training
VISTA Leader
Organization:
Transmission Project/Digital Arts Service Corps VISTA Name:
Jules Goins
Program Start:
7/2008
Project Outcome:
Jules has been a superb VISTA Leader during his past year with the Transmission Project. Jules is innovative and he engages outside knowledge and experts to solve problems and bring in more diverse viewpoints and experience.
In his role as VISTA Leader, Jules managed an effective team of 26 VISTA members: he has encouraged group cooperation and participation and has consistently facilitated effective resource and knowledge sharing. During the year, he has moderated conference calls and worked one-on-one with VISTA members to ensure that their service is meaningful and effective. He has greatly expanded our library of IVSTA-created resources and has acted as an effective resource-librarian when members have voiced needs or challenges.
Beyond his VISTA Leader responsibilities, Jules has accepted broad responsibility for helping to build the capacity of the CTC VISTA Project. In this role, he took the lead in further developing our training and member development curriculum. In addition to the 12-part training series he designed and oversaw, he sought out 5 external trainers and facilitators to deliver training, Jules has been instrumental in enlarging the knowledge an ability of our VISTA members and will be leaving behind him a solid training foundation upon which to build for future years.
Jules has brought great skills, experience and understanding to the Transmission Project. We have greatly benefited by his service.
Volunteer Coordinator and Program Developer
Organization:
The Wilderness Technology Alliance VISTA Name:
Arthur Meadows
Program Start:
7/2009
Project Description:
The VISTA will be training volunteers to refurbish computers, set up networks, and do web design. The VISTA will also manage and coordinate volunteers to keep up the office. Lastly they will recruit, train and lead a team of volunteers to acquire low-income/non-profit recipients of programs, products and services.
1. Identify and secure expanded space for operations
2. Increase the ability of the WTA to provide workforce training in technology for shelter residents
3. Recruit and train volunteers to staff existing major program activities.
4. Develop new areas of possible endeavors (electronic commerce, computer recycling, technology thrift store)
Project Outcome:
Art did an excellent job and was a wonderful representation of the WTA.
Art secured the use of the old A&E building for use by the WTA, a 6000 SF building with room for offices, classroom, meeting room and computer lab. All at no cost to the WTA.
Art worked with the WTA president to make our center a Cisco certified training center, a COMPTIA training center and obtained free COMPTIA certification exams for shelter residents.
Art assisted in securing major donations from GSA, AARP and DHS - about 250 computers and monitors in all and encouraged a 15 volunteers to give their time with the center.
Art also visited a major recycler and secured their support with a computer recycling program with the WTA.
Software Engineer
Organization:
Community Software Lab VISTA Name:
Erich Jansen
Program Start:
1/2007
Project Description:
We don’t need credentials, we need people like Erich who know exactly what is wrong with this code:
my @servers = split ( /[,\s]/, $sline) if ( $sline)
- Help create a new volunteer technical orientation
- Setup server dedicated to outgoing mail
- Allow 80% of email administration tasks to be self-service
- Improve Web-server security and usability
- Configure SPF (sender permitted framework)
Program Development
Organization:
The Wilderness Technology Alliance VISTA Name:
Nathan Alden
Program Start:
6/2006
Project Description:
Provide youth and low-Income community members with professional technology job experience by operating a real high-tech company.
- Recruit, train and support service-learning participants
- Facilitate students and volunteers to: refurbish and place computers with training to low-income adults, repair computers, provide network services, design web sites for non-profit organizations, generate eCommerce transactions, host a community technology access lab, and provide a community technology help desk.
CTC Outreach and Development
Organization:
The Wilderness Technology Alliance VISTA Name:
Anthony Williams
Program Start:
10/2006
Project Description:
- Reach out to community based organizations, faith based organizations, social service organizations and educational organizations to drive attendance and volunteerism at the WTA center
- Bring WTA programs to Baltimore-area organizations. This involves marketing programs to these centers, increasing volunteerism to deliver the services and managing the logistics
- Bring the WTA’s “WildTech” program to Baltimore area schools. This task involves marketing the program to schools, training teachers in the service-learning tasks that will be performed by the students, an providing raw surplus technology that students in WildTech programs can process.
