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NEWSLETTER
FALL 2012
President Letter Fall 2012
I am glad to report to the membership another great year for CISV Maine. Our accomplishments are plentiful and we have much to be proud of, so let me summarize: First and foremost what a great Village we had this summer. Masterpeace Village, planned by Board Members Penny Lamhut and Kathryn Walker Norris and directed by Valerie Maurais was held at the Holbrook School this summer. As most know Village is the signature CSIV program for 11 year olds. To be able to send our Maine kids to travel each year we have to host a Village every 3 years. This summer was no different when 48 eleven year olds, Junior Counselor’s and adult staff descended on Holbrook School and spent a month together learning about each other within the Village experience. We are so thankful for all the support of the community and our membership which volunteered and helped in so many ways (snacks, cleaning, running errands, etc.) to make our Village such a success. It truly takes a community to run a Village, thanks to all of you!
Our CISV Garden project, one of our local or MOSAIC programs continues to be a source of pride. If you have not seen it, you should, it’s amazing! Local CISV families are in their second year working on a unique experiential, community service gardening project which benefits people in area homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Located next to the Senior Center in Orono, we grow crops, harvest and store them until late fall when we use them to make soups, breads and desserts each month throughout the winter. Last year our goal was to grow and prepare 800 ‐ 1000 hearty, healthy meals for people in need (we managed to do 1100) ‐ this year's goal is to serve 1200. Thank you Pat and Doug Bears our garden stewards for your countless hours of service.
Our other MOSAIC program, Passport to the World again wooed 20 children from 4‐10 years old for a week in July, opening their eyes to other cultures through game, dress and food. This was the 8th year we have run the week long program. The program this year was further enhanced by the opportunity to visit our Village and meet real kids from the countries this just learned about. Thank you Joanne Alex.
The Doris Twitchell Allen Lecture series continues this year with our first lecture in December. Human rights is the CISV theme for 2013 and our fall and spring lectures will
reflect this. Please check the calendar of events and come and share your time with us. Last year’s lectures included speakers with personal accounts of the Arab uprising in Egypt and the Tsunami in Japan and were riveting and thoroughly enjoyed .
The website continues to be updated and is slowly becoming out preferred source of communication and interaction. Want to know whats going on, check it out. Need to contact a Board Member or find a form, check it out. Save it as a favorite on your computer http//[email protected]. Thank you to Rainstorm Consulting for all their support.
We have a great series of offerings for travel this year with programs for all ages. Last year we sent a Village to France, had an Interchange with Austria and sent a delegate to Luxembourg. Our programs for this year are listed later in the bulletin. If have any questions or know of anyone who might be interested please contact Kathryn Walker Norris.
Our JB is awesome. Yuvall Boss is the new JB president and has great plans for our youth having just recently come back from the National Meeting. Samantha Coltart our new JB Advisor is working with him to plan monthly activities for all interested kids form 10‐18. If interested read on and get involved. He will have to be very busy to match last year.
There is much going on nationally with some changes to structure which we as a chapter will need to vote on and discuss. I know that Bonnie Green our trustee will discuss this later in the bulletin.
I would make a plea for you to make time for the Murder Mystery Event in February. It will be our third year this year the last two have been way too much fun. What a great way to break up the winter.
There is always lots going on at CISV Maine and we always welcome you to become more involved with us. There is always something to do. As always thank you for helping us make a real difference, we are only as strong as our members are
In Peace,
Gary Ross
FALL 2012
Travel Programs for 2013!
