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In the News
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State
Employees Can Volunteer as part of Charitable Campaign The State Employees Charitable Campaign (SECC)
began in 1987 and strives to gather donations for thousands of local, national,
and international charitable organizations. It encourages state employees to
give to the organization of their choice through a simple payroll deduction. In
2009, employees gave a total of $1.5 million.
The 2010 campaign - which runs September 27 through October 8 - incorporates an
additional element in an effort to get more Michigan state employees involved.
"Community Connect" encourages employees to use their School and Community
Participation Leave credits (valued at eight hours) to serve a charitable
organization. This is the first year the SECC has encourage acts of service -
not just monetary contributions.
For more information, visit www.misecc.org.
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Make
Yourself More Inclusive - Join us October 4 thru October 8 The
Michigan Community Service Commission is committed to encouraging all Michigan
residents to engage in service. Our vision is a state where all residents meet
community needs and find personal fulfillment through service and volunteerism.
The first-ever Disability/ Inclusion Week will be celebrated by the MCSC to help
empower national service programs, volunteer organizations, mentoring programs,
and others to make service a part of the lives of individuals with
disabilities. Mark your calendars to participate October 4 through October 8!
This week-long
effort will raise awareness about disability and inclusion while engaging
programs and organizations in the various efforts of the MCSC. This will link
them with valuable tools and resources to help serve and connect with those
with disabilities.
Of Michigan's
10 million residents, about 1.9 million have a disability. That's one in every
five residents - and an immense population to tap. We encourage members of the
volunteer, national service, and mentoring communities to join us the week of
October 4 in a variety of ways, including: Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and
Webinars.
Links to get
involved are provided here: http://www.michigan.gov/mcsc/0,1607,7-137--242707--,00.html.
We look forward to engaging you during our first-ever
Disability/Inclusion Week!
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Michigan
has Best Colleges for Service-Learning Many of you may be aware of the service-learning
infrastructure in place for K-12 schools across the state as part of the
Michigan Community Service Commission's Learn and Serve - Michigan initiative.
But there are also many colleges across the state that have service-learning
programs in place, using service as an instructional strategy.
In August, the U.S. News & World Report announced the best colleges in the
country for service-learning. On the list - three Michigan institutions: Calvin
College in Grand Rapids, Michigan State University in East Lansing, and
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
Congratulations to these schools for this national recognition of their
commitment to service-learning.
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AmeriCorps
NCCC Pays Visit to Michigan The Members from the AmeriCorps National Civilian
Community Corps (NCCC) North Central Region Campus participated in a
Michigan-based service project during the last three months. The project was a
partnership with Hiawatha National Forest and consisted of preparing the county
fairgrounds for the county fair, maintaining Escanaba's city beach, clearing
and maintaining trails on National and State Lands, and cleaning and staining
the main building used by the Clear Lake Education Center.
NCCC members returned to Michigan on September 17 for a separate project with
the Kaizen Corporation for Children and Families. Members are taking part in a
new mentoring program (Rising Stars Mentoring Program) designed to increase the
graduation rate in the Pontiac School District. Members are tutoring and
mentoring high school students along side full-time mentors from the community.
They are also assisting the Baldwin Center, a human services agency serving the
community with 25 different programs, in organizing the food pantry and
clothing closet. Their efforts will conclude on November 12.
AmeriCorps NCCC is a federal team-based national service program for men and
women between the ages of 18 and 24. Members serve 10-month terms full-time,
working on projects to meet community needs in five main program areas:
disaster services, energy conservation, environment, infrastructure
improvement, and urban and rural development.
Teams are located in five regions. Please
note the North Central Region; consisting of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, is
currently requesting proposals for community service projects. Those
eligible to apply are nonprofit organizations, government entities, educational
institutions, community-based organizations, neighborhood associations, Native
American Tribal Councils, and faith-based organizations.
Proposals should consist of team-based, community service projects typically
lasting six to eight weeks that focus on at least one of AmeriCorps NCCC's five
main service areas listed above. Please note that greater consideration will be
given to projects with a large disaster focus.
