Utah AmeriCorps VISTA

November in the South Franklin Community Center

2009-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Every month the Community Center keeps on growing! More and more people are getting involved in their own community. Last week, there was the first of a series of Neighborhood Leadership Meetings. These meetings are the result of a collaboration between VISTAs and DCFS workers/University of Utah Social Work grad students. The meeting went well, with neighbors discussing what they liked about their community, and what they thought could improve. The second neighborhood meeting will be on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm at the South Franklin Community Center (750 S. 650 W.)

Be sure to check out the community center blog (sfccboulders.blogspot.com) and Facebook Fan Page (South Franklin Community Center) for the November calendar of events as well as for updates on the Thanksgiving activity!

VISTA Project Pipeline

2009-11-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Every month Brian, our benevolent VISTA leader, compiles a newsletter full of tips, ideas and suggestions to help us in our jobs as VISTAs. I thought it would be fun to include parts of the newsletter in our blog.

Retain the One-time Volunteer

Many people this time of year are looking for the “episodic” or “one-time” volunteer experience, however even though this might be the initial desire of the volunteer, consider the following to help your project retain these volunteers:

Be a great place to volunteer, be prepared and make volunteers feel welcome.

Train sufficiently, set expectations and give them a purpose.

Recognize your volunteers!

Carefully screen and match volunteers to organizational tasks.

Be careful in how you supervise and communicate with volunteers, don’t make them feel like they are at their job.

Provide a culture that is welcoming to volunteers and allocate sufficient resources to support them.

Adopt practices that are directly concerned with satisfying volunteers to help you increase your rate of retention.

Brianstorm Opportunities

Brainstorm ideas of new volunteer opportunities. Many organizations get overwhelmed with volunteers, making any available opportunity a hot commodity. Be creative and get ideas from all members of your organization.

Plan Ahead

Think big and think ahead. The holidays are the perfect time of year to try and fill your wish list. Whether you need more volunteers, an in-kind donation or monetary contributions, by planning ahead and making the ask you have a perfect opportunity to tap into the resources in your community.

Get the Word Out

Make sure your volunteer opportunities accessible! Get the word out about how volunteers can help your organization this holiday
season. Use your local volunteer center or the state wide online services to help connect you to volunteers.

Look forward to next month's newsletter as well! Thanks Brian!

Family Volunteer Day

2009-11-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

Each year VISTAs are encouraged to participate in several national service days. Family Volunteer Day is a great way to for us VISTAs to get involved in the community that we serve.

This November, Utah County will be among hundreds of communities nationwide participating in Family Volunteer Day. Locally, Family Volunteer Day is hosted by United Way of Utah County and gives families the opportunity to participate in improving their neighborhoods and communities.

“Family Volunteer Day is a chance for families to get together and experience meaningful service,” said Raquel Lopez, youth volunteer outreach AmeriCorps*VISTA with United Way of Utah County. “This is a good opportunity for parents to teach their children the value of service.”

On Saturday, November 21, teams of family volunteers will gather for a pancake breakfast and will then split up to serve in various locations. Projects include helping with home construction for families in need, making and setting up holiday decorations for elderly and disabled community members, cleaning at a special needs day care center and putting together charitable care packages for the children of disabled persons.

“It is neat to see families wanting to teach their children to appreciate what they have,” Lopez said. “It can be hard to find service projects for a whole family, and this creates a day for them to serve together.”

Last year, more than 130 volunteers donated their time to five projects including making stockings for low-income children and putting up holiday decorations at local nursing homes.

“Often volunteer opportunities aren’t designed for families or younger children,” said Brian Wayment, AmeriCorps*VISTA leader with United Way of Utah County. “Typically it is hard to include the whole family. We try to have family-friendly activities that include everyone.”

Projects are geared toward volunteers of all ages and skills to include every family member. Volunteers are assigned to projects depending on their interests and capabilities. Families of all sizes with children of any ages are encouraged to attend. Church and community groups are also welcome to participate in the day’s activities.