Villages for 11 Year Olds Males and Females
DOB June 2, 2001 to August 31, 2002 Springfield, USA 6/28/2013—7/25/2013
Milan, Italy 7/5/2013– 8/1/2013 Female leader needed for Italy
Female or Male leader needed for USA
Interchange for 13-14 Year Olds Males and Females
DOB June 2, 1998 to August 31, 2000 Netherlands (City, TBA)
Five weeks in Summer, 2013– Dates TBA Male or Female leader needed
Step-Up Camp for 15 Year Olds
Male and Females DOB June 2, 1997- August 31, 1998
Molndal, Sweden 6/29/2013– 7/21/2013 Male or Female leader needed
Junior Counselors for 16-17 Year Olds
Male and Female DOB June 2, 1995– August 31, 1997
Sheffield, Great Britain 7/27/2013– 8/23/2013 Female Amsterdam, Netherlands 7/12/2013– 8/8/2013 Male
Seminar Camp for 17-18 Year Olds
Male DOB June 2, 1994—August 31, 1996
Amsterdam, Netherlands 7/27/2013– 8/16/2013
(*Leaders for our Village and Interchange groups must be 21 or older on the day that the program begins) Application Deadline is December 30, 2012
For applications contact Kathryn Walker Norris at 843-7424 or [email protected] If you have any questions concerning CISV or any of our programs please contact Gary Ross, Chapter
President, at 949‐2316 or maine@cisvus
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Artists of the World‐Creating a Masterpeace By Valerie Maurais
I had the pleasure of directing the 9th village for the CISV Maine chapter. Along with David Wright, Travis Hall and Taline Khansa, we experienced one amazing month. Our many hours of preparation to welcome our participants from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Guatemala, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the USA proved to be extremely rewarding as we watched an amazing group unfold before us over the 4 weeks of the village.
In our 2 days of orientation with the leaders and JC’s we empowered them with the tools to create the most successful and unique village. From the four educational components(Human Rights, Diversity, Conflict and Resolution and Sustainable Development) to the goals of the delegates, leader and Junior Counselors to the progression of activities, everyone was focused, committed and passionate to reaching the goal of Creating a Masterpeace.
Our delegates were challenged more than I have experienced in the 12 villages I have been involved in. They were gently pushed to experience not only the specifics of the activity but the impact that the activity had on them as an individual but how it impacted others and the cultures that they represented. They debriefed like adults on issues of inclusion, culture, individuals with disabilities, to problems and issues within each country such as poverty, war, clean air and water.
The leaders and Junior Counselors were wonderful role models for the delegates and went above and beyond to transmit constant enthusiasm and support as they emitted the importance of absorbing the entire experience.
It should not go unnoticed the commitment the village made to support the year of Sustainable Development. We grasped as many opportunities to envelop ways to recycle, reduce and reuse. All food scraps were given to families to use as compost and bins were placed around the school for bottles, cans and the “all sort” that the school supported. Many supplies were reused several times for other activities to encourage the delegates to practice reusing
as much as possible.
I would be remiss to not thank my staff for their 19+ hour days that kept the village running smoothly despite the demands that the village had on us all. Taline, David and Travis were the epitome of excellence when it came to staff. Their tremendous devotion to their job was stamped on their hearts and minds.
I also thank Penny and Kathryn for their devotion as village planners as they worked tireless hours to bring the planning of the 2012 village to fruition.
Finally, thank you to Holbrook Middle School, and the many volunteers that made this the most successful village ever. We truly Created a Masterpeace.
FALL 2012
Passport to the World Camp 2012 By Joanne Alex, Camp Director
This summer was the 8th summer of Passport Camp and its 5th year as a CISV approved Mosaic Project! Passport Camp was held the week of July 9‐13th. This year the camp and I were fortunate indeed to have three students from the University working for Stillwater
Montessori School help us with camp. They were Samantha Coltart, Kendra Bird and Deanna Chambers who joined us daily at camp. And behind the scenes Joe Alex kept us going by taking care of registration, logistics and public relations. We definitely thank him for all the important work he does to support the camp. Sally Healey also gave of her time to collect books and resources as well as provide pillow and quilts to create a book nook. Thanks Sally! Pam Sirois helped with snack and Susan MacKay, Elizabeth Allan and Pat Bears gave of their time to come and help during the week. The Junior Branch members and friends were an amazing help all week and we were so lucky to have them. They were Lydia MacKay, Stuart MacKay , Carmen Porter, Meredith Jones, Ellie Green, Molly McAleer, Grace Robie, Shannon ( a friend of Elli’s ), Hannah Cole, and Hope Gross. In a Village year all these extra efforts locally were very much appreciated! This year we had 16 campers with one camper from Maryland who was visiting her grandmother in Old Town and came back for her second year!
The space we used this year was the Doris Twitchell Allen Conference Room in the DTA Village complex on the University of Maine Campus. It was a great space and so appropriate as Doris was the founder of CISV!
