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August 2007

MODEL BEHAVIOR:

Youth, Adults Make Fashion Statement to

Teach Others About the Dangers of Meth

On June 23, youth and adults from the Morristown and LaFollette Housing Authorities gathered to put on a fashion show for shoppers at College Square Mall.

But it wasn't just any ordinary fashion show. The models took jeans, donated by local thrift stores, and decorated them with colorful anti-meth messages to educate the community about the deadly drug.

The project was undertaken as a part of the Learn and Serve America Meth-Free TN: Youth Edition grant awarded to Tennessee's Community Assistance Corporation (TCAC) by Volunteer Tennessee.

The purpose of the grant is to integrate service-learning in strong after-school programs to further statewide meth prevention by creating anti-meth communication products by youth for youth.

Angela Davis, TCAC Resident Initiatives Coordinator, who assisted the participants in organizing the event, said, "The biggest impact of the fashion show was not only to educate the community about the dangers of meth, but it allowed kids to participate in the event with AmeriCorps and other community members. It meant so much to the youth to have adults interested in what they were doing."

Kimee Brantley Shideler, Volunteer Tennessee's grant coordinator, thought the fashion show was both innovative and fun.

"I think it is awesome that a teaching methodology (service-learning) allows students to be creative with their education. The participants of the TCAC program had fun modeling jeans, while at the same time modeling a meth-free lifestyle."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The next Volunteer Tennessee board meeting will be held Friday, Sept. 7, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. CDT, in Nashville. The location is to be determined.

A Fall Service-Learning Symposium will be held Sept. 20-21 at the Music City Sheraton in Nashville. This event involves all Learn and Serve America school and community-based subgrantees. For more information, contact Meredith Freeman, deputy director of service-learning, at meredith.freeman@state.tn.us.

Team Tennessee AmeriCorps will host LeaderCorps training on Sept. 27-29 in Middle Tennessee. Leaders from selected AmeriCorps programs across the state will come together to receive training in team building, training and facilitation skills, event planning, leadership and more. AmeriCorps members will also be trained to mentor youth involved in the Aspire program. For more information, contact Stephanie Sullivan, AmeriCorps training officer, at stephanie.sullivan@state.tn.us.

Camp Aspire will be held Oct. 5-7 at the 4-H Camp in Crossville. This event will bring together more than 20 teams of high school students to begin a yearlong service-learning campaign in which student leaders address issues of violence and drugs within their schools. For more information about Aspire, email Melia Arnold, program director, at melia.arnold@state.tn.us.

Volunteer Tennessee is currently accepting applications for the positions of Systems Officer and AmeriCorps*VISTA. Complete job/service descriptions and application deadlines are available at www.volunteertennessee.net. You may access them by clicking the "Position Openings" tab on the left side of the page.

National Conference Inspires Volunteer Leaders

Former President George H.W. Bush and America's Promise co-founder Alma Powell were among the prestigious speakers who addressed volunteer sector leaders from across the nation at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Philadelphia, held July 16-18.

The annual conference is the country's largest gathering on volunteering and service. An estimated 3,000 attendees came together for three days of education, training and networking. Joined by leading federal and state officials and executives from the business community, attendees learned how to expand the ranks and effectiveness of America's 61 million volunteers in tackling tough social problems.

Executive Director Jim Snell represented Volunteer Tennessee at the special event. As the newly appointed leader for the agency, he said it was an especially invaluable experience to meet with other state ambassadors and to share ideas.

"The conference was an excellent opportunity to network with Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) staff and staff from other state commissions," he said. "I came back to Nashville with a lot of new ideas and possibilities that I am excited to explore."

(Jim is pictured with Alison Fritz (left), CNCS Associate Director for Policy, and LaMonica Shelton (right), CNCS Senior Policy Analyst.)

Melissa LaRosa Pursues

Higher Education

After Year of Service

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes." -- Henry David Thoreau

This quote comes to mind as we bid farewell to Melissa LaRosa, who has served for the past year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at Volunteer Tennessee. Melissa will, indeed, continue to be a friend as she moves on to pursue a Master of Education degree in college and university student personnel administration (with a minor in sports management) at The University of Texas at Austin.

While at Volunteer Tennessee, Melissa developed systems and a network for the implementation of a statewide volunteer recognition program. Her enthusiasm, team-building and organizational skills have been invaluable assets to both the AmeriCorps and Service-Learning teams as she has been instrumental in planning several events. In May, she co-coordinated a statewide conference for other VISTA members from across the state, which proved to be a valuable training for all who attended.

Melissa is very proud of her year of service. She says, "Dedicating a year of my life as an AmeriCorps*VISTA has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. This year has given me many valuable opportunities to give back and 'Get Things Done' in Tennessee. If it weren't for my time at Volunteer Tennessee, I wouldn't have found my true passion and calling in life. I will take my experience as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with me, and I plan to utilize my knowledge of national service by incorporating it into my master's program."

