outreach
Outreach and Trainer
Organization:
Pangea Foundation VISTA Name:
Sandra Hike
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
9/2006
Project Description:
Sandra will visit affordable housing facilities, CTCs, and nonprofits in the State and train them on Pangea’s software and technology systems. Sandra will also evaluate Pangea’s systems, recommend ways to improve the software and the training plans, and begin to develop training materials based on input from the field. Lastly, Sandra will schedule and host on-site training workshops and presentations.
Project Outcome:
Sandra and Daniel (the other VISTA member) helped Pangea reach over 700 affordable housing facilities. They provided 100% of the technical traning and support for this project. Additionally, with their direct interaction with our clients, they help us to design new features for using technology to serve low income residents. Sandra and Daniel also virtually lead all aspects of our training and technical support program.
CTEP VISTA Leader
Organization:
Community Technology Empowerment Project VISTA Name:
Roxanne Johnson
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
9/2006
Project Description:
The AmeriCorps VISTA (Leader) for C-CAN will provide support for our current CTEP AmeriCorps members, helping to develop and coordinate youth media literacy and production projects at the local CTCs currently in our CTEP AmeriCorps program.
The CTEP project serves over 20 CTCs with our 25 full-time AmeriCorps members, and all of these host sites serve low income and new immigrant youth. Media programming is in high demand, and the CTCNet VISTA member will be charged with developing specific trainings and workshops for CTEP Members and CTC staff.
CTCnet VISTA position will work closely with former CTCNet VISTA Jeff Streier, on website, newsletter and other e-media materials that support the work of CTEP AmeriCorps members.
The Member’s work will also include helping to create partnerships with other local youth media organizations as well, and work to develop partership opportunties between our CTC community and the media arts community in the Twin Cities.
Project Outcome:
Roxanne helped plan and deliver the member acceptance letters, handbook, and Pre-Service Orientation. She has answered many questions from the members on many topics related to their service, thus setting them up to accomplish our mission. This includes 6 one-on-one, more in depth check ins with members, one regarding youth media. She has helped plan and facilitate Corps Days where AmeriCorps Members participate in formal and informal training, speakers, workshops, field trips, etc. She has prepared and delivered media literacy training with 2 AmeriCorps CTEP members for the statewide MLK Day AmeriCorps conference. She and two AmeriCorps CTEP members prepared and delivered a technology literacy workshop for the All VISTA Conference (which she also helped coordinate with MN VISTA Leaders). She has also moderated our online message board, created her own blog and encouraged member blogging. Finally, she has been the advisor to two CTEP member committees, media and communications.
Roxanne has contributed to the ability of three CTEP sites to move beyond the “tech center as babysitter” mentality by assisting them to use technology resources to give youth a voice via digital media. At SPNN, she has lent her media literacy mentoring to the youth department where teens are creating a TV program for a teen audience. At the YWCA, she and Ken nelson provided a video submission opportunity to the staff and youth, and provided them with the curriculum, which allowed the youth to complete a video to submit. At Intermedia Arts, she has assisted in the identification and securing of hardware and software to implement a digital media center, and complimented this with assisting in the curriculum development and program planning.
Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator
Organization:
DANEnet VISTA Name:
Blake Hall
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
Our Americorp*Vista member will assist in organizing computer related volunteer projects and mobilizing volunteers. In October of 2005 DANEnet will sponsor a day of service to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and the VISTA will help plan this event.
Project Outcome:
Blake spent most of his time working on the DANEnet Day of Service. Which was a success in the fall of 2005. He also with the EPICS service learning program at the University of Wisconsin where he is teaching the current students (the reality of nonprofits and low income citizens [fall term]; Web programming [spring term])
Blake is also working with the Youth Resource Network to create a Web portal for youth serving activities/agencies.
Lastly, Blake helped to write a successful Youth Visions proposal and he has been the day-to-day DANEnet presence on that grant.
CyberY Outreach and Program Building
Organization:
YMCA of Greater Boston VISTA Name:
Jenny Lee
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
The goal of our VISTA is to create, run, and document activities in the CyberYs that enhance current YMCA programming and speak to the challenges in each community. The CyberY activities will be observed by other Boston-area YMCAs with the intent to expand successful projects to other branches.
Project Outcome:
Overall, Jenny has been a positive force for the lab. Everyone (staff) thought the effort was a success. Jenny was the first dedicated person for the computer lab, which was a huge step forward. Specifically, she continued working with the weekend Passport youth, and did more one-on-one training with preschool staff. The passport is a free access program for low-income Chinatown residents on Saturdays. Jenny also helped implement the E-newsletter.
Jenny completed the first newsletter, built relationships with Saturday Passport youth, collected resources, and worked on the first MIT Astronomy project.
