Highland Street Corps

2012-01-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

On January 16^th, a day dedicated to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring in a team of 176 other volunteers from various communities across MA gathered at the Worcester Youth Center and Lawrence Senior Center to assemble hygiene kits for Massachusetts’ homeless youth, in their “Packs for Progress” service project. In honor of Dr. King’s call to action, the Ambassadors, with the help of countless individual donors and organizations, were able to collect over 3,000 items, such as shampoo, toothbrushes and other necessities, and recruited a small army of willing volunteers to help in the packs’ creation. On a day often granted as a day off at most companies and organizations, volunteers smiled and chatted amongst themselves as they spent the day “on” in their local communities. Starting bright and early at 10AM on Monday morning volunteers helped to pack basic necessities for homeless youth across MA. Individual drawstring bags, printed with the quote “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope” were filled with hygiene items and included a hand written inspirational quote by Dr. MLK, a short guide to local resources and a handmade lanyard key chain attached. Thanks to dedicated volunteers the 2^nd Annual MLK Day of Service was a success. Please join us next year!

Until then, check out some photos of the event!

Job-Readiness? You Betcha!

2011-12-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Devin Smith
Science Club for Girls
Cambridge, MA

The first thing my dad asked me when I told him I was going to serve a second AmeriCorps year was, “Do you have enough dried beans?”

AmeriCorps service is an incredibly rewarding and life-changing experience, but it is also notorious for long hours and low pay. I won’t tell you how much I earned last year, but I will tell you that I qualified for food stamps. I signed up to complete a second year of service, not because I love living below the poverty line, but because I love the work I do.

I have had the rare and fortunate opportunity to be a part of the growing AmeriCorps National Service Movement. There are thousands of young people (and Seniors!) all over the country that are serving, and I am so lucky to be one of them. I get to work collaboratively with folks that share my passion for community service. I get to serve youth and empower them to become leaders. I get to learn crazy non-profit ninja skills like networking, program development, project management and utilizing volunteer databases. I get to meet and be inspired by amazing people all the time.

We’re about halfway through this service year, and I have no idea what I am going to do next. Should I go back to school? Is it ok if I don’t go to grad school right away? Should I try to find a job? Will I be able to find a job? All of these fears have been compounded by the reality that I can’t afford to serve a third year, even if I wanted to. Luckily for me, one of my Corps members, Krystal Hope, has got my back. She is also serving a second service year, and spent a great deal of her time this fall organizing a job-readiness, professional development “Skill Share Speed Dating” event for her fellow Corps Members. In this event, small groups of Ambassadors rotated through 4 different skill shares which included of tips and advice from non-profit professionals.

We all participated in this skill share last Friday during our monthly Corps meeting. She gathered together non-profit professionals from the Greater Boston area that have made the transition from college and/or AmeriCorps into careers that serve the community in various ways to speak to us about their experiences in getting hired and hiring others. I had the opportunity to have some great one-on-one conversations and ask questions that have helped me to really think about what my next career steps should be.

In speaking with Mathew English, Director of Nonprofit Relations for a social media platform AltrUHelp, I learned great tips for being interviewed, such as mirroring the body language of the person interviewing you and the benefits of communicating with potential employers in ways that show your propensity for growth and flexibility. Michael Omenazu, former corps member and current recruiter with the Boston Teacher Residency, emphasized the importance of communicating your passion and commitment as a way to stand out to potential employers. Kristen Wright, Development Manager at Youth Villages, assured us that the most in-demand job skills are those that cannot be learned in school alone, like the ability to work well with lots of different kinds of people, and the ability to solve problems creatively. Kevin Flynn, nonprofit recruiter at CommonGood Careers relieved some of my biggest fears when he said that most nonprofits are looking for people with real-world job experience over advanced degrees, and that 70% of nonprofit jobs are never posted. He then gave me some great tips on how to find those un-posted jobs.

This skill share assured me that there are employers looking to hire folks like me, people with a passion for making change happen, people with the desire to constantly learn and grow, and people that enjoy the challenge and rewards of working collaboratively. I don’t feel as anxious about my decision to hold off on grad school for now. I now know that the skills I’ve learned as a Corps member will really be an asset when I finally do have to move on to the next stage in my career. I don’t know exactly what my next step will be, but I know that I am prepared to take it.

Turns out, there's a lot to be thankful for...

