VYDC Fall 2012 Newsletter

Inside this Issue: VYDC QUARTERLY

Vermont Youth Development Corps AmeriCorps State Program

Molly Walsh 2

Danica Zirkle 3

Margaret Lambert 3

John Powell 4

Sam Lederfine Paskal

5

Todd Lavigne 5

Kerri MacLaury 6

Allison Baldowski 7

Lindsay Smith 7

Jessica Southard 8

Mischa Tourin 8

Hannah Mueller 9

Heather Simson 9

Tyler Farry 10

Karyn Norwood 10

Marley Balasco 11

Making a real impact in Vermont communities.

I would especially like to encourage the youth in the Boys & Girls Club to take advantage of myself and the staff members while they are in the club. I have noticed that it only takes a bit of coaxing and agreeing to a basketball game to get the youth motivated to do their homework.

I would like to create a more welcoming structure for stu-dents to get homework help. Not only will this improve grades but it goes a long way towards starting meaningful dialogue with the youth.

As for getting higher female attendance rates, I am hoping that by the end of the year I can remove some stigma between male/female dynamics and make girls feel just as entitled to the space as the boys. I am learning a great deal through our Girls Only! program and hope to translate that to our teen center.

The most important thing I hope for this year is to not get so wrapped up in what I want to accomplish that I ignore what the kids would like to accomplish. After all, it is their space and it is important that they are allowed to be kids and have a good time in a safe space.

Hello, everyone! My name is Molly Walsh and I am serving at the Underground Teen Center and Boys & Girls Club in Winooski. I am originally from Greensboro, NC where I studied Political Science and secondary social studies education. It has always been my passion to work with youth and teens, especially in an academic environment.

I chose to serve with the Vermont Youth Develop-ment Corps because I knew it would be completely different than anything I could experience in North Carolina and would help me grow personally and professionally. I chose my specific site because of the large refugee population, hop-ing that I could really make a difference in the lives of teenag-ers who are new to The United States.

At the Boys & Girls club, we provide a drop-in space for youth and teens during the week. We offer free, nutritionally balanced meals to any local kid 3 nights each week; homework help and tutoring every night, with tutors from UVM on Tuesdays and Thurs-days; specialized programming for high school girls; internet access for educational and entertainment purposes; and access to sports equipment and play areas.

Throughout my year at the site in Winooski, I hope to increase a feeling of inclusion for girls and other underrep-

resented populations. I hope to increase healthy habits in teens and pre-teens and encourage academic success.

Page 2 VYDC QUARTERLY Fal l 2011 Edi t ion

Molly Walsh AmeriCorps Member Winooski Teen Center

Winooski, VT

In just my third week serving the students in the CityScape afterschool pro-gram at Barre City Elementary and Middle School (BCEMS), I am blown away by the energy and enthusiasm. CityScape is one of a variety of youth programs run by the Montpelier-based non-profit, The Washing-ton County Youth Service Bureau. The fo-cus of CityScape is to provide a safe envi-ronment where youth can positively develop through interactions with their peers and a supportive staff, and to draw from, and cul-tivate roots in the greater Barre community.

So far during my direct service, I have been reintroduced to the games “Go Fish” and “Sorry” (much to my delight). I have witnessed poignant poetry from 6-8th grade girls prompted by the last line—“I don't want to end up simply having visited this world,”—from Mary Oliver’s poem, “When Death Comes,” and I have delighted in seeing displays of powerful emotions that show me there is no lack of energy to har-ness. The community CityScape serves is Barre City. Barre City, and the greater Barre area, was part of a granite mining empire that exploded as a boom town in the late 1890’s. Despite reaching its peak population size in 1930, Barre is still fully functioning as one of the country’s largest granite produc-

Margaret Lambert AmeriCorps Member CityScape, Barre, VT

Danica Zirkle AmeriCorps

Member Spectrum Youth and

Family Services Burlington, VT

truly awe-some place.

