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! :)