2011-11-28T14:35:00.000-05:00

Emily Heaton

AFC Mentoring

Boston, MA

As the holidays approach and I begin to reflect back on the past four months of my year of service with AmeriCorps, I start to think about what has changed in my life to make these past weeks significant. I’m serving this year at Adoption & Foster Care (AFC) Mentoring, a mentoring program which works specifically with youth who have experience in the foster care system. I enjoy serving at AFC every day; I actually look forward to it, and know that I may be part of a small percentage of people who can say that about their work. I think this has to do with the affirmation of my belief in “job hunting” after college--that I needed to do something where, even if I couldn’t see tangible results from my work--I could feel I was contributing my work week to creating positive change in the world, and in our country. I think that joy is also a product of feeling good about the choices I made in becoming an Ambassador of Mentoring. I moved across the country, to a city where I knew no one, where I had never even visited. And while, at times, that has seemed scary, it has more-so turned out to be a source of excitement and happiness.

Ambassadors of Mentoring - Patricia, Stephanie, Lise, and Nate

Since moving to Boston, I’ve had the chance to share new experiences with new friends, work on exciting projects like planning Youth Mentoring Day at the Statehouse with my fellow Ambassadors, and learn about myself in the process. I already feel that I’ve grown as a professional, that I’ve gained valuable experience in non-profit organization, recruitment, marketing, and communication. I’ve been able to give three information sessions for potential mentors, learn from experienced and knowledgeable staff at AFC and Mass Mentoring Partnership, and work on planning field wide projects as part of a team. And I know these experiences will be extremely important and helpful in the future.

One of my favorite things about working at AFC is that we work with a specific population: youth in foster care. Before entering my year of service, I couldn’t have told you much about foster youth. I couldn’t have told you that the majority of youth in care move at least once a year, or that half of 18-20 year olds with experience in foster care end up homeless. I couldn’t tell you how important my childhood full of small things like traditions and consistency was. Now, as I travel to Illinois to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family--my BIG family, full of a Grandma, aunts and uncles, siblings, parents, and cousins--I find myself feeling bittersweet at the thought that I have so many people supporting me. I know that’s a large part of the reason I’ve been able to successfully transition this past year. I have a lot of people I can count on. I think it can safely be said that I didn’t quite realize the power of that until I started serving as an Ambassador.

Looking Back - Alumni Perspective

2011-11-14T18:04:00.000-05:00

Liz Looker '10

Ambassador of Mentoring Alumni

Photo by Ambassador Alum, Ketsia Vedrine

I was an AmeriCorps member with the 2010-2011 Ambassadors of Mentoring and finished my year of service this past July. Here’s a look back on what brought me to AmeriCorps and where I’ve gone since:

Looking back on my experiences since college, I’m confident AmeriCorps was a great choice for me. There were some less-than-ideal aspects and I won’t sugarcoat it – lower wages and longer hours than I thought I could survive on – but my year prepared me for the future in a very unique way.

First some background: I graduated from Hampshire College in May 2010 with a vague idea that I wanted to continue pursuing something related to my senior thesis. My project was titled “I'm Respectful”: Middle School Students, Clothing Choices, and Identity Negotiation and it combined my background in sociology, cultural studies, and fine art. What I quickly realized upon graduation was that it didn’t exactly provide limited career possibilities. I always thought it would be good to have options, but when I was 21 and trying to decide on a career path, all I wanted was structure.

So I applied to AmeriCorps because, like many of my fellow Generation Y folks, I found it difficult to accept a job that wouldn’t challenge me. I think this is one reason AmeriCorps has become so popular – I finally found a position that I was prepared for without being over-qualified.

I served at East End House in Cambridge, MA where I was the Mentoring Program Coordinator. As an Ambassador I planned and facilitated everything from curriculum development and volunteer screenings to mentor trainings and match field trips. I was also active in Corps events, including coordinating Youth Mentoring Day at the State House and our AoM fundraiser.

Through these experiences I realized I’m never limited by my job description. Sometimes this is a curse because my schedule is so busy I can forget to breathe, but every project is a great opportunity to get involved and see what I’m passionate about.

One of these activities was professional development. Mass Mentoring Partnership offers numerous trainings each month on everything related to operating a high-quality mentoring program. I attended as many trainings as my schedule would allow. A two-day workshop on grant writing early in my service year introduced me to nonprofit development and (fast-forward twelve months) that’s the field I’m in now!

