Schools of Hope AmeriCorps Keeping Up the Great Work

Hi there! My name is Mary Irene Shannon and I serve through Schools of Hope AmeriCorps in Grand Rapids. The Schools of Hope Program is a partnership between the Heart of West Michigan United Way and the Literacy Center of West Michigan. Our overall goal is to increase literacy skills in first through third graders in the Grand Rapids Public School System. A major reason for the focus on this age-group is, as one man put it, “because until third grade, students are learning to read; after that, they are reading to learn.” 

In addition to this, members also provide literacy outreach to the families of those students, helping to provide the tools with which to better support their child’s education. There are currently 14 AmeriCorps members serving in this program, helping to plan and facilitate the three pieces of our program.

• In-School Tutoring – 800 community volunteers work with 450 first through third grade students, practicing reading one-on-one.
• After-School Reading – 90-minute group reading and writing classes are held for first through third grade students after their regular school day.
• Family Literacy – ESL classes and Family Literacy Events are provided for more than 100 parents of children in Grand Rapids Public Schools.

I fit into this picture by helping with the In-School and After-School Programs at three elementary schools. Typically I spend the morning at one school, the afternoon at another, and the after-school segment at yet another location; it’s a busy but invigorating day! We’re getting far enough into the school year that most of the students are showing visible progress – it’s a very rewarding and encouraging feeling!

In addition to our regular duties, Schools of Hope AmeriCorps members also volunteer at several community outreach events and activities. These include making food for needy children at the Kids’ Food Basket, recruiting volunteers at local University functions or local Volunteer Fairs, and so on.

Just this past Monday, the United Way and Schools of Hope AmeriCorps members played a large part of an enormously  successful event held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Using space at Celebration Cinema, a film called Traces of the Trade was shown following a Reception and Volunteer Fair that featured several local organizations and AmeriCorps programs. The film; written, directed, and produced by Katrina Browne is a documentary about reconciling with her family’s history, with its American roots in the New England slave-trade. Ms. Browne herself came to Michigan for a Q&A after the film! A staggering 524 people attended the event; the ticket cost was one non-perishable food item. However, the guests went way above and beyond – we ended up with two SUVs and a car filled with food (totaling 902 pounds) plus about $30 in donations to the Feeding America Food Pantry! Sixty volunteers (53 of them AmeriCorps members) helped Lyza Ingram, Charles Archie Jr., and Emily West, among several others, pull off this amazing event.

If you’re in the Grand Rapids area, we’re looking for volunteers with Schools of Hope! We ask only a half-hour of your time each week, during which you are paired with a student who needs your help with reading and writing (you can pick a GRPS location that’s convenient for you). We are also glad to take volunteers to help with one-time community events!

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hello all! My name is Carly Schneider and I am a first-year member serving with City Year Detroit. Through City Year Detroit, I work at Emerson school in a sixth grade classroom.
City Year Detroit has 69 corps members serving throughout Detroit Public Schools as tutors and mentors. Additionally, we have a weekend “Heroes” program that encourages middle and high school students to become active in their community. Corps members work with middle and high school students that are currently off track for graduating.  Through group tutoring, class support, and after-school programs, we hope to bring up the graduation rate. City Year Detroit serves at seven schools during the year. The schools in which we serve include: Bow School, Emerson School, Palmer Park Preparatory Academy, Cody High School, Osborn College Preparatory Academy, Vetal School, and Phoenix Middle School.

The school I serve at – Emerson – was an elementary school up until this past year when they added on a middle school due to the recent budget cuts. My particular team is a Diplomas Now team, where we work closely with two other organizations – Communities In Schools and Talent Development. This collaboration allows us corps members to develop a list of students that have shown early indicators of poor course performance, poor attendance, or poor behavior, or a combination of two or more. A student exhibiting at least one of these factors means they have a decreased chance of graduating high school. By working with the students that show these indicators, we strive to help them stay on track towards graduation.

After a relaxing week and a half break from school, corps members have jumped right back into their service with preparations for the 2011 MLK Day. To honor the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, corps members are organizing events at Cody High School, Osborn High School, and Bow School. We will also be joining Habitat for Humanity, Blight Busters, Grace Centers of Hope, Kiwanis, and Vista Maria. At Cody, Osborn, and Bow; corps members and community volunteers will be painting murals, painting inspirational quotes on lockers, painting classrooms, and doing necessary clean-up around the schools. Along with the corps members, we will have over 900 volunteers joining us throughout the day. Corps members, especially those that serve at Cody, Osborn, and Bow, have been preparing for the event for the past month.

