Hi everyone! Our booklet outline is 11 pages long so we'll just post a link to it
http://borlankc.wordpress.com/2010/08/06/americorpsvista-summer-associate-booklet-outline/
This includes everything except our numbers chart. Believe it or not, we reached over 3000 people this summer! This is counting each day as a new day. We've already posted many action shots so I won't post any more since our last three posts were just pictures!
We've had a really great time with AmeriCorps*VISTA and the Ohio Campus Compact! Congratulations to everyone else on an outstanding summer and let's hope they offer this to OCC again next year!
EDIT: I lied, you can post charts too so our chart is the second actual post and the outline is the first one. :)
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
End of the Year BOOKlet OutLine
Name:
Joshua Michael Aeh
Institution:
Shawnee State University
Community Partner:
Portsmouth Pantry Garden
What did you do in 8 weeks?
In 8 weeks, we managed to raise a Garden, donate nearly a ton of food from the Garden to multiple Pantries, and raise money to insure the Future of the Garden.
What did you learn?
I learned that I in particular am no fan of Gardening, but that there are people out there who are grateful for us having done so because of what we were able to provide to them, and that can go quite a long way.
What was your biggest impact?
Our biggest impact may have to be the awareness we were able to raise within our community of the importance of helping and informing those who may be less fortunate and/or educated. By raising awareness we not only managed to have a reasonably successful summer of help but have hopefully encouraged others throughout the community to continue on where we left off…
How has the experience changed you and the community you served?
The Experience has provided me with a better understanding and respect of the work that goes into serving a community in need. I may not be as critical of it as I was once before.
Quotes from the community partner and from a community member about the services you were able to bring to the community:
I suppose quote from most would be "Thank You."
Action photo!!
Joshua Michael Aeh
Institution:
Shawnee State University
Community Partner:
Portsmouth Pantry Garden
What did you do in 8 weeks?
In 8 weeks, we managed to raise a Garden, donate nearly a ton of food from the Garden to multiple Pantries, and raise money to insure the Future of the Garden.
What did you learn?
I learned that I in particular am no fan of Gardening, but that there are people out there who are grateful for us having done so because of what we were able to provide to them, and that can go quite a long way.
What was your biggest impact?
Our biggest impact may have to be the awareness we were able to raise within our community of the importance of helping and informing those who may be less fortunate and/or educated. By raising awareness we not only managed to have a reasonably successful summer of help but have hopefully encouraged others throughout the community to continue on where we left off…
How has the experience changed you and the community you served?
The Experience has provided me with a better understanding and respect of the work that goes into serving a community in need. I may not be as critical of it as I was once before.
Quotes from the community partner and from a community member about the services you were able to bring to the community:
I suppose quote from most would be "Thank You."
Action photo!!
Booklet Outline
Name: Mason Bradbury
Institution: Shawnee State University
Community Partner: Portsmouth Pantry Garden
What did you do in 8 weeks?
My colleagues and I grew over 20 different vegetable crops and distributed over 1800 lbs (1857.75 lbs is the latest count) of food to local pantries. I also led a canning demonstration and helped plan a fundraiser dinner with garden produce to support next year’s community garden. In order to make the whole process accessible to those who will continue the garden next year, I have kept a careful log of everything done, grown and produced.
What did you learn?
Two things: first, it is surprisingly easy to mobilize people if you present them with something in which they can believe; second, good leadership, more than goals, mission statements or ideals, is the key to successful projects.
What was your biggest impact?
Without a doubt, the 1850 lbs of healthy, fresh food we provided to pantry users affected the community. Hopefully, however, the establishment of a foundation of engaged community members will carry the garden on to next year and have a more lasting impact.
How has the experience changed you and the community you served?
I have gained a better and more nuanced understanding of the role that community service and charity plays and should play in our society. The community, meanwhile, has gained a valuable asset in the pantry garden and the people who have committed themselves to it.
Quotes from the community partner and from a community member about the services you were able to bring to the community:
Sorry, I have only one quote. This comes from the Pantry Garden facebook page we created.
Portsmouth... For the first time in my life, you have made me proud to call you home [in reference to the pantry garden].
Action photo!!
Institution: Shawnee State University
Community Partner: Portsmouth Pantry Garden
What did you do in 8 weeks?
My colleagues and I grew over 20 different vegetable crops and distributed over 1800 lbs (1857.75 lbs is the latest count) of food to local pantries. I also led a canning demonstration and helped plan a fundraiser dinner with garden produce to support next year’s community garden. In order to make the whole process accessible to those who will continue the garden next year, I have kept a careful log of everything done, grown and produced.
What did you learn?
Two things: first, it is surprisingly easy to mobilize people if you present them with something in which they can believe; second, good leadership, more than goals, mission statements or ideals, is the key to successful projects.
What was your biggest impact?
Without a doubt, the 1850 lbs of healthy, fresh food we provided to pantry users affected the community. Hopefully, however, the establishment of a foundation of engaged community members will carry the garden on to next year and have a more lasting impact.
How has the experience changed you and the community you served?
I have gained a better and more nuanced understanding of the role that community service and charity plays and should play in our society. The community, meanwhile, has gained a valuable asset in the pantry garden and the people who have committed themselves to it.
Quotes from the community partner and from a community member about the services you were able to bring to the community:
Sorry, I have only one quote. This comes from the Pantry Garden facebook page we created.
