A Catalyst in the Community

By VIP Leader, Erin Rea and VIP Fellow, Mahriana Collins at Napa County Office of Education

At the Napa County Office of Education one of our partner sites is Catalyst Coalition. Through Catalyst Coalition many programs are run on a daily basis. The two AmeriCorps members we have in prevention work with Mariposa groups: programs empowering young women to make their own smart decisions and giving them the resources and knowledge to resist peer pressure. In addition to Mariposa groups, which happen at the local middle schools one day per week, Catalyst has also been working on an anti-marijuana campaign helping kids to “use your head, not weed” and to “be ahead of the crowd." This effort is just beginning and has already made positive changes. Catalyst also works with gang prevention, tobacco prevention, and alcohol prevention.

Mariposa is an exemplary effort in Napa County towards girl empowerment, as well as underage youth substance abuse awareness and prevention.  Johana Guzman, Catalyst Coalition’s Prevention Coordinator, with the help of AmeriCorps members, has expanded the group from a few dedicated female youth to over 50 girls at the local middle and high schools. Through their participation in activities, programs and events, the Mariposa members have brought attention to vital issues in their community. Last summer, several of the original/founding members were recruited to serve as Mariposa Leaders called the official Mariposa Advisory Council. The Mariposa Peer Volunteer Leaders, high school students,  completed 30-hours of training to run the Mariposa group in middle schools. I (Mahriana) was honored to help several Mariposa Leaders at Napa High School in creating an underage drinking and driving awareness exhibit called “Wasted.” After installing the exhibit on the walls of a common space at their high schools, the girls continued to reach out to their peers during lunch via a Casey’s Pledge awareness table. The exhibit was called ‘Wasted’ not because the lives of innocent victims of underage drinking and driving are wasted, but because drinking and driving is a choice that teens choose to make. The girls wanted to educate their peers about the power that they hold in making that choice, and to give them vital information towards making that decision.

As powerful mentors to their younger peers, the volunteer Leaders address topics that affect young women such as online safety, alcohol and drug abuse and violence prevention. During bi-weekly planning sessions, the Advisory Council members develop agendas based upon important topics to be discussed during their after school sessions. These girls are leaders in their community, inspiring adults to take action around the issues that affect all youth. Furthermore, the Mariposa group members have reached out to members of the community, youth and adults alike, to help sponsor and volunteer during community events aimed at increasing awareness and honoring Prevention Champions!

Establishing Purposeful Community Service through CSU Monterey Bay

By Steven Goings VIP Leader at CSU Monterey Bay

    The Service Learning Institute is the crown jewel of California State University Monterey Bay.   CSUMB is one of four public universities with Service Learning as an academic requirement.  We also hold the distinction of being the most honored university in the country for community service; having twice won the President’s Award for Community Service in Higher Education. 

    At CSUMB, although Service Learners perform community service they are NOT volunteers; consequently there has been no comprehensive development of volunteer programs at CSUMB until they brought on their first AmeriCorps VIP Leader, yours truly, in 2010. 

VIP Leader Steven Goings with volunteers

    My charge was to do the recruiting, infrastructure capacity building and volunteer management expected of any VIP, and to extend the values associated with the SLI, like social justice and compassion, into the co-curricular areas of our university like Athletics, Greek Life, and Student Clubs.

    Indeed, the mission of the SLI is to foster and promote social justice by cultivating reciprocal partnerships.  But I soon realized that social justice was not the only motivation students had for volunteering.  In fact, some students just wanted to have an enjoyable experience!  So I came up with a way to combine service learning values with more individual motivations by initiating the Purposeful Service Opportunities (PSO) program. 

Steven Goings 

    PSO is a series of WebPages and resources on the SLI website that list volunteer opportunities as “purposeful service” opportunities.  Any student can sign up for any opportunity as a regular volunteer, and they have the opportunity to transform any volunteer activity into purposeful service by submitting a reflection on the social justice implications of their service or by explaining how their service relates to their own “purpose in life”.  These Purposeful Service resources not only  connect volunteers to organizations but also promote thinking about the relationship between social justice and their own volunteer experiences.

      Purposeful Service events that have been firmly established  here at CSUMB include widespread participation in Make a Difference Day, World AIDS Day, Cesar Chavez Day and the Pursuit Youth Expo. There are now annual Purposeful Service awards that recognize service across campus communities. 

    The ultimate goal is to provide both entry and advanced level purposeful service opportunities for our students; to create a cohesive, connected volunteer community that is no longer segregated in their individual silos; and to encourage interdepartmental collaboration on volunteer social justice projects that coordinates rather than duplicates efforts. 

    I think we are well on our way!

The Volunteer Round Table Seminar

Our local VIP Fellows serving at CalSERVES and Extended Child Care have partnered up to facilitate a monthly Volunteer Roundtable (VRT) seminar.  These seminars provide a unique professional development opportunity for the dedicated volunteers throughout our partner site programs.  Volunteers have the chance to network with volunteers at different organizations, and learn about topics ranging from leadership to emotional intelligence.  The VRT also gives our VIP Fellows the opportunity to develop their own leadership skills by creating and facilitating the seminars.  

