Dear Internet World,

It has been a while, has it not? With the winding down semester comes more time for writing! Many of the students at UMass Boston have headed home, and are awaiting the holiday season. Our classes officially end tomorrow and won’t resume until the 26^th of January. This means more fun planning for events and activities.

What have I been up to lately? Well last month was a huge month of events for us at UMass Boston. I planned almost all of the programming. I organized a speaker panel on Hunger and Homelessness with local organizations including One Family, MHASA (Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance) and Homelessness Empowerment/Spare Change present. I also organized a Fair Trade awareness day and raffle which was really cool. I had items donated that were Fair Trade from jewelry to chocolate samples and we got to offer them to students, staff, and anyone in the building. I really enjoyed this event because it turned something I’m passionate about, food and fair trade, into part of my work plan!

We also did two volunteer days one at Habitat for Humanity and one at the Red Cross Food Distribution center. While at the Habitat for Humanity build day, we gathered a new group of students for service. There were 7 students present. I had only met one of the students before, but all who signed up showed up enthusiastic for the day. We had several different jobs throughout the day, including hammering, sawing metal bars, raking, and more. Despite the cold, we really got quite a lot of work done, and built a small community of workers and friends during the event. The vibe we had going was just all positive. We kept busy finding new jobs and the students present really worked hard at the site. I think the site coordinator was very happy with us at the end of the day. At another recent volunteer day during Hunger and Homelessness week, I volunteered at the Red Cross with a group of 8 students. Most of the students really wanted to do more volunteering work after the day of service, so I promised to continue to email them opportunities. Throughout the day we sorted food and handed it out to patrons. The students all were very enthusiastic, and again I only had met one of the students previously. One student got very lost, but despite her frustration, still managed to find her way to the shelter. Another student I was unable to meet during the event. On the train ride back into town she happened to notice I was on the same train as her. She came over to thank me for running the event, and was very excited for the service she had done.

I also just had my first fundraiser for Alternative Spring Break. We wrapped gifts at Borders bookstore. Borders offer a gift wrapping table and all supplies to non-profit organizations during the holidays, and we are able to collect donations. It was a ton of fun, we spent our down time trying to learn origami together and we rose over $100.00 between the two dates. The students got to know each other better and we had a blast (despite the lack of sleep from all present due to finals). ~Erika

Ah, the *VISTA life!

Alternative Spring Break has become such a huge part of my life. When I got to Framingham State College, I was surprised to see no ASB program in sight and so my supervisor and I decided to play with my workplan a little bit to include ASB. I know it's something that many students want the opportunity to do and so I thought it would be pretty awesome to work with the students to make that happen here. I should tell you that I, as an undergrad student, never in my life planned an ASB or even went on one. That makes the whole process that much more exciting! Yes, it's been challenging to get the hang of all the details and whatnot, but I think (and hope) we are going to be pretty successful. I have selected two trip leaders and as such, the trip will be largely student run, which is a concept that I really value a lot. I place a lot of emphasis on leadership development in college students and am really excited to be able to help a couple of my own students to gain a pretty decent leadership experience in our ASB.

We also decided to keep the trip local, which I was nervous to tell the students, but I think it's going to be awesome. We are going to be in Boston doing service projects for the week of Spring Break which is helpful to us in our first year planning an ASB as it will take a lot of the big pressures off of us while we learn how to do this (transportation, etc). What I like the most about staying in Boston, though, is that my students are going to get a chance to make a real impact on their own community and will also be able to go back to their work site and see the difference they made, and volunteer with the organization again.

I have to admit that all this ASB business makes me kind of nervous, but I am excited to get this going and leave the program behind me when I leave FSC.

Also, lately I have been reflecting a lot on my decision to become a MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA and how satisfied I am with my choice. I know I have already talked about this before, but I feel the need to visit it again. Last night some of us MACC *VISTAs went to a VISTA social at BostonCares and met some other really awesome VISTAs from Massachusetts. That is, VISTAs who are not a part of Campus Compact. We played some fun, cheesy ice breakers (oh, how I love them) and got to hang out and talk to some really interesting people. I have to admit going into it I felt a tad awkward and was a little nervous to socialize, as I often get shy with new people (which is something most people who know me would tell you is probably a lie) but it was really fun. What I appreciated most was being able to visit the VISTAs from my own Corps that I hardly get to see. It's nice to have an excuse to get myself into Boston on a more regular basis, as I have come to find myself getting pretty attached to my friends in the Corps. Anyway, the point is, on very long T ride home last night, I thought so much about my career plans and the friendships I've gained because of MACC and would not change a thing in the world about my decision to serve this year!

Stay tuned, I'm having my first big volunteering day next weekend!