The first step is to complete a Concept Form. Upon review, potential sponsors
will be invited to submit a full application or contacted for more information.
To learn more about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit http://www.americorps.gov/for_organizations/apply/nccc.asp.
To request an application for the North Central Region, please contact JJ
Trotta at (319) 472-9654 or [email protected].
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2010
AmeriCorps Spirit of Service Winner an Example to All Dwight Owens with Patrick Corvington from CNCS. | Dwight
Owens has always been a happy person. And despite a life-altering accident that
threatened to take his life - Dwight is still a happy person today. Five years
ago, Dwight was hit by a drunk driver in Collins, Mississippi. As a result, he
is permanently paralyzed. Through diligent hard work and months of
rehabilitation, he gained back basic functions and independence - and began
serving others.
It started with an extensive outreach campaign (Before You Drink, Think Like
Owens) to express to individuals the dangers of drinking and driving, which
catapulted into assisting others with disabilities. Dwight even developed a
"Men with Disabilities" support group that encourages independence and
leadership. Through his various volunteer efforts he was introduced to
AmeriCorps, and instantly wanted to serve!
Dwight just finished a term of service with the LIFE of Mississippi Project
LINC (Linking Individuals to Neighborhoods and Communities) in August. Project
LINC aims to assist individuals with disabilities in their efforts to relocate
from an institutional setting back into the community or to ensure independence
in the community is maintained - something Dwight has had first-hand experience
with.
As part of his AmeriCorps service, Dwight provided peer support to more than
1,200 individuals with disabilities, completed 48 ADA site surveys to ensure
accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and provided more than 300
life skills training sessions to increase independence for Mississippians with
disabilities.
Dwight's efforts made quite an impact - throughout the state of Mississippi and
the country. In June he was honored with the 2010 National AmeriCorps Spirit of
Service Award, an annual recognition that highlights those who have performed
exemplary service in their communities. Dwight was chosen from 325 nominees and
received his award at the Corporation for National and Community Service's 2010
National Conference on Volunteering and Service.
"The
thing [service] that I do...I don't do it for the publicity," explained Dwight.
"But getting that award in front of thousands of people, it kindof validates
what you're doing. That you're doing the right thing."
According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Dwight's
efforts allowed many Mississippians with disabilities the chance to be active,
productive members of their communities. He believes the same can be said by
serving with AmeriCorps.
"AmeriCorps is a great program for people with disabilities," he said. "It
connects you to the different resources that are out there, makes you feel good
about yourself, and builds your character. Just because you have a disability
doesn't mean you can't contribute!"
Dwight is an illustration of how an individual with a disability who joins
national service can impact others and himself. Consider becoming an inclusive
national service program. For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/mcsc.
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AWARDS
President's Volunteer Service Awards The
MCSC is seeking nominations on an on-going basis for volunteer recognition. Nominees
meeting established criteria will be presented The President's Volunteer
Service Award. This award recognizes individuals, families, and groups that
have achieved a certain standard - measured by the number of service hours over
a 12-month period or cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime. To
nominate someone, click here.
Prudential
Spirit of Community Awards Applications are being accepted for the 16th
annual Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. These awards honor young people,
in grades fifth through 12th, who have made meaningful contributions
to their communities over the past year. You can apply online at http://spirit.prudential.com or at www.principals.org/spirit.
Applications must be completed by Monday, November 1, 2010.
