The Month of Giving

After taking a week off of working for a trip home, it was hard to jump back into the day to day office work. It has been nice to be back in the land of mountains. Living in the valley keeps me fulfilled and grounded. The winter has definitely arrived; snow kept me company on my walk to work this week, and it was so cold that at one point one of my tears froze on my face! It is still quite magical though, and hopefully I will be able to brave the entire winter. Everyone is getting ready for Christmas, and I have been blasting my alternative Christmas mix throughout my house. It is nice to have snow and holiday spirit.

WRAPPING UP THE SEMESTER: Work has simmered down a bit, and my responsibilities are all very future oriented. I am currently working on time-lines and getting the smaller details in order to start focusing on the major events I have to plan next semester. It is a strange calm right now, because normally I am used to final exams and having so much work that Christmas Break is a nice time to simmer down. Right now although I do have regular daily tasks, it just feels as though December will be the calm before the storm that the end of January will bring. I am working on starting a creative writing contest among members which I am excited about and hope will work out. In addition, i'm beginning to plan a training for leaders in February which is my next challenge. For now though I work 9-5 in the office. Mondays and Wednesdays I spend at the YMCA tutoring kids which is a blast. I've been looking for other tasks at work like shopping for the veterans our office has adopted, really anything that can get me out of the office for a while.

A MONTH OF SELF IMPROVEMENT: This month I am able to focus on reaching some of my personal (non-work related) goals, and trying new things. I have committed to rock climbing at the gym once a month which has been a good way to challenge myself mentally / physically. I am also hoping to take a photography class in January so I can learn the basics of using a manual. Soon I might even pick up skiing to keep myself entertained and outside for the rest of winter. At night i've been trying to master my knitting skills. Although I have moments where I miss my friends and support system of Elon, I am extremely glad that I moved out on my own. It has been a challenge but a necessary one. In the few months that I have been here I have learned my strengths and weaknesses and really learned to appreciate who I am. I have built a support system here, though it is small compared to the one I had at Elon, it has made Montana feel like home. I am still looking to find more projects to do in the community, because I feel separate from it a lot of the times being in the office on campus. I guess that comes with most indirect service or office positions in any company. It has been discouraging at times to not be out in the community, but i'm doing my best to make the most of it all.

WORDS FOR CHANGE: The good thing about my position is that the guidelines are very "big picture" guidelines, so I have a lot of freedom to plan fun projects within those very broad guidelines. The challenge with this is that I sometimes lose sight of the smaller details, but I have been able to come up with a new creative challenge for members. I am about to launch a "Words for Change" competition where members can creatively express themselves and reflect on their service a bit more deeply. It struck a chord with the head of MTCC, so he has offered to fund the contest giving the winner an ipod and publishing the works in some sort of final product! The first step has been typing up a convincing announcement and being clear about guidelines. I'm pretty excited about it, and it is something that will be mine which is pretty cool. Hopefully I will receive some quality submissions and maybe spark interest in a number of members all over the state.

CHRISTMAS WISHES: The Campus Corps team at the University of Montana ran adopt-a-family / adopt-a-vet program where departments / students/ community members can adopt either a family or a veteran and buy presents from their wish lists. My office adopted 2 veterans which I got to take the lead on, so my co-worker and I spent a morning shopping for model cars, george forman grills, and clothes for these two men who made sacrifices for us long ago. It was a nice change. My responsibilities were only supposed to go as far as buying and wrapping the gifts, but luckily my roommate needed a car to pick up all of the gifts to be delivered to the Valor House. We loaded the gifts that completely filled up my forester. Among these gifts were some snow shoes for a man named Russell. Upon arriving and unloading, I saw an older man's eyes light up as he watched me carry a set of old wooden snow shoes. To my sweet surprise, I witnessed Russell discover his Christmas dreams had in fact come true. It was warming, but not all of the veteran's wishes were as easily fulfilled. The only thing on one man's wishlist was a purpose. I was happy that many people without the same luxuries as myself were able to receive the gifts they wanted, but there is more to be done. It was a bittersweet project that reminded myself and my fellow team leaders that gifts can be fulfilling but they aren't always everything. We wanted more than anything to give this man a purpose, but he had to settle for new clothes instead.