This year the countries we visited and talked about were the countries that had delegations at the CISV International Village held in Holden. Our partnership with the University of Maine International Office was a huge help with the Director, Sarah Joughkin, providing speakers for us from France ( Mireille, Australia ( Nicky)and Germany ( Geisha). We had Hannah Cole’s former interchange partner Mirian , who was visiting Maine , come and do a presentation on Denmark. They all were awesome! Other countries we explored were Canada, the USA, Brazil, Argentina. Guatemala, Scandinavia ( Norway, Sweden and Finland), and Italy.
This year our excursion day was to the CISV Village Open Day to meet the delegations from the countries we had explored. Thanks to Valerie Maurais the Village Director, we had the delegation and JC booklets during camp to get to know more about each delegation and the country’s traditions, games and food! The experience was amazing as the children ages 4‐10 were spellbound during the presentations and were very comfortable exploring and meeting the delegates at their tables before hand.
We did combine our excursion day with a service learning project for the CISV Garden. We made markers for the vegetables and flowers in the garden and placed them in the garden, ate our lunch, and played games before heading over to Open Day.
My favorite part of camp is always seeing the campers, JCs and adults form a real community of learners who share an interest in learning more about the people in our world. Everyone had a great time exploring the traditions, games and food of the various countries as well as learning the songs, games and traditions of a CISV Village.
And I cannot say it enough that the camp is successful because of all wonderful people who are willing to donate their time and energy to Passport Camp. Many hands make light work! This year we raised $2800 for the Maine Chapter!
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2012 Interchange Maine-G raz by Alec Horth and Ashley Hellenbrand
The 2012 Interchange with Graz, Austria, was a big success for our delegation and their families. The Maine delegation led by Ashley included Johannah, Karoline, Michael, Morgan, Nicole and Tom. The wonderful Austrian delegation led by Eva included Carolin, Elisabeth, Lukas, Mario, Pauli ne and Sarah. The theme for the Interchange selected by both delegations was sustainability.
Our delegation and families had the opportunity to host first in early July. The favorite group activities included learning about the sea life along the Maine coast in Acadia National Park, the minicamp on Millinocket Lake, and the Austrian National Day presentation to a day camp in Corinth. When they traveled to Graz, they were able to see how different family life in another country and culture maybe different and how it be similar. They also had the opportunities to see castles and experience “Graz Day”. Highlights of the Interchange include:
At Acadia National Park, the Austrians got to experience the ocean -- something that they don’t have at home. They realized its much colder than they thought it would be. Everybody had fun gathering small creatures in the tidal pools. A rewarding experience for all was a National Day presentation by the Graz delegation to a day camp group in Corinth. Both delegations wanted to do something for the community. The presentation in Corinth gave the day camp kids (ages 4-14) an opportunity to ask questions and learn about a new culture. They asked questions like “are you German because you speak German”? The Austrians wore their traditional costumes which gave the young day campers an opportunity to ask even more questions about why they looked funny. The CISV community garden in Orono was toured to show the Austrians how we are applying the concept of sustainability to help the community. They learned that the crops from the CISV community garden are destined to provide meals to those in need at a homeless shelter. The minicamps were a lot of fun! Everyone said that they enjoyed the Maine minicamp because many of the activities were designed to illustrate the concept of sustainability. Karoline said her favorite part of the whole minicamp was “the sustainability charades” because people acted really funny to portray words like “water” and “recycle” without using words. At the Graz minicamp, they had many activities that challenged them and required them to work in pairs. They also had an Olympics with costumes that had them pull closer together. Costumes are always fun!
