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