With all of the professional experiences I gained from being in AmeriCorps, I was able to secure a Development Associate position at the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House in Cambridge a few months ago. I plan fundraisers, write grants, manage social media, and love the collaborative environment.

I’m so fortunate that I was challenged, became more confident through my success, and jumped into the nonprofit world during my year of service. Being an AmeriCorps alum is something I’ll always feel connected to—what a great experience to have.

Liz is happy to talk! Email her at lizlooker@gmail.com or find her on Twitter @lizlooker.

What does it mean to be an Ambassador of Mentoring?

2011-10-31T17:30:00.000-04:00

Arielle Sobov
For Kids Only
Salem, MA

It’s difficult for me to answer the question “why did you choose to serve a year as an ambassador of mentoring?” Truthfully, this opportunity fell into my lap. I didn’t know much about the Americorps, and had never looked into too many service opportunities in America. I heard about this position through my host site, For Kids Only Afterschool, an organization I have always admired because I believe in its mission and what it does for children and families. My adventure as a member of the Highland Street Corps began as an interest in creating a mentoring program for FKO, but grew when I heard about the second part of this position- being a part of the corps. I didn’t know what this meant exactly. I thought my role at FKO would be individual work. But when I heard that I would meet with my corps once a month, spend four full weeks together throughout the year, participate in team building activities, rely on each other for advice and support, coordinate and participate in service events together, learn about leadership through readings and discussions at Wheelock College, and most importantly, meet 17 other people interested in youth development and non-profit work, I was hooked. Hearing about this part of my duty as an Ambassador of Mentoring, I wondered how I could have never looked into doing the AmeriCorps in the first place. This was nothing I ever thought about doing, but everything I was looking for in a position.

Even after knowing about all of these opportunities that came with being in a Corps, I still did not realize how much I would really depend on my Corps and get to know them. I went into my first day of orientation half expecting everyone to be shy and quiet, and half expecting everyone to be leaders with big personalities and a lot to say. I walked out of my first day of orientation feeling confident that this corps was a mixture of both. Even at the end of the week, there was no pulling teeth to get people to talk, and there was no fight between people to be heard. We balanced each other out- a perfect mixture of North, South, East and West leadership styles.

So what does it mean to be in a Corps? It means a constant sense of support. I know I can send an email to any of the Ambassadors asking a silly question, and they will answer me the best way they know how. It’s texting another Ambassador to see if they want to meet up outside of work, and being able to have a conversation that doesn’t have anything to do with the mentoring field. It’s about wearing silly masks and goofing off at a fundraiser we’ve put on to raise money for youth mentoring. It’s about being excited to go to monthly meetings because it means learning even more about my Corps members, about leadership and about myself.

Being part of a corps is the support I need to continue to do well at my host site. FKO does not currently have a mentoring program, so my job is to create and implement one. My day consists of researching, creating policies and procedures, recruiting future mentors, creating a mentor training, and getting to know the children our mentors will be working with. It is amazing to be working towards something that benefits more than just myself- it benefits FKO as an organization, the children, and those whose lives will be changed from making the incredible decision to become a mentor to a child in need.

For only being in this position for 3 months, that’s definitely saying a lot. I already feel close to my fellow Corps members, and know we have so much growing to do still together as a Corps and as individuals. I know I will come away from this experience with more than a year’s worth of experience under my belt. I’ll come away learning different leadership styles, seeing what works and what doesn’t, how to build a sustainable program from scratch and most importantly, be ever grateful that I decided to become a part of the Highland Street Corps.

Join the Ambassadors for Masks and Drafts

2011-10-24T14:37:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday the Ambassadors would like you to join us in our Halloween celebration and benefit for Youth Mentoring!
Admission includes a complementary mask and food, raffle prize from Harpoon Brewery valued over $50, and a prize for best homemade mask.
$10 admission $8/ea. for groups of 2 or more $5 for AmeriCorps Volunteers (with AmeriCorps RSVP)

RSVP NOW!!

We are All in This Together!

2011-10-18T11:11:00.002-04:00

Mofei Xu
Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.
Quincy, MA

^ Ambassadors having 'fun'!

My Algebra teacher used to say, “time flies when you are having fun,” and that is indeed true. It’s amazing how two months already past and I am now serving my third month at Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. If someone told me a year ago that this is where I will end up, I’m not sure I would believe it. I might have said I’m definitely heading to graduate school or getting a ‘real’ job.

Now I ask, how real can it get?