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RESOURCES
Make
A Difference Day - October 23, 2010 Plan and post a service project on the Make A
Difference Day website and you could win a $10,000 donation! Judges will select
10 projects for the national Make A Difference Day Awards. To be considered,
fill out the official entry form AFTER you conduct your Make A Difference Day
project. Be sure to submit your entry before the deadline. The awards include
$10,000 donations to 10 projects from Newman's Own. Previous honorees who
continue to excel will receive donations from the Gannett Foundation. Awards
are announced annually in a special issue of USA WEEKEND published during
Volunteer Week the April following Make A Difference Day. For more information,
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SOCIAL MEDIA/NETWORKING
Find Us on Facebook & Twitter!The
Michigan Community Service Commission has spread its efforts to the social
networking site, Facebook. Keep up to
date on the latest news, events, and stories by searching for "Michigan Community Service Commission," "Michigan's
AmeriCorps," "Mentor Michigan," and "Learn and Serve - Michigan." We're also on Twitter - follow us at
@MCSConline, @miamericorps, @MentorMI, and @learnandservemi. Michigan's AmeriCorps LeaderCorps Blog
Join members of the Michigan's AmeriCorps LeaderCorps as they "Get Things Done!" through one year of service. Each week a different participant of the LeaderCorps will share a story about their service. To read more, visit http://miacleadercorps.blogspot.com/. Learn and Serve - Michigan's Resources Blog
Check out Learn and Serve - Michigan's connection to resources and information relevant to the service-learning community through their Resources Blog! Postings are new weekly and often feature guest authors. To read more, visit http://learnandservemi.blogspot.com.
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October 13 - 15, 2010
Youth Service Institute - Detroit,
Michigan Those
interested in the youth service movement will gather to share stories, network
with peers, and build their capacity to develop effective programs and increase
the number of community minded youth. For more information, visit www.ysa.org. October 23, 2010
Make A Difference Day - Nationwide Make A
Difference Day, the largest national day of helping others, is sponsored
annually by USA
WEEKEND Magazine and its 700 carrier newspapers. Make A Difference Day takes
place on the 4th Saturday in October each year. For more information, click here. To find events in your area visit http://daytabank.handsonnetwork.org/.
November 15 - 17, 2010
Financial & Grants Management Institute - Dearborn, Michigan The purpose of this
event is to help build the capacity (knowledge, tools/systems, practices, peer
network) of grantee and sub-grantee fiscal and program staff. The Institute covers
both financial and grants management topics for AmeriCorps State and National
Direct grantees, sub-grantees, and State Service Commissions. For more
information, click here.
November 17, 2010
Fifth Annual Michigan's Premier Mentoring Conference - East Lansing, Michigan Join mentoring professionals from across the state at this unique
opportunity for information gathering, resource sharing, and networking. The
conference, held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the campus of
Michigan State University, will feature Dr. Michael Karcher (University of
Texas San Antonio) as the keynote speaker. For more information, click here.
November 18, 2010
2010 Michigan's AmeriCorps Member Celebration - East Lansing, Michigan This annual event
will be held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center and will gather
hundreds of AmeriCorps members for a day of training, teambuilding, and
networking. Members will hear from a keynote speaker, attend workshops, and
swear-in for their upcoming term of service. For more information, click here. November 18, 2010
MCSC Board Meeting - East Lansing,
Michigan Members of the
Michigan Community Service Commission will gather together for a quarterly
meeting to discuss business of the state's lead agency on service and
volunteerism. All MCSC Board Meetings are open to the public. For more
information, call (517) 335-4295. January 2011 - SAVE THE DATE
Michigan Mentoring Month This annual
opportunity raises awareness about the value and importance of mentoring.
Mentoring programs from across the state will plan activities in their
communities related to raising awareness, recruiting volunteers, and
celebrating accomplishments. Mark your calendars now and discover ways you can get
involved by visiting www.mentormichigan.org.
January 17, 2010
Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day of Service - Nationwide The MLK Day of Service was initiated by Congress
in 1994 and has been developed beyond a federal holiday honoring Dr. King into
a national day of community service. In honor of this special day,
thousands of service projects will be planned across the country grounded in
Dr. King's teachings of nonviolence and social justice. For more information,
visit www.mlkday.gov.
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About the MCSC The Michigan Community
Service Commissionbuilds a culture of service
by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through
volunteerism. In 2010-2011, the MCSC is granting nearly $9 million in federal
funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. The MCSC is
funding 26 AmeriCorps programs, 25 Learn and Serve programs, and seven
Volunteer Michigan grantees. The Governor's Service Awards and Mentor Michigan
are also premier programs of the MCSC.
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