As a new Vermonter, it is exciting to be serving and living in both Montpelier and Barre. As a lover of polarities, I am thriving in this dichotomous pair. I was drawn to Vermont by the unknown and the promise of fall foliage and am staying for the potential of new per-sonal challenges and snow. Profes-sionally, during my year with City-Scape I plan to create engaging pro-grams in which students feel a sense of belonging while engaging their minds and having fun. This next year’s CityScape programming holds the promise of local food, artwork, science experiments, poetic writing, solid relationships, and personal triumphs. Beyond programming, I hope to foster a constructive rela-tionship between BCEMS and City-Scape with a focus on creating a partnership in the school garden. And personally, I’m just enjoying remembering how much fun it is to be around kids!

My motto for this year is, “Let laughter echo off every granite quarry and bring on the snow.”

ing areas and holds the self-proclaimed title, “Granite Center of the World.”

Last week during my tour of the area, I stood at the edge of the largest granite quarry, The Rock of Ages, and stared down upon sheer granite walls that reached a mile down into the bow-els of the earth. As I continue to get to know Barre I see that it is a place full of latent potential. That potential is found

in the granite rubble—boulders the size of desks, and some as large as cars—that lie cast away on every hillside surround-ing the quarry, waiting for strong, able bodies to make use of these stone goli-aths. Potential shines in the strong, re-silient children who come every day to the Cityscape program with energy to spare and potential blankets the warriors of positive encouragement who are plentiful within the school. I am de-lighted to find myself working within a program that is in need of, and can feed off from the raw potential of such a


“Everyone can be great, because every-one can serve.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

It was a brutal spring. No jobs anywhere, man. I’m serious. I was not going to work in schools again. Pub-lic school? For real? No pay raises. No guaranteed work. Not making anything better by getting up in the morning. Luckily, summer brought a two-month VISTA position at Big Heavy World in Burlington. I gained some knowledge, met some people, and gained new insight into running nonprofits.

This path led to Essex CHIPS. I dig programming and event organizing. I have a ton of experience working with youth. Let’s segue from the schools into working with kids in a cool capacity, and let’s help a whole community while we’re at it.

I grew up in the town over from Essex, and love the food around Five Corners, so why not? I’m plugged into a lot of other projects around town, so what’s nearby home and what fits my schedule? It was nice to stick with the VYDC from summer to a year-round position. I took on the role of Teen Center Coordinator with ease, almost like it was meant for me.

What’s CHIPS? Well, it’s an umbrella organization, involved with the Essex community in a million ways, but we also have the Teen and Tween Center, a drop-in afterschool spot on the second floor of an historic building. Pool table. Ping Pong. You get the idea. After school, kids come, sign-in, hang out. They feel safe, get involved, and get a free snack. So I keep the space in shape. We have dishes to do, doors to unlock and lock, and then there are programs that help keep kids active and thinking. How can we get them eat-ing well? How can we get them to talk about issues? Kids have it rough these days, and we can’t blame them for their issues. We have to support them and alter our perceptions to give them a fighting chance.

So, my idea was to make theme months. Rock-tober. Guinness Book of November. May might be Star Wars month. I don’t know yet. I’m not that far ahead. But we can make activities that fall under those themes, and it makes sure each month is a little different from the last.

I’m sort of the Dumbledore of the Teen Center, if you will. I’m sort of the Professor X or the Jay Z of the Teen Center. Okay, maybe not the Jay Z, but I’m may be the Dean of the Teen Center. That guy you go to. It’s a great environment. We’re all energized, young, driven, and we have ideas on how to improve the community. I just want to make the kids come back every day. I want them to look forward to getting together. We’re a positive group and good role models for the youth, tweens and teens alike.


John Powell AmeriCorps Member

Essex CHIPS Essex Junction, VT

Youth learn how to paper mache in the Essex Teen and Tween Center.