Sure, it may not pay me as much, or grant me a diploma and a fancy “Masters of something” after my name, but it certainly is worth every second of my time. By serving as an Ambassador of Mentoring I have learned so much about building up a program, going from structure building, policy writing, and recruiting to finally materializing that vision. It takes so much work to make every little detail come to life – those of you who think everything just magically appear at the stroke of a pen, it’s not true! I learned that I can no longer underestimate or devalue another’s efforts, even if his or her end product seems so limited. I learned that it is all part of the process, and while we strive for the grand portrait of our plans, sometimes we have to come down to Earth and to make our programs the best it can be within reason and capacity of our organizations. Obviously, this is not to say I am not proud of what I have accomplished so far; I am! After all, it is no longer me signing up to be part of someone else’s program; it is me signing up someone else to be a part of my program.

Though there are plenty of trials and challenges, I am happy to be where I am today. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that there are other Ambassadors who are in the same boat as I am, to keep me company and also to provide unconditional support. Together, the Ambassadors form a Corps that meets once a month to discuss and update each other on program progress as well as to exchange ideas and strategies. It is amazingly effective for new members like me in easing the nervousness of being in a foreign environment doing something I am unfamiliar with. To know there are others who are equally lost, confused and not sure what they are doing is a marvelous feeling, because c’mon everyone wants to fit in! Besides, that means we learn together, suffer together and win together. And to think I came in the first of day of orientation with a million knots and butterflies in my stomach, feeling queasy and scared! If this is what’s holding YOU back from committing to a year of service, please, it is NOTHING in comparison to everything wonderful that will come after. The Corps is a great place to meet people you otherwise would not have met, and to foster relationships that are meaningful in every way.

In addition to all of the above, we work together on projects such as Martin Luther King Jr. day of service and Youth Mentoring Day. We not only implement or develop mentoring programs in our own organizations; we also advocate for and increase the awareness of mentoring. We recognize that mentoring is important and should be taken notice of by a larger population. We want there to be resources for youths who need them, and also to provide places for volunteers who feel passionate about our cause. It is not an effort or campaign that will succeed overnight, but we believe in what we are doing, and I think that will motivate us to continue the rest of our lives with a desire to support mentoring.

So I ask, how real can it get? I think the answer is pretty clear – this is definitely one of those experiences that will go down as ‘I remember when…’

So cheers my fellow Ambassadors, to quote a popular musical, we are all in this together!

Research + Practice = Continuous Learning

2011-10-12T15:47:00.002-04:00

Sarah Kim

Mass Mentoring Partnership

Boston, MA

Why spend another year on food stamps, stipend living, and sometimes crazy work hours? Monetarily, serving a year as an AmeriCorps member may seem overwhelming but the internal reward of being challenged and finding ownership in your work has been worth it all. Minimal living is simply that, living minimally. It’s possible. There are a lot of people in America who live on less. However, being an AmeriCorps member is not centered around living minimally, but using your time and energy in hopes to help better your community. For the Highland Street Ambassadors of Mentoring, it is the field of mentoring, building capacity in youth mentoring programs to better serve the youth of Massachusetts.

What does serving a second year entail? A fresh start? New beginnings? No, those aren’t the factors that have attracted me to serve another year. It is the enticing opportunity to build upon and refine last year’s work, but also to expand on the research aspect of a Research & Program Associate at Mass Mentoring Partnership to ultimately benefit the field of mentoring. Not just working to share Mass Mentoring Counts—a ‘census’ survey for mentoring programs in the state—with programs, this year, I have the specific opportunity to promote a culture of sharing knowledge between the Mass Mentoring Partnership Staff members and, eventually our partnering programs.

Due to my Human Development and Developmental Psychology background, I have always been exposed to various research & theories on youth development. Researchers perform extensive studies to better the field and to benefit those who are directly working in it; however, most individuals in direct services are unaware of or lack the knowledge of how to utilize the available research. Bridging the gap between research and direct services has always been a personal interest of mine. Staying abreast of new research and new resources better equips and informs those who are involved in the programs. Research can be a beneficial resource available to assist the services of the programs if it is more accessible and applicable.

