American Red Cross

If you had asked me a year ago if I would be serving with the Red Cross, I would have asked, “Are you serious? Why would I be doing that, now?”

My name is Lindsay Pals, and I’m serving with the Together We Prepare program at the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids. I am finishing my fifth month as the Disaster Relief Volunteer Coordinator, and anticipating the last five to go. It is still interesting to tell people that I serve at the Red Cross. The primary response is, “Oh really? So… you work with blood drives?” And I totally understand, since that was the extent of my Red Cross knowledge until I began training. But honestly, describing everything this entity does, locally and globally, would take a book- a really thick book.

In short, the American Red Cross’ fundamental principals and values center around dignity and respect for all human kind, no matter which background, faith, culture, political stance, race, or gender a human being possesses. “Preventing and alleviating human suffering wherever it may be found” is the perfect umbrella phrase under which we find all the roles of the American Red Cross. The main services my chapter offers in my community, aside from blood drives, are family tracing for refugees, contacting deployed military personnel with significant familial news, driving senior citizens to and from doctor appointments, and providing emergency shelter, food, and clothing to those who just experienced a local disaster. Yet most importantly, we educate our community about fire safety, fire prevention, and the other various services provided, so that prevention and preparation is a priority, emphasizing the idea that if you know about us, we can better help you.

In my individual role as the Disaster Relief Volunteer Coordinator, I am a resource for the group of volunteers that respond to local disasters – primarily house fires. These specific volunteers comprise the Disaster Action Team. I make sure they have the supplies they need, the six volunteer leaders have all the correct and updated information, and the system is running smoothly. I communicate within the entire chapter because I rely on every other department for some aspect of fire response, and within the communities in the four county area we serve to know and best respond to those community’s disasters.

My biggest project is fixing the current system in which my volunteers function. I’m making sure the power distribution is the most logical and that I’m making my volunteers feel needed and valued – because they ARE needed and valued! It has been a blast getting to know the various communities we serve, as well as what everyone wants in the new system. This project is like one fun, huge puzzle.

I truly believe in what the American Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross do. In just graduating from college, I have political issues, social issues, and arguments for every stance under the sun swimming in my head. My future is before me and there are so many options out there for anyone my age, I can get overwhelmed! But when we went over the principles and values during the first day of training, it was like a huge breath of fresh air. The Red Cross brought me back to what is most important and how it manifests within our community – people. Putting people first and taking care of their needs. No matter what. I know I will uphold my priorities to that standard.

If you’re interested in volunteering at your local Red Cross, or you would just like to know more about being involved, go to the website at www.redcross.org, and from there you can navigate to your Local Red Cross Chapter’s site.

If you would like to donate to the International Disaster Relief efforts in Haiti, please text ‘Haiti’ to 90999, or contact your local chapter if you’d like to donate.

The Way I’m Making a Difference

Hello – I’m Rachel Freedman-Doan from the Michigan AmeriCorps Partnership.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - in a speech to Riverside Church in New York City in 1967 - said that “a call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind.” Dr. King was a preacher, social justice advocate, and civil rights activist. It seems appropriate, then that I should get to submit the blog entry following the 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. My position as the Director of Interfaith Action (IA) at the University of Michigan has me connecting students from different faith (and non-religious) backgrounds for community service and dialogue.

As IA director at the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning at the University of Michigan, I come into contact with people of different faith traditions on a daily basis. I am accustomed to hijabs, kippot, and turbans as part of my work. It is my job to bring together students from different faiths (and non-religious) backgrounds for service work and dialogue, and to help them learn about each other from their differences.

From monthly visits to local faith communities to allow University students the opportunity to experience a new type of worship service, to interfaith service and dialogue days, IA strives to bring students together on campus for service and dialogue. This position also puts me in regular contact with University staff and faculty to discuss issues related to faith across campus. In November, we met with city officials, religious leaders, community leaders, and students to discuss how faith is treated on campus and citywide.

My favorite part of my service, and the reason why I wanted to take on the (sometimes-daunting) position, is working with students. This year IA has successfully started up a Student Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT meets bi-monthly to discuss issues on campus, plan and execute events, and learn from each other. They are made up of students from each of the various faith groups on campus, and represent a majority of the religions practiced at U of M.

The most exciting event happening with IA right now is our new partnership with SOC389/Project Community (PC), also run out of the Ginsberg Center. Through PC and the LUCY (Lives of Urban Children and Youth) initiative, we are currently offering a three-credit class with the University of Michigan entitled “Interfaith Service Learning and Dialogue.” This class centers on an alternative spring break trip to Detroit where students will be volunteering at Malcolm X Academy, working with Gleaners Community Food Bank, and visiting many of the other cultural and historical sites around Detroit, while staying at Christ Episcopal Church in the heart of the city. This experience is enhanced by a semester’s worth of in-class discussions, readings, and journaling about the intersections of the interfaith movement, Detroit, and service work. This class has afforded me the opportunity to design a syllabus, plan out a course week by week, and get hands on experience teaching in a college classroom, as well as planning the trip for the students.

My service work this year, while sometimes quite different from that of my peers, has shown me that “service” has many different faces, and that it all makes a difference. Discover the different ways YOU can make a difference at http://www.americorps.gov/.

MLK Day Here to Stay!

Greetings friends! Yasmine here and it’s great to be back for a second year of service to my community! This year, Superior AmeriCorps benefited from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and was able to fill 11 additional spots bringing our total number of members serving in the Western Upper Peninsula to 46. Members serve in preschools, local elementary, middle, and high schools, and non-profit agencies. I chose to continue to serve at B.R.I.D.G.E. (an alternative high school) whose philosophy is to nurture the spirit of the student as well as the mind.

At the moment, Superior AmeriCorps members are gearing up for our next national day of service, the 2010 MLK Day on Monday, January 18! We are very excited to be hosting a handful of events across our region as well as many individual MLK Day presentations at our individual sites. A couple of the projects in the works include a Peace Bench project in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a Fleece for Foster Kids project at Michigan Tech University. All of the blankets will be donated to the local Department of Human Services office to give to children transitioning into foster care.

The MLK Peace Bench project is actually a carry over from the 2009 MLK Day and is very close to my heart. Its purpose is to honor Dr. King’s legacy and commitment to social integrity and service by strengthening neighborhoods and driving discussions between community members of all ages, race, and religion. I brought this project to Superior AmeriCorps last year after reading an article about Hands On Central Texas initiating the project in their own community and building 100 benches in a year to place in various community centers and public buildings. Volunteers helped build and paint each bench with a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quote that exemplified truth, peace, and courage. Although I would have loved to make 100 benches, my team and I were able to round up enough funds and in-kind donations to make seven benches that were placed at three different schools in Hancock, Michigan. This year the MLK Peace Bench team received inquiries from City Hall and other schools for their own Peace Bench. Though we started out small I see this project as one that will be able to be carried on by future Superior AmeriCorps members.

The Fleece for Foster Kids project began as a project during Make A Difference Day this past October. We were only able to make 21 blankets total from material donated by members’ families and friends, but when we dropped them off at DHS their extreme gratitude was apparent. In a thank you note to Superior AmeriCorps DHS explained we had actually caused 21 children to smile who may not otherwise have had a reason to smile. For this simple reason, members felt it was a project worth pursuing again and we are hoping to bring even more smiles to children in the U.P.

We began preparing for the 2010 MLK Day in early December but it has been remarkable to watch AmeriCorps members work together to mobilize community volunteers and take a project from its planning stages through to realization in a short amount of time.

To see if any organizations need your help on MLK day check out www.serve.gov and find opportunities in your area!

“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.