Executive Director Jim Snell shares his gratitude for Melissa's strong service ethic. He says, "We have all really enjoyed having Melissa serve here at Volunteer Tennessee. She and fellow AmeriCorps*VISTA member, Andraea LaVant, paved the way for the statewide volunteer recognition program. She will be hard to replace, and we will miss her, but we know she will do good things in Texas."

Hands On Network Merges

With Points of Light Foundation

On July 16, Hands On Network and the Points of Light Foundation announced mutual board approval to merge their two organizations. The announcement transforms the landscape of the volunteer sector, creating a network of 370 affiliate organizations covering 83 percent of the U.S. market. The merger will also create three million new volunteers over the next two years, generating an additional 90 million volunteer hours, according to a joint statement issued by the two organizations.

The new organization will be led by Michelle Nunn, co-founder and CEO of Hands On Network. Ray Chambers, a philanthropist, will serve as the new organization's chairman of the board during the integration period. Neil Bush, CEO of Ignite! Learning in Houston and son of former President George H.W. Bush, will serve as vice chair. The merger will officially launch on October 1.

"The time is ripe for us to re-imagine how we can create exponential versus incremental change in volunteerism and civic participation," says Nunn. "Combining the unique strengths and assets of both organizations gives us the opportunity to realize our vision of a world in which all individuals discover their power to make a difference and are equipped as active, engaged citizens."

The boards of both organizations say the new merger expects to:

triple national service member impact, resulting in 30 million national service volunteer hours;
create a model to increase corporate volunteering by 10 percent;
recruit, train, and place 500,000 new volunteer leaders over three years; and
triple volunteer placement efficiency through seamless and scaled technology tools.

The merged organization will spend the next 100 days assembling its board of directors, creating a robust national staff team and initiating dialogue with the volunteer sector to shape goals that demonstrate the potential impact of the new entity.

CNCS Releases Report

on Volunteering in U.S. Cities

A new federal report on volunteering in America's largest metropolitan areas has found that the cities with the highest levels of volunteering are focused in middle America and that home ownership rates and educational levels equate to higher volunteer rates, while long commuting times and high volunteer dropout rates have the opposite effect.

Volunteering In America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings is the first report by the Corporation for National and Community Service to take a detailed look at volunteering habits and trends at the city level. The report, based on data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, is available at http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/volunteering/cities.asp.

National Learn & Serve Challenge to Take Place Sept. 17 - 23

The first-ever Learn & Serve Challenge, a week-long series of events designed to raise awareness and spread the practice of service-learning, will be held Sept. 17 - 23.

"We know that students who become involved in their communities through organized, intentional service-learning activities experience a range of benefits, from improved academic involvement to the development of a lifelong ethic of civic involvement," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "By shining a spotlight on the great results that these programs have, we hope to inspire more schools and universities to embrace this powerful and proven teaching method."

The Corporation is the nation's largest supporter of service-learning, a teaching methodology that engages young people in solving problems within their schools and communities as part of their academic studies.

The National Learn & Serve Challenge is sponsored by the National Service-Learning Partnership and is being supported by a coalition of service-learning and youth service organizations. Through a concentrated week of special events and activities, supporters hope to spotlight service-learning successes around the country in order to build awareness of students' contributions to their communities; spread effective service-learning practices; and inspire other schools and communities to launch their own programs and projects. More information and project ideas may be found at http://www.learnandservechallenge.org.

Funding Available to Strengthen

Volunteer Management

The Corporation for National and Community Service recently announced the availability of up to $800,000 in funds to nonprofits to increase volunteer retention and expand their capacity to use and effectively manage volunteers to meet challenges in their communities.

"The good news is that volunteering is at historically high levels and is increasingly being seen as not just nice, but necessary to solve tough social problems," said David Eisner, Corporation CEO. "The challenge is that we have a leaky bucket -- too many volunteers drop out each year. Our sector needs to plug that bucket in order to reach our true potential to address society's needs."

Grants in the approximate range of $50,000 to $200,000 are available to organizations to improve and expand use of volunteers to address societal challenges. The goal is to support nonprofits in systemically addressing the challenges that lead to poor volunteer retention and limited use of volunteers. There is a 50 percent required in-kind or cash match for this grant. Applications are due by Sept, 6, 2007. More information can be found at http://www.cns.gov/for_organizations/funding/nofa_detail.asp?tbl_nofa_id=50.

Volunteer Tennessee is a 25-member bi-partisan board appointed by the Governor. Its mission is to encourage volunteerism and community service. Flagship programs include AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America.

For comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter, please email Jim Snell, Executive Director.

Volunteer Tennessee

William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower

312 8th Avenue North, 12th Floor

Nashville, TN 37243-1711

(800) 404 - 8183

www.volunteertennessee.net

Questions? Comments? Contact 615.532.9250