afterschool programs
Guide to Organizing an Event
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Organization:
WERU-FM Community Radio A guide for organizing events at community radio station WERU-FM created by corps member Meaghan LaSala.
CTC Afterschool Fundraising and Development
Organization:
Benton Harbor African Arts and Culture Council VISTA Name:
Lashanda Wooden
Program Start:
6/2006
Project Description:
- Develop and implement an afterschool arts, media and technology program, with academic support
- product outreach material for volunteer and student recruitment
- identify hardware and software needs for the project
- recruit volunteers for the project
- Develop and implement partnerships, program material for marketing and fundraising
- Obtain donations of equipment and software and locate sources of funding
- Research funding resources to ensure project sustainability
- Recruit volunteers to help raise money
Youth Program Development
Organization:
DANEnet VISTA Name:
Catherine Moore
Program Start:
1/2007
Project Description:
The VISTA will extend the youth programs DANEnet is currently providing. The VISTA will also work with agencies that want to expand their technology needs. In particular the Youth Resource Network, a collaboration of over 35 youth serving agencies and the recipient of the Partners for After School Success program, which has proposed a Web application that will help them coordinate activities. The VISTA will also recruit and organize DANEnet’s first Day of Service.
CTC Program Building
Organization:
Operation P.E.A.C.E. Boston VISTA Name:
Colette Mahoney
Program Start:
8/2002
Project Description:
Goals include rolling out a computer skills training program, designing a plan to utilize computers to improve the literacy of students attending our after school program, doing the same with an English as a second language program, and working on community outreach partnership building to raise awareness of our programs so as to attract community and corporate support.
DISKovery Computer Learning Center Development
VISTA Name:
Daniel Sheen
Program Start:
6/2001
Project Description:
- Support the development of a volunteer team of computer trainers and technicians
- Coordinate our program website and design print materials as a function of outreach activities
- Help establish curriculum models and evaluative procedures for improved lesson delivery, effective instruction, and replication
- Develop an afterschool program for at-risk, high-school aged youth designed to train participants in high-level computer-based skills
- Support small minority business efforts by providing pro-bono web development services to local shops and restaurants
CTC Outreach and Training
Organization:
Chicago Housing Authority/DSSA Management, Inc. VISTA Name:
Thomas Johnson
Program Start:
2/2001
Program End:
2/2002
Project Description:
The mission of DSSA’s Computer Learning Center is to connect the disconnected.
The role of each VISTA member is to move the computer learning center he or she manages toward a sustainable program that relies on volunteer resources in the community. The first step to a self-sustaining CLC is making the connection between our CLC and the neighbors of our CHA senior-disabled building. Historically, DSSA’s CLCs have been labor-intensive centers. The VISTA member will examine the success of other CLCs which are more self-sustaining and dependent on volunteer labor. The goal will be to move our CLC in the direction of sustainability.
1. Each member will use the designated space to create an inviting atmosphere for the CLC where residents and neighbors feel welcomed. Market the CLCL so that every resident of the CHA building visits at least once.
2. Outreach: Conduct presentations for community groups about our CLC.
3. Work with local schools to develop an afterschool program for the children who want to use the CLC
4. Develop a steering committee that meets monthly to establish goals and remove barriers related to participation in the CLC
5. Turn your CHA building’s CLC into a community center for the neighborhood. Expand programming beyond the simple use of computers to multi-media educational and one-shot activities.
CTC Assistance
Organization:
Bruce Wall Ministries/Prep Community Computer Center VISTA Name:
Christopher Tsang
Program Start:
9/2000
Program End:
9/2001
Project Description:
One of the main goals of the PREP Computer Training program is to provide the technology training needed for inner-city residents to get well-paying jobs. To do this, one of our long-term goals is to provide training needed for professional computer certifications.
We would use the Americorps*VISTA member to help run the walk-in computer lab as well as to help assist with some of our classes. In the walk-in lab, the VISTA members would help answer people’s questions and assist them in their work. They would also work with the youth staff that we have working in the lab.
The VISTA member would also assist in teaching our classes on Saturdays. VISTA members could assist with whatever class that suits their technical capabilities.
The third area VISTA members couls assist in is in providing computer training to youth in our after school program during the afternoon a couple of times a week.
Depending on the VISTA member’s technical capabilities, they may also assist in the technical support of the lab as well as helping work with the youth in our youth-run Web design business. For each of these areas, we would provide the VISTA member with training and mentors to help guide them.
CTC Assistance
Organization:
Bruce Wall Ministries/Prep Community Computer Center VISTA Name:
Mary Pavan
Program Start:
9/2000
Program End:
9/2001
Project Description:
One of the main goals of the PREP Computer Training program is to provide the technology training needed for inner-city residents to get well-paying jobs. To do this, one of our long-term goals is to provide training needed for professional computer certifications.
We would use the Americorps*VISTA member to help run the walk-in computer lab as well as to help assist with some of our classes. In the walk-in lab, the VISTA members would help answer people’s questions and assist them in their work. They would also work with the youth staff that we have working in the lab.
The VISTA member would also assist in teaching our classes on Saturdays. VISTA members could assist with whatever class that suits their technical capabilities.