As the new AmeriCorps member at Maplehill School, I feel fortunate to be following in the footsteps of some amazing former AmeriCorps members who have left a lasting and positive impact. I am a graduate from UVM and have developed a strong interest in farm-based learning. Af-ter spending time as a Farmyard Educator at Shelburne

Farms and a Snow-board Coach at Stowe Mountain Resort, I was ready to start teaching in a more formal setting and developing my teaching skills. Ma-plehill School and Farm is a small, pri-

vate high school in Plainfield that provides a nurturing learn-ing atmosphere for students who have had a challenging time in the public school system. Maplehill focuses on teaching students the skills necessary to help them become positive community members. Part of the mission of Maplehill is “to improve the quality of life for people who have limited op-portunities, including: children, adolescents, family and senior citizens, by providing direct education, agricultural, and out-reach services.”

I help Maplehill to accomplish this mission by coordinating the Senior Center project and the low-income housing Food Drop. Twice a week, I ac-company students to the Twin Valley Senior Center in Marshfield, where we spend time with local sen-iors playing games, chatting and having lunch. This se-mester we are planning to conduct interviews to help us learn more about the sen-iors and the history of our community. The Food Drop occurs at the end of each month and Maplehill provides food—some grown on our farm, to residents at the low-income housing apartment build-ing. Also, I am teaching a dance class, a babysitting class and helping with a holiday crafting class.

My goals are to build positive relationships with stu-dents and engage them in new activities that help them to be-come healthier and learn social and job training skills. Addi-tionally, I hope to help the teachers and staff provide more hands-on learning opportunities, especially at the Maplehill Farm, and find ways to connect our students to the wider com-munity. I am so excited to be off to a good start!


Samantha Lederfine Paskal AmeriCorps Member

Maplehill School and Farm Plainfield, VT

My name is Todd Lavigne and I’m serving at the Teen Center in Winooski. I’m originally from Western Massachusetts and graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2010. I de-cided to serve in the Vermont Youth Development Corps for many rea-sons, one of which is that I look for-ward to living in Vermont. Along with my co-AmeriCorps member, Molly Walsh, I supervise the Teen Center in Winooski, which is probably the most diverse Teen Center in the state of Vermont.

Our Teen Center provides three free, nutritious dinners for youth per week. The youth must be under 18 years old to qualify for our free dinners. After dinner we open up the Teen Center for any youth in grades 9 through 12.

We offer billiards, homework help, time on our computers, arts and crafts, as well as board games to our youth until 9 pm on Tuesdays and Thurs-days. On Friday nights the Teen Center stays open until 11 pm, and members are allowed to use the gym from the YMCA.

I’m really hoping to mold some young minds through my year of service. We have many youth that could simply use the benefit of other worldviews in their lives. I’m going to try hard this year to get some of our youth to participate and buy-in to the advantages that our Teen Center has to offer.

Todd Lavigne AmeriCorps Member Winooski Teen Center

Winooski, VT

Maplehill students learn to use an apple press to make home-

made apple cider

Getting Things Done For America!

The Collaborative, a substance abuse prevention coa-lition serving the Northshire and Mountain Communities in Southern Vermont, promotes the development of a healthy, involved community supporting substance free youth in a caring environment. I am a proud Vermont Youth Develop-ment Corps AmeriCorps State member, serving a third term with The Collaborative.

After two years away from VYDC and The Collabo-rative, life circumstances lined up for me to come back. I was very excited to return to the community that I grew up in and where I did two years of AmeriCorps service. One might think, What is she crazy!? Three terms of service! To that I would reply, “Crazy, yes. Insane, no.” A lot of people, when they talk to me about AmeriCorps jump straight to this statement, “They really don’t pay you a lot for that.” While the statement might be true from a bank balance’s perspective, I find that sentiment about AmeriCorps misdirected.

AmeriCorps is all about the spirit of service. It’s about giving with no thought of return. Showing up to help someone else instead of helping oneself. To see what Ameri-Corps is about, all you have to do is check out The Ameri-Corps Pledge. AmeriCorps members strengthen, act, seek common ground, and persevere. We get things done for our communities, state, and country. We do so to make “our peo-ple safer, smarter, and healthier.” AmeriCorps do not serve to gain riches; they serve to simply be of service.

