CalSERVES visits Rep. Lynn Woolsey's office in Santa Rosa, California

Julie McClure, CalSERVES Program Director

 AmeriCorps members, alums, and champions for service came out today to express their support for AmeriCorps and national service.

We came representing CalSERVES and CalSERVES VIP, programs which engages over 250 AmeriCorps members in service in each year both locally and throughout the State. The programs provide vital after school programs, tutoring services, and volunteer development to students and organizations in the highest need communities.

We brought letters from hundreds of people that the program impacts directly. Our service partners are teachers, school administrators, non-profit staff people, and community members who know how vital AmeriCorps is to the community. Direct service recipients, including children and families impacted by the program every day wrote to express what it would mean to them to lose these important services. AmeriCorps alumni wrote eloquently about the important service they engaged in and how it has impacted their lives and the lives of the community for the better.

I have had the privilege of being the director of an AmeriCorps program for over 13 years. In that time I have seen how vital the services of these dedicated individuals are to the community and to the children and families they touch. They have generated and supported over 150,000 volunteers in meaningful service to the community. They have supported the growth and development of over 10,000 students and not in an insignificant way. These AmeriCorps members are mentors and role models to students who desperately need them. They dedicate their lives for a year to our community and in so doing have changed the course for so many students, showing them what is possible and providing them the tools to get there. This program is essential to this community and to who we are as a Country.

It's About Belonging!

Annette Zucconi, CalSERVES Program Manager

 Inclusion is more than the presence of children with disabilities or other special needs in After School Programs; it is about belonging. CalSERVES is proud to administer The After School Inclusion Project where we assist After School programs to better include students with special needs and disabilities while creating this sense of belonging. A focus on belonging benefits all children.


"When inclusive [practice] is fully embraced, we abandon the idea that children have to become ‘normal’ in order to contribute to the world. Instead, we search for and nourish the gifts that are inherent in all people. We begin to look beyond typical ways of becoming valued members of the community, and in doing so, begin to realize the achievable goal of providing all children with an authentic sense of belonging."
—Norman Kunc (1992)

We are working hard to support programs throughout the state of California to acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes to be successful in including all students and with systems at all levels to achieve inclusive after school programs. You can find us at www.californiaafterschool.org, Special Needs tab.

Project Services
Inclusion Project
Strategic Planning Facilitation
Technical Assistance

Inclusion Resources
Resources for Building an Inclusive After School Program
Inclusion Quality Self-Assessment
Kids Included Together
Legal Resources
Library Resources

Professional Development
Inclusion Trainings
National Training Center on Inclusion
Webinar Registration

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.

What's Cookin'? Tuesday - Brown Rice Pilaf

The CalSERVES Nutrition Program brings you What's Cookin'? Tuesdays! The theme for February is dried fruit.
 
Reasons to Eat Dried Fruits

One serving of most dried fruits provides:

• A source of dietary fiber (e.g., dates, dried figs, dried plums, raisins).
• Potassium, which the body needs to maintain muscle contractions and a healthy nervous system (e.g., dried plums, raisins).
• Iron, an essential mineral for maintaining the delivery of oxygen throughout the body (e.g., dried figs, raisins).
• A source of calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and magnesium (e.g., dates, dried figs, dried plums, raisins).

Dried Fruit History

• Athenians, including Plato, referred to themselves as “philosykos,” which translates to “friend of the fig.”
• After his failed gold mining venture, Frenchman Louis Pellier introduced Californians to dried plums at his Santa Clara Valley nursery in 1856.
• Raisins are noted in ancient writings as far back as 1490 B.C.E., but it wasn’t until 1876 when Scottish immigrant William Thompson developed a seedless grape variety in the San Joaquin Valley that the raisin industry was launched.
• Early USDA explorer Bernard Johnson became the “father of the California date industry” when he established a research station near the desert town of Mecca in the late 1880s.

