Hundreds of CalSERVES AmeriCorps Members from Across California Gear Up for Our Annual Conference

 In the last month, hundreds of AmeriCorps members across our Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP), CalPREP, and After School programs have taken the first big step into their yearlong AmeriCorps pledge by immersing themselves in service. Our members serve in diverse capacities across California, from building capacity of nonprofits behind the scenes to tutoring small groups of students in specialized subject areas. No matter their role, all of our AmeriCorps members are untied in their passion for serving our state’s children and families through National Service commitments.

It’s my pleasure to announce that for first the first time, members from across all three of our AmeriCorps programs will come together in Rohnert Park for the CalSERVES AmeriCorps Conference. We’re thrilled about this opportunity to connect our inspiring corps of individuals and can’t wait to see the passion for community service that this event will spark in our dedicated team.

In addition to the opportunity to network with and learn from participants in other programs, each of our AmeriCorps members will receive high-quality training in their area of specialty. After School Service Scholars can look forward to training in behavior management best practices and in their primary subject area (Healthy Behaviors, Literacy, or STEM) from field experts. Instructors in the After School conference track include seasoned CalSERVES staff members and some of our favorite trainers, like David Chosa and Francesca Soriano-Hersh.

VIP and CalPREP fellows will have the opportunity to receive training from some of the best in the field of volunteer management. We’re excited to have experts from OneOC, the Sonoma County Family YMCA, and our event partner, the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County, lead workshops in volunteer management topics from the “Elements of Volunteerism” to the building of business partnerships for volunteering. CalPREP Fellows – who are focusing their service year on building college-readiness mentoring programs – will also receive training in our research-based mentoring curriculum.

As the hub for nonprofits in Sonoma County, the Volunteer Center is excited to support our event by sharing its expertise and understanding of nonprofit and volunteer management with our AmeriCorps team! We’re incredibly grateful for their partnership and for providing educational support through multiple presentations over the 4-day conference.

Lauren Serpa, CalSERVES Volunteer Program Coordinator

Destination: After School

Shannon Irish and Katie Gill, CalSERVES AmeriCorps Content Leaders,
with their prizes from the After School Conference

“Twenty years from now, the kids you currently serve won’t remember much of what you said to them, but they’ll all recall how you made them feel.” These were just some of the opening remarks and inspirational lessons given to the attendees of the March 2nd, Region 1 After School Conference in Fortuna, CA by keynote speaker Charlie Appelstein.

 The conference was composed of several workshops ranging from Healthy Behaviors to Engineering Robotics. The keynote speaker, Charlie Appelstein, gave a very powerful talk on Strength-Based Behavior Management. He also held a workshop, which further elaborated on his keynote address and book “No Such Thing As a Bad Kid!”

Charlie’s speech provided attendees with endless ways to positively enrich student’s lives. At one point he stated: “A positive attitude sends the message: I want to be here. I care about you. I believe in you. And I know you will succeed. Which all leads to hope, happiness, and success! Hope is humanity’s fuel.” His stories and strategies were filled with tears, laughter, and knowledge. If you’re staying in the field of education, we highly suggest going to his website to learn more about his techniques and theories: www.charliea.com.

Some other interesting workshops that were given at the conference included: Rescuing Recess Game, 4-H Robotics, Photo Voice, Learning Activities to Felicitate Hard Middle School Topics, Feel the Force with Charlie Alperstein, Creating Art on the Cheap, and Fun Games on the Fly. Additionally, our very own Kristen Mowers had the privilege to lead a workshop about Nutrition Education.

At the end of the conference, our program was put into a drawing to win educational prizes. We were lucky and won one of the raffle prizes that consisted of 6 board games, books, science activities, and gym equipment.

 Between meeting new people, enjoying the booming town of Fortuna, and learning lots of useful information, we all greatly enjoyed the conference.

by Katie Gill, CalSERVES AmeriCorps Content Leader

CalSERVES Welcomes the 2011-2012 Team!

The new year has begun, and with it came 135 AmeriCorps members from across the nation. CalSERVES staff are happy to welcome everyone, including those members who are returning for a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year!

The first day of training, everyone was inspired and jazzed to go!

Engaged, and listening!

And it wouldn't be CalSERVES without some great Team Building activities!

Go, team, go!

A Successful School of Rock!

Katie O'Looney-McCormick, CalSERVES Supervising Teacher at Wright Charter

Every year the team leaders of CalSERVES take on the role of facilitator and create a conference for the mentors. The conference provides training for mentors where they need additional support as well as an opportunity for team leader’s to gain experience as workshop facilitators. This year, the conference included topics like: classroom management, improving lessons plans, understanding student standards and more. When the event was over, mentors and team leaders alike were very pleased. The Conference was February 4.

CalSERVES is awarded a PE grant to support Healthy Behaviors Learning Centers

Julie McClure, CalSERVES Program Director

The Napa County Office of Education and partners have received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to run a comprehensive physical activity, health and nutrition program to directly serve 2,000 K–8th grade students in 20 elementary and middle schools.

The program will also expand the CalSERVES’ Healthy Behavior Learning Centers to support the implementation of comprehensive PE, health, and nutrition education in after school across California. This program will provide support to after school programs across the state in their efforts to provide high quality PE and nutrition programming to those most in need.

HBI provides each partner school with

• physical and nutrition education material and supplies
• funding for innovative physical education and nutrition instruction
• training for staff members
• equipment to support the curricula
• follow up coaching, feedback, and evaluation of progress

The Learning Centers will offer training, site visits, and follow up coaching to all California state-funded after school programs, impacting 300 additional staff each year and exposing them to best practices in physical and nutrition education particularly in the after school setting.

