Michigan's AmeriCorps Member Council - Posting #3

Hello! My name is Jessica Murphy and I represent MARESA AmeriCorps and I am member of Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council. MARESA stands for Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency. The MARESA AmeriCorps Program assists both Marquette and Alger counties which are located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. If you are really interested in seeing how far away I am from the rest of the state’s population I would suggest getting a map out and looking the counties up.

The MARESA people mostly help in school settings and a couple of the members help with the techie side of education. I am a full time member fulfilling my year of service at Gwinn Middle School. This middle school has only seventh and eighth graders at the school. I help out these students, mostly in their math classes. I really like working with the students in math because small things can give the kids such problems but you can see when the math clicks for them, right there in front of you the signs are clear that they are learning. I really love my placement at the middle school. There are times when the kids tell me about their families and the hobbies they love. The boys talk about four wheelers, dirt bikes, and hunting. The girls tell me about the books they are reading, sports they are in, and sometimes they feel the need to tell me their drama. There is never a shortage of drama in a middle school!

At times my services has been hard, like when I know a child has so much potential and so much life ahead of them but they do not make much of an effort in the education setting. Most of us in AmeriCorps go into these placements, not because of the money or the education award, but because we hope we can make a difference in our surrounding communities. I am of the mindset that I am here to help and I want to help the students in learning the material. Yet there are times when I extend the offer to help a student and they reject the help because they do not care about school. It is sad when kids don't care or do not try on a homework assignment but what can I do? I just try again the next day and sometimes all they need is a new day. I do have hope, that if a student rejects my help I hope he/she will take the help of another staff person.

Since I serve at a school and schools have Christmas break I need to go volunteer at another place so that I do not fall behind on my hours. I am going to volunteer at the Salvation Army Recreation Center also know as the SARC. It is also the place that I did my first year of AmeriCorps service at but it was only a part-time site. The center is for youth ages 8 to 17 years of age. I will go there several times over the two week break. The center is open for youth to just drop in so if I go on several different days I will see different kids. This will a great place to put in some hours over the break because a lot of the kids from the Gwinn Middle School also go the SARC. It will be nice to shoot some hoops with the kids and to have time to listen to them talk about their lives. I know my Christmas break will be fun and chilled and I hope the same for everyone!

Michigan's AmeriCorps Member Council - Posting #2

Hey Everyone! My name is Matthew Reaume and I represent Huron Pines AmeriCorps on the Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council. The Huron Pines AmeriCorps Program assists both non-profit organizations and conservation districts that are committed to furthering environmental conservation efforts in Northeast Michigan by placing young professionals in positions that allow them to engage in volunteer recruitment, develop new conservation projects, and promote resource stewardship just to name a few.

My position placement allows me to serve in the capacity of Training and Communications Coordinator for the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts (MACD), where I will develop and implement a strategy to provide enhanced training resources for Michigan Conservation District boards and staff. This process will be an intense effort designed to increase a District's ability to be more effective at delivering crucial environmental services to the local communities in which they serve.

Just last week MACD held its annual Winter Convention at the Soaring Eagle Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. The event lasted three days and included the annual MACD State Council business meeting, various training workshops, an information and resources exhibition, as well as an enormous opportunity for District members and staff to network with representatives of government agencies and private businesses as a means to achieve shared goals in environmental stewardship.

Among the list of notable and inspiring speakers and presenters at the convention was Don Koivisto, the Director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture. As part of his speech, Director Koivisto spoke openly and honestly to the audience about the uncertainty of the future of state budget appropriations to the Conservation Districts. As I listened to this particular segment of the speech, I couldn't help but wonder how Districts were going to manage delivering vital resources to their communities with shrinking budgets and dwindling resources. At that point it occurred to me that limited budget appropriations were not exclusively going to be partial to Conservation Districts alone, but to a wide range of government service programs and initiatives, both in the environmental movement and so much further beyond.

Given the looming forecasts of America's struggling economy paired with the dire need for money and resources in the national service community, I can't help but pose this question. Is idealism and commitment to a cause really enough to affect meaningful change in society?

In looking at the role Conservation Districts play in serving as stewards of the environment, one cannot doubt the level of commitment and selfless service given by all of those who have dedicated decades of their lives to the environmental cause. I have absolutely no doubt the same is true of countless other individuals and programs served by AmeriCorps. But is this really enough to do the job? Can we really make the difference we strive to if we are not given the necessary tools?

I personally believe that where there is a will there is a way. If we are unable to accomplish the tasks that are required of us with the means that we have, then I believe our commitment and dedication must force us to awaken the same sense of urgency in all of those who are effected by our actions so as to develop a public demand that will exact the resources from our government that we require to achieve our goals. Is this naive? Or is this reality? Most importantly, how do we do it?

Michigan's AmeriCorps Member Council - Welcome to Our Blog!

Hello, I am Christine Sisung and I represent the 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative on the Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council. The 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative program helps expand, create, develop, and support mentoring programs throughout the state of Michigan. I currently serve at the Clinton County Michigan State University Extension Office coordinating site-based mentoring programs for elementary students in Clinton County public schools.

I want to take the chance to fill everyone in on what happened at the Member Council’s first meeting and the great movie we got to watch. During the first meeting on November 18 and 19, we had the chance to get to know each other, learn about what Member Council does, go through a leadership training piece and on writing great stories, work with our leadership teams, and watch “The Story of Sargent Shriver.” Although this was my second time viewing the movie, I got so much more out of it by watching it a second time. The goal of the movie was to provide a history of the birth of service. What was amazing is how many of us had never heard of all the great things Sargent Shriver did.

How many of you knew Sargent Shriver started the Peace Corps, VISTA, Head Start, and a war on poverty? In addition, the movie showed us how in the early 1960s the United States was a country that wanted to serve and had the financial support of the government through different programs. That began to change in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the country got more engaged and showed discontent with the Vietnam War. The documentary provided a look into American History that most people have never seen.

This documentary provides inspiration to “Get Things Done,” just by seeing everything Sargent Shriver did. If one puts their mind to something they can achieve great things. We all can achieve great things if we continue to strive for our goals. I know Sargent Shriver has personally given me the inspiration to stay strong when dealing with frustrating issues that make me just want to give up at times.

So following our first Member Council meeting, how has the Sargent Shriver documentary inspired you? For those who are not on Member Council and are reading this blog, who knew about Sargent Shriver prior to reading this?

For anyone who wants more information on Sargent Shriver check out the following links:
http://www.americanidealistmovie.org/index.htm. http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/units/american-idealist