It is exciting to work with staff members who are interested in continuous learning and sharing available knowledge. Mass Mentoring Partnership is in a unique position as an organization that is an intermediary in providing resources such as trainings, and promoting quality-based practices for the mentoring programs in Massachusetts. Knowledgeable service providers, who intentionally search for new knowledge, can help promote the value of continuous learning and growth, especially in a field with an emphasis on the importance of having a mentor, a role-model who cares about and advocates for a young individual. Serving a second year is an opportunity to be a building block for developing a culture of sharing knowledge in Mass Mentoring Partnership and to move potentially a step forward in assisting the program staff who directly works with youth, and ultimately the youth.

Real World Journey

2011-10-10T10:28:00.003-04:00

Aaron Wilson
Catholic Charities South
Brockton, MA

My first month at Catholic Charities has been a learning experience in itself! I've seen some ups and downs of non-profit management and I have a better idea of what it consists of. In the past, I had an external view of non-profits, and now I'm on the actual inside. Overall, it is a challenging but rewarding task. There are days when I LOVE going to work and I have yet to regret this decision and I am really satisfied with the overall result.

A common and challenging aspect of serving at Catholic Charities is the recruitment process. Even though we received excellent advice at the MMP opening and our perspective project scopes, it’s still a hassle sometimes and a pain. One of the main reasons I believe it is difficult is because we are asking the community to help, give their time, and there’s no financial compensation. I came to the conclusion that the people that we are looking to recruit want/need/ love for the helping others. One of the ways I tackled this issue was by creating a craigslist site and also reaching out to people I know personally; which honestly had a positive effect! I really believe If I keep at it with this pace, I will ultimately have long term sustainable effect at Catholic Charities.

Ultimately, I am glad I am doing this service year. Are there some tough moments? Of course, but what job is perfect? Service means service. To me that means to serve! Even though the pay is small, you may be asked to do things that aren’t directly a part of your service, or the conditions might not always be the best, you’re hopefully going to gain something from it. At least that’s what I tell myself and it’s been working so far, so I’m going to keep pushing.

My goals for this service year are to recruit more mentors and mentees; and to actually contribute to the creation of a sustainable mentoring program. I chose to pursue this year of service because I wanted to make a difference. It is also the perfect transition from an undergraduate student to get my feet wet in the industry and see where it goes from here. I need experience plus an inside scoop on the "real world.” I’m excited to see what ample opportunities await me in the future. So far, this is a fun, intellectual, and motivating journey... with much more to come!

I've really learned a lot so far and met some amazing people. I even became motivated to look further into non-profit and possibly going back to school! Who knew an AmeriCorps assignment could be so inspiring? I didn’t.

My orientation training with Mass Mentoring Partnership was really good. It was long, but well worth every moment. I learned so much in the process. It really opened my eyes to what can be achieved during this service year. The part I liked the best was hearing about opportunities in minority recruitment. This inspired me with future ideas as well as opportunities I can apply to my job at Catholic Charities as well.

Time Flies in a Year of Service

2011-09-09T12:22:00.019-04:00

Julie Muller
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mass Bay
Boston, MA

It is hard to believe that I am already a month into my year of service. My first day at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay (BBBSMB) seems so long ago, yet I cannot believe how fast the past month has gone. I have learned so much already and I am excited to put all of the things I am learning into practice.

Orientation for all Ambassadors of Mentoring took place a week after we started at our host sites. I think this is a great way to get acclimated with your host site first and then to come into orientation with specific questions and experiences. At the end of the first week, I was excited that the next week was orientation with all of the Ambassadors. I was looking forward to meeting everyone as the Corps is going to be my support system through out this year of service. I was definitely nervous going into the first day of orientation. To say that the first couple weeks of August were overwhelming is an understatement. There were so many things to learn and new people to meet that it was hard not to feel overwhelmed. The staff at Mass Mentoring Partnership, however, made orientation such a great experience. We played icebreakers and did many activities to break up the day and get to know each other. The rest of the time was spent getting to know the ins and the outs of the program and what is expected as Corps members through out this service year. It was a ton of information but all incredibly helpful. I left orientation excited about the opportunity to work with such a diverse, awesome, group of people.

Making the decision to do a year of service was not difficult for me. Although I did not (and still don’t) know which career path I’d like to take, I knew that I wanted to serve for a year and serve my community. I enjoyed working with youth through out college in many different kinds of programs. I chose to be an ambassador of mentoring because I believe in the benefits of mentoring and the positive influences a mentor can have on a child’s life. Having a stable relationship is so imperative in a child’s life. Serving at BBBSMB has given me the opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life and I get to see first hand the benefits of mentoring.