This term, I have a wider and deeper understanding of the spirit of service. I will give to The Collaborative, my community, my state, and the youth within each, with no thought of return. I will seek only to be helpful and hard-working. I will encourage all youth in my community to lead healthy lives, providing them with the information and sup-port to do so.

The secret to successful AmeriCorps service, and perhaps even to life itself, is that true joy is found in serving others. We may not make millions as AmeriCorps members

Kerri MacLaury AmeriCorps Member

The Collaborative Londonderry,. VT

but the connections and memories we make, the lives we touch, the help that we give are priceless.

To conclude, I will remix the AmeriCorps Pledge so that it reflects the service I do here at The Collaborative.


The Kerri MacLaury VYDC AmeriCorps

Pledge

I will get things done for the Mountain and Northshire Communities—to make our

youth and teens safer, smarter, and

healthier.

I will bring young Vermonters together, to strengthen our communities and state.

Faced with apathy, I will play Broomball with teens.

Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground through team building games.

Faced with adversity, I will make a Member Service Project Plan to help make my sub-stance-free event planning go smoother.

I will carry this commitment with me FOR-EVER!

I am an AmeriCorps member, I will get things done!

“So, what are you doing now?” The most dreaded question for many college graduates. Reluctantly, many of us have answers that were perfected from more practice than we would like. I used to be among those who hated that ques-tion, until I was given an amazing opportunity to serve in the AmeriCorps State Program with the Vermont Youth Devel-opment Corps. I had previously served with AmeriCorps for 3 months in Lewisville, Texas, but the current opportunity in front of me was for 10 months. Before I knew it, I was packed up, leaving New Jersey and heading for Vermont.

While serving UVM Extension in Middlebury, Ver-mont, I will have the opportunity to go to schools and offer after school programs in various subjects.

I am currently teaching a Junior Chefs program at Otter Valley Union Middle School in Brandon. Over a pe-

Allison Baldowski AmeriCorps Member

UVM Extension-Afterschool Programs Middlebury VT

riod of 7 weeks, the students I serve with will gain experience working in a kitchen as well as valuable information on eating healthy. Each week has a different theme such as different food groups or MyPlate, which is the new replacement for the food pyramid. We cook a new food and play a game or two during each session.

Other pro-grams that I offer include the follow-ing: environmental education, various robotics programs, digital photogra-phy, and videogra-phy. All of the programs are designed to be fun, hands on, and educational. Over the next 10 months, I hope to make a positive impact and spark some new interests within the youth that I will be interacting with.


Lindsay Smith AmeriCorps Member

Spectrum Youth and Family Services Burlington, VT

Greetings! My name is Lindsay Smith and I am the AmeriCorps Re-source Coordinator at Spectrum Youth and Family Services here in Burlington, Vermont. I am very excited to be a part of the Vermont Youth and Develop-ment Corps team this year and looking forward to my year of service. While I have only been here at Spectrum for two weeks, I already have met some awe-some people and feel like I am working with a great team. As the AmeriCorps Resource Coordinator, I will be search-

ing for local resources in Burlington and sur-rounding areas that will be bene-ficial to our youth. This includes housing, em-ployment,

education, volunteer opportunities, and any other youth needs.

During my year of service I hope to provide the youth in my com-munity with necessary skills and re-sources that they will continue to use to make healthy decisions as young adults. Along with this, I hope to gain valuable experience that will help me grow and succeed as a young adult.

To tell you a little about myself, I am from New Jersey and I recently graduated from the University of Ver-mont with a degree in Global Studies. While I had no set direction after I graduated, I began the job hunt and a couple months down the road I came across Vermont Youth Development Corps AmeriCorps State Program. Re-flecting on who I am, I do enjoy work-ing with youth and have spent a lot of time doing so. Being able to be part of a program that allows me to give back to my community and take away many re-

warding experiences seemed like a great fit for me.