- Build an empowerment center at the WTA center by running technology service-learning as a high-technology company. Facilitate the acquisition of technology work for non-profit and government agencies for students and community members to execute. Facilitate students and volunteers to: repair computers, provide network services, design web sites for non-profit organizations, generate eCommerce transactions, host a community technology access lab, and provide a community technology help desk.
- Recruit and train teachers and community center leaders to implement
Software Engineer
Organization:
Community Software Lab VISTA Name:
Charles McCallum
Program Start:
6/2005
Project Description:
Chuck will be creating databases and preparing training modules.
Impact Quote:
Chuck is potentially the most talented software developer I’ve worked with. On technical merit he is at least the equal of Google and Cisco employes that I’ve worked with. He has accomplished more in his 6 months with us than many of his predecessors have accomplished in 2 years.
Long Island City CTC Outreach
Organization:
Citizens Committee for New York City VISTA Name:
Carmen Mitchell
Program Start:
6/2002
Project Description:
To strengthen the capacity of the Long Island City CTC by improving self help materials, supporting neighborhood volunteers use of technology, and conducting a needs assessment. The VISTAs will also help the extend the organizations reach to a more diverse constituency of new Americans living in New York.
- Support and organize a more robust outreach campaign targeted at local block, tenant, and neighborhood association members to encourage use of the CTC
- Schedule training sessions and develop self-help materials related to getting neighborhood and civic groups online
- Conduct an information needs assessment of the information and technology needs and interests of 60 neighborhood groups located in low-income, immigrant dense areas of New York City to determine which self-help materials are needed and how they are most likely to be used
- Develop and design five new top sheets based on the specific needs of immigrants
Refurbished Computers Program Development
Organization:
The Wilderness Technology Alliance VISTA Name:
Jesse Schofield
Program Start:
3/2008
Program End:
7/2008
Project Description:
Jesse assisted with the training of teachers and student in the refurbishing of computers. Jesse also recruited volunteers to assist with computer refurbishing. He introduced them to our program and made them aware of our procedures. He supported a program called TAP where we have trained Teachers to run after school clubs dealing with computer refurbishing. He also researched material to assist the teachers with technical assistance workshops. Jesse also assisted the manager with the general running of the office.
Project Outcome:
Jesse was very successful dealing with the teachers and the students. He is very personable and patient with students. Jesse compiled a list of Internet Service Providers for the schools in the TAP program. He also researched organizations who may be able to provided assistance in the local areas. He also assisted with the planning and running of a camp for teachers and students which was held in July of this year.
Jesse was able to arrange for a Spanish translation of a training manual. This is important as we serve many Hispanic people.
Web Projects Coordinator
Organization:
Grassroots.org VISTA Name:
Scott D'Antuono
Program Start:
9/2009
Program End:
9/2010
Project Description:
In response to our rapid membership growth, we saw a rise in the demand for new products and services and realized the need for support tools for our other 3 existing services as well as the importance of support for new services as they are added. Our VISTA will build support resources and strengthen capacity of sub domain web content.
-Build comprehensive online training and support resources for remaining 3 applications in Toolbox and new applications as they are added to the Toolbox. Ensure that applications are fully sustainable & documented, saving staff time while helping smaller nonprofits make use of the Toolbox.
- Strengthen the capacity of Grassroots.org’s sub domain website content to serve nonprofits, recruit new members, and generate needed attention from nonprofits, volunteers, donors and partners.
-Manage Grassroots.org’s newsletters, recruit members/partners to publish entries for Grassroots.org blog
Project Outcome:
Scott created help guides, Webinars and supplemental materials to make the Grassroots.org Toolbox experience seamless for al Grassroots.org members. Scott took over the management of our NING social networking site in addition to streamlining our SEO consulting program and making the application process for the Social Venture Consulting program more efficient. Scott authored an extensive amount of content on our blog, such as the “Tool of the Week” series and our “Faces of Change” video series. In addition, Scott created estore.grassroots.org (a promotional products website resulting in 4% donations for Grassroots.org) and was an essential force in creating Interns.org on Wordpress. Scott’s positive, can-do attitude enabled him to complete every project he was asked to complete.
