Sustainability 101

By Maggie Hollingsworth, VIP Fellow at Fresno State Career Services

As a college campus resource, Career Services finished strong; a happy ending to a productive school year. More students have made contact with us to improve their earning potential this year then they have in the past several years, and they know about us thanks to the help of our volunteers, the Career Ambassador Team. The 21st century economic depression, which was due (mainly) to increased energy costs and irresponsible mortgage lending practices, affected the entire nation, and with unemployment rampant, college students felt the brunt of it. Career Ambassadors helped students learn resilience through our mission, “to improve [students’] self-knowledge, career-literacy, job-search preparation, and expanded opportunities to connect to employers”.

Talking to students about how and why they should utilize our services was easy; developing the program was the challenge. And now, the challenge is to sustain the program that I’ve built with the help of Career Services staff, and the feedback of the Career Ambassadors. The process of program sustainability is this:

• Making sure the position description is right;
• Coming up with a recruitment strategy, screening process, and orientation timeline that can be used annually;
• Communicating frequently with the staff member who will soon be managing the program, and adapting it as necessary;
• Finalizing all of the volunteer materials, and organizing it in a hard and digital copy;
• Reviewing volunteer records; confirm they are complete;

The last thing I would recommend to guarantee that the organization's Volunteer Coordinator, and the (returning or new) volunteers can get along without you, is to integrate them as soon as possible, and research an online interface for them to communicate all aspects of the program (calendar, discussion board, to retrieve program forms, etc.) in a simple and organized way. For Fresno State, it’s Orgsync, and it’s amazing. 

Creating Opportunities for High School Volunteers

By Briana Keating, VIP Fellow at Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa

Catholic Charities serves people in need through three program areas: caring for seniors, counseling immigrants, and challenging poverty. As the VIP Fellow and sole member of the Volunteer Department at Catholic Charities, I spend much of my time fielding calls from people, many of whom are youth, interested in volunteering in one of these program areas. One of the challenges I have faced is trying to find a place for high school volunteers to fit. Youth can be great volunteers because of their enthusiasm, desire to help others, and ability to learn new things quickly.  Unfortunately, we do not have enough volunteer opportunities to accommodate every interested youth and we frequently encounter volunteers who just want to fulfill their required volunteer hours then never show up again.

In an attempt to come up with a solution to this challenge, my supervisor and I have developed a new volunteer program at Catholic Charities called the Caritas Corps, set to launch this August. Named for the Latin word for charity, the Caritas Corps will be a youth service corps for high school students. Youth will have the opportunity to volunteer in one of our many programs: from tutoring children at our homeless shelter to building food boxes for the Rural Food Project to making phone calls to seniors living alone.

High school students and community partners joined VIP Fellow, Briana Keating (right) for a presentation and feedback session on the Caritas Corps.

Interested youth will have to go through an application process which includes a written statement of intent and an interview. The hope is that the interview process will help us to pair volunteers with programs that best fit their skills and interests. Volunteers will be asked to make a commitment to one program over the course of the school year, allowing them to make greater impacts and greater connections with staff and the clients we serve. I will also be coordinating monthly service days where teens can volunteer and gain service hours without making a long-term commitment.

The Caritas Corps was developed to provide more than just a volunteer opportunity, but also as a way to encourage and develop social awareness in youth through education and social events. We want to help develop socially minded individuals who will grow up with a passion for service and who will continue to give back to their communities. Additionally, this is a really exciting new program for Catholic Charities as it will allow us to utilize youth volunteers to their full potential and help us to fill a huge need for volunteers in our agency.

Making a difference at the Sonoma County Family YMCA

By Heather Seney, VIP Fellow at the Sonoma County YMCA

As a community-based nonprofit, the Sonoma County Family YMCA is an integral part of the Santa Rosa community. The Y focuses on strengthening the community through programs in youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. When you think of the Y, the first thing that comes to mind may be the Y’s fitness programs. Or perhaps taking swim lessons when you were a kid. And let’s not dance around the fact that you may want to sing that song—you know which one.

But many people, including myself before joining AmeriCorps, may not realize that the Y also has many after school programs. The Y runs nearly 20 after school and childcare programs throughout Sonoma County, each providing enriching experiences for youth during before and after school hours.

With so many different programs, the Y has a diverse selection of volunteer opportunities. I love that the Y’s volunteer program has an opportunity for everyone. If you’re looking to do office or administrative work, the Y has you covered. If you’re looking to work with youth, perfect! You enjoy sports? We have opportunities to coach, assist with an aquatics program, or lead a fitness program. Are you just looking to help out for a couple hours? Volunteer at the Y’s Harvest Run or Healthy Kids Day! I always tell volunteers that if they discover a position isn’t what they expected, it’s okay, the Y has another opportunity that may be a better fit.

When I first arrived at the Y, I expected to find a volunteer program that needed to be developed—that’s why I’m here. But I was surprised to learn there wasn’t a single volunteer in any of the after school programs. I’ve always been an advocate for education, so naturally, I saw a great opportunity for volunteers to offer academic assistance, develop positive relationships with youth, and in general, elevate kids’ experiences at the Y’s after school programs. 

Since August, the Y’s after school programs have benefited from volunteers who have spent hours upon hours helping kids to master math problems, inspiring kids to love reading, and engaging youth in various educational and recreational activities. There were definitely challenges to developing a volunteer corps in the Y’s after school programs, but it’s incredibly gratifying to hear about and see first-hand the impact that volunteers have had this year.

 As the year begins to wind down, I am happy to report that the Y has established a partnership with Sonoma State University (SSU)’s Join Us Making Progress (JUMP) program for next school year. Through the partnership, JUMP will refer SSU volunteers to one of the Y’s highest-need after school programs throughout the year. In addition, the Y is in the process of developing an intern program which will place university and college students in the Y’s after school programs next year, as well.

To all the Y’s volunteers (and the Y staff who help support volunteers)—YOU ROCK!

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!