FRUITS OF MY LABOR: Finally I have something to show for my work, that you all can enjoy (should you have the time). I spent the last month working diligently on a newsletter to highlight as many projects and programs around the state I could fit in. It has finally been edited and posted on our website. If you want to learn more about the program, what the leaders I work with do, and what is happening with Campus Corps projects around the state you should check out the newsletter. Keep in mind that I was not a journalism major, so this newsletter format was new to me. Anyways, click the link to see the newsletter: http://www.mtcompact.org/documents/NewsletterFall09.pdf

Self Directed Service

Indirect service can seem monotonous at times, and is often difficult to see the "fruits of the labor". This makes staying motivated a challenge at times.

CHALLENGING THE SYSTEMS: I've learned how hard it can be to make change, even when you know it is necessary. My goal has been to help leaders create systems in the offices that will provide more room for student leadership through service. I respect the leadership model of EV! and want to create similar models where they fit in at many of the campuses I work with. This seems like a feasible goal however there are so many factors that often prevent progress. Because of how distant I am from the actual offices, it is difficult for me to make change. This has been discouraging at times but a good lesson on the various levels that go into making a successful service-learning program. I have been experiencing a side of service-learning that I did not get to see as a student leader, and it has been an essential learning experience. It has made me push myself to decide if I would rather be in a more hands on position or if I enjoy having influence on the bigger picture of the program.

ONE LEADER DOWN: Last week was difficult from a programming stand point because I had one team leader who quit Americorps. She called me first to let me know, which reflected her respect for our office. However, it is hard to lose a leader because it feels as though it reflects on me. It does prove that some Americorps postions are not for everyone, and so it is good to know what the job description is before signing up. This leader wanted to be more hands on, and less self directed. It also showed me that my support can only go so far before the college campus coordinators have to take over. Unfortunely not all offices have staff members as committed to personal development like those at Elon. It was difficult but i've used it as motivation to make sure that the remaining leaders are supported locally in addition to our office's support.

STRUCTURAL CHANGE: The highlight of last week though is that i've been working with my boss to make some structural changes in the program. I am worried that perhaps i'm too ambitious with change, but we are going to try to incorporate VISTAs into the campus offices to see how they can build capacity and sustainable programs. Once again going off the North Carolina model, we will be experimenting with VISTAs in offices next year who want to develop their programs further. IT is exciting to know that i've been able to assist with the vision of Campus Corps, and it makes me feel as though my contributions will pay off. It is a sign that my hard work is working towards something, even if I can't always see the result.

BACK TO THE OFFICE WORK: Next week will be our final site visits for the semester, meaning that I will finally be grounded for a while in Missoula. My next tasks will be planning a winter retreat / training for leaders which really excites me. I am also responsible for planning the spring member training, and we will be working with members to present to their peers. In addition to these major events I am putting together a writing contest for members to submit creative peices about the service they have been doing. The office work gets to be a lot and there are certainly days where I would rather be outside educating children but i've gotten the hang of the work and appreciate the lessons I am getting. I have really enjoyed the freedom to choose projects that I feel will enhance the program. It is nice to have a self-directed job with support from my supervisor. Turns out this kind of office work isn't too bad and I always remind myself where the work ends up - college students directly serving in their community.

FOOTBALL WITH A 6 and 3/4 YEAR OLD: Unfortunately I have not been able to volunteer with boys and girls club because they do not have teens coming to the center. I waited it out and helped them as much as possible but there is not much to be done in terms of direct service. I spent the last week or two contacting agencies in search of a direct project with kids, which sounds easy, but was actually quite difficult. FInally i stumbled upon a YMCA article so I jumped on the opportunity and went to the Y on Monday. the facility is by the old fairground so there are a few buildings that kids can do homework in, and a huge field. I spent the afternoon playing football with a "6 and 3/4" year old which was extremely refreshing. He was a fast one, and at one point asked me to stop going easy on him, which was embarrassing b/c I was pretty much running as fast as I could. Needless to say it was a great time and I look forward to going there weekly. IT is surprising how hard it was to find a site that needed me and could give me somthing to do, so it's nice to now have a project to do after work.

I guess the moral of this post is that i've learned to really believe in what I do, what many of us do, which is promote active citizens. So yes, the indirect office work is challenging at times but when I hear college students talk about how meaningful their experience has been it doesnt seem so monotonous anymore. Ive been lucky enough to gain the hands on service i've been craving at the YMCA where I volunteer weekly playing with kids. The rest of the time I spend doing behind the scenes work, but it's no less important.

Building Engaged Citizens

“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Do what makes you come alive and do
that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman

BUILDING ENGAGED CITIZENS: This weekend was the Building Engaged Citizens conference for all of the Campus Corps members and Vista members that belong to Montana Campus Compact. In words that anyone outside of Montana can understand, it was orientation for college students that get AmeriCorps money to serve in their communities. My role in this hectic compilation of college students from universities all over the state was planning, facilitating, and lending my couch to the various VISTA's that stayed in Missoula over the weekend. Like many anticipated moments in life, I spent more time and energy planning for the conference than actually attending it. The weekend seemed to fly by and now remains in my memory as a whirlwind of new faces, behind the scenes tasks, and tons of icebreakers. It was exciting to see everyone in one place and get to have a somewhat leading role in this.

DEFINING SERVICE CONTROVERSY: I seemed to stir up quite the controversy with the "defining service" activity (Elon Vols folks, you all probably do this in your sleep now) but boy did we have some heated conversation. This activity is designed to really make people define what service means to them, and help them consider their own service ethic. For those of you that are unfamiliar the activity asks participants to rate different proiects on a scale, such as giving blood, donating money, voting, and joining the armed forces. In reality with 80 AmeriCorps members, it creates a heated conversation and deep debates. I saw this as a positive thing, because it got people discussing their definition of service and forcing themselves to really define what service means. It also proved how passionate people are about service and what it means to them. However, the debate left a bad taste in many people's mouths. I am a firm believer that this is where people learn the most but as a leader it also puts me in a tough spot because now we have unhappy participants. All in all it went well, and I guess there's nothing like a little bit of controversy to get people reflecting on their personal values.

HAPPENINGS ON HIGGINS: After the seven day work week I took Monday off to sleep and be mindless for a day. This led me to "liquid planet" (my favorite coffee shop) in the afternoon where I was able to enjoy the weather and be on the internet at the same time. I love walking around town in the afternoon because there are so many people out on the streets sipping coffee, writing, playing music, or reading. It is great to get to interact with strangers, and people watch. I ended up spending a good bit of the afternoon speaking to a man living off the disability allowance, who admitted to being an alcoholic. He opened up to me about all of his problems, what he wants from life, and how he got to where he is. It was a strange conversation, mostly because of how off guard I felt when a stranger wanted to speak with me. I've become so accustomed to tuning out my surroundings and having that "city" mindset of not interacting with anyone that I forget it's ok to interact with new people. It amazed me how open to sharing he was and how easily he admitted his problems. I wanted to help him, but listening felt like the only thing to do at that point. Needless to say, Brian has been on my mind all week and i'm glad I had the chance to interact with him. It's one of those moments that felt like I was in the right place at the right time. What does this have to do with my service or building engaged citizens? It made me realize that the "service" we provide on a daily basis through AmeriCorps should not end there. Instead it should inspire a certain mindset, where talking with a community member and giving of ourselves is part of our lifestyle and personality. It is the smaller aspects of "service", the subtle everyday deeds that really make us an engaged citizen.

HATS AND SCARVES: I have realized what "seasons" really mean as the cold begins to set in, and I find myself wearing a scarf, hat, and north face in my office. Winter is no joke out here, but i'm enjoying the change in season. Today is first Friday where I will be going down town to the art museums sipping free beverages and looking at new works of art. There certainly is a lot of culture to the town, and I'm excited to see all that arises from the winter here.

Well it's Friday afternoon, so it's time to go.. Tune in next week to hear about my weekend at an ACMAC (Americorps Member Advisory Council) retreat.

From the Classroom to the Community..

BACK TO THE CLASSROOM: Last week I was invited to speak in a class about the beauty of service, and opportunities that students can find at UM. Most of the students looked at me like I was crazy(teachers of mine, i'm sure you've seen this look from me at some point in your career). I wasn't sure if I captured any of their interest outside of their required service hours. It was tough to judge what inspired them and what just went over their heads considering all of them gave me blank stares. I also caught half of them studying for the quiz they had next (something I was guilty of on many occasions). I tried being engaging by asking questions but most of them had zero desire to speak up. Many of them did end up seeking out service opportunities, so it was successful. It also helped me define why I am in the service field, and how I got here. I traced it back to the car wash I helped arrange after 9/11 in high school, and the fast I did to raise money for Haiti (See Mr. Deal your persuasion techniques weren't lost on me) . I hadn't realized how much these things made an impression on me until I really traced the origin of my service days.

FOOD STAMPS, THE BEGINNING OF A HEALTHY DIET: I received my food stamps in the mail the other day, good times. I couldn't believe how relieved I felt! It's a load off to have some help with food, and the ability to really buy healthy food. I've added fancy foods to my grocery list. That night my roommates and I went to get my first food stamp use and we bought ice cream, gingerale, and jelly beans. I promise my blog will not include a list of every item I purchase each time I use my food stamps, this time it just serves a purpose. It struck up conversation between us (all Americorps members) about what people experiencing poverty should be able to purchase, and whether or not sweet foods should be included. Then we thought about why sweets should only be a luxury for the rich, and if they should be sold at all.. We got distracted by the deliciously flavored jelly beans and the brisk fall evening, but it was certainly an interesting topic to think about. It posed another topic regarding class division that i've thought about now that i'm living at the poverty line.

TREMONT STREET BED AND BREAKFAST: On a lighter, less reflective note i've spent my week preparing for the Building Engaged Citizens conference coming up this weekend. Not only am I fan of the name, because its pretty powerful, i'm excited to get to meet all Campus Compact members and facilitate a few training sessions. It has been a lot of work, and much of the responsibility of planning and compiling resources for this training has fallen on me. When you live with 3 other AmeriCorps members (making 6 people in the house total) this also means a house full of service related visitors. This weekend will be even more packed than usual, with a total of 6 extra visitors throughout the weekend. We have turned this into a chance for a pot luck though so that will be a nice change of pace, and we've all come to terms with the fact that our already crazy/chaotic house will take on a bit more character. Overall our Tremont Street house has proven to be quite an ideal living situation. It is a blast having so many roommates with a passion for service yet each with different interests. It has also made meeting people in Missoula a bit easier.

STRUMMING BASS-ICS: The other project i've been up to lately has been developing an after school music program at the Boys and Girls club. I went to visit last week and they have a music room full of acoustic, bass, and electric guitars as well as drums, a piano, and a recording studio. It's a pretty sweet space, and i'm allowed to use any of their resources at any time. My roommate Dan and I spent a few afternoons going around and getting donations for the guitars, tuning and cleaning the instruments, and making the space ready for our lessons. We will be teaching lessons weekly for 12-18 year olds in our own unique style - I have yet to figure out what that means. It will be a great chance for me to play music, work with kids, and get out of the office for a bit. Thanks to Sarah Garnitz (my beloved old roommate from Elon) we have chosen "Strumming Bass-ics" as our name for the lesson - dont worry Sarah you'll get a shout out on our CD sleeve when all of our kids are famous musicians. I'm sure i'll have more stories to report on this weekly. I have a feeling I will be learning more than the kids, but hopefully some pretty sounding tunes will result from our time.

All in all life here is pretty much as busy as it has been anywhere (minus my month of couch sitting in Atlanta this June). I do find myself enjoying evenings without homework to explore different hobbies, sit on the balcony with friends, or go for a bike ride around town.

