National Service in the News for Thursday, March 23, 2017.
Sprague Homeowners Continue to Fight Flood
Waters
KREM-TV (WA), March 22, 2107
Homeowners and city leaders in Sprague continued to fight off flood waters on
Wednesday. It’s the second time Tina Amrine's basement has flooded in the last
month from the nearby creek. She said the water in her basement was highest at
31 inches and has since gone down to about 28 inches. Over the weekend 17
AmeriCorps volunteers with the Washington State Department of Ecology
reinforced sand bags barriers around homes. For now the people of Sprague are
doing what they can until the flooding subsides.
Source Spotlight: Emma Anderson
The Bend Source (OR), March 22, 2107
Emma Anderson enthusiastically declares it was Saving Grace that brought her to Bend. Five and a half years ago, she
was fresh out of the University of Oregon where she studied psychology and
women and gender studies, when she began working for Saving Grace. She was
hired as part of the AmeriCorps program and started doing prevention work in
local middle and high schools, talking to students about dating violence and
what healthy relationships look like. Since then, she has evolved into a victim advocate and the volunteer
program coordinator who oversees close to 90 volunteers.
Small Wonder
Baltimore Style (MD), March 22, 2017
When interior designer Adrianne Kotula first laid eyes on the
stripped-bare inside of the 200-square-foot tiny house, she thought, “It was
pretty drab—a lot of earth tones with no pops of color. It almost looked like a
dorm room. Of course, it’s a tiny space; I’m thinking, ‘What can I do to make
it look larger?’” Kotula’s bigger challenge: transform the unfurnished, unadorned
space of the sustainable, portable, cute-as-a-button-able home— built by the
Baltimore nonprofit Civic Works—into something livable. “It’s affordable, it’s
sustainable and it’s very environmentally friendly,” explains Dana Stein,
executive director of Civic Works, as well as a delegate representing Baltimore
County’s District 11 in the General Assembly.
First Book: Mario Batali Foundation
celebrates its Triple Initiative to Invest in Boston’s Children with Programs
Focused on Literacy and Nutrition
Press Release, March 22, 2017
The Mario
Batali Foundation has made three major grants to improve literacy and nutrition
for children in need in the Boston area.
Kicking off the MBF initiative on Friday, March 31st at the Action for Boston Community
Development's Geneva Avenue Head
Start program in Dorchester, the Mario Batali Foundation and its three
grantees -- Books for Kids, First Book and FoodCorps - will join together to present the
programs being implemented and expanded in Boston with
this funding. FoodCorps connects kids to healthy food in school. Its team of
AmeriCorps leaders serve in high-need schools to make sure students learn what
healthy food is, fall in love with it, and eat it every day.
Nation of Immigrants: How Biloxi’s Best
Hanh Mi Rose in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
Munchies, March 22, 2017
Six months after Katrina made landfall,
Le Bakery was one of the first establishments to reopen. “We had a line of
people out the door. It was an amazing,” says owner Sue Nguyen-Torjusen. Sue
Nguyen-Torjusen and her husband were some of the first civilians to return to
Biloxi, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Cops, Vietnamese immigrants, and AmeriCorps volunteers
lined up for the cream cheese turnovers coated in chocolate or stuffed with
lemon filling. I spent two months living in a trailer in a field in the middle
of town, working demolition jobs.
Young People
from Florida, are you Interested in becoming FEMA Ambassadors?
The
el Nuevo Harald (FL), March 22, 2017
Florida youth interested in learning how to
handle emergency situations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
also have the opportunity to obtain money to pay their student loans through
one of the two national programs offered by that agency. The programs are the National Youth Preparatory Council and FEMA Corps,
Nuevo Larald Daniel Llargués, FEMA's national Hispanic media spokesperson, told
the New Herald on Wednesday.
Volunteer
of the Month March 2017: Sarah Barnard – Syracuse Habitat for Humanity Re-Store
The Eagle News (NY), March 22, 2017
After working for an architecture firm in
Syracuse for four years Sarah felt that she was missing something. She said,
“After nearly four years as an intern architect, and my involvement with AIA
CNY, I felt a strong desire to move beyond the office and return to the feeling
of ‘helping people,’ much as I had done in my time as a chiropractic assistant
after college. This desire led to my decision to serve as an
AmeriCorps VISTA with Syracuse Habitat for Humanity.”
Church
Members help out After Natural Disasters
The Oakland
Press (MI), March 23, 2017
A group representing the Southeast Michigan
Association of Congregational Churches returned earlier this month from a
week-long trip to Baton Rouge. The dozen men and women included members from
North Congregational Church in Farmington Hills and Meadowbrook Congregational
Church in Novi. The group stayed at Camp Restore, a facility for volunteers.
The Congregationalist volunteers worked with SBP, a nonprofit, long-term
disaster recovery organization that begun in 2006 in the wake of Katrina.
Initially focused on helping to rebuild New Orleans, SBP (formerly St. Bernard
Project) is now national in scope, helping with the recovery in Baton Rouge and
elsewhere. Members of AmeriCorps supervised the on-site work.
Ann Marie’s All Stars: City Year Detroit
WXYZ-TV (MI), March 22, 2017
A
team of young people are dedicating their lives to making sure each student in
Detroit has a mentor and friend. City Year corps members don't make much money
and they work long hours, but the results show and their help is making a
dramatic difference for students in Detroit Public Schools. “Our corps members,
they’re all 18-25, they commit to one year to be there every single day for
students and they’re building the one on one relationships with students,”
Andrew Stein of City Year Detroit said. Each morning 71 City Year Detroit Corp
members head into Detroit Public Schools dedicated to improving the lives and
education of students.