Portsmouth... For the first time in my life, you have made me proud to call you home [in reference to the pantry garden].
Action photo!!
Sarah @ Shawnee - Booklette
Name:
Sarah Bachman
Institution:
Shawnee State University
Community Partner:
Portsmouth Pantry Garden
What did you do in 8 weeks?
Over the past 8 weeks I worked at the Portsmouth Pantry Garden growing produce to distribute to local pantries. I helped to educate students who volunteered in the garden about the importance of sustainable agriculture, local food movements (as opposed to shipping in food from far-away locations) and tried to instill in them a sense of pride for the work they were doing. I also helped to oversee court-appointed volunteers when they came to work in the garden. My fellow VISTA's and I helped to raise awareness about the garden by having a booth at the Farmer's Market each week where we accepted donations and handed out information on the garden. We also organized a canning demonstration and and hosted a fundraiser dinner to benefit the future of the garden.
What did you learn?
I learned how to grow food on a large scale with limited resources.
What was your biggest impact?
The biggest impact that the garden had was feeding dozens of families who had little access to fresh produce.
How has the experience changed you and the community you served?
The community has really rallied around the garden and many people feel they have a stake in its future. It has given sore residents a sense of pride in their community as well. A lot of people have opened their hearts and their pocketbooks to help their fellow townspeople. It has also inspired some people to start their own gardens and to think more about what they are feeding themselves and their families. As for how the garden has changed me, it has given me hope when it comes to helping others in knowing that it can be accomplished. Sometimes it seems like a daunting task to feed the masses but I know now that with a little sweat and time, we can feed everyone who has a need. the experience has made me want to devote more of my life to helping others.
Quotes from the community partner of a community member about the services you were able to bring to the community:
We had a facebook page for the Pantry Garden (search Portsmouth Pantry Garden). We mostly used the page to update people on our work, when we would be in the garden, when we were distributing food and so on. But on occasion, people would leave comments for us and one post in particular really stuck with me and my fellow VISTA's. A man by the name of Kyle Rooney posted the following: "Portsmouth, for the first time in my life, you have made me proud to call you home." that really touched us because a lot of people in Portsmouth don't feel proud of their community anymore and it was nice that we were able to change that for someone.
Wrapping things up @ Shawnee State
Sarah here. I can't believe the summer is almost over. The garden has been doing great these past few weeks. With the exception of our green peppers, all the plants are doing well and we have been having big harvests. Mason (he's been in charge of the tally) will have to post the final weight later today for you.Our Garden Party fundraiser dinner was a success. We held the dinner in an outdoor courtyard at a local garden shop called Boneyfiddle Home and Garden. Dinner started at 7 as the heat of the day began to fade. The food was served in 4 courses. The first course was a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. There was homemade bread too! The second course was a choice of two soups; onion soup with swiss cheese or vegetable soup. the third course was the entree, a vegetable lasagna with a side of green beans. The fourth course was desert, a homemade mint gelato. It was so GOOD! We had 30 guests in attendance and after subtracting the overhead costs, we raised just shy of $300 for the future of the garden.
With this money, we plan to sponsor plots in the community garden for interested families that use the food pantry. The money will also be used to purchase seeds and plants and possibly tools for these families to use. The people in charge of the community garden have agreed to hold onto the money until next spring.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The last week of camp
This is Brenna once again with a slightly belated post from Hiram House Camp. The camp actually ended this week, so next week I'll be cleaning and tying up some loose ends.
Our last week was a lot of fun. For the classes with campers-I had 3-5 each day- we cooked stew over a fire using quinoa and adding chives, basil, lettuce, zucchini and squash blossoms from the garden. Some groups were also totally resourceful and picked wild ramps and mint to add to the stew. Although it wasn't always the finest tasting dish it was really enjoyable to watch the kids engage themselves and get excited about the stew; most likely it was the first time a lot of them have cooked for themselves.
We also visited the animals at the farmstead with a few classes, and the last day, I tried playing a game with some classes that is meant to help them understand how wealth is distributed in the world. Playing the game involves setting up a mock banquet and distributing some kind of food, I used pretzels, proportionately to the distribution in of wealth in the world. In other words, one kid gets a fat stack of pretzels and most of the others recieve crumbs. Typically the kids react confused and angry at first, but after a small conversation and some thoughtful remarks they start to see the intended purpose of the game.
Our last week was a lot of fun. For the classes with campers-I had 3-5 each day- we cooked stew over a fire using quinoa and adding chives, basil, lettuce, zucchini and squash blossoms from the garden. Some groups were also totally resourceful and picked wild ramps and mint to add to the stew. Although it wasn't always the finest tasting dish it was really enjoyable to watch the kids engage themselves and get excited about the stew; most likely it was the first time a lot of them have cooked for themselves.
We also visited the animals at the farmstead with a few classes, and the last day, I tried playing a game with some classes that is meant to help them understand how wealth is distributed in the world. Playing the game involves setting up a mock banquet and distributing some kind of food, I used pretzels, proportionately to the distribution in of wealth in the world. In other words, one kid gets a fat stack of pretzels and most of the others recieve crumbs. Typically the kids react confused and angry at first, but after a small conversation and some thoughtful remarks they start to see the intended purpose of the game.
Friday, July 30, 2010
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