At BBBSMB, I have been given the opportunity to learn about so many aspects of what it takes to create and maintain a successful mentoring program. Over the past month, I have been trained in enrollment and match support. Each department gives me the opportunity to hone so many different skills. Each day I learn something new and I love it. After only a month, I can tell this year of service will be busy, challenging, and fun.

Ding Ding Ding ROUND 2!

2011-08-26T17:25:00.010-04:00

Krystal Hope
Mass Mentoring Partnership
Boston, MA

A year and 1,851 service hours has gone by quicker than I’d like to acknowledge. After 4,939 email received, 2,700 emails sent, 400 deleted, 4 Field Wide Projects, 2 service weeks, 1 retreat and $45,000 of distributed in-kind donations later I’m still just as excited to serve a second year with the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring!

I recall, after orientation week last year, feeling completely overwhelmed by the amount of information I’d consumed during the 40 hours of training. Fortunately, I felt confident that the people I was surrounded by would make the experience way more fulfilling and entertaining and less scary. Boy did that turn out to be true! I have had the amazing opportunity to be inspired by and work with 18 exceptionally intelligent, talented, funny, motivated, trustworthy individuals. I not only learned so much from each of them, but I also learned to rely on a group of people both professionally and in my personal lives. To me, we became more than just the Highland Street Corps. We became friends and support systems. Even to this day we hang out with one another - we never could get enough of each other. I’ve also been able to work with an incredibly supportive, understanding, and flexible staff who both challenge and encourage me to reach my potential.

As fulfilled as I felt throughout my last service year, I knew for a fact I would be serving a second year. It was sometime around November 2010 that I said to my supervisor and program manager of the Highland Street Corps AmeriCorps Program at Mass Mentoring, Mallory St. Brice, “Mal I’ll be serving a second year!” From her perspective it was a bit early in the game to declare such strong intentions of volunteering another 1700+ hours of my time. Her response was, “Talk to me in May and we’ll see if you still feel the same way. People’s minds change all the time, I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

For the remainder of the year, I spent time exploring what made me want to serve a second year. Was I really ready to volunteer some more of my valuable time? What could I get out of a second year that I didn’t get out of the first? How could I continue to develop my professional potential even more? Turns out, as a second year member, it all gets just a little better. As a Senior Corps member we have more Corps responsibilities and get a wee bump in our stipend. *thumbs up* Also, as a second year member I’m able to reflect on my previous year in a way that I can use to help improve areas I struggled in or want to build my capacity in. Over the past year, I’ve gained new skills and improved my understanding of how to utilize existing skills. This year is a whole new opportunity to learn more skills and apply skills I’ve gained to make an even larger impact on Mass Mentoring, our AmeriCorps program, and the organizations we work with. With a whole new Corps of volunteers to get to know, many more opportunities to “get things done” and the support of great staff at Mass Mentoring, this year should be both hard work and a blast. With one less month to complete my service year, I’m sure this year will fly by. I’m already ready for all the tears at the end. The happy ones of course. =,)

We Got Things Done!

2011-08-18T18:31:00.000-04:00

After 1,700+ hours of Volunteer Service, it's time to close the year off. Check out some photos of the Ambassadors and their Program Managers from the 2010-11 Closing Ceremony.

Ambassadors of Mentoring Ambassador "Year Book"

3 Dynamic Ambassadors Lise, Chon'tel, and Ketsia

Program Manager and Ambassador, Rich

Hyde Square Taskforce Supervisor and
Ambassador Matt

Ambassador, Ketsia, and Supervisor of
Catholic Charities South

5 Fabulous Ambassadors - Carrie, Krystal, Devin, Dan, and Mike

The Ambassadors of Mentoring Program Managers

Big Brothers Big Sisters Supervisor and Ambassador Natasha

Ambassadors Bruce and Matt
of Home, Inc. and Hyde Square Taskforce

Ambassadors Zeeba and Chelsy of Mass Mentoring Partnership

Ambassador Rich and his Supervisor of
Community Day Care of Lawrence

4 beautiful Ambassadors,
Natasha, Liz, Michele, and Sarah

This is it

2011-08-16T18:27:00.000-04:00

Dan Edelstein

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County

Greenfield, MA

I have learned many things during my service year, both personally and professionally. Over the year, I have learned new things and been challenged to think and work in different ways from what I was accustomed to. I was able to asses my professional habits face-to-face and pushed to improve them. One valuable less I learned time and time again was to always plan events, projects and programming for the worst possible situation. In other words, make sure you are totally prepared. Therefore, if everything goes wrong or nothing goes according to plan, you still have the resources to make it work. This means a lot of planning and preparation, evaluating and re-evaluating, strong participation by team members, and asking a lot of questions. Sometimes it may seem like over-preparation or worrisome, but ultimately the responsibility falls on your shoulders and it is better to be prepared. As a big-picture thinker, this exercise in critical thinking helped me to become a bit more detail oriented than I had been prior to my year with the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring.