Marketing and Outreach
Organization:
CTC Net Chicago Chapter VISTA Name:
Dave Chakrabarti
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
The VISTA will work to advance the “Policy, Advocacy & Public Education” goals of the Illinois Network, informing stakeholders and demonstrating the impact, relevance and need for coordinated community technology efforts in Illinois.
The VISTA will also work to build a sense of collective identity for community technologists by facilitating regional activities, and by collecting the informational resources that will serve as the organizational core of the network, and which will be leveraged to the benefit and coordination of the network.
Lastly the VISTA will research and document the impact of community ICT efforts, correlating data on grants with political boundaries at multiple levels to facilitate the generation of audience specific presentations supporting sensible community ICT policy initiatives. And also assist in development and execution of sustainability plan for the chapter, including research and writing of proposals and coordination of fundraising activities.
Project Outcome:
We have been on a breakneck pace and I rely upon the Vista for a great deal. We’ve convened several major statewide events: Digital Literacy Showcase, Digital Neighborhoods Fundraiser, the Statewide Conference and the launch of the statewide colaition on Community Tech Day, yet another event. We’ve also formulated the database staretgy, and a sustainability plan (still being refined and executed). We’ve made an impact on the vision for the state community technology sector and we’ve launched a ring of websites in addition to the relaunch of our own site on a content managment system. This makes generation of content much easier, and more easily shared. Additionally we’ve put certain other webtools and communications infrastructure in place: phplist for our ilctc Bulletin, webforms for feedback and hylafax for blast communications.
Youth and Volunteer Outreach and Training
Organization:
Zumix VISTA Name:
Samuel Russell
Program Start:
6/2005
Program End:
6/2006
Project Description:
The VISTA will assist in training volunteers for the radio, preparing youth to assume positions of responsibility at the station-including training new station volunteers themselves. He or she will also help to prepare technical infrastructure for the new firehouse facility that Zumix will move into during summer ‘07.
Project Outcome:
Since Sam’s arrival, we have put a radio station on the air and are also streaming on the internet. We have undergone several rounds of training, preparing youth and adults to participate as music hosts and news reporters for the station. Sam has been involved in all phases of this process, helping to build the infrastructure, train radio staff and conduct outreach.
Sam also assumed partial responsibility for starting “The VIllage,” a weekly meeting of youth and staff that allowed for wide-ranging discussions of issues important to the Zumix community, Also, he was the key link between Zumix and the B.U. School of Digital Imaging, which resulted in a video documentary on Zumix. This video has already proven to be an effective outreach and fundraising tool for our organization.
Youth Program Development
Organization:
United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) VISTA Name:
Diliana de Jesus
Program Start:
8/2003
Program End:
8/2004
Project Description:
Our Americorps VISTA project focused on increasing the capacity and sustainability of UTEC’s Multimedia programs through various development-based responsibilities. Diliana was responsible for grantwriting (specifically focused on enhancing our community technology programs), organizing special events (fundraisers, open houses, etc.), coordinating phone-a-thons, developing PR materials and UTEC’s first-ever annual report. Diliana was expected to work with and train teen leaders in all aspects of their development work.
Specific responsibilities included:
•Attend, participate, and occasionally facilitate all staff meetings and planning retreats.
•Serve as a counselor and role model for youth involved in the Fundraising Team.
•Design and carry out annual development workplan.
•Research and write grant proposals.
•Coordinate special event fundraisers.
•Develop a resource guide for the Development Department.
Project Outcome:
Diliana’s background in communications has only strengthened her contribution to UTEC by focusing on increasing the capacity and sustainability of our multimedia programs through various development-based responsibilities. She also works with and trains teen leaders of the Fundraising Team in all aspects of their development work. In addition, she assists with the program development in the areas of video production, sound recording, and web design. It is obvious what a tremendous asset Diliana is for our organization, but it is also apparent that Diliana herself has grown professionally from the hands-on development work of our multimedia programs. She plans to continue this type of work well into the future.
Diliana has played a major role in being an active participant in the organization’s overall development. She has consistently supported her co-workers, emphasizing the team environment at UTEC. Diliana has the skills to bring an idea to life. For instance, UTEC’s first major fundraiser will be taking place early next month. Diliana worked with teens in the Fundraising Team to gather ideas/themes for the event. Since then, she has developed and followed a timeline to make the event a future success!
Diliana has accomplished the following major tasks as based upon her workplan:
• Completion of first-ever UTEC newsletter (second issue now in progress)
• Just recently completed first-ever Annual Report.
• Completed three monthly Open House Nights (and built a system for carrying out this work).
• Developed new mailing list for all fundraising activities.
• Secured donations from various businesses as part of program ads for newsletter.