Scott ended up developing our NING Community Networking site. Scott fully took over this project from the design to the moderation of the site. Scott also took on the role of reaching out face-to-face with our local members, something he had a personal interest in and showed initiative in doing. In addition to promoting Grassroots.org through attending “GrassrootsCamp” NY Tech Meetup events, Scott got involved in the projects of our member orgs. For example, Scott volunteered his time to sketch/design a handbook for Grassroots.org member “Getting Tools to City Schools” and their sustainable binder project. Scott is a true joy to have in the office and his greatest accomplishment in my opinion is his positive contribution to morale.
Impact Quote:
Scott was able to accomplish every task that we gave him. Scott was very responsible about asking for help when he needed it and seeking out the tools he needed to complete tasks. It was a pleasure working with him throughout the year and in fact, we hired him at the end of his VISTA term.
Social Media Development
Organization:
Reel Grrls VISTA Name:
Nickey Robare
Program Start:
7/2009
Program End:
7/2010
Project Description:
In our recent strategic planning process, we determined that our use of online outreach tools (our website, blog, YouTube channel and multiple social networking sites) were not yet in alignment with our mission of being a fresh, vibrant youth media organization that uses the latest technology to empower our constituency. We envision that a CTC VISTA volunteer will 1) evaluate our current online outreach strategy and tools, 2) implement a new strategy to update our current website and use of other online tools as well as expand into other social networking platforms (e.g., Twitter, text messaging) and 3) develop a plan for the organization to sustain these practices in the future.
Our CTC VISTA volunteer will have two primary roles during his or her period of service with Reel Grrls: 1) to support the expansion and relaunch of our website 2) to take the lead in conceiving, launching and managing social networking/marketing opportunities and building a meaningful online presence for our organization.
Specific tasks will include:
-Develop evaluation criteria and goals for website relaunch and conduct interviews w/stakeholders for input
-Write online outreach strategic plan recommendations and present to staff and board
-Prepare & upload media for streaming/online applications
-Update and design quarterly enews format, as well as regular blog, facebook, text and twitter posts
-Track and evaluate website traffic for increase in participant/sales/fundraising goals
-Incorporate new online strategy into organizations overall technology plan
-Train staff in sustaining website and online outreach tools at completion of project
This individual will have the responsibility of evaluating online ventures, assessing the efficacy of different strategies, educating staff, and making these new activities sustainable. As part of the social networking and fundraising activities, this individual will also help build online partnerships and visibility for the media created by our participants.
Project Outcome:
Nickey has totally revamped our social marketing presence and strategy, increasing our Facebook network to over 1200 fans and bringing our Twitter followers to over 1700. She also revived our long-dormant blog - helping develop a schedule and model for posts from staff and participants, redesigned our YouTube channel, participated in our website redesign project with the Taproot foundation, and redesigned our templates for program outreach and registration. Nickey has done a great job of developing new ideas and really showing leadership in terms of growing our online community - and understanding how to be an active contributing participant in networks like Twitter and Facebook. Where many organizations will simply Tweet or post about their own successes, Nickey has helped us learn to offer interesting articles, videos, analysis and funding opportunities to our networks. That way, when it does come time to promote our own programming or events, our network doesn’t feel bombarded by asks. She and I have worked closely together in developing strategies and making decisions, and she has shown great initiative and leadership skills in being able to take projects from idea to execution.
Thanks to Nickey’s efforts at developing our online presence, Reel Grrls has become a significant contributor to online discussions of women and media within the Twitter community. Many of our outreach materials - in print and online - have had major facelifts. And we’ve finally launched the “GAB (Grrls Advisory Board)” - a youth-led advisory group that was in the works for a long time before Nickey’s energy was able to bring it to life. We are currently working to reframe our intern job descriptions to include some of the work that Nickey has been doing on an ongoing basis. Additionally, Nickey is developing a social marketing handbook that will help us integrate ongoing social marketing tasks into permanent staff members’ duties.
Nickey has a great eye for graphic design, so she has pitched in to help redesign program outreach materials, event programs, enewsletters and DVD covers - which has been a huge asset in presenting a vibrant image of Reel Grrls to the outside world. Nickey has also jumpstarted our Grrls Advisory Board, led a couple of Reel Grrls Productions projects for clients, and started a plan to create a sales catalogue of our DVD library.