For historical timelines, visit: www.harvestofthemonth.com

Brown Rice Pilaf with Sage, Walnuts and Dried Fruit
Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
as needed canola cooking spray
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium stalk celery, ends trimmed and chopped
2 cups brown rice, uncooked
2 1/2 cups water
2 cups fat-free vegetable broth, reduced sodium
1/4 cup dark raisins
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste


Instructions:

1. Spray the large skillet with canola cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat.
2. Sauté onion and celery until tender, about 5 minutes. Add brown rice and sauté for 5 minutes.
3. Add water, broth, raisins, and apricots; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 50 minutes.
4. Stir in walnuts if desired, sage, salt and pepper.
5. Transfer to serving dish. Garnish with fresh sage and serve immediately.

Cost:
Per Recipe: $ 3.03
Per Serving: $ 0.38

Calories 220, fat 1.5g, sodium 130mg, sugar 3g, protein 5g

Happy Valentine's Day from CalSERVES

Just a few hearts from us to you!

Students from Taylor Mountain After School

Artwork from CalSERVES Student 2008

Volunteer Highlight

Leah Everett, AmeriCorps VIP Fellow at Roseland Elementary

Our volunteers at Roseland have been amazing: consistent, responsible, passionate about helping our kids, positive, and ready to learn. In addition to the fantastic individuals who come each week to support classrooms, help with homework, and lead activities, we have a few special groups that are completing senior service learning projects with CalSERVES at Roseland.

First, our returning volunteer Nallely Ramirez, and her classmate Veronica Corona, from Windsor High School, are planning a fantastic event for February. We will be helping them to host a Multicultural Fair, where students will spend the after noon traveling “around the world” from booth to booth. At each station, they will learn customs of different nations around the globe, taste-testing recipe binder examples of foreign cuisine, completing crafts that symbolize a cultural practice, and hearing stories of different ways of life. These activities will support their exposure to new ideas and promote tolerance of various groups of people. A few of the nations students will explore will be China, Greece, Mexico, and Italy, though there will be eight country booths in total. Our students will be taking passports around to each station to earn a stamp, as one of many tokens by which they can remember this remarkable experience. We are thrilled to help support this event, and are proud of these volunteers who are working so hard to plan and fundraise to make it possible.

We are also in the midst of supporting another service-learning project, by two seniors from Ursuline, Amanda Osequera and Jennifer Bipes. As the girls' academic focus is supported by an art-core, they hoped to build their project around the artistic expression of younger students. In past years at Roseland, we were blessed with the wonderful Imagination Bus Project, where visiting not-for-profit volunteers would bring our kids on-board a renovated bus to complete art projects ten at a time. Since we’re well acquainted with this system for pulling kids out and encouraging their artistic expression, it was a smooth transition to support their project in this same format. The girls were pleased with the idea, and after some activity planning and support from Ursuline for art materials, the project started. We have had such a successful experience so far and the students really appreciate the existence of art in their school. We are so thankful to be able to help facilitate such a fantastic project idea to allow our kids the freedom of expression and support their artistic abilities.

We have fantastic volunteers at Roseland, and we hope to acquire more who will support CalSERVES and make our program more successful.

What's Cookin'? Tuesday - Oat Bran Muffins

The CalSERVES Nutrition Program brings you What's Cookin'? Tuesdays! The theme for February is dried fruit.

Dried Figs
Serving Size: • cup (40g)
Calories 113 Calories from Fat 2
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 5mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Sugars 20g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A <2% Calcium 6%Vitamin C <2% Iron 6%

Dried Plums
Serving Size: • cup (40g)
Calories 110 Calories from Fat 0
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 5mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2g 10%
Sugars 13g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 5% Calcium 2%Vitamin C 4% Iron 3%

Oat Bran Muffins
Serving Size: 1/12 of recipe
Yield: 12 servings 

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups oat bran
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 mashed banana
3/4 cup applesauce
2 Tablespoons raisins, dates, or other dried fruit
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup nonfat milk
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the first four dry ingredients. Set aside. Mix the egg with orange juice, milk and oil. Mix fruit and blend with dry ingredients.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry until it is moist.
4. Spray muffin tin with a non-stick coating. Pour batter into muffin tins.
5. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove muffins from pan after 10 minutes. Cool on a rack. Freeze muffins for later use. 

Cost:
Per Recipe: $ 2.76
Per Serving: $ 0.23
Calories 120, fat 4g, sodium 140mg, sugar 10g, protein 4g