Martin Luther King Jr. Day On, Not Off 2013

 “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What Are You Doing for Others?’”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

On Monday morning, AmeriCorps members all gathered in the main building of Catholic Charities. Everyone was eager to get to work due to the amount of work that needed to be done. With the sun brightly shining, the members got right to work on a variety of projects that were all physically demanding.

There were a lot of members who worked on cleaning up the community garden, which meant there was lots of pulling of weeds from the garden beds, shoveling up weeds from the ground, and raking out the extra leaves. Other members were hard at work cutting down rose bushes and cleaning up the excess amount of shrubs around the buildings.

Another group of members cleaned out the front area of the drop-in building, which is very busy throughout the week. A few members also helped out inside the buildings by answering phones, cleaning, and making sandwiches for the residents. AmeriCorps member Lavonne Toso said of her experience: "I really enjoyed talking to the different people that were living there or using the resources given by Catholic Charities."

 Other members moved furniture out of rooms so that they could be painted. The work didn’t just stop at Catholic Charities because there was another group who went to Julliard Park to landscape, plant, and cleanup the area. AmeriCorps member Alex Rowan said of the work at Julliard Park: "From weeding to planting ferns around the park, we all felt great getting our hands dirty and giving back to the community."

 During this rewarding time of service, there were smiles, laughter, and joyous conversations happening everywhere. The CalSERVES AmeriCorps team really came together to get things done for America and to follow through with the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. AmeriCorps member Ashley Schalich noted: "I really enjoyed seeing how much our group accomplished in such a short amount of time - everyone worked together to make a noticeable, significant change for our local community."

 Working together for a greater cause is not unusual for this team and after seeing the difference that their services provided on this day, it’s clear that these members continually serve their community straight from their heart.

 Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: “Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” 

by Sandra Hwang, CalSERVES AmeriCorps Leader

A Day On, Not a Day Off for CalSERVES

On January 21,2013, CalSERVES will be partnering with Catholic Charities and the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County to provide service for the community.

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and
should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

With Dr. King’s words in mind, AmeriCorps members will be assisting several projects including:

• Painting the dining room, scrubbing and reorganizing the kitchen, creating intake packets, shredding items, and garden maintenance at the family support center; 
• Providing landscaping work for Julliard Park and Catholic Charities’ complex; 
• Clearing bushes, weeds, and cigarette butts at a homeless service center.

For this group of dedicated AmeriCorps members, it will truly be a
Martin Luther King Day On, Not a Day Off.

Happy Holidays from the CalSERVES AmeriCorps Leaders!

CalSERVES Leaders

(Adapted from Clement Clark Moore’s “Twas the Night before Christmas.”)

Twas the night before Winter Break, when all through CalSERVES,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a nerve.
The schools were all picked up and cleaned with care,
In hopes that after break was over, they would still be there.

The tutors were all nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of lesson plans danced in their heads.
The leaders put on their sweet hats,
And settled near the fire for a few little chats.

Then once the clock turned the hour of midnight,
They all sprang from where they were to get a better look at the sight.
Away to the windows, they flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains and almost knocked over the trash.

There stood a little old driver, so lively and quick,
They knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Then all of a sudden, his coursers came
And he whistled, shouted, and called them all by name!

“Now, Taylor Mountain! Now, Wright, Now Bellevue!
On, Kawana! On, RL! On, On Meadow View!
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all covered with ashes and soot.
Smiling widely from cheek to cheek, while doing a quick happy dance,
All those who were staring at him, were in a joyful trance.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And spread a sprinkling of joy, then he turned with a sly smirk.
And wiggling his finger and touching his nose,
He gave a quick nod, and up, up to the sky he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
As soon as he was no where in sight,
Everyone heard: “Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good-night!"

CalSERVES Leaders - Goofy Picture

We hope everyone has a safe and fun winter break!

By Sandra Hwang, After School Regional Leader

CalSERVES VIP Doing Great Things!

The CalSERVES Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) is doing amazing things throughout the state of California.

To read more about this project and how they are impacting the State of California, visit the CalSERVES website, www.calserves.org and read more about CalSERVES VIP!

The Golden Bell Visits Meadow View

CalSERVES recently received the Golden Bell Award, a national recognition of exemplary programs in 22 major categories, which are essential to support teaching and learning. Our award is for our efforts in nutrition promotion and physical activity.

The Golden Bell went on tour to our local programs, during a fitness week where students participate in a variety of sports and games, nutrition art activities, a mile run, wear pedometers, and engage in various nutritional discussions. Perfect timing!

On December 6th, the Golden Bell came to Meadow View Elementary. Students learned about our award, posed for a picture, and each got a chance to ring the large, golden, trophy bell. Students commented, “Wow, it’s heavy!” “Do we get to keep it?” “That is a loud award.” One fourth grade boy told me, “Congratulations on the award, Ms. Kim. That is really special.” What a fitting end to our fitness week!