“It gives families the opportunity to learn something together,” Wayment said. “Children who learn to serve at a young age are more likely to be involved in their community in one way or another.”

Family Volunteer Day starts with a complimentary pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at Community Action Services and Food Bank (815 S. Freedom Blvd., Provo). Service projects will be from 9:30– 11:30 at various sites from Payson to Orem. Interested families should sign up at www.unitedwayuc.org or call Raquel Lopez at 801-691-5330.

Make a Difference Day

2009-10-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

Candy, costumes, pumpkins and spooky fun are all my favorite things about Halloween. I love all holidays. So when we decided to plan a project for Make a Difference Day on October 24th, we naturally wanted to do something centered around the upcoming holiday. We wanted to be able to share all of our favorite things about Halloween with the children of Utah State Hospital. In the end we decided to throw these youth a carnival full of Halloween activities. Doughnut eating contests, pumpkin and face painting, treat-or-treat bag making were just a few of our carnival activities.
We were given the wonderful opportunity to interact with these youth. It was a joy to see the smiles on their faces as they chowed down on doughnuts, glaze covering their faces, and as they sat waiting to have their faces painted. Equally entertaining were the grimaces and looks of disgust when they bravely touched the mysterious contents of the fear factor boxes. While our Make a Difference Day project may not have served a huge part of our community, we still had the opportunity to affect the lives of these select youth even if it was only for a couple of hours. Not only were we able to give service, but it was a great chance for the VISTAs to work together and with our community. Thank you to all who helped make this day a great success.

Stephanie taking care of the pumpkin painting station
Raquel, the face painting artist

The competitive doughnut eating contest
Sarah with her scary and gory fear factor boxes (We miss her already!)

Potraits of Service

2009-10-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to this year’s grand prize winners of the Portraits of Service competition!! United Way of Utah County in conjunction with Bryant Livingston Photography, Provo Towne Centre Mall and Community Action Services and Food Bank encouraged high school students throughout the county to give service in their community. As students logged their hours between July 1^st and September 31^st and wrote a service reflection, they became eligible for free senior portraits and electronic prizes. Seventeen-year-old Colton Shumway of Lone Peak High School was the winner of a MacBook Laptop and $400 portrait package from Bryant Livingston Photography. Seventeen year-old Emily Knorr of Timpanogos High School won an iPod Touch and a $300 portrait package. Special thanks to our sponsor APX Alarm for their generous contribution and support of this service-based contest. Join the United Way of Utah County Facebook Group to learn about more service opportunities and competitions!

Grand Prize Winner, Colton Shumway

(Read Service Reflection)

Directed by Raquel Lopez, Portraits of Service was a brand new competition this year. They are hoping to hold the competition again next year, so spread the word about this awesome opportunity and the potential to win great prizes.

Second Place Winner, Emily Knorr

(Read Service Reflection)

The Daily Herald reports on a VISTA project.

2009-10-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

http://heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/article_8b103bc4-dca8-5950-9dd2-376eb2628aad.html

Family Volunteer Day!

2009-09-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Family Volunteer day is not too far away! On Saturday, November 21st, families will gather for breakfast and then split off to engage in a variety of service projects throughout the county. For more information or to register your family, contact Raquel López. (rlopez@unitedwayuc.org) 801-691-5330

South Franklin End of Summer Bash!!

2009-09-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

The South Franklin Community Center hosted a neighborhood End of Summer Bash at the end of August. It was a huge success!! Tons of people from the neighborhood came to enjoy a free BBQ, carnival games, entertainment and to get information on community resources!

The BBQ portion of the event delicious! We had hot dogs, chips, cookies, and drinks. A very big THANK YOU to Wonder Bread, Costco, Macey's, Harmons, and Community Action Services and Food Bank for your very generous donations!

We had a volunteer DJ who kept the tunes coming while residents visited booths to find out more about programs and activities going on in their community. The following were all there:
-South Franklin Community Center Book Club
-South Franklin Soccer Program
-South Franklin Community Center Health Class
-South Community Center Tutoring
-Centro Hispano
-Provo City Library
-Utah Community Credit Union
-Wasatch Mental Health
-Early Head Start
-BYU ROTC
-United Way of Utah County
-Central Utah Center for Independent Living

There was also lots of fun entertainment! Jump for Joy donated a Combo Bounce House/Slide. Living Legends came and performed four dances!