FALL 2012
The travel experience was definitely interesting. Nicole put it best when she said “It was the first time I had ever traveled such a far distance without my parents but it was surprisingly not scary and a lot more fun!” They all laughed when she said that. The travel time gave them an opportunity to bond as a delegation and talk about what experiences they have had thus far and what they learned from them. Everyone got to realize that they are there for each other and each person is going to have their own experience. A big highlights for the Maine delegation in Graz were the Castles, visiting Vienna, the chocolate factory and “Graz Day”. “Graz Day” was a favorite because they had to work as a team with their counterparts to discover the city where the Interchange was located. The leaders, Eva and Ashley, had prepared a scavenger hunt of the city that required the delegates in pairs to locate points of interest and to take photos of the challenge. The winners received a special treat. They had a lot of fun getting to know the culture and landmarks on their own. A funny story to share was the canoe “trip” at the Maine minicamp. It did not go quite as intended. Ashley suspected it would be interesting when heard Eva say “I have never canoed before”. Imagine seven canoes loaded with playful delegates, paddles that can be used for actions other than providing propulsion, inviting lake water and nice weather. Well, everyone tipped over their canoe (or jumped off their canoe) except for one. Ashley ended up walking a canoe back with one of the girls because we got left behind and couldn’t figure out how to get back into the canoe. A lesson learned was that everyone will have their own experience, it takes two people to make a connection and you need to compromise and sometimes do things you don’t want to so the experience can be better for everyone. There were some inevitable challenges, but they all knew that they were a family as a whole. The Maine girls have really become a family and try to see each other once a week still. Initially, they were extremely shy and Ashley needed to point this out at the preparation meeting to get them to talk. Now Ashley can’t get a word in around them! Ashley knows they have created a best friend connection with each other as well as some of the people in Graz. The leaders keep in touch by sending long e-mails and are planning on seeing each other this coming summer. For Ashley, the “experience was amazing but you need to make sure everyone is having a good time above all else”.
Photos from the Interchange can be found at: http://2012maineic.blogspot.com/ Please visit the blog. The Interchange for 2013 is with the Netherlands. The delegation size will be six or seven youth that are 13 to
14 year old (DOB: 6/2/1998 to 8/30/2000). The leader needs to be at least 21 years old by July 4. Either gender is okay for the leader. Maine will be traveling first with a tentative departure date of July 4. They will be in the Netherlands for 16 days and return home on July 20. We will be hosting the Dutch delegation for 17 days from July 22 to August 8. Interchange is unique for all CISV programs in that delegates can participate in more than one Interchange.
FALL 2012
JB Maine!! Current JB Board members: Samantha(JB Advisor) Yuval(President) Nash(President-Elect) Hannah(Treasurer) Carmen(Secretary)
Calum, Maddy, Laura, Tom, and Ben (Members at large) Junior Branch is an important part of any CISV chapter around the world. In the US we have 21 chapters and 21 Junior Branches. JB Maine brings kids ages 11-25 together to develop intercultural and leadership skills through educational and social activities. This past year JB Maine has been poppin with new ideas from everyone. Starting with our Pirate themed Maine Mini Camp in April of 2012 we brought 65 kids from Maine and Fredericton Canada together to spend a weekend together at Camp Jordan. The Junior Board planned the weekend and we ran many fun and educational activities! At MMC we created a Peace Mural which can be seen on the wall of the Bangor redemption center. This month we held our first JB activity at the Senior Center in Orono, and I am pleased to say it went very well! Laura planned, communicated, and ran the Activity for all those present(as seen in the picture). The activity related to many world issues which were also discussed such as human rights, world trade, wealth, and poverty. So thank you Laura! :) If you would like information on future JB activities please email [email protected] The JB board members will begin planning Maine Mini Camp 2013 which will be April 19-21st! Look out for registration and the pre-camp, they will be released soon. Peace, -JB Maine
FALL 2012
News from the T rustee
This year at the National Board Meeting (NBM) there were five areas of change that will affect our local chapter:
1. NBM’s governance task force passed a motion to change the structure of the CISV USA Board, as there were concerns regarding board efficacy and structural fragmentation.
Currently the Board is comprised of 32 people, often informally chosen, serving in various capacities. It passes a budget and participates in the Football Pools for choosing programs.
The Board does not fundraise nor participate in generally raising revenues. It does not come up with long-term strategies nor does it do reflective development work.
After meeting monthly, the task force made recommendations and passed a motion in the spirit of improving CISV USA’s efficiency by clarifying and defining the mission, purpose, responsibilities, and roles of the board. It is the hope that chapters such as ours will be able to put much needed energy and resources into developing and making the chapter stronger.
Purpose: 1. Select, support, and evaluate the chief executive. 2. Ensure effective planning. 3. Monitor and strengthen the Board.