Jessica
Lilly and Roxy Todd – Featured Speakers at WV Wesleyan Conference
West Virginia Public Broadcasting,
March 22, 2017
Jessica Lilly and Roxy
Todd, two of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s award-winning reporters, will
be keynote speakers at The ENGAGE Conference of Leadership for Change.
The conference will be held on Saturday, March 25, at West Virginia
Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV. Roxy Todd is a producer for Inside
Appalachia. She's originally from Tennessee and moved to West Virginia in 2010
to work as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, collecting oral histories for a
project called Traveling 219. She has worked for West Virginia Public
Broadcasting since 2014.
Charlie Octopus is a Charmer
The World (OR), March 22, 2017
Charlie is an octopus rubescens, or red octopus,
said Dani Miller, an AmeriCorps member and marine science exploration mentor.
She recognized Charlie as an octopus rubescens when she looked at him through a
magnifying glass. “We
were a little confused on his species,” she said, “but underneath his eye there
are three little flaps that look like eyelashes, and that’s one way to
differentiate him/her from a giant Pacific octopus.” That was back in June of last year, when Charlie
hitchhiked into the Center on a piece of kelp brought in to feed some sea
urchins.
Governor Cuomo
Encourages New Yorkers to Sign Up for the Sixth Annual “I Love My Park” Day
Press
Release, March 23, 2017
Volunteers will celebrate New York’s public lands by cleaning up debris,
planting trees and gardens, restoring trails and wildlife habitats, removing
invasive species, and working on various site improvement projects. The New York State Commission on Volunteer
and Community Service is joining
the effort again this year to help recruit volunteers, promote the initiative
and provide support to projects across the state. Members of the New York State
Excelsior Conservation Corps, a New York State AmeriCorps program run by the
Student Conservation Association, will help State Parks organize and implement
I Love My Park Day projects.
Federal Budget Crunch Would Affect West Virginia Programs
The Exponent Telegram (WV), March 22, 2017
President Donald Trump’s federal budget
blueprint could affect several North Central West Virginia programs if revenue
cuts are indeed made. Budgetary cuts to AmeriCorps (Energy Express), Head
Start, Meals on Wheels and the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program have
already been discussed. Energy Express AmeriCorps Coordinator John Lyonett said
the potential for funding elimination or cuts would greatly affect the
summertime reading and nutrition program. Energy Express plans to conduct
operations at 85 sites across 40 West Virginia counties this summer.
Gazette Editorial: Charleston will Miss
Obie Henderson
The Charleston Gazette-Mail (WV),
March 23, 2017
Obi Henderson was a Charleston asset. He came
from a violence-torn Chicago neighborhood, graduated from college and came to
Charleston as an AmeriCorps trainee. He encountered trouble and wound up in a
homeless shelter. Undeterred, he turned his life around, started a
people-helping charity and was the incoming president of the Kiwanis Club of
West Charleston. His death in a Monday night car crash leaves the capital city poorer. He
is missed.
Volunteers Spruce up Gaston Point
WXXV-TV (MS), March 23, 2017
Hundreds of volunteers spent hours in the heat
in an effort to spruce up the Gaston Point community.
Over 100 volunteers from Climb CDC, the Gulf
Coast Community Design Studio and the Gulfport Police Department participated
in a community build at the Gaston Point Family Entertainment Center. Teams
built garden benches, a community news board, and planted eggplants, tomatoes,
peppers and herbs. Organizers say the project aims to introduce the
community to healthy eating and farm to table concept. Climb CDC CEO Stephanie
Mathes said, “But mostly it’s about our students and the AmeriCorps program
members to be able to have a footprint and to invest in their community.”
Community Service Coordinator Wins State
Award
Press Release, March 22, 2017
Ryan Lazo of Washington State
University is the 2017 recipient of a state award for an alumnus/a of the
federal AmeriCorps volunteer service program. The community partnerships
coordinator for WSU's Center for Civic Engagement since 2015, Lazo began his
year as an AmeriCorps volunteer at CCE in 2014 coordinating the Palouse Fresh
Food Project.
March 2017 RSVP Volunteer of the Month
The Chief (OR), March 21, 2017
Congratulations to Donna Harmon. She was selected to be RSVP’s Volunteer of the Month for March. Donna is a dedicated volunteer, and has been volunteering at Turning Point Food Bank in Clatskanie for almost 10 years. According to Linda Jonasson, acting director, “We just appreciate her. We love seeing her smile every time she comes in. We miss her otherwise. We really enjoy Donna.” Per Anita Laing with the Turning Point Board of Directors, “We couldn’t get along without volunteers like her. We really do appreciate all her service.” Joan Blennerhassett said, “I just love working with her.” Donna was surprised at her award.
Ring-a-ding-ding. Cops call daily to check on seniors
The Philadelphia Inquirer (PA), March 21, 2017
Living alone can be tough for seniors. Some don’t have family nearby to check on them, and they worry that if they fall or suffer a medical emergency and can't get to the phone to seek help, no one will know. That’s why hundreds of police agencies in small towns, suburbs and rural areas across the country are checking in on seniors who live alone by offering them a free automated phone call every day. Police officials say the computerized calling systems, which are fairly inexpensive and easy to use, provide an important service to a growing senior population that is expected to reach 65 million by 2025. Already, nearly half of women age 75 and older live alone.
Agencies that
Serve Area Seniors Wary of Trump’s Budget
The News-Gazette (IL), March 22, 2017
Three big potential losers
in the budget are RSVP, a program that matches senior volunteers who have time
to give with agencies that need the help; meal programs for senior citizens;
and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Susan Real, executive
director of the East Central Area Agency on Aging, said a nearly 18 percent cut
in Health and Human Services could effectively force a reduction of more than
100,000 annual meals served to older adults in 16 area counties.
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