In addition, serving at a site with older youth was a new challenge that I wanted to take on, being that I have primarily worked with younger youth.

Here at Spectrum Youth and Family Services, we provide resources and assistance to teenagers and young adults with troubled backgrounds. We serve two meals a day and offer a safe space for clients to spend their time pro-ductively (building resumes, searching for jobs, looking for housing, etc.). I’m very happy to be part of a great site and look forward to carrying out Spectrum’s mission this year!

Junior Chefs show off their culinary master-pieces during a UVM Extension program.


My name is Mischa Tourin and I have recently begun my year of service as the Youth Program Coordinator at Essex CHIPs! I was drawn to Essex CHIPs with a desire to work toward building and be-ing part of a strong community. I wanted to provide youth with fun and exciting experiences that would empower them to grow and make healthy choices. I will be supporting a variety of student groups this year as well as helping out in the drop in teen center. Here are just some of the exciting programs I am and will be leading.

Stomping Ground – A group of four high school youth whose task is to host as many as two substance free events a month. So far the group has held an open mic night with local acts as well as a Halloween dance, with around 180 students in attendance! They are looking forward to putting on a rap battle this month and Winterfest, the annual con-cert with local bands this December!

Above the Influence (ATI) – A group of about 10 Essex High School teens, actively engaged in their school’s sports teams

When people see my Iowa license plate, they often stare and look at me with a confused expression. Some (especially born and bred Vermonters) ask, “And, you chose to come to Vermont? You must be crazy.” I don’t dispute that, moving to a place with equally or more vicious winters was probably not my sanest idea, but I find myself looking at the mountains and the beautiful landscape. I moved to Ver-mont from Iowa at the beginning of September, right after Irene had packed a mighty punch to the area with the intent to try something new. I had been in Iowa for all of my 23 years and I was ready for a change. And Vermont is certainly a change. The land is not flat and you can’t see 20 miles in every direction. The farms are organic, not factories produc-ing only corn and soybeans, and people here still listen to Phish.

Once I decided I wanted to move to Vermont, I had to decide what sort of work I could do here. As someone with a background in non-profit work mostly with “at risk youth,” the Vermont Youth Develop-ment Corps AmeriCorps State Program seemed like a perfect fit. The site I was most interested in was Youth Services;

its work with youth is founded in a strength-based, harm-reduction philosophy, which I was immediately drawn to. Youth Services provides a range of programs from the Young Mom’s Support group, to Court Diversion, to a 24/7 crisis line for homeless youth, to case management for youth who are homeless or live in precarious situations. As Youth Services’ Peer Outreach Coordinator in both Brattleboro and Bellows Falls, my position is exactly as it sounds. I am in charge of the outreach for our communities. I run a free weekly meal for youth aged 16-22 at the Boys and Girls Club in Brattleboro; I help at our Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program and work with the Young Moms group in Bellows Falls; I manage our Peer Outreach Workers, who are youth who help facilitate events; and I do some other things too!

It’s an exciting place to be, and I’m surrounded by a staff who really care about the youth they work with and their

communities. I hope that in my year of service we can build stronger relationships between youth and the communities they live in. I’m happy to be here and happy that I get to serve with such amazing youth at such a dedicated organization.

who have taken a pledge to stay above the influence and to come together as a positive example for their peers. Recent activities have included “tag it,” where students created their artistic versions of the ATI symbol and put them up around the school and “be it” where

we discussed what it means to be a brand and came up with our own personal slogans. Some highlights were “Smile if You’re Happy,” “Getting’ it Done,” and “Be Your Own Influ-ence.”