Much *VISTA Love,

Dana

Alternative Breakers Have Power

One of the big projects I was working on these past few months was being on the planning committee for MACC’s annual Fall Alternative Break weekend, which was developed out in Holyoke. This year, as usual the break took place on Columbus Day weekend. With a core team of 5 MACC VISTAs and 2 VISTA leaders we went all out planning our weekend for students from across Massachusetts. Based on a train the trainers model, our FAB (Fall Alternative Break) was developed to help students find out what it takes to put on an Alternative Break while participating in service throughout the weekend. It is really a mini-alternative break!

The VISTAs were on committees including fundraising, outreach, and reflection and training. I was lucky, because I got to be on all three committees and was able to find out from all corners what it would take to put the weekend together. One of my main projects was to work on and then present an Alternative Break 101 training, which was presented by Kate Jennings and myself. We made a wonderful flip chart and got to utilize our public speaking skills all the while enhancing our own knowledge about Alternative Breaks.

Columbus Day weekend arrived, and I found myself engaged in service while volunteering for a very interesting organization out in Holyoke, MA – Nuestras Raíces. Nuestras Raíces is a grass-roots organization that promotes economic, human and community development in Holyoke, Massachusetts through projects relating to food, agriculture and the environment. They do a lot of work with the Puerto Rican community within Holyoke, and are expanding to include other peoples such as the Russian Immigrant community there. Here are some picture highlights!

-Erika

Hello blog readers. So I have been totally slacking on my blogging duties and I apologize. Things around here have been busy and everyday I mean to get writing on updates and everyday it slips my mind. So today I have decided since it is rainy cold that it would be the perfect day to do some updating!

Things have been going relatively well. My work has taken all different turns and twists but I'm enjoying learning how the inner workings of this school. I have recently created a monthly newsletter dedicated to service that is happening in the Regis community. We call it RegiServes and it includes updates on our massive volunteer database project, volunteer opportunities on and off campus and we also spotlight a student, staff, faculty member or students groups that are doing GREAT things within the community! Since the holiday's are right around the corner I have included some Thanksgiving facts and the December issue will also include Christmas facts.

As I mentioned, we have started our massive campus wide volunteer database projects. Right now we are in the interview process, which is turning out to be a little more difficult then I thought it was going to be! A list of about 75 important people has been constructed and I am currently in the middle of interviewing and meeting with them to find out where and what their students or colleagues are doing in the community. It's a great concept and there is a huge need for one centralized place students, faculty and staff can locate volunteer opportunities, so I'm just hoping it all comes together by March! I mean, IT WILL!

I have been working closely with the office of Experiential Learning to help gather volunteers for a new community partner that has reached out to Regis College. Warm2Kids is a new center that has taken up residence in two Boys and Girls Clubs in Dorester. They are currently looking for students to help run programs and work in the centers. I went last week and got a sneak peak of the centers and met with the program directors. I'm hoping I can find a couple students who are able to work in the centers and really get these programs off the ground! Other then that, I am working to help the freshmen class (all 230) find volunteer opportunities for next semester and am working on a semester long reflection piece that will be done in and outside of the classroom. I truly believe reflection is a huge part of community service so I really like that I have been put in charge of creating and facilitating the piece!

I have been thinking a lot about home and friends/family I have been missing. Moving 700 miles from Detroit to Boston has been a huge adjustment but I think I have found a group of young professionals that work on campus that have taken up residence in my life. I can't stress how important it has been to be able to have these people around. I came here knowing no one and really questioning myself if I am strong enough to be here all alone. These last 3 months (WOW) have been a been learning period, not only learning about my new school/job but also about myself. Although, I cannot wait to head home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am really enjoying my time here. I even learned how to use the subway-so things are looking pretty good!

-Jessica Chandler, Regis College MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA

I can't believe it is already October. I feel like I just got done with PSO yesterday. The office of Student Involvement is busy here at Framingham State College, and I'm trying to keep up to pace with all the craziness! Since I am the first VISTA here, I decided to talk a little about what my experiences have been as the brand new AmeriCorps*VISTA on this campus.

To say it's been overwhelming would be an understatement, but with that comes a profoundly rewarding feeling of really getting things done here. I arrived here in late July to an extremely warm office staff greeting me with open arms. They were largely unaware of what exactly my job was all about but my supervisor made sure to include me in the Staff Retreat agenda to go over my job, in addition to a general overview of what MACC and VISTA do (and what they do together =]). At the retreat, I used my flip-charting skills to wow my co-workers as I laid it all out for them. After I finished explaining about capacity building, engaging college students and making change - I felt much more comfortable with them and I could tell they were much more aware of what I was all about.

Sure, students still sometimes confuse me with a prior United Way volunteer who once sat at my desk, but my name is getting out there and things are definitely getting done.

I have done a lot of work to build upon the already existing partnership that FSC has with the United Way. My relationship with my contact there is awesome, we work very well together and are both new to our respective positions so the fact that we're learning together makes everything that much easier. We have decided to co-sponsor a day of service every semester. Just one for now until we get a better hold on getting these things together. This November we are doing a big day of raking for local elderly people and we have started recruiting volunteers for that. Additionally, we also place volunteers all over the MetroWest area together and have been pretty successful thus far with getting people interested. I have a Volunteer Opportunities distribution list that I send all different opportunities out to people on every day. Students have been pretty receptive.