 By Kimberly Copperberg, Site Supervisor at Meadow View Elementary

Meet the Team Leaders: Sara Craige

Sara Craige, CalSERVES Team Leader at Bellevue

Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sara Craige is the Team Leader at Bellevue Elementary School and this is her second year working in the CalSERVES program. She graduated in 2011 from Penn State University with a degree in Elementary Education and applied to CalSERVES in order to make a difference in children’s lives.

This year, Sara hopes to gain new relationships with her team members and pass down her experience as a veteran AmeriCorps member to the rest of her team at Bellevue. Sara is also striving to grow professionally in the education field and gain experience working with kids for her future career goals.

As for her new position as a Team Leader, Sara states that she loves everything about her job, especially getting to bounce from grade to grade and work with kids of all ages. Sara likes both the creativity and the challenges that come up in her position - she loves coming up with new ideas, activities, and different ways to present information to the classroom leaders and the AmeriCorps Scholars.

Additionally, Sara immensely enjoys working with the entire Bellevue team. She appreciates how different each AmeriCorps member and classroom leader is and how much they have to offer the students at Bellevue. She states that every team member is always looking out for each other and always supporting each other which makes for a coherent and friendly team dynamic. Sara is also grateful that she gets to work with such an inspirational, dedicated, hilarious, creative, and determined supervising teacher. She says that they have a great partnership that is always keeping the team and students’ best interest at heart.

During her time in CalSERVES, Sara hopes to inspire the students she works with to become the best possible version of themselves. She wants to show her kids that there are so many opportunities out there for them and that high school isn't the end, that there is a whole world out there filled with possibilities and opportunities. She wants to show her students that they can achieve any goal or dream that they have with hard work, dedication, and confidence in themselves.

As for advice for future Team Leaders or Service Scholars, Sara says:

• Wear sneakers on Wednesdays because you will be running the mile
• Dance whenever there is music playing because kids will join you and it will always put a smile on your face
• You will encounter "garbage juice" from the trash cans at snack so just remember to wash your hands
• Color coordinate with your team (it’s fun and shows unity)
• Pick a Starbucks near you and learn to love it cause you will stop by every morning
• If you go home with marker on you, chalk or remnants of snack it means you had a good day
• Appreciate your team members every day, cause you'll need things from them and the more you show them love the easier it is to work with them!

By: Jacquelene Bennett, AmeriCorps Content Leader and Sara Craige, AmeriCorps Team Leader, Bellevue Elementary

Meet the Team Leaders: Allison Hunter

Allison Hunter, CalSERVES Team Leader at RL Stevens

My name is Allison Hunter and I’m 23 years old. I was raised in Petaluma by my mother and father and have always loved the country life. I speak four languages and have a deep passion for travel, culture, and of course, teaching! I attended UC Santa Cruz where I received my bachelors in American History with a focus on Latin America. While in Santa Cruz I was also the lead teacher at Little Legends Preschool. After finishing school I moved back up to Sonoma County and started looking for a new job. After some failed searching my sister told me that some people from a place called CalSERVES came to her school at Sonoma State to talk about what the program and she thought, “Hey, my sister would love that!” After a bit of my own research I had to agree with her and I applied right away! I signed up as a literacy tutor but in the interview I was asked if I’d be interested in being the team leader and, of course, I was. I’ve always had leadership qualities and the fact that I get to exercise that leader part of me while also helping the kids is something that I’m enjoying thoroughly.

I hope that during my time here at Robert L. Stevens Elementary I can learn to be someone who has the ability to help both the tutors and tutees become everything they want to be. That may seem like a vague statement, but what I mean is that I want to be able to help my tutors not only hone their teaching skills but gain a life enriching experience while helping the children at my school gain the tools they need to be academically successful as well. For myself, I know this experience will give me the building blocks I need to shape a purposeful life for myself both professionally and personally. I’ve been very fortunate to have been teamed up with a fantastic group of AmeriCorps members and classroom leaders.

Everyone I’ve been working with is so driven and just as motivated as I am about helping children succeed in their scholastic endeavors. A lot of the people I’m working with are returners who worked for this program before and they have helped me feel right at home. Their prior knowledge of the students and the way things work here has been helpful in more ways than I could say. My site supervisor is a gem; she has been on site for years and knows all the ins and outs of this place. I also have come to build very pleasant relationships with the teachers on campus here. All in all, I’ve come to love this school – the kids, the teachers, my coworkers – everyone has contributed to make this a great experience.

After my service in CalSERVES I plan to leave the country to teach English abroad. I’m not sure where yet, but I know that I will be applying the skills I’ve learned at CalSERVES when teaching abroad next year (and for the rest of my life). I cannot sign off without giving some advice to anyone who is interested in being a team leader: there is never a dull moment and sometimes there’s more to do than one person can handle, but this experience is something that I would never want to take back. I’ve already learned so much about myself and how to interact with other people, and children. Every day is different and new, and the kids make your day never devoid of excitement. I wouldn’t change a thing!

By: Allison Hunter, AmeriCorps Team Leader, Robert L. Stevens Elementary