MLK Day - Serve. Engage. Celebrate!

On January 17, 2011, over 100 people participated in activities that honored the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. 71 volunteers created 77 blankets that were donated to the Youth and Shelter Services GRIP Mentoring Program through Project Linus. It was wonderful to see all the volunteers working together in small groups, having discussions, and building relationships through service to others. The blanket-making service event was co-sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Story County, United Ames, Ames Public Library, and Project Linus.

49 people attended a film and discussion that engaged participants in dialogue on community organizing, identity, and ways to make Ames a more inclusive community. The discussion was fascinating, respectful, and productive. Many people, including youth, participated in the conversation and offered their personal beliefs about challenging issues. When we finished the discussion, Josh Kriz from United Ames presented information on ways to get more involved with the community (joining a board, volunteering, attending a neighborhood association meeting). The Volunteer Center and United Ames worked with the Ames Public Library to facilitate this event.

A winter clothing drive was also conducted throughout MLK Day – all items collected were donated to clothing closets and shelters in Story County.

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday as a national day of service. Each year thousands of people participate in volunteer opportunities to strengthen their local communities. Volunteering and participating in dialogue are effective ways to create solutions to local, state, national, and global challenges, and for individuals to voice their opinions and become more active in their communities.

"Make a Difference Day": Winter Weatherization Challenge

The Volunteer Center of Story County, Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA) and Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) collaborated to winterize the homes of 41 residents in Story County. Volunteers applied plastic and caulk to windows, hung door sweeps and installed insulated electrical and light switch covers. The residents who benefit from this service are low-income, disabled or elderly residents in Story County. The 87 volunteers split up into 19 different groups and put in over 300 hours on Saturday, October 23, 2010. This "Make a Difference Day" project marks one of four Days of Service that the Volunteer Center helps to plan every year. The Volunteer Center wants to thank MICA and RSVP for all of their hard-work organizing this event. But we especially want to thank the volunteers who came out to make a difference in their community.

Candidates Forum on the Conditions of Poverty in Story County

In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau stated that 17.8% of Story County residents were living in poverty. That means that over 15,000 individuals were lacking daily needs like food, shelter and basic health care. The newest national average for those living in poverty is 14.3%, which has surprised many based on the current economic times. But this new national average still leaves Story County, Iowa behind the rest of the country.

It seems only right then that poverty be discussed as a major topic in this year's upcoming election. The Candidate Forum on the Conditions of Poverty in Story County held on September 28, 2010 gave both County Supervisor Candidates and State Legislative Candidates an opportunity to weigh in on the issue of poverty. The event was sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Story County and Mid-Iowa Community Action. County Supervisor Candidates, Lucy Martin, Rick Sanders and Paul Toot were present and answered a number of questions related to poverty. One of the most interesting questions of the night came from an audience member, what they would do if they only had a day in office? Martin stated that she would focus on the County's future and would make sure the proper policies were in place to do this. Toot believed that fiscal responsibility is an idea that needs to be instilled and he would focus on explaining to the department that they are spending taxpayer money and not their own. Sanders explained that fiscal responsibility was also important to him and his goal was to tie revenues to expenditures. Above all else, education came up as the most important for the candidates. They were all in agreement that education is essential to solving the issue of poverty.

The night ended with a lively conversation between the State Legislative Candidates. Present were Senate candidates Robert Bacon, Herman Quirmbach and Tim Gartin, and Representative candidates Selden Spencer, Dave Deyoe, Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, Karin Sevde, Lisa Heddens and Chad Steenhoek. Once again education was highlighted as key factor in combating poverty. Candidates also agreed that social services were very important to individuals experiencing poverty. Republican candidates across the board criticized the Democrats handling of the Iowa budget. Most republican candidates believed that the so-called balanced budget would be difficult to uphold in the upcoming years and that Iowa needs to focus on sustainable funding.

The forum was a great success with over fifty individuals in attendance. Those present had the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates either during or after the formal forum. The Volunteer Center is thankful to all those candidates and individuals who attended and lent their support to improving their community. Poverty is a tough issue and will only be solved if we all work together.

Building community at the community garden

The Service Patch has been thriving this summer! Not only is the garden full of growing vegetables, it has attracted people from all walks of life. Last Saturday, youth and community members came together for an outdoor movie. They enjoyed "Planet Earth: Great Plains" in the evening hours of a nice summer night. I stopped by the garden last week when Merry Rankin, Director of Sustainability at ISU, spoke on the topic of sustainability and how each of us can be more sustainable in our own lives. She said there wasn't a more appropriate location to talk about the topic.

