Happy AmeriCorps Week!

Happy AmeriCorps Week! AmeriCorps can mean a lot of things to many different people, whether it is volunteering, building park trails, working with homeless youth, or advocating for students, one thing is for sure – AmeriCorps members make an impact in their community.

 

Check out the grand prize winner in the 2010 AmeriCorps Video Contest:

 

Here at Take Stock in Children, our AmeriCorps term is definitely many of these things and more.  Everyday, students inspire us, challenge us, and encourage us to be better individuals, volunteers, and citizens.  We thank you for the opportunity to serve you in order to “Get Things Done!”

Alternative Spring Breaks!

 
With Spring Break coming up in the next few weeks, we thought we would offer our students a way to engage in volunteerism while taking a break from studies. Alternative Spring Breaks are trips where a group of college students engage in volunteer service that focus on a particular social issue such as poverty, the environment, or education reform. Students learn about the social issues and then perform week-long projects with local non-profit organizations. Alternative breaks are great because you get to travel and work with a group of peers for a week, all while creating an impact in the community!

What you stand to gain
·         Travel You can travel to new communities and meet new people
·         Involvement These trips are great ways to become more involved in school and in your community
·         Savings Alternative Breaks are often considerably less expensive (if not totally free, covered by student government) than traditional Spring Break trips
·         Experience Serving with an Alternative Spring Break is a great way to gain leadership experience

Quality components of an Alternative Break
Strong Direct Service: Should provide an opportunity for participants to engage in direct or “hands on” projects and activities that address unmet social needs, as determined by the community.

Orientation: Alternative breakers learn about the purposes and goals of their community partners with which they will be working.

Education: Breakers learn about the complexity of the social issue through reading materials, speaker panels, documentaries, and guest lecturers related to current trends and historical context. A strong educational foundation for the trip will contribute to a meaningful service experience.

Training: Breakers are provided with adequate skills necessary to carry out service projects during their trip. This may include learning physical skills, such as construction or maintenance skills, as well as interpersonal communication, such as interacting with children, sensitivity training, working with people with disabilities, trail building, etc.

Reflection: During the trip participants process the service work as it connects to the broader social issue. Groups set aside time for reflection to take place individually and as a group.

Reorientation: After students return to campus, reorientation activities allow participants to talk about issues with others on campus, learn about local volunteer and civic involvement opportunities, and brainstorm other means to benefit their local community. Reorientation (the post-trip application of the experience) is the essential purpose of an alternative break - to provide a platform for participants to work towards lifelong active citizenship.

Diversity and Social Justice: Strong alternative break programs include diverse representation of students from the campus community and direct exposure to studying social justice issues

Impact

Many students who return from an alternative break experience consider it a life changing event. Alternative break alumni have reported changing their major, increasing their campus involvement, committing to continued community service, actively staying updated on social issues, and joining a service program post-graduation such as AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or Teach for America. Many return to participate and lead alternative break programs throughout their time as students.

An impact analysis conducted in 2001 by Dr. Pushkala Raman and her Marketing Research Class at Florida State University in conjunction with Break Away (www.alternativebreaks2013.org) revealed that there is overwhelming evidence to support the view that alternative breaks are “indeed contributing to the creating of active citizens.”

Many schools coordinate Alternative Spring Breaks for their students, so if you are interested in taking part in a trip this spring, check with your Student Government or Community Outreach office.  You may also want to check out the following link for more organizations which offer their own Alternative Spring Breaks:  studenttravel.about.com/od/springbreakvolunteers/qt/alternate_sprin.htm

Summer Opportunities

 As we enter the New Year and new semester, it is not too early to begin thinking about your summer and what opportunities lay ahead for you!  Here are a few recommendations to keep yourself busy this summer that you may consider:

Summer classes Though school is out for the summer, this does not mean you have to stop learning!  Several colleges and universities throughout the state of Florida offer summer programs for high school students spanning a variety of concentrations, including leadership, entrepreneurship, and medical sciences.  This is a great way to stay busy, meet new people, and to also get a feel for different colleges.  Especially if you are particularly interested in a specific school, this is a unique opportunity for you to meet their faculty and introduce yourself to their program, a major bonus for admissions!  Check out this link for more info on some of these programs!  For college students, many schools offer summer classes, a great way to obtain an accelerated degree.  Summer is also an excellent opportunity to take advantage of study abroad opportunities and learn in a different state or even country!

Volunteer Summer presents a great opportunity to give your time and talents to help others.  In previous blog posts we have spoken about the importance of volunteerism and civic engagement; not only does volunteerism help others and the larger community, but it also enriches your own life.  This is especially true in terms of your college and career plans if you have a specific interest.  For example, if you are interested in veterinary science, you may volunteer at an animal shelter or animal clinic.  This not only helps animals and the community, but it also exposes you to the field of your interest – a great experience to have for a resume!