Planning for the worst was clearest and most necessary during preparation for our spring Field Wide Projects, match activities directed at engaging matches from around Massachusetts. I co-led logistics for “Jump into June at Sheep Pasture Farm”, a match activity of fun and education at a small farm in North Easton. I was responsible for finding the farm, soliciting donations for food, coordinating the schedule for the day, guest parking, and much more. The whole group was challenged time and again to ensure the success of the event, from securing food donations and parking, to encouraging matches to attend.

One aspect of my tasks that was particularly difficult, and took a lot of tedious planning, was guest parking. The farm is located at a main intersection of the town, there were no public parking lots or spaces nearby, and any parking on the farm grounds would be used by the Farmers’ Market taking place on the same day. Another challenge that arose was our original location for parking turned out to be slightly inconvenient for the day’s plans.

Since finding a solution was a part of the planning process, I set out to find another place to park. A strip mall and a post office across the street, and a bank next to the farm; these were unlikely places for event parking for sure. After speaking with managers at each location, the outcome did not look very bright. Our inability to provide an exact number of the number of matches that would be in attendance posed a problem. We needed help but we did not have the all the information necessary to share with the parties we were requesting help from. Although the nearby bank would still be open they could not accommodate us. The post office could be used, but only after 12 when the post office closed, and our event started at noon, so that would not help either. The strip mall gave us our best hope, which was the manager’s “if I don’t see it, it’s okay” approval. So, we took what we could get, and gave matches every option we could.

Ultimately, the number of matches that attended sprinkled their cars into the strip mall’s lot sparsely enough to not cause any disturbance. Moreover, the Farm Day went off without a hitch, and everyone that attended had a fun time, matches, Ambassadors, and MMP staff included. In the end, we didn’t need as much parking as we thought we would, and in some ways, we over-prepared for parking. Yet, if we had not gone through the trouble of being prepared we may have had to manage and additional problem later. While the planning was stressful, it made the day itself very simple and fun, allowing everyone to relax and have a great time.

Efficient planning, with attention to details, has been a struggle during my year of service. I realized that organizing my ideas into action was an aspect of planning that I have struggled with in the past. I was forced to recognize my tendency to place constraints on my ideas. Working alongside my incredibly motivated fellow Ambassadors, made a big difference in how I thought about project management.

Oftentimes I wonder if I will ever have a job where I am able to wear multiple hats, given many responsibilities, and work with such a great team. I am grateful because my first job out of college was so demanding, but also so rewarding. This service year has helped me to address various aspects of my work style and encouraged me to make adjustments in areas I needed improvement.

2011-07-14T14:22:00.002-04:00

On November 5^th, AmeriCorps Opening Day, the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center became filled with volunteers and future leaders who shared missions of addressing gaps in education, achievement and a pledge to get things done for America.

Sacrifice is synonymous with AmeriCorps. Most envision the need to give up lavish lifestyles because of the lack of lucrative financial compensation. This has been evident in my year as I sacrificed the ability to spontaneously do things as simple as seeing a movie. This was because before any major economic decisions, I constantly calculated my current budget along with the amount of days between the next stipend payment.

Most importantly, those who serve sacrifice the comfort that may accompany one’s own condition and contentment with the current state of society.

This past year, I had the fortunate opportunity to serve with the Mass Mentoring Partnership and the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring program. I moved from Chicago to Boston without having a place to live, giving up the family I loved and the life I previously knew.

Fortunately, with support from the CEO of MMP and the organization’s great staff, I not only eventually found a residence but I also transformed from a college graduate to a young professional.

However, the absolute value of work cannot accurately be measured merely in the numbers found in a bank account or the life one leads in association with that empty account. Rather, it should take into account opportunities to take the lead in positively impacting the lives of numerous others.

Together, with 18 other Corps members, we worked toward helping strengthen other youth-serving organizations. My host site was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay. Although it is one of the recognized and established agencies, I still was able to help build capacity specifically with the recruitment of target populations.