This Thursday, you won't want to miss a free outdoor concert. Two great local bands, the Porch Stompers and Pennyhawk, will rock the garden beginning at 7 p.m. Porch Stompers play bluegrass/folk music, while Pennyhawk is Indie/folk. This is definitely a must-see show! Bring out your lawn chairs and blankets, feel free to bring a picnic, and enjoy some great music while getting to know your neighbors and checking out the growth in the Service Patch. ALL are welcome!

In case you haven't been out yet, the Service Patch is located at 3626 Ontario St., in the lawn adjacent to Trinity Christian Reformed Church.

Happy National AmeriCorps Week!

It's National AmeriCorps Week! I am more and more amazed by all of the things AmeriCorps members are accomplishing in Ames and Central Iowa. Our VISTA at the Volunteer Center of Story County, Laura, is full-fledged into a project that she dreamed up months ago... and it's becoming a reality. Back in September, almost right away when she began her VISTA term, she heard about a homeless garden in California, where people who were homeless had the opportunity to work on this garden, gain skills, and produce food to feed themselves. From that minute, she knew she wanted to do something similar here.

After months of planning with the AmeZone youth group, the Service Patch is becoming a reality. On Global Youth Service Day, organized by Laura and a fellow VISTA in Ames, volunteers joined together to kick off the Service Patch by building raised planters, a compost bin, a shed, a deer fence and more. By the end of the day today, weather permitting, there may be the start of vegetables in the garden.

The motto of The Service Patch is "Growing More Than Food." Laura's vision was that this garden would not only produce food (all to be donated to local food pantries and shelters), but that it would also grow relationships. It is a community space where people of all backgrounds can come together to volunteer, learn, grow food and friendships. Already youth and adults have joined together, people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and soon people from area shelters will be out working on the garden. Throughout the summer, there will community events with music, food and friendship.

We'd like to get the whole community involved - so I hope you can make it out sometime!

And, if you'd like to learn more about AmeriCorps and how AmeriCorps members are creating change in Central Iowa, join us for an AmeriCorps Week Panel Wednesday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ames Public Library. All are welcome.

-Amanda

Recognize your volunteers

National Volunteer Week is quickly approaching - this year's celebration of volunteers will be April 18-24.

The Volunteer Center of Story County recommends a number of ways to recognize the volunteers putting in hours at your agency.

1) Nominate your volunteers that are under the age of 25 for the 2010 Story County Youth Volunteer Award. This is a great way to appreciate your young volunteers. Awards such as these look great on resumes when applying for colleges, scholarships or jobs. Nomination forms are due March 23 and can be found on our Web site at www.vcstory.org. Recipients will be recognized at a reception on April 19 at the Iowa State University Memorial Union.

2) Encourage volunteers to sign up for the 10,000 Hours Show. This is a program to recognize young volunteers for all of their work. For volunteering 10 hours at your organization, volunteers can attend a free concert with other volunteers around Central Iowa. This year's concert will be by nationally-known band Cold War Kids on April 9 in the Great Hall of the ISU Memorial Union. To sign up, visit http://www.10000hours.stuorg.iastate.edu/Home.html.

3) Help your volunteers get a free ticket to a Disney Theme Park with the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. Sign your organization up at http://VOP.HandsOnNetwork.org, and verify the hours of your volunteers. One million tickets are being given out - sign up soon!

There are many, many other ways to recognize your volunteers - hold your own awards ceremony, give small tokens of appreciation, write a letter of recommendation, give volunteers more responsibility, provide additional training or professional development, or just say THANK YOU!

Get involved with the AmeZone community garden!

The Volunteer Center has some exciting opportunities available to get involved with the AmeZone homeless community garden project. Go to our website (http://www.vcstory.org/) for more information and applications. These positions offer volunteers a great chance to gain experience with volunteer management and event planning, in addition to connecting with community members from diverse backgrounds and serving a community need.

Global Youth Service Day Intern

Assist the Volunteer Center and United Ames in planning a volunteer event on Global Youth Service Day that will bring community volunteers together to create a community garden on April 24 and May 1. Contact laura.logsdon@vcstory.org to express interest by March 10.

Volunteer Garden Supervisor

Manage volunteers and garden tasks at the homeless community garden this summer, May-August. Basic training will be provided and all experience levels encouraged to apply. Email application to amezone@vcstory.org or return to the Volunteer Center 130 S. Sheldon Ave. #201 by March 30.

You can also get involved with the garden on Global Youth Service Day (April 24) when we break ground on the garden, and the following weekend (May 1) when we begin planting. Lots of volunteers are needed!!! We can't wait to get started on this project, and we've loved working with United Ames to facilitate the AmeZone youth group during this planning process. It's really a huge group effort and the more people working us on it, the more this will truly be a community garden!

Here are some websites to check out for more info:

http://amezone.webs.com/
http://unitedames.webs.com/
http://www.vcstory.org/

- Laura