Red Ribbon Week – A great success in the Essex Commu-nity! We brought together advisors from five local schools and helped organize a variety of activities from picking up cigarette butts, baking brownies at the High School, hosting a coin war, and encouraging students to dress up as superheroes at the Middle Schools. Other upcoming events include:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Learn to Snowboard Camp

Adventure Orientation Program

Jessica Southard AmeriCorps Member

Youth Services, Inc. Brattleboro, VT

Mischa Tourin AmeriCorps Member

Essex Chips Essex Junction, VT

Last year, I loved watching the seasons change at the Willowell Foundation land, and I feel fortunate to be able to sign on for another year and take part in the cycle from harvest to planting to harvest again.

Willowell hosts the Walden Project alternative out-door public high school program on its land in Monkton. Walden students learn by interacting with the natural world to build deeper understanding of the environment, their communities, and themselves. I get to be there for part of that journey with them. As a VYDC member, I also serve as the Farm to School Coordinator for Willowell, and

spend part of my time serving directly with the Addison County Relo-calization Network (ACORN) to promote Farm to School pro-gramming in Addison County.

This year, I’ll continue working with a particular Walden student on a compost-ing project at the high school. Her vision is to take food scraps from

the school to the Walden garden at Willowell, compost them, use the com-post in the garden, and send fresh and healthy food back to the school. We’ve already held a trash audit and have become “Certified Compost Operators” with the Highfields Center for Composting. This month, we’ll hold a Local Foods Feast and ice cream fundraiser at the school, and in the spring, we want to build!

I’m also looking forward to seeing the seasons change at Monkton Central School. For the first time last year, thanks in part to a grant that I wrote, the school worked together to plant a garden and care for it over the summer. We held family garden days with scavenger hunts and beet pizza. In October, foodservice and teachers held a Harvest Meal that drew over 40 community members to the school for a lunch that featured pumpkins and carrots from the school’s garden.

The cafeteria was entirely covered with vegetable-themed art made by students, from the tablecloths to the post-ers declaring how many pounds of vegetables the school garden produced (210 pounds of squash!). It was a lot of fun to see the whole community come together to celebrate its efforts around what had been, in April, a big patch of weeds.

The Hub provides the youth a safe and substance free place to hang out. Along with allowing the kids to be supervised during after school hours, it also is a place to go during their free periods during school. The Hub provides youth with snacks and the opportunity to receive food and free music lessons on top of every-

As a native of Connecticut I came to Vermont for college. This Au-gust I graduated from Saint Michael’s College with a degree in Religious Studies and a minor in Art History. In college, I fell in love with Vermont and decided to stay to serve.

I joined AmeriCorps for the op-portunities that it gives me through the trainings as well as the education award. I am serving with the Vermont Youth De-velopment Corps at the Bristol Hub Teen Center and Skate Park, which is a great opportunity to interact with teens.

thing else the Hub has to offer.

I have many ideas for programs to offer that will help enrich the youths’ lives. One in particular I would like to do is start a girl group; this would give girls an opportunity to vent or talk about any-thing that is on their minds, including positive body image.

Heather Simson AmeriCorps Member

The Hub Bristol, VT

Hannah Mueller AmeriCorps Member The Willowell Foundation

Monkton, VT


Much more inviting then it sounds

Often we just call it the Basement

Underneath the City Hall

The location is more accommodating

than it can seem

It is just in front of the police station

It’s not a big deal,

We blast music when we feel like it, but

Only after 5pm and not if the theater is open.

Want to write a song?

We have myriad technology and plenty

Of guitars. You could even make a movie!

The Basement is the place

Where you can win the Amazing

Race. We hold it each Summer, be sure to register.

The Basement Teen Center

A lot can happen in such a small space

There is always something to eat.

At first, intimidating

But you are safe, do not worry!

The rules are few (just be respectful)

No drugs,

You do not need them,

No weapons; why would you use them?

Ping pong baseball,

Video games, pool,

Cornhole is not a gross game at all!

This space is as much as you make of it

We have the tools to stoke your dreams

Get creative and we’ll grow the beans

There is a garden out front

And we use it to make lunch

Dinner on Fridays, we do our best to make it tasty.

We’re always open to critique

A monthly youth council gives you a voice

Your fate is your choice

You make this place great

This is your space.