There was face painting, hair spray-dying, and incredible balloon animals! There was also lots of carnival games!

Thanks to everyone who came, donated, and volunteered!!!

Learn more about what's going on at South Franklin on Facebook! Just look up: South Franklin Community Center! You can also look up our blog: sfccboulders.blogspot.com

Our first training: In pictures and words

2009-09-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

My vibrating cell phone woke me from the deep of sleep this morning. Usually completely reluctant to wake up and get ready for the day (I'm not a morning person), I noticed that today rolling out of bed was a little easier. I then considered my evening the night before, full of cooking, going to the gym, studying and shopping, there was no way I got more sleep than the usual night, but then it hit me. I was still enjoying the high from the day before. Not to sound corny or anything, but yesterday I was able to participate in the first semi-annual training for the Volunteer Empowerment Project, and I left feeling a bit more motivated, a bit more excited about my project and a bit more "warm and fuzzy".
Personally I had a great time getting to meet all the VISTAs on our project and to learn from each other and our presenters.
Here is a little recap of what we did:
First, we were able to hear from Ethan Shumway, the Communications Manager of Intermountain Healthcare. He graciously came to teach us all about public relations and how all of us can be more effective communicators in our projects and organizations. He gave a very fun and informative presentation, complete with prizes and handouts.
Next, Brian our VISTA leader, gave us a great presentation to help us brush up on our presentation skills.
Afterwards, we were surprised with a sumptuous lunch from Cafe Rio (props to Brian and Carrie for picking great food)
With full bellies, we were then able to go back to things we learned earlier in the day and practice our presentations skills. Everyone did a great job, and I think we all managed to learn important imformation with a laugh or two in between. I apologize to everyone for my group's less than polished improv act.
Lastly, with cookies in hand, we learned some important aspects of leadership.

Thank you to all that participated and especially to Brian for creating this awesome training. I hope everyone got as much out of training as I did and returned to work today armed and ready to take on the world, or if not at least their project!

Utah Comission on Volunteers

2009-09-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

The Utah Commission on Volunteers has a new facebook page!

The commission has a theory that if you keep a community informed of service efforts there will be a better buy in from the general citizens of the community.

I invite all the VISTAS that have facebook to become a fan of the page and give us feedback on how well you think we are, or are not, keeping our communities informed.

Please follow us to keep updated on the state commission. The commission is home to 4 Americorps members 3 of who are Vistas. Our central goal is to promote and use volunteerism as a strategy to improve communities through service. you can reach the commission by emailing me directly at jwhudspeth [at] utah.gov.

Utah Commision on Volunteers

Promote Your Page Too

Day of Caring

2009-09-11T07:45:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, as a VISTA working with United Way of Utah County, I got the opportunity to participate in one of their huge service projects called Day of Caring. More than a thousand volunteers participated to improve their community. It was amazing to me how much work went into a huge project like this, it was fun, exciting and even stressful at times (and I had no real assignments)
I was assigned to the Mountainlands Head Start location in Pleasant Grove. I had a great group that were excited to help out and make a difference in the community. The volunteers did everything from weeding and cleaning playground equipment to coloring educational kits. Armed with hoses, volunteers even sprayed down the building and climbed all over the roof sweeping off the leaves and debri, just to make the building look as clean as possible for the first day of school next week. Even though I didn't do much work myself, my experience was so rewarding. I loved seeing the volunteers taking initiative and making a project their own. I loved seeing the improvement to the building and the grounds afterwards, but my favorite part of all was seeing the gratitude of the director of the Head Start. Seeing that we really had helped her that day, something that she didn't know how she would accomplish on her own, was surprisingly moving. I hope that the volunteers had as good of an experience as I did, and I hope that they realized that they really did a service that day that was greatly appreciated and won't be forgotten soon.