If you are still looking for a way to serve on MLK Day, I encourage you to volunteer with City Year! These projects will help make Detroit Public Schools look amazing and make the students feel more welcome. To sign up with us, please visit this website: http://www.cityyear.org/detroit_ektid2005.aspx.

Reaching Goals through AmeriCorps

If someone would have told me a year and a half ago that I would be planning events to promote mentoring, national service, and teaching youth life skills, I would have laughed. Not because these things are absurd, but because it all seemed impossible for me to achieve. Here I am though, serving a second year with AmeriCorps, doing just that...and more!

My name is Andrea Villanueva and I have the privilege of serving with the Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps (MMCCC). MMCCC is a collaboration between Mentor Michigan and Michigan Campus Compact that has 50 members statewide. The program focuses on creating and strengthening mentoring relationships through case management and support, activities/events, and college access so Michigan’s youth can be successful in life. I specifically serve for Clinton County Youth Mentoring through the Clinton County Michigan State University Extension office with two mentoring programs; Creating Connections, a community-based mentoring program for foster/adoptive youth in first and second grades; and Key Mentoring Middle School, a site-based lunch time program for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. 

My days are far from 'normal,' which I love! On any given day you can find me doing “typical” office work such as writing up reports, creating mentor files, and case management….to things many of my friends are jealous I get to do for “work”…such as creating Christmas ornaments out of yarn, a balloon, glue and LOTS of glitter; guest grilling at Mongolian BBQ; seeing Michelle Obama; helping run the third annual 4-H Mentoring Weekend (a three-day, two-night summer camp for mentoring matches), or helping my kids (the ones in my program, not biological. I have none of those.) make a huge mess while they learn to make homemade pizza and applesauce. 

I’ve known for years that I’ve wanted to advocate for youth and I’ve always supported mentoring, but I had no idea that mentoring would become a way of life for me. I sometimes joke with my supervisor that I’m a one woman recruiting machine – but it’s true. Everywhere I go I’m posting flyers or setting out brochures. Everyone I meet I’m telling them about my “kids” and how they’re constantly challenging me to learn and grow professionally and personally. (I also throw in what mentoring opportunities are available in their area.) January is a particularly exciting time for me because it’s National and Michigan’s Mentoring Month! This means I get to talk about mentoring more than I already do; so to honor my non-official AmeriCorps title, let me tell you why January is like Christmas for mentoring programs.

Ten years ago the Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR collaborated with one goal in mind: to raise awareness for mentoring. National Mentoring Month is designed for programs to create an explosion of media activity locally, statewide, and nationally. It also gives programs an opportunity to recognize those who’ve made a difference in the lives of youth. Through an increase in publicity and recognition events, National Mentoring Month produces a significant increase of new mentors! 

I’ve personally seen the positive effects National Mentoring Month can have! Last year Clinton County Youth Mentoring had its first-ever mentoring open house. We created a slide show highlighting current and previous matches, had mentors talk about their experience, and of course had refreshments. Because of this event we had several inquiries and gained seven new mentors! This year, we’re keeping the general idea but polishing it up a bit. On Tuesday January 11^th (yes that’s 1/11/11) from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Clinton County Youth Mentoring will be hosting our second annual Mentoring Open House. We’ll be thanking all the mentors involved with a small gift, educating the public through a video we’ve put together, and giving mentors another opportunity to share their experiences.

Trying to be a teacher, whether it’s a teacher of life or school, is one of the biggest misconceptions I see from potential mentors. This open house shows that being a mentor isn’t that at all. Youth don’t need another parent or authority figure, they need a friend; someone to share in their excitements, listen to their disappointments, and advocate and support their (what some may think) impossible ideas.

I’m realizing more and more, with every day of service, the goals that once appeared so out of my reach are attainable. I’m now excited to see what new challenges and adventures my year of service brings because it’ll only better me personally and for my “kids.” As the wonderful Audrey Hepburn once said, "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I’m possible'!"

To see what other mentoring programs in Michigan have planned for National Mentoring Month visit http://www.michigan.gov/mentormichigan/0,1607,7-193--129726--,00.html.