Building Houses, Building Hope

Hi all, my name is Travis Boeskool and I serve as the community outreach and development coordinator at Habitat for Humanity in Lansing, Michigan. My position here is just one of many that are part of the Habitat for Humanity Michigan's AmeriCorps program. Our members serve in many different capacities including construction liaisons, site supervisors, volunteer coordinators, family services, and outreach functions. We volunteer at sites from Detroit to Muskegon and from Lenawee County into the Upper Peninsula. 

My fellow members and I all serve to advance the underlying goal of Habitat for Humanity; to provide every human being with safe, decent, and affordable housing.  In my capacity as the community outreach and development coordinator, I attempt to accomplish that goal through meeting, listening, and speaking with the community our affiliate has targeted. We are in the process of launching a repair program for low-income homeowners and half the battle involves making sure we are meeting the needs that the community itself identifies.

Many of my peers interacted with Habitat for Humanity (HFH) in their hometown early in life, whether it was through churches, their parents’ companies, or just out of an early commitment to service. I, however, wasn’t lucky enough to encounter the ‘Habitat Model’ until the summer of 2011. Of course I had heard of Habitat for Humanity before but I thought of it in the way that many do- that organization that Jimmy Carter founded that gives away houses to ‘poor’ people. Well that belief could not have been farther from the truth.

That summer I embarked on a bike trip that changed my life. I teamed up with 33 other passionate young adults from across America to ride our bike across the country and raise money and awareness for affordable housing through a wonderful program called Bike & Build. To me, the adventure of moving under my own power from Charleston, South Carolina to Santa Cruz, California was the draw, but I took away much more. As the nation’s foremost provider of affordable housing, most of our stops to build homes during our trip meant working with Habitat.

Through the seemingly endless history and safety presentations, as well as by volunteering on the job site, I came to understand the genius in Habitat’s model. It is best explained through this simple phrase, “a hand up, not a hand out.” By utilizing a primarily volunteer workforce, Habitat is able to sell homes to partner families at a zero-percent interest mortgage, creating a significant savings over a traditional mortgage. Our homeowners come from an incredibly diverse background but all have a few things in common. They must work closely with the affiliate in construction of their new home, as well as the homes of partner families, spending sometimes 500 hours on the construction site and volunteering at other non-profits to complete their ‘sweat equity’ and purchase their home.

After graduating from Michigan State University in May 2012, I was a little lost on where to go next, until I found out that my local affiliate had an AmeriCorps position open in community development. I signed on right away and dove into the service my position required.

I quickly realized that trying to effect positive change in a community is not easy. Not everyone is ready for it and the ‘solution’ isn’t always readily apparent. I have talked to neighbors in our target community whose first reaction was, “Oh we know this, people like you have come before and they all left without changing anything.” The skepticism some of our neighbors express can be frustrating, but it is easy to understand, too. Most people want to see their neighborhood improve and frustration is natural when big promises are made and nothing is changed.

That is why we are taking what we think is a more effective approach. We are partnering with local community based organizations and associations, but most importantly, we are partnering with the residents themselves. My role means that I spend time going door-to-door, talking with my neighbors (I live in our target area), attending community meetings, and really listening to the concerns our residents’ voice. A quick example: At one of my recent outreach presentations, a neighbor I was acquainted with approached me wanting to talk about a local community garden. The garden was in the process of being paved to allow neighbors with wheel chairs access, but the man doing most of the bricklaying had hurt his back and couldn’t do the labor anymore. The garden needed to be completed in two weeks for a potluck they were holding to encourage neighbors to get out and meet each other. Her question was simple; could HFH Lansing supply any volunteers to lay bricks and tidy the garden before the potluck? While our base of volunteers generally prefers construction, I was able to put her in touch with a local group seeking volunteer opportunities to work in the garden.

That is what I am hoping to leave behind after my service. Sure, I hope my affiliate continues to fix up our neighbors houses, but more importantly I hope

the neighbors are able to make those important connections with each other and continue to improve their own neighborhood. I truly believe that positive change like this only comes when the residents themselves are intimately involved with each other.