Tyler Farry AmeriCorps Member

The Basement Montpelier, VT

When I first mentioned to my father I had received a po-sition with the Franklin Grand

Isle Bookmobile, he immediately recounted a somewhat awkward tale of how he and his siblings would trudge on board a bookmobile that would visit the island in Canada on which he lived as a kid; he’d get on as quickly as possi-ble, make no eye contact, return eight books, take out eight new ones, and run off the bus. Two months later, with ninety stops, seventy story times, and 500 children visited a month, my father’s experience seems to me to be quite sin-gular, for I have yet to see one child who has not been ut-terly excited to be visited by the FGI Bookmobile. I will confess it now: I am both bookworm and bib-liophile. I am therefore very much at home in a room (truck) of wall-to-wall books. Add to that, spending my mornings reading, singing, and lending books to kids, and I am thus quite completely content. To serve in this environ-ment, to encourage youth to read and to have a love of

books, and to develop community connections through litera-ture is why I decided to serve in the Vermont Youth Develop-ment Corps with the FGI Bookmobile.

We serve a rural populace in the northwestern-most counties in Vermont; our patrons are mainly childcare provid-ers and preschools, but we do also visit senior centers, commu-nity centers, and libraries. On a typical morning, we visit four to six sites, read and sing with children, then allow them to take books out to borrow. In the afternoons, I switch gears to teach-ing after school programs in Franklin County schools; topics vary from math games to origami. There are, these days, a fair bit of exciting things going on with the bookmobile (I’ll just share a few!). We’ve been par-ticipating in a smoke-free campaign to encourage smoke-free spaces for youth. We’ve also initiated theme months with rele-vant topics for our patrons; this month is the month of giving thanks. Next month: Winter! The first Bookmobile Kids’ Night Out was held in early November with great success. Volunteers and staff read stories to kids, and children made their own piz-zas and played activities, while parents had a night off. The bookmobile just had its final Reading (continued of page 11)

Karyn Norwood AmeriCorps Member

Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile Swanton, VT


Within me lies this innate desire to motivate and inspire. I have this awe-some inability to relate life to anything other than sports. That being said, I must confess that this particular article is barely going to hit the required talking points for this newsletter, and shamefully wields sports as a metaphor for life to further inspire the Vermont Youth Development Corps team.

I am not much of a basketball fan, but I am American. Like most people, I watch the March Madness tournament every year. And, just this past year, I was reminded of the top reason why I am proud to be a college athlete. After every game, the teams are interviewed and asked for their comments about the game. With-out exception, the coaches and players talk about their teams.

Staying the course, especially through adversity, is the key to most successful efforts in life. Sport lets us see what can happen when the individual subjugates him or herself to the team’s goal over a relatively short time span called a “season.” Teams that have success over a period of years are an even better example for us to learn what leads to a pleasing, successful life. A team does not need to win the “national title” to be a success.

It’s really how you play the game that counts. Success is not a “for sure” thing, but what is “sure” is that there is a way to play the game which will give you a chance for success: aim yourself at your target, understand your role, take that responsibility seriously, stay focused and make an effort every day with your goal in mind.

In life, we have the chance to be on many different teams. Play hard for each one.

Be sure that your efforts have the effect of making your teammates and other teams better for your pres-ence. Making a habit of doing this will increase the positive contribution you make to each team you join during your “playing career” known as life.

I am this classic, upbeat vision-ary who believes that, in order to achieve a higher understanding of all things, people must work together. People add value and meaning to life. Being able to build people up to be the best versions of themselves, well that’s worth even more. And, essentially, that’s what brought me here. The world does not seem to be so con-cerned with the “playing the game” component anymore. AmeriCorps members though, for the most part, represent a group of people who have not lost sight of this. I wanted to sur-round myself with good people, team-mates with moral fiber. Furthermore, I

figured the Vermont Youth Develop-ment Corps team would be exception-ally awesome, because youth work re-

quires much patience.

