I'm looking forward to the rest of my year of service in 2013! It is amazing to me almost five months have come and gone at SVHC. I am so excited to see what Nicole and I can accomplish in the coming months!  

In our VISTA Update presentation on Dec. 13th, it was incredible to review our activities since the end of August. Our Youth Ambassador Program is progressing well. We've met with our Youth Ambassadors twice! In addition, the Festival of Trees exhibit was a success! They are wonderful young ladies, and I am looking forward to working with them until June!

The Photovoice project will be undergoing some changes in the next coming months and we are excited to see those unfold! These project teams are progressing as well: the first preview exhibit for one group was at The Brown Cow Cafe and the first blog has been unveiled. 

Our large project on the docket now is the I Have a Dream Community Service Day! The community has generously supported this event and we have engaged over twelve community organizations and local businesses in varying capacities.

January will be a busy month. I am looking forward to each day to come - I'm searching out those hidden opportunities. I will leave you a poem that speaks to the New Year. Happy New Year to all of you! May peace be yours throughout the coming year! Stay safe! Thank you for your support & thank you for reading!


For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
- T.S. Eliot

For more information about the Alliance for Community Transformations:
http://www.facebook.com/actsvhc

For more information about Southwestern Vermont Health Care:

http://svhealthcare.org/

For more information about AmeriCorps VISTA:

http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/choose/vista.asp

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays! 

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love.
- Ada V. Hendricks

It's Christmastime! Merry Christmas Eve everyone! It's that time of year when you watch The Grinch four times in one month (thanks Nicole!), decorate a real Christmas tree in the living room, bake dozens and dozens of cookies, attend multiple holiday parties at work, cook and eat delicious meals, relax, laugh and love! 

I hope that everyone is spending time with loved ones, family, friends, and enjoying the holiday season! I wish there was snow down here in Massachusetts. I'm enjoying these days spending time with my parents and siblings! May peace be yours this Christmas and throughout the New Year! I'm finding that sometimes, the holidays can be stressful, but we must remember to relax, cherish these times, and enjoy the love that surrounds us! 

I Have a Dream Community Service Day

I am currently working with Nicole, and two other VISTAs who serve in Bennington: Ali Siegel and Kevin Wandrei, on the I Have a Dream Community Service Day. This event is a day of service in Bennington held in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be held on Monday, January 21, 2013! 

Together, we have been working with over ten community agencies to put on this day of service, and have also received donations from three local businesses thus far. Our goal is to engage 25 - 50 volunteers in service in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Some of the service activities we have planned include: sorting donations at a local homeless shelter, making thank you cards for hurricane response teams and National Guard members, painting classrooms at a local church, making "have a good day" or Valentine's day cards for nursing facility residents, putting together activity books for children in the hospital, and helping in the Meals on Wheels cafe to prep the kitchen. 

In addition, the Youth Ambassadors have also been helping in the process of coordinating the day of service and will be attending and each of them will be bringing a peer, family member, or friend! With continual support from SVHC, the Alliance for Community Transformations, and several other community organizations, we are hoping the event will be very successful!

I'll leave you with another poem! Have a wonderful holiday!

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words on repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow