Hello again! I’m Kathleen Egan and I just began my 2nd year of service as the AmeriCorps Inclusion VISTA for the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC). Since I last wrote, my term of service has provided some amazing experiences and allowed me to meet some truly inspiring and awesome people.
As the Inclusion VISTA, my goal is to support and encourage people with disabilities to see volunteerism and national service as a way to build job skills and interpersonal relationships. Part of my service involves assisting the MCSC’s Statewide Inclusion Team. This team is comprised of representatives from a wide range of state agencies, independent businesses, and advocates for the advancement of a more diverse service population. I, along with six representatives from the MCSC Inclusion Team, recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the 2011 Symposium on Service and Inclusion: Improving the Member Experience Through Intentional
Strategies. This conference was hosted by the National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP), which is an agency that provides training and technical assistance related to the needs of individuals with disabilities in national service programs.
Over the course of three days, I attended a variety of workshops, learned how other states are promoting inclusion in their national service programs, met fellow Inclusion VISTAs from other states, and heard from some truly inspiring AmeriCorps alumni. The AmeriCorps members and alums who spoke at the conference served in a variety of areas, and came from vastly different backgrounds, but all had the same message; during their year of service, they all gained skills they would never have never gained elsewhere and made lasting friendships and connections to their communities.
One of the most interesting speakers was Scott Carter. Scott served two years as a VISTA with a statewide program that helped youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities transition out of the school system and into the workforce and independent living through Person First self-advocacy centers. Out of the 13 VISTAs in his program, six are individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. He and his program director, Mary Bryant, also hosted a workshop talking about the ways their program has successfully helped Nevada youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities become successful and independent members of their community. They also spoke about the leadership opportunities and success that having a blended VISTA cohort provides.
The Symposium was an amazing place to learn more about what is happening on a national level. There are so many projects and initiatives in place, and it was very exciting to hear stories from throughout the country (and territories!), as well as to hear people talk about the impact national service has had on programs and individuals. The Symposium also helped me learn more about what some of my fellow Inclusion Team members do on a daily basis and what inspired them to get involved with Inclusion. The timing of the conference was also very fitting, as December is a great time to reflect on the past year and to give back to the community around you. Being in Virginia with hundreds of fellow 
national service participants was a great reminder of what service can accomplish! Happy Holidays and all the best in the New Year!
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a great time at the Symposium, Kathleen! Keep up the great service work in the inclusion community. It sounds like you are doing really great things!
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