I serve with Operation: Military Kids which provides educational pro-grams that provides military youth with the opportunity to work through the deployment cycle together. And my team members serve in other forms. But really, we’re all working toward one goal: to increase number and quality of assets that will allow youth to engage in healthy behavior. The previous VYDC program was able to further the efforts made by previous years, as we will fur-ther theirs, and the group following us will further ours. As an individual, I hope to facilitate quality activities where youth can learn skills that will carry them through challenging stages of their lives. If I commit myself fully, and trust that my teammates will do the same, then this will allow the VYDC team to be the best blessing we could possibly be in just a year’s time.


Marley Balasco AmeriCorps Member Operation: Military Kids

Burlington, VT

Karyn Norwood (FGIB) Continued from page 10

Is Fundamental Month where kids had an opportu-nity to select a book to keep; unfortunately, the gov-ernment has cut funding for this important pro-gram, but we hope funding will be reinstated soon!

I am looking forward immensely to inspir-ing a love of reading in the youth I visit, to provid-ing creative and educational after school programs, to strengthening access to the bookmobile, and bringing the local community together around lit-erature!


The 2010-2011 VYDC Team was tremendously successful. The program exceeded all of its performance measures;

the outputs showed the creativity and effort of members, and the outcomes showed the dedication, flexibility, and perseverance of the members. All but two of the 31 alums are either employed, in school, or reenrolled in service. Four members were hired by their sites, and one was hired by City Year.

Some of the highlights of the 2010-2011 year included the following:

-Youth Served: Members created and implemented high-quality programs and activities that served more than 6,865 (unduplicated count), including 210 youth whose parents serve in the military. -Youth Programs: Member planned an implemented 88 Civic Engagement discussions, 271 Healthy Future programs and activi-ties; 134 School and Workplace Readiness programs and activities; 81 community service projects; and 388 other youth activities. -Impact on Youth: Youth engaged in the following programs showed increases in skills and knowledge, as well as showed posi-tive changes in attitude and behavior.

-Community Volunteers: Members and recruited and managed 764 community volunteers who gave more than 5,005 hours to youth serving organizations. -Member Development: 100% of members reported gaining knowledge and skills through service; 100% plan to stay active in their communities after service. -Capacity Building: Members raised more than $91,850 in non-federal grants, cash and in-kind donations, and fundraising events; developed partnerships with 296 community stakeholders; created and disseminated 197 public relations tools (flyers, post-ers, websites, social media); and provided 47 opportunities for community members to give feedback.

“The 2010-2011 VYDC Team was tremendously success-ful. The program exceeded all of its performance

measures.”

VYDC 2010-2011 Team At-a-Glance Accomplishments:

Together, VYDC members during the 2010-2011 service year:

Programs and Activities Increase in skills and

knowledge

Positive Change in Attitude or Behavior

Civic Engagement Discussions 89% 91%

Community Service Projects 89% 100%

Healthy Futures Programs (nutrition, physical activity, agriculture and environment, sub-stance abuse prevention, abuse prevention, healthy development)

84% 95%

School and Workplace Readiness Programs (academic help, job skills, college preparation, and communication)

94% 96%

P.O. Box 627 / 38 Elm Street Montpelier, VT 05601-0627

Contact us: Program Director: M. Kadie Schaeffer [email protected] Assistant Directors: Meghan Jaird [email protected] Luong Huynh [email protected] Member Support Coordinator: Lauren Pyatt [email protected]

Phone: 802-229-9151 Fax: 802-229-2508

Vermont Youth Development Corps Program

The opinions expressed in the newsletter articles belong to the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the site where the AmeriCorps State member serves, Vermont Youth Development Corps, the Washington County Youth Service Bureau, the Boys and Girls Club, SerVermont, or The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

Left: AmeriCorps members Johnny Powell and Mischa Tourin share a high-ten during a monthly profes-

sional development training.

mailto:[email protected]�

mailto:[email protected]�

Documents

VYDC Fall 2012 Newsletter