Food Stamps and Toilet Paper

SEPTEMBER 11: This year was the first September 11th National Service day. There were several projects where leaders set up a moment of silence in the community. Other projects were developed to write to soldiers, or collect materials for the homeless shelter. Overall, Campus Corps was pretty successful with their projects despite the crunch for time all of my leaders felt. I got to participate in two projects, 1 collecting toilet paper for the food bank in Missoula and the other collecting recycling in communities in Dillon. The toilet paper drive seemed to be more successful when people understood what they were donating for. Most people would just walk by our sign and explain that they didnt' need to buy any toilet paper. We spent most of the afternoon trying to explain to customers what we were doing, that we weren't selling toilet paper, and that the food bank was in need. Direct contact and explanation helped, and we collected 800 rolls. It was a small project but was good to be doing service out in the community, getting to interact with all sorts of people in the grocery store (including running into an alumni from my small private high school in Atlanta - small world) and getting to deliver the toilet paper to the food bank. The other project I participated in was picking up recycling in the community in Dillon Montana which is about 2.5 hours from Missoula. The volunteers filled the huge communal bins with recycling, and collected a large amount of food for the shelter. My truck of volunteers was discouraged by the lack of recycling we picked up, but I had a good conversation with them about why people in Dillon don't recycle. I definitely thought that Montana would be ahead of the game when it came to recycling, but most communities don't know that they have recycling if they do. Overall the project was a success and members (the college student volunteers) were talking about what they want to do in the future which was exciting for me to see.

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE: This week I had to go in for my food stamp meeting. In all honesty, I felt hypocritical walking into a food stamp office with my iphone after driving their in my forester. It reminded me of being at a homelessness panel back at Elon a few years ago where I began to challenge my understanding of "homelessness" and what it looks like. Being in the food stamp office was similar because it reminded me that a lot of people on food stamps just need the extra money for food because of all of their other responsibilities. Even though I do have these nice items, I still need this extra money to be able to afford rent, utilities, and those extra monthly purchases that add up. I laughed when the woman told me the maximum income I can have, mostly because my income was $400 less, this threw her off a bit. She didn't quite understand that this was the first time I realized exactly what kind of financial situation I am currently in, because my lifestyle has not really changed that much (if anything i've learned what I dont need). I also learned that having a savings is discouraged for people applying for food stamps. Does this then keep people in welfare for longer periods of time? Is this making people have to choose between food or other expenses and education? These are all things I had never considered before experiencing it. Overall, it was a humbling experience.

A WEEK IN MY OFFICE: My job this week has helped me stay motivated and focus my energy on a few different things. It's difficult when doing constant indirect service, especially in my leader position, to feel like the work I'm doing is important and/or necessary. I have been on the phone checking in with leaders all over the state so it has been a bit more direct work than the last three weeks. I've also been busy planning the training we have for members next weekend which has allowed me to do some extra research on exciting topics like reflection. The most challenging part of my job thus far has really been trying to figure out how to enhance service learning programs in Montana. Elon was so ahead of the game with service, that it's hard to even know where to start. I see the potential in a lot of the universities and colleges but i'm working from the ground up. I never realized exactly how established Elon Volunteers' is. There is no room for student leadership at any university in Montana, staff and Americorps members run everything. It's also a challenge because i'm hours away from all but 1 of the universities, and I'm careful not to step on toes. The challenge is exciting though, and I couldn't have any better experience with an established office so I know where these offices can be in the future.

A New Community, A New Perspective

Although it is September, I'd like to start from the beginning. I moved to Missoula, Montana about three weeks ago. I randomly landed upon the campus corps job with Montana Campus Compact, without knowing what I was getting myself into. Luckily, it's exactly what i've needed and certainly a big step in the right direction. Later entries will definitely be more of my reflection of the service i've been doing, but this first one will hopefully help set the stage so you can understand what I do, where I live, and what kind of adjustments I've been making.

A NEW TOWN: Missoula is a fascinating town but coming from Atlanta, it certainly has been an adjustment. Everyone here lives quite simply. Cars are erroneous. Everyone bikes or walks everywhere. Coming from a smaller town this might not be considered an adjustment, but having lived in a city where driving is mostly parking and it takes 45 minutes to get milk - it took me a while to realize that I dont have to get in my car to get somewhere. Getting on a bike on a road was also an adventure (one in which my roommate greatly enjoyed watching) but after a few days of swerving and shreeking i'm actually feeling like a pro. I've been spending more time getting absorbed in the town, reading books, and meeting new people. It is easy to get caught up in the community feel here, and I've realized that most of the time i'm in Atlanta I find myself distracted by a consumer society. Here though, free time consists of hiking, tubing, visiting national parks, reading, photography, and in the winter (which will be brutal) snowboarding/skiing. Shopping is a luxury, not a hobby. The mindset here has helped me assess what items are "necessities", and how to really be resourceful. I also really take advantage of living in a mountain town and spend as much time outside as possible. The challenge will most certainly be the weather - it was 38 degrees this morning.. needless to say, I may freeze..


A NEW BUDGET: Being a State and National Americorps Member has meant a change in lifestyle, but out here it is pretty easy to live on a low budget. I share a house with 4 other people who are all living on the same budget and with food stamps. In Atlanta and Burlington there is certainly a class division in grocery stores. Food here is pretty expensive because there is no state tax but every weekend there is a farmers market that sells cheap/local/organic vegetables and fruits. The grocery stores also sell local products which are pretty well priced. There are also tons of resources for people experiencing poverty and homelessness providing access to fresh/healthy food. Community gardens and the food bank work together here to make sure everyone gets what they need. Missoula has the highest number of non-profits per capita so I have learned to get by and learned new skills in the process. I found an old bike and fixed it up at this non-profit that has used bike parts, and volunteers to help you figure out how to build or repair bikes (for free). The volunteer must have known I had no idea what I was doing, because I when I turned the screwdriver to the right to tighten a bolt, he was impressed. Ok so I kept repeating the rhyme "righty tighty lefty loosy", my experimentation with bike repair was in fact successful. I've also been cooking a lot and experimenting with recipes using fresh vegetables that i've gathered from friends and at the market. My next step is applying for food stamps, so I will certainly report on that process next week. I struggled with whether or not I really needed them, or if I should save them for people who have no income. Being that it is a benefit of Americorps, i've been convinced to go through the process.

NEW RESPONSIBILITY: Turns out I'm pretty much a leader (much like being the director of the SLC - Service Learning Community) except for now I lead Americorps volunteers that work in Universities all over the state. -no pressure- EV! prepared me extremely well for this position, and Ive been using all of the same tools that are used at the Compact office for the state of Montana. The most difficult part of the transition has been ACRONYMS! AH! Every sentence I heard was an acronym from something servicey - CNCS, NCS, MTCC, CC, etc - it was like learning a new language. The first week really was just trying to figure out what people were saying, and what that meant for me. The second week I spent trying to figure out how I was going to train people when I had no idea what I was doing. Just like I ended up doing with my last leadership position, I pretty much went with the "fake it til you make it theme". Being part of Americorps has been really exciting, especially because I get to work with leaders all of the state and learn about issues facing most regions in Montana. I've also been learning a lot about Native American reservations, and life on them. I work with four colleges who are affiliated with reservations, and service is done differently there because it has to go through tribal leaders. In addition, my leaders are of all different ages. The differences have had a positive effect on my facilitation skills, and i've also been learning a lot about being a leader and what service means.

The neat part about my job is that I can do up to 30% of my service with an agency of my choice. I'm looking into where I want to serve, and possibly helping start up a music program at the Boys and Girls club. Right now i'm still trying to figure out community needs, and what agencies go unnoticed by university students. It's been a really exciting change, and i'm certainly going to learn a lot about community engagement, leadership, facilitation, and social issues here in Missoula (vs social issues in Burlington).

Hopefully that has caught you up on where I live, what I do, and how i've been adjusting to life in the West. Stay tuned next time for what service means in Missoula, the first 9/11 National Service day for university students in Montana, and my attempt to get food stamps...