Internships and Jobs With classes out, summer is a time when most students take on an extra job or internship.  Internships are pre-professional work experiences that provide the opportunity to gain experience in a particular field.  By gaining experience in a field, it can help you narrow your career and research interests.  Internships can also provide academic credit and even supplement classes.  They are great opportunities to try different things, without having the commitment of a contract or career move; internships are usually for a couple months or a 1 year program. 

Internships are also a great opportunity to live in a different city, state, or country!  If you are interested in Fashion, you may consider applying to an internship in New York and those interested in Political Science may consider applying to internships in Washington, D.C.  If you are applying to internships and getting academic credit for it, you can often apply financial aid to help you pay for housing or transportation, which is especially helpful if you are considering interning abroad.

January is a great time to start looking for internships and jobs.  Give yourself ample time to fill out the applications thoughtfully, so that you are able to submit a strong application.

To find the internship or job that is right for you, you must first consider your interests and goals.  It is also important to decide what you want to get out of the experience, if the internship is for college credit, perhaps you need a position that fulfills certain guidelines set by your academic advisors.  Internships are great learning experiences for students, and your fresh perspectives and previous experiences are a valuable asset to the organization and employers with whom you will be working with.  For more information on internships and different opportunities, check out the following to find an internship in your field:

• www.internmatch.com

• www.vault.com/wps/portal/usa

• www.libertyguide.com

Volunteerism!

Take Stock in Children is built on a foundation of volunteer mentors, so we all know volunteerism can change a life, check out all of these other reasons to consider engaging in community service!

1. See the world:

   Some of the poorest countries that are the most in need of help also happen to be some of the most breathtaking places in the world. The mountains of Nepal, the lush jungles of Costa Rica, the wide expanses of Kenya are just a few of the lush vistas available to you.

2. Volunteers are needed in this economy:

   A recession hits charitable groups doubly hard, as people need more help but volunteers have less time and resources to give. Although the numbers are beginning to come back up, the recession is far from over, unemployment remains high, and the need for workers lingers.

3. Help your resume:

   The job market being what it is, volunteer experience can make great material for improving a resume and helping yourself stand out. More employers are saying they're interested in employees with volunteer experience. And who knows? You might land a job with the nonprofit you volunteer with!

4. Find your calling:

   High school and college grads who aren't sure what they want to do with their lives are often advised to take an internship somewhere to get a feel for life in a certain line of work. Volunteering can serve the same purpose. You may find your passion is helping people.

5. Build lifelong friendships:

   Serving alongside people has a way of forming special bonds that can last for years. Especially if your volunteering takes you to a third world country, the newness and uncertainty of the environment encourages you to find similarity with your fellow volunteers, which builds a basis for friendships that can last a lifetime.

6. Gain valuable experience:

   There are so many different ways to volunteer, the skills that can be learned in the process are countless. Whether you volunteer as a firefighter or a camp counselor, you'll gain valuable knowledge about the world and about yourself that can be applied anywhere.

7. It's a great way to make contacts:

   You never know whom you'll run into when volunteering. The connections you make with fellow volunteers could prove invaluable when you return to the search for a job. It's just one more reason it pays to be nice to everyone.

8. It can change your outlook on life:

   Volunteering is probably the best way to break yourself out of your comfort zone and show you what life is like for many people. Doing so can change your views on a number of important social issues, like welfare, public health care, education, and more.

9. Learn about your community:

   In an era of customizable and portable technology, it's easy to create a little bubble for yourself, iPod blaring in your ears while you surf Facebook on your phone. Whether you recognize it or not, you're part of a community, and volunteering requires you to unplug and connect with those around you.

10. Have your student loan forgiven:

    For certain federal student loans, the government will agree to cancel all or a part of the loan in exchange for the student performing volunteer work. The work must be done with approved groups like AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, or Volunteers in Service to America.

11. Learn a foreign language:

    Anyone who has tried to pick up a second language will tell you there's no quicker way to become fluent than by immersing yourself in a culture where that language, and nothing but that language, is spoken. Volunteering abroad is the perfect time to learn a foreign tongue.

12. Get motivated:

    Maybe you just haven't felt motivated to get to work now that college is over. Since objects in motion tend to stay in motion, getting off the couch and volunteering is a good way to build some momentum that can carry you into your working career.

13. Find inspiration:

    Say you're volunteering by digging a well in Africa and the brilliant idea for well construction hits you. There's no telling what kind of inspiration you can get while giving your time. Or maybe the inspiration you get will just be a better appreciation for wildlife, people, or America.

14. It's the right thing to do:

     It's simply the right thing to do!

We hope you will consider the benefits of volunteerism, whether it is to build your resume, enrich your life, or to enrich the lives of those around you - service is of importance to us all.