Changes:
1. Reduction in board size from 32 to 10 adult members and one JB member. Board members will be chosen based on skill sets, yet to be determined. Anyone from local chapters will have the opportunity to campaign and be elected to the board. The new board will meet four times a year (sometimes by phone), will set policy and budgets, and ensure resources are available. It will not run the day-to-day operations of CISV.
2. “The Trustee” position will be eliminated from the local chapters.
3. A “Representative” from each chapter will attend the NBM and solely select the travel programs. The “Representative” can be anyone from the local chapter.
In order to move forward CISV USA will need a 2/3 vote (14 Chapters) in favor of this motion that will amend the articles of incorporation and CISV USA By Laws. The vote will need to come from local chapter membership by February 1, 2013. This is an opportunity for our chapter to be represented on the national level by staying involved in the process as the transition takes place and making sure our voice is heard.
FALL 2012
News from the T rustee (cont.)
Should the motion be passed, a transitional team will begin to work on details of the structure change. The new board members will be voted in next year at the NBM 2013. Please look for voting information; it is essential that we consider the changes and vote accordingly.
2. The C ISV USA website is in the process of being up-dated. This is an exciting time for CISV USA. November 16 & 17 the CISV USA server is being moved.
The server move is first on getting all chapter web sites transferred to the new server/host. The developers still have work to do, and will have some more testing to do. Not all chapters will be using the new WebApp until early 2013 (and at that time, membership dues can be paid through it).
Some chapters will be in before others, as they will be staging the integrations for chapters such as ours so they don’t have anyone everyone coming in at once. As for forms, they can bring any forms on line except the ones that require signatures.
The forms that can be moved on line will be such as applications, reimbursement forms, notice of selection, surveys, etc…
3. This year C ISV USA has a great opportunity to participate in a $20,000 matching grant through Poalillo. The Board of Trustees voted to support this and agreed to assist with raising the necessary funds to obtain the grant for hiring development staff. Each chapter has been asked to raise $600.00 by January 15th, 2013, not to be drawn from existing chapter funds. Our board of directors will be discussing this at the next board meeting on November 5th. If you have any ideas that will assist our chapter in raising this money by February, please contact Gary or myself.
4. This year at the National Board Meeting our chapter once again was recognized as Valerie Maurais was voted on to be the international V illage Chair . This is very exciting for both Valerie and our chapter. Please congratulate and wish her the best as she begins her work on the international level.
5. The r isk management committee has agreed to make recommendations to further improve how incidents and accidents during travel are handled and reported.
Overall the National Board Meeting was jammed pack with information and decisions. As we go forward with the structural changes on the national level it is imperative that we stay informed and have a voice. Gary and I will do our best to disseminate information about the structural changes proposed, the web site, and financial matters that impact our chapter. If you have any questions concerning any of these changes please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or you can call be at 991-0159.
FALL 2012
CISV Maine 2012‐13 Board Roster
Chapter Address: Box 95 Orono, Maine 04473
PRESIDENT Gary Ross [email protected] TRUSTEE Bonnie Green [email protected] SECRETARY Kathy Ward [email protected] TREASURER Ira Weissman [email protected] RISK MANAGER Gary Ross [email protected] PROGRAMCHAIR Valerie Maurais [email protected] INTERCHANGE CHAIR Alec Horth [email protected] MOSAIC CHAIR Joanne Alex [email protected] SUMMER CAMP CHAIRPenny Lamhut [email protected] LOCAL LEADERSHIP TRNG. CHAIR Valerie [email protected] PUBLIC RELATIONS CHAIR Joe Alex [email protected] APPLICATION CHAIR Kathryn Walker Norris [email protected] SELECTION CHAIR Barbara Cole [email protected] MEMBERSHIP CHAIR Pat Bears [email protected] ARCHIVIST Pam Sirois [email protected] CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Alec Horth [email protected] JUNIOR BRANCH PRESIDENT [email protected] JUNIOR BRANCHADVISOR [email protected] MEMBERS ATLARGE Susan MacKay [email protected] John Cuskelly [email protected] Lee Karp‐Boss Lee‐[email protected] Bill Armstrong [email protected] Gary Co‐Wallis [email protected] Claire Donovan Jones [email protected] John Bear Mitchell [email protected]
