We have the first letter of AmeriCorps spelled! That means $100 has been donated to support AmeriCorps programs in Nevada. We are grateful for your generous support!!! Now we need to get the next letter... so who wants to help…
Amass for AmeriCorps! Update from the field, December 2, 2010
“I have developed a stronger sense of pride to continuously see the people of our cities, our communities, and our families led on a positive path to well-being.”
Meet Erick Alcantar, an AmeriCorps member currently serving his second year at HELP of Southern Nevada through the United Way of Southern Nevada AmeriCorps program. Erick is responsible for case managing, housing, and providing wraparound services to homeless families.
His latest success was with a gentleman on his caseload who is a single father, taking care of his two young daughters. The father was in desperate need of eyeglasses. Erick was able to coordinate with the Lion’s Sightfirst Foundation, who was able to provide his client with an eye exam, as well as new set of glasses.
Erick was recently recognized during October at the 2010 Points of Light Volunteer Recognition Luncheon for his time, talent, and effort as a Nevada volunteer. (more…)
Amass for AmeriCorps! Update from the field, November 30, 2010
Full bellies, good grades, and smiles drive Genesis Vazquez, one of the 340 passionate AmeriCorps members who serve at 77 organizations through Nevada Volunteers. As we reflect on last week’s national day of Thanksgiving, we’d like to introduce you to Genesis and her AmeriCorps experience.
Genesis serves with Boys and Girls Club through the Luz Community Development Coalition in Las Vegas. She provides Leadership and Resiliency trainings for youth participants. She recently implemented a new program called “Girls Circle,” targeting teen girls by facilitating an open discussion about various topics that are currently impacting their lives.
Going beyond her AmeriCorps duties, Genesis is also heavily involved in the community. As a volunteer for the Latin Chamber of Commerce, she has been responsible for organizing a week-long conference for the Chamber’s Latino Youth Leadership initiative. In October, Genesis was appointed by Governor Gibbons as Youth Commissioner for Nevada Volunteers. She is also a sociology student at the College of Southern Nevada. (more…)
November 26, 2010
This week, Nevada Volunteers so proudly shared a tremendous AmeriCorps member’s story with you. It is our goal to continue to showcase inspiring and successful AmeriCorps stories with you this holiday season so that you can see why we are so proud and thankful for each AmeriCorps member and each AmeriCorps program in Nevada.
Some of you might be wondering, what is AmeriCorps?
AmeriCorps is a national service program that provides Americans of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds with unique opportunities to offer intensive full and part-time service in their communities.
What do AmeriCorps members exactly do?
AmeriCorps members help grassroots organizations to meet education, environmental, public safety and other human needs. AmeriCorps members gain new skills and experiences — and find the satisfaction that comes from helping others.
In addition, full-time members (1700 hours) who complete their service earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $5,350 to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back qualified student loans; members who serve part-time receive a partial award. Some AmeriCorps members may also receive a modest living allowance during their term of service. (more…)
Amass For AmeriCorps!
This holiday season, Nevada Volunteers is launching “Amass for AmeriCorps” to share inspirational stories of AmeriCorps members and their service we are so thankful for.
Meet Melanie Christiansen, AmeriCorps member with the United Way of Southern Nevada. Melanie spent the last twelve months as the Homeless Outreach Coordinator at Central Christian Church in Henderson, Nevada.
“Deep in my heart I know that serving homeless people has become my passion. I’ve forged strong and supportive relationships with men, women and children who have lost their homes. Through AmeriCorps, I have witnessed a little bit of my city change for the better. I’ve witnessed homeless people begin to put their lives back together. I’ve witnessed myself learn compassion. AmeriCorps has changed my life.”
We at Nevada Volunteers are thankful for AmeriCorps members like Melanie, who have learned that giving to others also enriches ourselves. From Nevada Volunteers, a big thank you to the 341 AmeriCorps members like Melanie serving the Silver State! (more…)
Nevada's Parasol Foundation AmeriCorps program has taken first place honors in the national 2010 AmeriCorps Getting Things Done Video Contest! We are so proud of them! We want to congratulate Jaime Olive, Vince Camiolo, Katy Washington of the PTCF AmeriCorps…
How do you describe it? The impact volunteering has—not on the person who receives the help, but on the volunteer. Volunteering is good for your health, good for your resume, but there is also an emotional charge that comes with service which can uplift you in profound and transformative ways. That feeling is at the heart of one of the stories a young volunteer named Kevin told me.
Kevin, one of our UNR student work group participants, was an AmeriCorps member before entering college, working with inner-city kids in Philadelphia. He was fresh out of high school and had no idea what to study, so he decided to give back through a national service program. One of the boys Kevin had worked extra hard to encourage took him aside one day to ask his advice, and in the course of the conversation, the boy told Kevin, “Wow, you are so smart. You are my hero.” (more…)
My VISTA journey is almost done and something wonderful has happened. I have finally completed one of my primary goals of my VISTA year. It is a simple thing, a website update, but it has pushed me far beyond what I expected when I began as a VISTA last August. I was not a technical person. I knew virtually nothing about websites, Facebook, videos, blogs, Photoshop. I am a storyteller, though, and this was a new medium for me to explore. I was game for it.
And so I kept learning, figuring things out, making slow progress. Every webinar that seemed to apply, I was on it. Every Google link that might provide useful information, I went there. I kept what Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, calls a growth mindset (as opposed to a fixed mindset). I understood that success would be built on lots of failures as part of the learning experience, but eventually I would become technically savvy. With each new thing I accomplished, I amazed my kids… How did Mom do that? I am not a wizard at any of this to be sure. Often I resort to muddling through, but I want so much to tell the story of volunteering and service that I’ve kept going. (more…)
Here is an excellent book for anyone interested in change, whether it is social change, organizational change, or even change at the individual level. The book is:
SWITCH: How to Change Things When Change is Hard
By Chip and Dan Heath
This book is a good summation of recent findings in behavioral psychology about how to be effective when trying to make change happen. Written in a story-driven style, it is an easy read. It takes the research and creates practical guidelines for applying what you read to real-life situations. I have read several of these books and this is the most useful one I have come across.
Throughout the book, a simple but powerful metaphor for our dualistic minds, comprised of the rational and the emotional parts of the brain, guides the narrative. The rational brain is the rider on the back of a very large elephant, our emotional mind, and the trick is understanding how to work with both these sides of people to make sure change happens. According to the Heath brothers, you must direct the rider with clear instructions, motivate the elephant to gain its cooperation, and shape the path the two are traveling on. The book gives lots of examples of how to accomplish this feat. (more…)
Stephanie reports on the student surveys for the Advisory Committee.
It’s the end of the college year for students on Nevada campuses and also time to wrap up the student work groups that Nevada Volunteers organized at colleges across the state for their Higher Education Initiative. Stephanie has been part of this initiative to inspire more students to become involved in their surrounding communities, and she has been quite busy building a bridge.
Stephanie is a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, and received her undergraduate degree in Massachusetts at a college that required at least 40 hours of community service to graduate. There were resources on that campus directed toward helping students meet the requirement, but Nevada colleges and universities have no such requirement. Stephanie says of Nevada, “I see the bridge that needs to be built between the campus and nonprofits, and it feels good to be working toward building that bridge.” (more…)