The BBQ in Pictures

2009-08-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

BBQ at The Boulders

2009-08-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

Smiling faces, Polynesian dancers and hotdogs were just a few things seen at the wonderfully successful BBQ held last night at the Boulders Housing Complex in South Provo. Hosted by the South Franklin Community Center, this BBQ attracted neighbors, community members and volunteers alike. Some of our VISTAs worked very hard to pull off this event. Everyone who came out enjoyed games, entertainement and good food. From performances by the Living Legends dancers, to carnival-like games for the kids, to skateboarding for the teens, there was something for everyone. The BBQ was not only loads of fun and games, but it also provided many educational materials to the participants. With booths set up by Early Head Start and Provo Library, just to name a few, those in attendance were able to learn more about what is happening locally in the community and about programs they can participate in.

Pet Day at the Park

2009-08-25T15:19:00.001-07:00

Summer of Service youth and families were invited to attend this event to share in the fun of celebrating some of man's best friends! This service and learning event was an opportunity for youth to bring their pets to the park for a pet show-and-tell and exciting presentations from local professionals in the field of pet care. After the show-and-tell and presentations, participants divided into groups to deliver informative door hangers in surrounding neighborhoods. These provided details on local pet clinics, adoption/foster programs, and more services. Afterward, youth met back at the park for a PetSmart trivia & prize give-away as well as a fascinating reptile show and refreshments. Contributors to this event included No More Homeless Pets in Utah, Utah County Spay and Neuter Clinic, PetSmart, the BYU Bean Museum of Life and Delipan Bakery.

Book Day at the Boulders

2009-08-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

Book Day at The Boulders was an exciting and enriching event for youth volunteers, parents and the children they served. Summer of Service volunteers were invited to bring a favorite book to share with the children of Boulders residents. In addition to summarizing novels or reading picture books, youth had the opportunity to share insights with the listeners and teach certain principles and character-building lessons learned from the books. The purpose of this SOS activity was to reach out to children and help them appreciate books as tools for learning and personal growth.

Summer of Service...moving right along..

2009-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Courage Reins Therapeutic Riding Center invited Summer of Service youth participants to help with the care and maintenance of their facility. In order to give youth volunteers a more personal experience with their services, Courage Reins staff guided youth on a tour of the entire facility and allowed them to observe and learn about the therapeutic riding experience.

4-H Mentoring of Utah County invited Summer of Service youth volunteers to learn about mentoring programs in the community. Staff members provided delicious snacks and opened up the activity by leading youth in fun ice-breaker activities. Youth volunteers and parents then watched an inspiring video presentation on the 4-H Mentoring Program. Afterward volunteers went to work; serving 4-H by putting together 3 boxes full of mentoring packets for mentors and families.

Help Local Residents Improve their English!

2009-07-11T14:40:00.001-07:00

The second semester of English as a Second Language is beginning on July 14th at the South Franklin Community Center at The Boulders. This semester, in addition to the class, volunteers will be providing an "English Language Lab" every Thursday from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. During this time, anyone from the community (whether or not they are enrolled in the English class) can come and practice their English while talking with a volunteer about whatever subject they want. If you are interested in volunteering with this program, contact us! 801-691-5282

El segundo semestre de Inglés como Segundo Idioma está comenzando el 14 de julio en el Centro Comunitario de Franklin del Sur a los Boulders. Este semestre, además de la clase, voluntarios se proporciona un "Laboratorio de Inglés", todos los jueves de 1:30 a 3:00 pm. Durante este tiempo, cualquier persona de la comunidad (ya sea que estén matriculados o no en la clase de inglés) puede venir y practicar su inglés por manera de hablar con un voluntario sobre cualquier tema que deseen.

Soccer! - Fútbol!

2009-07-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

The South Franklin Soccer Program is gearing up for its second season! The first season was a great success, with around 90 children and young teenagers playing on six sponsored teams, each coached by local volunteers. The games are held at the park in the Boulders, where goal posts were installed for the league. If you are interested in having your child participate in this free league, contact us by calling 801-691-5282. If you are interested in sponsoring a team, please also contact us for more information. See ya on the field!