This program will fill the gap created by insufficient PE time during the school day, which in turn will help students make progress towards a healthier lives.

The first Healthy Behaviors training is on 1/20/2011 in Santa Rosa, CA is open to all after school staff in any state funded after school program in California. Registration is now open: 
www.sonomacan.org/trainings.php

New On-line Trainings for Inclusion

Emily Mann, CalSERVES Program Coordinator

This year, CalSERVES' After School Inclusion Project launched it's new on-line training series. This exciting use of technology allows after school staff from all across the state to attend trainings - something that was impossible before.

The trainings focus on making connections with people in a student's life to help them be successful in After School - parents, teachers, administrators, and specialists. By creating a team of people to help the student and the After School Staff, kids with special needs - whether physical, or behavioral, or developmental - can integrate and participate in all the fabulous activities programs offer.

To learn more about the trainings being offered, and to register, please visit:

http://www.californiaafterschool.org/Inclusion_webinar.html

AmeriCorps Members are Getting Things Done!

Emily Mann, CalSERVES Program Coordinator

On the hottest day of the Summer, 40 AmeriCorps members got together to learn about their community and make a difference. Working with the City of Santa Rosa, they walked down to Colgan Creek (near Kawana Elementary School) and cleaned the area. 

With the sun beating down on them, and no Air Conditioning in sight, they worked with amazing enthusiasm and energy. This will be a fantastic year as this crew Gets Things Done for America! Way to go, CalSERVES!

CalSERVES Full Time AmeriCorps members begin!

On August 23rd, 28 full time AmeriCorps members joined us from all over the country for a Welcome / AmeriCorps 101 Training at the Finley Center in Santa Rosa. Throughout the 6 hour training, members learned about the history of service in our nation, specifically AmeriCorps and CalSERVES. We discussed the difference between service and a job and talked about how important it is to serve our communities. They are a wonderful group with thoughtful comments, positive attitudes and we're looking forward to seeing them grow into leaders this upcoming year!

Welcome CalSERVES AmeriCorps Members!!

A State Wide Training

Sara Sitch, Program Manager, CalSERVES

The AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Program and California’s PROMISE came together in mid-October for a statewide conference. Hosted at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, the training offered multiple tracks for members and supervisors.

The conference kicked off on October 14, with keynote speaker Dr. Seth Pollack, Director of the Service Learning Institute at CSU Monterey Bay. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali in his twenties, Dr. Pollack learned first hand what it is to serve. Last year, while on a Fullbright Scholarship, Dr. Pollack reconnected with old friends and became reinvigorated by the power of service and learning to change the world. His address, “Elephants and Dung Beetles—Doing the Heavy Lifting Through Service for Social Change” was the perfect beginning to an exciting and educational three days.

The conference continued with trainings centered around volunteer management, event planning and facilitation, national service days, and on-the-job workshops. To underline the importance of service, AmeriCorps members also had the opportunity to participate in a beach clean-up and a greenhouse service project.

 On October 16, the conference culminated with a fantastic send-off by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which offered AmeriCorps members and supervisors free admission for the afternoon. There, eighty conference attendees go to take in exhibits at one of the best aquariums in the world. Attendees were treated to the new seahorse exhibit and were able to catch a rare glimpse of a young white shark. But, even with the two new attractions, the jelly-fish display continued to be an all-time favorite.

School of Rock

Annette Zucconi, Program Coordinator for CalSERVES


They came in mass, 120 strong, on an unseasonably beautiful January morning like a tidal wave of gray AmeriCorps shirts. Instead of sleeping in, our dedicated service members, representing 8 school sites, converged on the Chop’s Teen Center in Santa Rosa to enjoy a morning conference, affectionately titled “School of Rock”. Developed and implemented by a phenomenal group of AmeriCorps Team Leaders and Promise Fellows, the conference served as a mid-year “booster shot” for the CalSERVES ’08-’09 corps.


The day began with an amazing keynote address by Jim Nevill of Go Adventure, http://www.lifeschooladventures.org. Jim laid out the statistics facing youth today, and hammered home the message that this group of members, in this time of challenge and turmoil, is needed like no other time in American history. They were charged with the responsibility of giving youth the message “There is Hope, and you can achieve your Dreams”, and the skills to make it happen. It was evident, as they poured out of the main hall toward their workshops, that they understood the mission they were on.


The CalSERVES vision of Passion, Power and Potential was sprinkled throughout all of the morning’s workshops. Topics included classroom management for lower and upper grades, literacy instructions, communication, and prioritizing & lesson planning. To top it off, the participants enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by the Chop’s staff.


After all was said & done, our amazing Team Leaders and Promise Fellows came together for a Fishbowl reflection, sharing all they had learned about identifying needs, designing & developing training, and yes, just how challenging it is to sync up logistics, with content, with participants! It was a day to remember, a first time event, initiated by the CalSERVES “Larry” Staff Tribe, supported by the entire staff…….and in the words of Larry the Cable Guy we “Gitter Done!”.

Joining the AmeriCorps Team

Jeremy King, CalSERVES Program Assistant

During the past few weeks, all the Leadership Team members and CalSERVES Program Assistants have been busy recruiting some great mentors for this year. Many professors at Sonoma State University and the Santa Rosa Junior College welcomed us to make brief presentations in their classes. We had many college students and staff come visit our table on campus and express their support for the work we are doing.

One day the JC team was even able to convince a student to play his saxophone near our table to attract more attention! I have seen the enthusiasm of our AmeriCorps Leadership Team members and am excited for the coming year!

Yesterday, the newly recruited half-time members joined in their first training - AmeriCorps 101. We are excited to have everyone on our team!