The third area VISTA members couls assist in is in providing computer training to youth in our after school program during the afternoon a couple of times a week.
Depending on the VISTA member’s technical capabilities, they may also assist in the technical support of the lab as well as helping work with the youth in our youth-run Web design business. For each of these areas, we would provide the VISTA member with training and mentors to help guide them.
School Site Manager
Organization:
The Media Aid Center VISTA Name:
Michael Matthews
Program Start:
1/2007
Program End:
1/2009
Project Description:
Currently the Media Aid Center provides during and afterschool digital media production courses for five high schools in South Los Angeles supporting large underserved and disadvantaged communities. The center supplies mobile media labs and studio facility to support community engagement and youth involvement activities.
The school site managers will be in charge of recruiting, training, supporting, scheduling, and recognizing non-AmeriCorps mentors and volunteers. The developer will ensure the appropriate orientation and accommodations have been made for each site to make volunteers within their Media curriculum. This includes developing field trip curricula and mentor-lead exercises as a part of the Media curriculum. The site managers will act as liaisons and mediators between the sites and the school. Media instruction will be framed as a tool to facilitate academic achievement, community involvement, exploration and expression.
Project Outcome:
The website remained incomplete. Some of the problem was the delay in training Mike properly. Mike acted as site manager at our main facility. This freed our staff to massively exspand our capacity from 100 students to 700 students per year. He planned and accompanied students on field trips. Mike also developed a website for us. He began a music develop project by converting one of our older computers into a beat machine.
Originally, web development was Mike’s primary task, but it is his work as a site manager that made the difference. It began with an outreach program to community schools. The schools stated they needed the program during school not after, and we have been growing fast ever since.
Impact Quote:
“Music was not a priority for our center, but it is a major part of Mike’s vision. When he began to build the beat machine, the program began to attract at-risk youth that were out of reach to the center before.”
- Martin Cheeseborough, supervisor
Youth Channel Development/Education Department Assistant
Organization:
Media Bridges Cincinnati VISTA Name:
Elizabeth Goussetis
Program Start:
7/2008
Program End:
7/2009
Project Description:
Media Bridges Youth Channel (MBYC) is a project-based learning experience focused towards the youth through a mentor-based initiative.
In the course of his/her duties the Youth Channel Development/Education Assistant will provide development assistance in the areas of volunteers, grant writing, event/class coordination and fund development with the additional specific charge of developing the resources, policies, procedures and outreach to launch Media Bridge’s Youth Channel efforts.
Assist the Media Bridges education department in providing video technical skills to the public.
Assist at the Media Bridges Master Control Center, assuring the smooth application of the implementation of the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Project Outcome:
Elizabeth has assisted the education department in all of the stated areas, and has built a solid framework for a sustainable youth channel program. She launched the Youth Media Club, a new program which has attracted new youth to Media Bridges. She produced several videos with elementary school students as part of a 20-week outreach class at a local public school, which initiated an ongoing partnership with the school. She applied for a $1,000 grant to fund our summer camp program. She recruited two high school interns through a media internship program for minority high school students. She also established Media Bridges as a partner organization for a media career exploration program for high school students sponsored by an association of journalism professionals. She developed a youth policies and procedures handbook for Media Bridges, opening the door to more youth involvement in the future. She expanded the youth channel from a four hour block of programming per week, with an additional youth block timeslot for college student productions. She structured the youth page on the new web site, manages the content of the page providing information about the youth program to the public, and has also developed social networking outreach through Twitter, and avenues for video distribution through youtube, vimeo, ListenUp, and local youth filmmaking site IndieViz.
Establishing a youth leadership board was part of our original plan for the youth channel, but that was not completed. The initial lack of youth involved with the organization made that difficult and also unrealistic at this time. Elizabeth has been able to recruit youth participants, which will pave the way for a youth leadership board in the future. There has not been a full-scale volunteer management system put into place for the youth program. Although Elizabeth recruited volunteers and worked with staff to improve volunteer procedures, the Media Bridges volunteer management system is in the process of restructuring, so a youth volunteer management system was put on hold until a better structure is implemented by the operations department. In the meantime, Elizabeth has worked to create opportunities for youth volunteers and has streamlined youth volunteers into the overall volunteer process
Although it was not originally included in the project proposal, Elizabeth created, designed and maintained a youth section on the Media Bridges Web site, created social network outreach (Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo, Facebook) and established additional distribution methods for youth-produced videos online, through video-sharing sites. At the beginning of her service year, the Media Bridges Web site had no information regarding youth programs and was not being updated because we were in the middle of a redesign. When the new site went live, Elizabeth became active in overall site maintenance, specifically in creating the youth section
Impact Quote:
“There are significantly more youth in the building, on a regular basis, than there have ever been in recent memory. New precedents, policies and procedures have been set that have made Media Bridges a more youth-friendly organization and have broken down barriers to youth participation. Elizabeth has also provided support for youth-oriented projects initiated by Media Bridges producers, volunteers, staff, and other nonprofits. We plan to absorb the new programs and activities into the current staff, continue initiated programs such as the youth media club, and continue using the youth policies developed.”
- Jeremy Wolford, supervisor