In closing, I want to say that service, and in particular my AmeriCorps service, has inspired me. I am now able to see that extra value that comes from doing ‘work’ you truly believe in. I hope that every person has the opportunity to have their life enriched in the same way that my volunteering has mine. So, on that note, Let’s Get Things Done!

PS. Habitat for Humanity was founded by Millard Fuller in 1976, not President Carter.

Making a Difference in Michigan

My name is Anji Reynolds, and I proudly serve through the Power of We Consortium AmeriCorps Program as the Gardening Educator AmeriCorps member at the Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) in Lansing. Here at ANC, we build programs that focus on health, housing, food security, economic development, and building social capital on Lansing’s Eastside. Most of my time as the Gardening Educator is spent in the Hunter Park GardenHouse, a 30’ x 96’ urban greenhouse located in Hunter Park, just down the street from ANC. The GardenHouse serves as a hub for year-round garden education and a community gathering space, and is fueled by volunteers on a daily basis.

Before my service year began, I spent months at the Hunter Park GardenHouse as a volunteer and intern, and it has really become a second home for me. As a Michigan's AmeriCorps member, my role is to bring in presenters for our food and gardening workshops, as well as to lead volunteer groups and teach gardening education to our Youth Service Corps (our youth program for 11-17 year olds). This summer, I will also be going into the neighborhoods and helping neighbors with home gardening and maintenance. Teaching people how easy it is to grow their own food, as well as how they can save money and eat healthy, has been a great experience. I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to make changes in my community at a very basic level, and have fun doing it.

Leading up to this point in my life has been quite a personal journey for me. Most of my childhood and my college years have been spent in East Lansing, just a jog away from where I currently serve. For a long time, I remember wanting to leave town (and really the state) and begin some fantastic life I thought existed elsewhere. Michigan cities are struggling – and I did not want to go down with them. After some unfulfilling professional experience, I ended up jobless and halfway around the world. When my bank account ran dry, I found myself moving back home to East Lansing with a very negative attitude.

Realizing that my grand plans for travel were squashed, I had some decisions to make. I had the choice of wallowing in a jobless, apathetic funk or actually DOING something to change my life and my city. I was tired of hearing about the economy and the plunging morale of people. I spent way too much time waiting for someone else to fix those problems and never considered that I could do anything about it. AmeriCorps has been a life and attitude changing experience that has given me so much confidence and a feeling of ownership for the place I live. I can’t imagine leaving Michigan now.

This past month, more than 300 Michigan’s AmeriCorps members joined me in changing my city when they gathered in Lansing for the annual Russ Mawby Signature Service Project. It was the first time the project had come to Lansing, and my fellow Power of We AmeriCorps members and I worked hard to put together plans for the 2-day event. Having never attended a Signature Service Project, I was excited, but unsure what to expect.

My role as an emcee and a LeaderCorps member for the event gave me a unique perspective: during those moments of speaking into the microphone, I was face to face with hundreds of bright, eager members. In addition to being nervous to speak, I was caught off guard by how inspiring that image was. Here I was, standing at the Capitol and talking to a crowd of people just like me. People who want change, who want to improve their lives and the lives of others, and who want to lead by example. Members young and old who were willing to give their time and energy to service. Michigan residents who care and are willing to get their hands dirty for the sake of moving forward. And here they were, helping make my city a better place.

As the service project pressed on, I got to serve with and get to know so many people, who are doing SO many cool things. After seeing the changes made to my own host site and other sites around the city, I couldn’t help but feel proud – and you should too. While I get to see the changes we made every day, it may be hard for some to relate now that they are back in their own cities. But I would like to personally thank each and every member for their participation – Lansing is beautiful because of you.

I am continually inspired through my service. Even on the hard days (because believe me, there are plenty of those), I try to remember something my dad has said to me for years: “little victories.” Real change is not always immediate. You have to be patient and persistent even when it’s hard. AmeriCorps has been a saving grace for me, and has helped foster career and personal goals I never thought I’d pursue. If there’s one thing this experience has taught me it’s that service is valuable and necessary – YOU are valuable and necessary! YOU help your cities and neighborhoods progress into the places you will want to raise your children some day. YOU are putting Michigan back on the map as a place to live and work. And YOU keep me going when the going gets tough. Thank you!