El Programa de Fútbol de Franklin del Sur se está preparando para su segunda temporada! La primera temporada fue un gran éxito, con alrededor de 90 niños y adolescentes que juegaban en seis equipos patrocinados, cada uno dirigido por voluntarios locales. Los partidos se llevan a cabo en el parque en el Boulders, donde se instalaron goles para la liga. Si estás interesado en que su hijo participe en esta liga gratis, pongase en contacto con nosotros: llama al 801-691-5282. Si usted está interesado en patrocinar a un equipo, por favor pongase en contacto con nosotros para obtener más información. Nos vemos en el campo!

Summer of Service at the SCERA

2009-07-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

The SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem hosted Summer of Service volunteers as they participated in a service project to beautify the garden court. Youth, children and parents helped to plant a large variety of donated flowers, pull weeds, remove dead buds, and make bird feeders. Shirley's Bakery donated refreshments, and everybody went home happy and edified.

More Summer of Service events!

2009-07-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Friday & Saturday June 12, 13 - The Balloon Festival is a 2-day event celebrated annually as part of Springville's Art City Days. Summer of Service volunteers helped with setting up/taking down the event, face painting, coloring stations, hot air balloon tether drives, raffles and prize booths. They also had the fun yet difficult task of judging the children's coloring contest! It was a wonderful event to have shared with the Springville community.

Saturday June 20 - Habitat For Humanity and United Way "Summer of Service" volunteers gathered at the Provo ReStore to participate in building can houses as part of the "Cans for Habitat" recycling program.

Saturday June 27 - Summer of Service youth volunteers and family members supported Central Utah Center for Independent Living (CUCIL) at their 7th Annual "5K Run, Walk and Roll." The event is a fundraiser to help supply services to people with disabilities. This fun run for families and individuals with disabilities is also a marathon qualifier for serious racers. Volunteers were assigned to work at the registration tables and water stations along the race trail. The scenic route was beautiful, weather conditions were ideal, and there was a spirit of friendship, enthusiasm and unity among all participants and volunteers.

Tuesday June 30 - Summer of Service youth volunteers payed a special visit to American Fork Hospital. Youth joined together doing such things as cleaning toys in the playroom on the Pediatric floor, visiting with and singing for the elderly patients, picking up garbage around the hospital grounds and making cards for hospital patients - old and young.

South Franklin Community Center

2009-06-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

The South Franklin Neighborhood is a low-income neighborhood in South Provo. With a mixed population of all kinds of residents, the neighborhood has a lot of assets, although it unfortunately has spent years in the shadow of past problems. But thanks to the work of The Boulders management, community members, and volunteers, that negative image will soon be a thing of the past.

The new South Franklin Community Center at The Boulders is up and running and growing! Programs and activities include: English as a second language, tutoring, health classes, playgroups, dance classes, Institute, Family Home Evening, and an addiction recovery class. More programs and classes are in the works! The South Franklin Neighborhood is coming alive. Neighbors are attending classes, improving their lives with other neighbors. More and more people are getting involved and being empowered by doing something new and positive in their lives. This community center is helping individuals and the community as a whole!

To learn more, visit sfccboulders.blogspot.com or the South Franklin Community Center fan page on Facebook. Or contact us at 801-691-5282 or sfccboulders@hotmail.com

AmeriCorpsWeek

2009-06-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) members nationwide participated in various service projects for their communities for AmeriCorps Week (May 9-16). Utah County VISTAs organized a hygiene drive. We were able to collect 110 lbs worth of hygiene items outside of the Springville WalMart, 98lbs from Lindon, 115lbs from Orem, and Five Guys burgers & Fries donated $100 to the cause as well! All proceeds were donated to the Community Action Food Bank in Provo.

South Franklin Soccer Program

2009-05-29T14:53:00.001-07:00

The South Franklin Soccer Program is a volunteer-based soccer program that provides children from low-income families the opportunity to play on soccer teams for free! The league has six teams coached by volunteers and they play in the park at The Boulders Apartments. With help from the Boulders Management, Lehi Metal Mart, and Mr. Larry Webster of Payson Junior High School, goal posts were constructed and installed at the park to give the children their own private soccer field. The program grew much larger than anticipated and was a huge success!