• Completed and submitted various grant applications (as well as grantwriting training course).
• Developed new bios for all staff.
• Currently documenting all work as part of a new Fundraising Resource Guide.
• Currently planning a special event fundraiser to support a new capital campaign.
• Interviewed and hired teen fundraising staff.
Outreach and Development Coordination
Organization:
Playing to Win (PTW) VISTA Name:
Kristen Wernicke
Program Start:
6/2003
Program End:
6/2004
Project Description:
In the fall of 2003, the Playing2Win organization welcomed the assistance of two Vista- Fellows: Mr. Max Benitez, Youth Technology Instructor, and Ms. Kristin Wernicke, Outreach and Development Coordinator. During the course of their tenure, Mr. Benitez and Ms. Wernicke served the center in several component capacities.
As Outreach and Development Coordinator, Ms. Wernicke’s responsibilities included the following:
•Researched, coordinated, wrote, and edited general operation and program-specific grants including those to AOL, Ford Foundation, C. Virginia Fields Borough Needs, Home Depot, and William T Grant Foundation.
•Developed and maintained relationships with youth, media, non-profit, and public interest organizations on the local and national levels, including the above mentioned Harlem organizations as well as the Global Action Project, Educational Video Center, Reel Youth, Camp Interactive, Manhattan Community Boards 10 and 11, and community websites east-harlem.org, mibarrio.org.
•Created local resource list for community technology center issues and similar organizations.
•Worked on building an infrastructure for outreach (i.e., managing and creating databases) that is accessible to youth and other staff.
•Developed and maintained outreach database
•Expanded and intensified program partnerships in New York City and the US
•Developed programs and assisted with planning for future outlook of the community technology center
•Researched and wrote both general operation and specific program grants
Project Outcome:
Vista Fellows were involved with the following:
• The development of research instruments and conduct of an on-going survey of 100 participants and adult and youth programs to better serve our community.
• The development of volunteer support program for the ongoing support of 10 volunteers and recruitment of 10 others.
• Oversaw teacher support assessments and provided ongoing support for 4 teachers in youth and adult programs.
• Provided technical support for our center to keep the 50 machines and network running smoothly
• Assisted with the development of 5-10 proposals to raise approximately $100,000
• Assisted in the development of our Job Training Program recruitment and development.
Impact Quote:
As the purpose of the AmeriCorps*VISTA program is to provide useful outreach to local communities, our participants echoed their sentiment through visible outreach and service projects. One example I am reminded of was the special PBS viewing of “Every Mother’s Son,” coordinated by Mr. Bentinez. The event called for local law enforcement agents and community members to come together in support of the idea of social change, justice and a forum for communication and healing. This project used the power of media and the passion of human nature to discuss the realities of police brutality in New York City. This event is also an example of a sustainable solution effort and the ability of change.
- Shawna BuShell, Executive Director
Community Organizer
Organization:
The Children's Partnership/Tides Center VISTA Name:
Jessica Rothschuh
Program Start:
3/2006
Program End:
2/2007
Project Description:
Goal 1: Engage underserved communities in the policy-making process to address local issues
Project Outcome:
Jessica has used technology tools to facilitate organizational communication and information gathering/sharing at TCP. These tools included an Intranet, the Vienna newsreader and a del.icio.us account for the organization. This work has enabled TCP to stay on top of cutting edge issues in the field of youth and technology.
She has also made major contributions in researching, writing, editing and design work for some of our products. This has helped TCP achieve its mission of advocating for digital resources and access to benefit the nation’s 73 million children and youth, particularly those who are low-income or underserved.
Jessica has also completed several projects for CCTPG, working towards meeting the broader goal of advocating for all communities’ access to broadband and advanced technologies and the benefits they offer.
Working with several colleagues, Jessica helped create the new CCTPG Web site and edited, updated and posted a majority of the documents currently available. She uploaded the contacts currently in the CiviCRM and created an automated sign-up form for new members. She was also responsible for many listserv and Web site updates and helped with several outreach efforts, including a videoconference. She gathered information for an online map of CTCs and helped with CCTPG’s network restructuring.
One of the measurements of Jessica’s success was whether CCTPG won any legislative victories while she was serving. Of the four pieces of legislation CCTPG focused on last year, three of them passed.
Community Outreach and Evaluation
Organization:
Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network VISTA Name:
Karl Hedstrom
Program Start:
11/2006
Program End:
11/2007
Project Outcome:
Karl has proved indespensible in helping our organization understand who our membership is and how we are serving them. With direction, Karl has developed a weekly and monthly statistics aggregation (our dashboard) that illustrates our level of community support and involvement. He has also developed many systems in our database to help us better communicate with our community through direct email and web publishing.