A Community of Literacy Champions

My name is Benjamin Oliver, and I am an AmeriCorps member championing literacy in Kent County through the Schools of Hope Family Literacy Program.  My school site is Harrison Park Elementary, situated on the west-side of Grand Rapids, where I instruct more than 20 parents in English as a Second Language (ESL) and Family Literacy.  The goal of the program is to improve the literacy and language skills of parents so they may better assist in raising strong and successful readers. If we want every child in our community to be little “literacy champions,” then their parents have to be ones as well.     

To best illustrate the impact of our program, I will tell you about one of my students, Martina (not her real name).  Martina is from Hidalgo, Mexico, and has been in the program for two years.  In that time she has made significant progress in her linguistic ability, taking her education very seriously. As a result of being in our program, she has begun Advanced ESL classes at the Literacy Center of West Michigan and is on her way to achieving a National Career Readiness Certificate.  She has even successfully completed a college-level class through Ferris State University! 

Martina also considers the education of her kids with the same, if not greater concern.  She has stepped up as a parent leader at the school; representing a grade level in school improvement meetings, coordinating volunteers for a new Spanish literacy program, and taking initiative in planning school events such as Cinco de Mayo, Dia de los Muertos, and Teacher Appreciation Week.

More than this, Martina has connected on a personal level with school leadership, teachers, and other staff.  She constantly pushes other parents to get more involved, and she motivates her peers to come to classes.  I joke with her that the school needs to turn one of the rooms into an apartment so she could sleep there too - she’s always there helping someone! 

Martina is a literacy champion.  She takes her kids to the library, reads to them at night, and tells me that she tries to help her kids with their homework, though more often they are the ones that help her with hers.  Her children are reaping the benefits of her dedication.  They are excelling in school and her eldest daughter, an honors student, wants to go to college in the medical field.  Martina has done everything she can, from college campus visits, to connecting with a college readiness counselor and ensuring her daughter is getting the information she needs to achieve her dream.    

I am extremely proud of all of the parents that come to Family Literacy Classes.  I especially enjoy seeing them bond with their kids around learning, as they engage together in literacy activities at our monthly Family Nights.  Like Martina, nearly all of the parents in our program are regular volunteers at the school and have overcome language and cultural barriers to successfully navigate the school environment.  I can’t hear enough from school personnel who tell me how much our program has done to help them engage with families who have limited English proficiency. 

In addition to being very satisfying, helping to empower parents like Martina is also a lot of fun!  Seeing parents connect with each other and teachers—joking around, or indulging in harmless gossip—are all strong indications they feel comfortable in their child’s school and are actively building the school community.  It is important for the overall health of the school that these parents learn the necessary skills to not only understand the school system, but to feel understood themselves.         

Anyone can be a literacy champion.  It will take a community of these to combat the generational problem of illiteracy.  Bing Goei, one of two officially designated "Literacy Champions” in Grand Rapids (the other being Mayor George Heartwell), described the problem of illiteracy in Kent County in an interesting way.  He said, “Illiteracy is not only a problem for the 22 percent of the adult population that struggle with reading and writing, but it is also a problem for the 78 precent of the population who may be unaware of the issue.”  

You can help address the issue by spreading the word. Consider continuing your “lifetime of service” after your service year by tutoring a child at a school, or helping an adult with their language skills.  That is the AmeriCorps way, and if we all pitch in, if we all get things done, maybe we will have an entire community of literacy champions!

Green School Daze

The Detroit Youth Energy Squad empowers individuals, especially youth, to make their communities more energy efficient and become leaders in Michigan's green economy. D-YES is a program of WARM Training Center, a non-profit organization that promotes the development of resource-efficient, affordable, healthy homes through education, training, and technical assistance. 

Hey everyone out there in the blogosphere, Austin Broderick comin' at ya live. I'm in my second year serving with WARM Training Center's AmeriCorps program, often times referred to as the Detroit Youth Energy Squad (or D-YES, depending on who you ask). In order to understand how the program came to occupy its current niche providing environmental education and programming in Detroit Public Schools, one must first understand where we've been over the past few years....literally all over Detroit! There's a lot going on here, so pay attention.

