MLK Day Service in Many Colors

By Michael Matthis
Second Year Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps AmeriCorps Member Serving at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Detroit

This past Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. How did you spend it? Well, this guy along with many other volunteers around the Detroit area, spent his time giving back! In collaboration with such organizations as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit, the United Way of Southeast Michigan, and City Year Detroit, a service project was convened.

The project took place at Harper Woods High School moments away from Detroit proper. Volunteers painted over 20 murals for the school. They coordinated a huge overhaul of the school library which included taking inventory of more than 3,000 books. I myself got the chance to help sort over 750 hygiene kits to be distributed later to the homeless. To top it all off, we spent time writing letters and creating Valentine’s Day cards for our troops and veterans in the Armed Forces.

The most eye opening observation for me was the colors of the volunteers. This was not a service project where people got lost in a sea of red and black City Year jackets. Nor was it a project where volunteers were swallowed by AmeriCorps greys and A’s. I noticed a more comprehensive collage that included the green shirts of Starbucks employees, the black and white of Big Brother Big Sister volunteers, and rainbows of everyday people with only the tie of living in the community. Yes, I watched as massive amounts of volunteers poured into the school site’s doors.

When I asked volunteers how they came to know about the project, the message was always the same: “I heard from a friend of a friend to go register online.” Well folks, this should serve well to remind us that there are few things in life stronger than the heart of a volunteer. It tells us there are many out there still willing to seek out and give their time to make their communities a better place.

I couldn’t help but be inspired by it. I couldn’t help but be encouraged by the notion that people who aren’t already connected to service, still desire to serve! I could not help but reflect on the words of Dr. King…

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

Community service was such a perfect way to honor his legacy. I do it not only because am I am AmeriCorps member, but because I’m also addicted to it. Now what’s your excuse? Why do you serve?

Continuing My Education

If I were to choose one word to describe the past few months of my life, I would pick, “NEW!” My name is Liz Hand and I have recently had the pleasure of encountering many new experiences. I was born and raised in Vermont, went to college in Vermont, and taught in high schools in Vermont since graduating in January of 2010. Needless to say, it was time for a change, and time to challenge myself to move – figuratively and literally – outside of my comfort zone.

In August of 2011, I packed all my belongings into my car and drove across the country to the shores of Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan. I applied for an AmeriCorps position before leaving Vermont, and while en route – somewhere near Buffalo, N.Y. – I got a call from my future site supervisors, interviewing me for a Marquette-based AmeriCorps position. Luckily, I was offered a position at the Marquette-Alger Regional Education Service Agency (MARESA), and it has been a whirlwind ever since.

I serve in an education program, but I can honestly say that I am learning as much, if not more, than the students I work with. My days are filled with novel experiences and variety. I have a Vermont teaching license in middle and secondary social studies, but at MARESA I am learning about the ways that structured education occurs outside of the traditional classroom. Growing up I was considered a “traditional” student, and was an outsider to vocational and special education programs. My understanding and appreciation of the benefits and difficulties of non-traditional programs was lacking, to say the least.

Through my service at MARESA, I directly serve these non-traditional students. I am strengthening my grasp on what these programs mean to individuals and communities. I continually see the benefits to individuals in these programs and am learning about the advantages that special education and career and technical education (CTE) programs provide to businesses and the community as a whole. And, as is the case with many great programs these days, I am learning about the difficulty of maintaining funding and support for non-traditional education programs.

I am able to broaden my understanding of non-traditional education through my wide array of daily and weekly activities. To give you a snapshot of just how diverse the tasks I perform are… last week I tutored a high school student in a college-level culinary class, updated the MARESA CTE program website, volunteered with transition students to provide food to the needy at the Salvation Army, mock interviewed high school students for career preparation, secured speakers to educate CTE students on MLK Day, created a brochure for one of our drafting programs, and took part in a cookie-making fundraiser for the culinary program. Pretty expansive, huh?

Not only do I participate in education at the micro level, but recently I was chosen to take part in Michigan’s LeaderCorps, in which we think and talk about education and service from a micro- and macro-level. As part of LeaderCorps I joined the ranks of Kathleen Egan and others on the Diversity and Inclusion Team. I’m excited to work with the LeaderCorps members because of the range of perspectives and experience these people have to offer. Many LeaderCorps members are in their second year of service, and their knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to me as I try to make the most out of my year of service in the education field. I hope to use their ideas and inspiration to do great things for the students and community members in the Marquette area!

Service for All!

Hello again! I’m Kathleen Egan and I just began my 2^nd 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!

Member Celebration...And Beyond!

Hello! My name is Rachael Wilber, and I am a second-year AmeriCorps member serving with the Superior AmeriCorps program in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I am originally from Ontonagon, Mich. and currently live in Calumet, Mich. Superior AmeriCorps currently has 46 full-time members, the majority of whom serve in school districts throughout Houghton and Baraga counties. We have a handful of members in other counties serving through nonprofit agencies as well.

I am one of the members that have been placed in a nonprofit. I serve as a program coordinator for the High Five program at Big Brothers Big Sisters. I match volunteer high school mentors with elementary school children who have been referred to me by their teachers. We meet once a week for one hour. The students work as mentoring matches by working on homework, playing games, making crafts, and/or just hanging out! This provides additional one-on-one time to the elementary students while providing a sense of responsibility for the mentors. I train the mentors for four weeks (one hour per week) prior to introducing the matches, which meet for the entire school year. Last year I saw some amazing transformations and I look forward to seeing even more this year!

On November 17^th, I had the opportunity to attend the Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Celebration along with seven other members from my program. We left Wednesday morning and arrived in Lansing that evening. On Thursday morning, we checked in at the Member Celebration and had a one-of-a-kind experience. After the morning kick-off, we went to our choice of several workshops. They all seemed wonderful! I chose a workshop called “Zombie to Zen,” which discussed methods for calming your mind when feeling overwhelmed. After the workshop, we had a very moving keynote speaker, Craig Bowman, who is the president of Common Ground Consulting. He was absolutely phenomenal! After Craig’s talk and lunch, we went to another set of workshops. I went to a workshop about teambuilding that was led by three members, including a fellow LeaderCorps member, Kathleen Egan. It was very informative and maybe even a little fun… ok, it was a blast!!! The day ended with the swearing-in ceremony led by Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Robert Velasco.

As a LeaderCorps member, I stayed after the Member Celebration for the LeaderCorps meeting, which took place Thursday evening and all day Friday.

I think LeaderCorps is going to be my favorite part of my AmeriCorps experience. We have only met once (or at least MOST of us have only met once), but the chemistry was surreal. Not only were we very proactive and motivated in our discussions about projects and goals for the year, but we were also cracking jokes and laughing within minutes of meeting each other. This is a very lighthearted group that is looking forward to “getting things done!”

I truly love being an AmeriCorps member. I have the wonderful opportunity to serve in not only one, but three school districts. This has allowed me to experience different subsets of the local students and get to know different administrators. I am currently working on my Masters in Elementary Education so I have also been able to make connections for observing classrooms and student teaching. AmeriCorps has opened so many doors for me and I hope our program continues for MANY years! There are so many people that would benefit from it as much as I have (not to mention the folks out there we actually serve!). Oh, and did I mention AmeriCorps is where I have met my best friends? I’m amazed by the connections that are made when you get together with a group of people that want to make a difference in their communities!