AmeriRachael

I've come to realize that the issue of recruitment is not a once or twice a year project. Although our term ends and a new one begins the first of September, members are able to join at virtually any time...and this year we've had a few positions that weren't filled until just recently. So recruitment is a year-round concern! I'm so glad to have Shena and Theresa joining us and it also looks like some of our KCLC members will be around for the next term, as well.

The Office of Service-Learning is a busy place. A few MBA marketing students developed a marketing plan for our project and presented us with it last week---amazing what those business-minded folks think of! Afterwords, we sat down and began to brainstorm how we can implement these new ideas. I think my favorite part about being on this team is our meetings...I always look forward to them and feel disappointed if I have to miss one!

Since we love meetings so much around here, we've started an AmeriCorps Service Group (ACS) which will focus on supporting service events in the community. Lots of our members are electing to participate in this group but it is also open to non-members...anyone with an interest. Meeting times vary, so please contact broadwellrm@unk.edu if you are interested in attending. We welcome prospective volunteers as well as agency representatives with projects they would like us to help promote and sponsor.

There is so much going on, I feel that I am leaving so many things out! Hopefully I will stay up-to-date with the blog over the summer months with picture and event updates. Remember members, anyone can post to our story board!! See you all soon!

We've been really busy in the Office of Service-Learning...I imagine it's been the same for all members. Our biggest task has been RECRUITMENT. Not just recruitment for vacant AmeriCorps positions...but for the Asset Mapping project, getting community partners and students to start using SL Pro and recruiting trainers for the rest of the service year. Finally the posters should be close to ready and we should get them posted in the next week or so. The process of creating the poster, brochure and flyer has made me realize how difficult it is to define exactly "what" we are...are we primarily a campus organization since most of us are students? How significant is our relationship with the United Way since they are our primary sponser? Then there have been the hoops to jump through to get the posters printed and approved!!...but I'm not going to go there.

At our last member training, Lisa from the United Way gave us a better idea of exactly what the United Way is and how it fits with each of our positions. Cristine gave us a run-down on using SL Pro so that we can share our progress and also find other ways to finish hours. We'll start posting opportunities for additional hours soon! Hanging our new posters will definately be one :~) I always look forward to trainings because we all get the opportunity to hear the thoughts and ideas of one another...and the food is a nice perk, as well!

As much as I love writing and sharing what I'm doing and my perspectives on things...I really hope that the other members will start posting! Not to put any pressure on...ok, maybe a little pressure! The blog is a great way to reflect on your experiences while letting the rest of us have an idea of what you're doing either the same or different than the rest of us. The facebook group was created with the intention of sharing ideas, especially in how we can involve the rest of the campus and community. If we could come up w/ some ideas for events to sponsor, this would be a great way to clock in some extra hours. These are my thoughts for now, hope to hear from you all soon!

AmeriCorps members at UNK and in Kearney have been very busy this holiday season. There have been some changes and we are starting to re-structure priorities and responsibilities. We want to start focusing more on recruitment and presence in the community and on campus. I just recently started a Facebook group called AmeriCorps of Central NE (not sure if this will be the official name...it could change in order to encompass all that we do). Hopefully I will eventually find more members to invite to this group because its purpose should be that of a discussion / idea-sharing forum. The only time I really get to see the other members who aren't working in the Office of Service-Learning is at our once-a-month trainings and I think it'd be great if there was an open line of communication.

At the beginning of the week I had the privilege of visiting Rowe Sanctuary (where new member Charli will be working) to discuss SL Pro with Tony Doherty. I had never been to the sanctuary before and I fell in love with it instantly. I talked with Tony not only about SL Pro but also about specific volunteer opportunities available at the sanctuary. It was great to find that the sanctuary not only caters to outdoors fanatics, but to anyone with any interest---from teaching children to visual arts. Tony took Charli and I on a tour of the property and all I could think was "Why didn't I bring a camera??" So a couple days later I returned with a friend and we took as many pictures as we could before we could no longer feel our extremities (it was one of those -20 degree Farenheit days!). Of course I recommend that everyone visit...the facilities are open M-F but the nature trails are open every day from dawn til dusk---I plan to go out again on a day that is at least above zero
                                            


                                             


                                            
                               Standing on the frozen Platte River                                    The tripod kept sliding away on the ice!

Going on week 3 of my time with AmeriCorps and the Office of Service-Learning, I have learned a thing or two:

• Issues of absolute and relative poverty: around the world and right here in Kearney

     -1.35 million children experience homelessness in the US every year
     -1/6 of the world's population lives under conditions classified as "extreme poverty"---living off less than $1 per day
     -The Pine Ridge Reservation (just to the north of us) is one of the poorest areas in the US

• Service-Learning is not (I repeat: NOT) the same as Community Service!

     -When doing community service or volunteer work, people choose their activities and do not have an academic connection
     -In service-learning, students fulfill a community-designated need which then reinforces their academic experience

• I am not as tech / internet savvy as I had once believed myself to be

     -wikis, nings, Google Calendars & Maps...even this blog...it's all new to me!

• Gerry Stirtz loves babies (good thing Steven J. has a brand new one!)

• We (I) need to figure out how to get more people involved in our asset mapping project

     -Dr. Cook-Fong is already on-board and has done a TON of research with her practicum students!
     -I am investigating a possibility of correlating the asset mapping project with the Undergraduate Research Fellows program which pays students a stipend
     -Hopefully, I will soon be meeting with professors in Social Work and Sociology about the possibility of integrating the asset mapping project with more classes
     -Always looking for suggestions!

   Either I volunteered or was appointed to start a blog (I guess it doesn't really matter) for sharing experiences with AmeriCorps here at UNK and in the Kearney, NE vicinity. I'll begin with a little blurb about myself: My name is Rachael and, as of yesterday, I have survived 24 years of life. I feel too young and too old all at the same time. I have a daughter who will turn 5 soon (making me feel quite a lot older than I am) and I am a student at UNK (does this mean I can still be young?). I have a BA in Studio Art with a minor in Women's Studies and I am also working on a BS in Social Work...and there is talk of me finishing a long-lost minor in Graphic Design if I can convince myself to take that one last class! When I graduate in May 2010 I will receive 2 degrees...exciting! I've lived in Kearney since 2005 and I love when I can get out and do some traveling. 

   I just started with AmeriCorps so I'm still feeling my way around. So far I have managed not to cause any catastrophes and I think I'm beginning to get the hang of things. I will mostly be working with the Asset Mapping project...which is great because I'll be working with many of my favorite professors from UNK and other great people who are students or active community members.

   I have "blogged" before...mostly on MySpace...so I think this will come somewhat naturally. The hardest part is finding a balance between personal vs. professional. I'm not planning to do this newspaper editorial style (that's what enewsletters are for) because I want it to be open and honest. Hopefully we'll see other members begin to also share their experiences!