The one big obstacle I have found so far is that at Framingham State, volunteering isn't anyone's "thing." Let me explain what I mean by that. Some people have Student Government as their "thing" or programming is their "thing"...at many colleges, volunteering and service is a "thing" that students have. Any given "thing" tends to be a students' main extra-curricular commitment. My goal is to make service a "thing" on this campus. We have already talked about creating some type of center for it in order to help with that cause. I think it will take a couple years to really accomplish this, but as long as I lay the brickwork, it can definitely be built upon and achieved.

I'm proud of the work I'm doing and definitely proud of the FSC staff who are so excited to be on board with these initiatives. Next up, Alternative Spring Break - Eek! That's another post entirely. =]

Til next time,
*VISTA Dana

A Busy Fall on Campus

The past few weeks have gone into high gear at UMass Boston and with MACC. So I thought I would write some about two of my favorite events that have occurred so far, both of which are annual events that I was to organize and lead. The first project was Good Neighbor Day, which occurs in the fall and spring. Good Neighbor Day at UMass Boston usually consists of a single event the premise of which is to get students involved in the local community. This year Sherrod, the Director of our office, and I had the idea of doing onesie and bib decorating for an organization known as Dorchester Cares , which provides gift baskets to new mothers in Dorchester. We found this a fitting event as UMass Boston is a part of this community and we want UMass Boston to become more recognized as a participant and activist within Dorchester. We set up during the day outside of the Campus Center, and found curious students lining up to decorate onesies and bibs. It was a great event because it was a little bit outside of the box and repainted students ideas about service can be.

Then I was put in charge of organizing the UMass Boston Volunteer Fair. I started almost from square one for this event, although I had some pictures from past fairs and a few intake forms to look over that had been submitted by organizations who participated in the past. I was unsure about how to run a volunteer fair, but this was a project I just had to dive right into. We booked space to hold the fair a month and half in advance and decided to order lunch for those who would come out to our campus. I knew of many community partners in the Boston area, as I had done a lot of work setting up volunteer trips as an undergraduate student so I knew I would want to invite them to our fair. In order to find groups to come, I decided to contact the community organizations whom I saw in pictures of prior fairs and I also decided to look to community partners I worked with as an undergraduate student, because keeping those connections alive was very important to me. So the first step to making the fair a success was for me to get in contact with these folks and invite them to our fair. I began advertising, and started to be contacted by more and more groups. UMass Boston is known for its community engagement, but many of the groups I contacted, or who contacted me had never been to UMass B to recruit for volunteers, so it was a new community they were excited to engage with in conversation in the hopes of attaining more volunteers for their projects. Response was slow, but before I knew it I had upped our table count to 40 and was expecting at least 38 different organizations at the fair. I hung posters, sent out emails, and waited for the day to arrive while busily organizing the last minute details of parking passes, lunch, and transit. Then the fair arrived, and students flocked to the fair, all of the groups who came walked away willing to participate, and had a full stomach from lunch. Now because of the success of the Fall Volunteer Fair, we will have one in the spring as well!

Welcome to the MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA Blog - Dana's Journey to VISTA

Hello! I'm Dana Lyford, I am the MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA at Framingham State College and this is my first year serving as a VISTA. I was born and raised in Central, Mass. and just recently graduated from Worcester State College where I spent a wonderful four years realizing my passion for higher education and student affairs. While at Worcester State, I earned my degree in English with a concentration in Writing and was very active in the college community.

My plan since my sophomore year was to graduate from WSC and move on to a Master's program in Student Affairs immediately. I even went so far as to apply and get accepted to a Master's program all before I joined the VISTA program. It was a really spontaneous decision I made to sit down at my computer and visit www.americorps.gov one afternoon and ever since then I couldn't stop thinking about joining AmeriCorps. I looked through many programs, and I was very surprised and pleased to come upon the MACC*VISTA program because I never could have imagined being to join my desire to give back to my community with my passion for higher education. I applied for the MACC*VISTA position and after I got accepted it didn't take me long to make the decision to join up with the program and put grad school off for a year.

I didn't fully understand when joining how beneficial this program was going to be for me, both personally and professionally. I came into it kind of blindly, unsure of what to expect but after meeting my fellow VISTAs and hanging out with them for the week of Pre-Service Orientation, I knew I was in the right place. Not only have I come across a giant new group of friends that I know I can count on, but I've come into a network of wonderful professionals who I know I can turn to for support any time I need it. Every day I am thankful for my decision to join as a MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA.

Growing up in Massachusetts, MACC was a perfect fit for me. I have called the Bay State home for 22 years and have absorbed everything it has to offer. I couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of a program who works so hard to strengthen education for the people of Massachusetts.

I look forward to an exciting year, and am happy to be on board to get things done for America!

*VISTA love,

Dana