Capacity building is an important aspect of the VRT that has made it a focus to our local team.  By giving volunteers additional training they develop into even more high value volunteers and they also feel more connected to our programs because of the opportunity to participate in such a unique seminar series.

An important aspect of the VRT is the emphasis on open discussions.  The volunteers delve into issues and come up with creative ideas about leadership that they can use in their volunteer roles.   By creating a space for the volunteers to have their perspectives heard, we have open and useful discussions around leadership topics.  It makes for an interactive and engaging seminar. 

The VRT is also a sort of appreciation for our volunteers.  It allows us as facilitators to show that we care about their own development as volunteers and as individuals.  What’s more, by learning new leadership skills, the quality of their service also increases, and everyone comes out on top.  

The VRT has been a success in our program, and we encourage other volunteer programs to develop similar enrichment programs for volunteers. You will be amazed at how thankful volunteers will be for a worthwhile training experience!

VIP Fellows Meghan Schuttler, CalSERVES,  and Sydney Tanimoto, ECC,  appreciate their volunteers at the VRT

Volunteer Training Program @ CalPoly San Louis Obispo

By Nick Bilich, VIP Lead with the Gender Equity Center, a partner site of CalPoly San Luis Obispo

An aspect of capacity building that we’ve implemented this spring at the Gender Equity Center is our updated volunteer training program.  A crucial aspect of designing any capacity building project is answering the “why?” question for potential volunteers—Why volunteer with our organization?

Our Center is (like a LOT of nonprofits) focused on aspects of social justice.  Many potential volunteers can be unaware of:

1. the ability to become involved in a movement they’re passionate about, and 
2. that our site provides the opportunity to exercise their energy and talent towards an important goal.  

Thus, this training project is designed to educate our community about WHY our Center exists, and show people the impact volunteers can have by investing in the Gender Equity Center.

A specific tip I’d like to highlight as we’ve designed this training is how it’s marketed to highly invested volunteers AND marginally invested volunteers.  The first group is comprised of those passionate about gender identity education, feminism, and social change.  These volunteers are attracted to the potential ability to impact our community through the education they receive, and the subsequent application.  It takes less of an effort to attract these volunteers, because they seek out these opportunities and education.  

The second group however, is not as deeply concerned about the goals of the volunteering, but is looking for some added value gained in the experience.  For us, it’s important to emphasize that our volunteer training is a GREAT resume builder!  Socially competent employees are very attractive in today’s job market, and our volunteer training can provide someone education to increase their understanding of what types of people could potentially be in their workplace.  Also, volunteering gives the individual opportunity to cite the hours they’ve devoted to our Center on their resume.  Mentioning all these aspects of the volunteer training allows us to throw the net wider than we might have otherwise.

I would encourage those developing similar programs/trainings to consider how they can market to groups who might be in the “marginally invested” category.  You might get more volunteers than you think!

Nick (bottom left) and other VIP Fellows as part of a human mesa.

Engaging Youth Volunteers at South Bay Community Services

By Liz Ertel, VIP Fellow at South Bay Community Services, a partner site of Jewish Family Service

Youth are often thought of as the recipient of community resources, rather than the solution to community problems. As a result, nonprofits don’t always look to young people when recruiting volunteers. However, youth are an untapped resource of volunteers. They are excited, energetic, eager to help, and full of fresh ideas.  High school students, and now even middle school students, have required service hours for school, service clubs, and college applications. Utilizing youth volunteers simply requires a different approach because these volunteers need constant engagement, stimulation, and unique schedules.

Chula Vista Learning Community Charter School students help put together food packages for families at South Bay Community Services’ food bank.

Here at South Bay Community Services - a nonprofit social services organization serving youth, children, and families in Chula Vista, CA - requests from youth needing volunteer opportunities for school or for court are very common. Unfortunately, we could not accommodate every request. After turning away what felt like hoards of youth, we set out to create new opportunities to engage more young volunteers in various programs to involve them in their own community. Since SBCS started off as a youth drop-in center in 1971 and has a history of utilizing youth to further its goals to improve the lives of families in the South Bay, we wanted to build upon that legacy.

Youth volunteers from United Methodist Church Westlake village pose during a graffiti clean-up. The church youth group chose to spend their spring break volunteering at SBCS. 

Recently, SBCS begun a Buff-a-Block program in partnership with the city of Chula Vista to clean up trash and graffiti in an assigned area of the city.  This was one of our first volunteer programs geared specifically towards youth volunteers. After only a few months, the program has proven to be very successful in cleaning up the city of Chula Vista and serves as a great way for youth to volunteer in the community during the afterschool hours.

Here at SBCS, we hope to continue to open up more youth volunteer opportunities and that other non-profits will do the same. If non-profits are creative and open to new partnerships, they can give youth the opportunity to take responsibility for their own communities.  When youth volunteer, they gain confidence, take on more leadership roles, and begin the journey to a lifetime of service.