After a successful inaugural 2010-2011 campaign, which saw approximately 20 high-school seniors from Detroit Community High School (DCHS) launch their green careers via after-school technical training in energy efficiency and home weatherization visits, D-YES Program Director Justin Schott expanded the program into FOUR schools (DCHS, Detroit Institute of Technology at Cody High School, Central Collegiate Academy, and Highland Park Community High School) for the 2011-2012 program year. Volunteers served double-duty as Weatherization Crew Leaders by morning and Education Leaders by afternoon. Thirty-six high-school students drawn from environmentally-focused after-school programs at each school were hired to serve as full-time weatherization technicians in the summer of 2012.

Thanks to an ideal partnership with Detroit Public Schools (DPS), the newest incarnation rolled off the assembly line in the fall of 2012. The AmeriCorps program has been tweaked a bit but the mission remains the same, with energy efficiency at the heart of a comprehensive environmental stewardship curriculum:

• Through hands-on, active learning, the DPS Go Green Challenge allows students to develop an ethic of environmental stewardship and take an active role in community transformation. Teachers are encouraged to use school facilities as the basis for innovative programming and serve as a tool for hands-on lessons. The DPS Go Green Challenge has three areas of focus: Student Achievement, Financial Stability, and Community Impact. 

AmeriCorps Green School Coordinators are responsible for facilitating in-class and after-school sessions with "Green Teams" at each of their schools. The Challenge exposes students to practical and hands-on activities in the areas of energy-efficiency and resource conservation, which also allow schools to reduce their energy use and operating costs. My day-to-day involves working in eight schools in Detroit's northwest side, with sessions ranging from introducing sustainability concepts to a class of energetic 1st graders, to developing green infrastructure plans for school campuses and facilitating Go Green Challenge projects. Completing each project gets a school one step closer to receiving a large cash prize awarded to the overall Challenge winner arranged by school structure; up to $1,000 for Elementary, $1,500 for Middle, and $2,400 for High Schools! It's been a race to the finish for many schools over the past few weeks as they complete projects by the April 30th deadline!

The Challenge began with the Incandescent Light Bulb Hunt to replace older light bulbs with higher-efficiency compact fluorescents (CFLs). It was not only a great primer on energy-efficiency for students, but will save the school district a bunch of money on utility bills after replacement! The second project was the Small Appliance Inventory, which teaches resource conservation by allowing students to identify and unplug extraneous appliances and dreaded energy vampires. Energy Monitors is an ongoing initiative for students to actively cut down their school's energy use by turning off lights and computers after school, and issue tickets and suggestions for further reduction. Students also spent some time investigating the efficiency of their school's heating system with the Set Points and Scheduling-HVAC Project. They spoke with their Facility Manager to learn about how the system functions, recorded temperature readings to reflect the classroom conditions, and again made recommendations to improve performance. The most tangible and exciting aspect of the Go Green Challenge, however, came last month in the form of a single-stream RECYCLING pilot program in 20 elementary and special needs schools! Each piece of paper diverted from the waste stream is a sign of progress. The rest of the schools will begin recycling programs in the fall!

Our schools are feeling especially "green" this time of year, and it's not just because spring is finally in the air! Outside of the Challenge framework, Green Teams are working around the clock and spearheading additional projects which will expand educational opportunities for years. Coordinators Alessandra and Jerry are assisting with the District's first "bio wall" at East English Preparatory Academy, while Cheryl and Erin have been busy all year with Cass Technical High School students on a hydroponic indoor growing system! We've got a number of school greening projects in the pipeline, including a "seed bombing" event that Kyung and Yazmin are organizing at Western High School. Over on the northwest side of the city, my partner Nikolette and I have been working to complete Ms. Kunjan Vyas' greenhouse transformation at Emerson Elementary, an outdoor instruction space on the Cody High School campus complete with native plantings, and a vegetable garden at the Jerry L. White Special Needs Center!

Needless to say, it's been a busy year, and I am grateful for the opportunity to use sustainability as a means of enhancing our student's academic performance and learning environments. It's exciting being on the ground floor of such a triple-bottom-line initiative from Detroit Public Schools as many generations of students will benefit from their commitment to going green. I was fortunate enough to learn about environmental stewardship at the college level; for a DPS student to learn such practical and vital information at a young age, the future's looking bright (at a lower wattage, no doubt)!