The program was funded by donations from the following sponsors: Ottavio's, Merz Properities, Qualtrics, and the Comitas Cultural Club. These sponsors provided the teams with the soccer balls, cones, whistles, equiptment bages, stopwatches, and t-shirts.

The next season will start in the middle of August. If you're interested in being a volunteer coach, referee, or want to be a sponsor please contact us at 801-691-5282. To see more pictures and to learn more about other programs in the South Franklin Area, please visit us at sfccboulders.blogspot.com or join our page on facebook: South Franklin Community Center.

2009-05-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY May 30: First Choice Home Health & Hospice hosted "Wings of Love," their first annual live butterfly release. Members of the community attended the event at the Orem Community Park to honor loved ones who have passed away.

Youth Summer of Service volunteers helped with decorating, registration, butterfly distribution & release and refreshments. "Wings of Love" was a heart-warming and impressionable experience for all who attended.

SUMMER OF SERVICE has begun! We have organized a variety of service projects throughout the county to enrich youth volunteers & provide a great alternative to summer boredom, loneliness, anxiety & mischief. On Friday & Saturday ( May 8/9) volunteers were invited to plant 47 flowerbeds along Provo Center Street for Provo Parks & Recreation. See for yourself how Spring has officially sprung in downtown Provo!
[Raquel López, Youth Volunteer Outreach]

For details on individual service projects available for youth throughout the summer click here.

2009-04-30T15:14:00.001-07:00

My name is Raquel López. I have been an AmeriCorps*VISTA with United Way since the beginning of March, and it has been a true delight to work on Youth Volunteer Outreach. My most recent project was Global Youth Service Day, an event celebrated in over 100 countries. Each April, youth join in this great effort to make a difference in their communities. My partner Brian Wayment and I organized several youth committees to plan and carry out these projects. We met regularly with these groups and were so pleased with the fruits of their labor!

GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY PROJECTS

Friday April 24 Students from Independence High School in Provo gathered to lend a hand of service in beautifying their school grounds and a nearby park. They filled several large bags of trash, laughed, conversed and enjoyed root beer floats when the work was done!

Saturday April 25 Students from Merit College Preparatory Academy of Springville organized and carried out their own “Helping Homes with Many Hands” project. These students along with other youth and families from the community met at the Springville Arts Park to receive service assignments. They did such things as beautifying homes/yards of elderly community members, painting and gardening at the local Baptist church and maintenance/clean-up at the Arts Park. Once all projects had been completed, all volunteers returned to the park for a mingle and feast of refreshments--just as a great rainstorm began pouring down. The timing could not have been more perfect! We all had a wonderful service experience.

The long-term boys at Slate Canyon Juvenile Detention Center planted a garden. They will be tending this garden and donating the harvest to the Food Bank or a local shelter. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of the boys at the facility. They did a wonderful job. In the next few weeks we will be doing another project with them. They will be writing and illustrating inspirational books to be donated to other youth corrections or treatment centers.

Thursday April 30 Community Action and Centro Hispano hosted “Dia De Los Niños,” an exciting and educational event for Hispanic families in the community. Students volunteers from Spanish Fork High School and other organizations ran games, activities and booths to provide information, resources, healthy snacks, fun prizes and recreation for families. The focus was to educate parents and their children on fitness and healthier living. The event was a great success and was covered by a few news reporters to be aired on the local news. Many thanks to Angelica, Centro Hispano and all volunteer participants for their many great ideas, passion and hard work!

Tuesday May 19 Merit College Preparatory Academy students organized a talent night at the Springville Senior Center (65 East 200 South). They had been mentoring younger students in helping them develop a skill or talent to share. The vision behind this project was to help children discover their own talents and passions. As the children continue to pursue these interests into their youth, they will be less likely to have idle time for loneliness, anxiety and mischief.