At times, and understandably, one may put more stock in the amount of dollars found in his or her paycheck. Ironically, an absence of commas may cause some to pause for contemplation about whether what he or she does is worth the time and energy.

That day I stood unaware of the magnitude of the new big city I now called home and what AmeriCorps even was and how much I would have to truly sacrifice. By the end of the day’s event I saw the pride so many had in serving. Now at the end of my year of service, I have seen how much I have gained: friends, skills and an unforgettable experience.

There’s No Place Like Home

2011-06-16T16:08:00.010-04:00

Zeeba Khalili
Mass Mentoring Partnership
Boston, MA

When I graduated from college in 2009 and decided to accept a VISTA position at Friends of the Children-Boston, my family and friends back home were confused about what exactly a Mentoring Program Coordinator was. I grew up in Olathe, Kansas, a bustling suburb of Kansas City (although most imagine it as a desolate farm town) and had never heard of mentoring until finding this job posting. It sounded wonderful. In my position, I coordinated a program with over 100 mentees, paid professionals and social work students as mentors, and results that actually demonstrated a positive effect of the program. I quickly had a crash course in formal mentoring, learning what the mentors and mentees would do on their outings, where each mentee attended school and who his/her teacher was, what impact the evaluations were demonstrating the program had on the mentees’ MCAS scores, and much more. But trying to explain that to people back in Kansas usually didn’t go very far and I’d just say that I was helping kids do well in school, dreading the question. As I learned, I became more passionate about what impact the relationships were having on these young kids and tried harder to explain it to the people I knew in the Midwest, referencing their own mentors and seeing what they themselves got out of those relationships.

After my first year of service had ended and I started applying for full-time positions elsewhere, I discovered the job posting for my current position, as the School Partnership Associate through the Ambassadors of Mentoring program. Although the idea of having food stamps for another year made me cringe, I was immediately drawn to this job, specifically for the opportunity available to work with different stakeholders in the mentoring world. And just as I hoped I would, throughout this year, I have had the opportunity to work with school coordinators, principals, programs partners, social workers, city staff, and superintendents, all of whom are passionate about utilizing mentoring as a tool to provide opportunities for youth in Boston and across Massachusetts.

This past weekend I went to the Midwest for a family wedding, the first time I have seen most of my extended family in five years. Of course they all wanted to know what I was doing and I spent hours explaining it. But now, after two years of working in the mentoring field, I know how to explain both my job and its impact. I talked about the underperforming schools in Boston and how mentoring programs came together to work with the students on both academic and social-emotional support, about the school leaders who have begun to seek out mentoring as a tool for academic success, and the corporate partners who are targeting older students and providing them with role models in so many fields. And finally I saw it click in their faces, understanding the substantial impact that mentoring could have on youth, and asking whether I thought there were mentoring programs in their hometowns. So now when I go home to my bustling suburb (ranked 28^th fasted growing city in the US in 2008!) and people don’t have any idea what I’ve been doing for the last 2 years, there’s no dread, only excitement that I might be able to convince one more person about the impact of mentoring.

AmeriCorp's Impact

2011-05-24T14:45:00.011-04:00

Richard McNeil

Community Day Care of Lawrence

Lawrence, MA

How do I begin to describe what it has been like serving in AmeriCorps this past year? It has truly been a great experience but often times I find it difficult to describe why it has been such a great experience. I am not going to lie, I had no real clue what AmeriCorps was when I started looking at the position at my host site. My first real introduction to AmeriCorps happened during the opening day ceremony at the Reggie Lewis Center at Roxbury Community College. I was surprised to see the sheer number of people in that building and amazed at the passion and devotion to their work and service, and this was only for Massachusetts. I could only imagine how big AmeriCorps is nation wide and the impact these people must have on our country every day. That is why it is sad to see that the government wants to cut a large portion of AmeriCorps.

I am going to try not to get too political on this topic but I would rather like to just point at what this country would be like with out AmeriCorps. According to the AmeriCorps website, there are currently 75,000 people in service and countless more running these programs. Just think about all of the people AmeriCorps employs every year which helps keep the unemployment rate down and boost our economy. Now in a time of recession, why does it make sense to cut jobs that will employ many of the recent college and high school graduates? Not only does AmeriCorps employ a large number of people, it does so in a frugal fashion. Yes, I along with some of my fellow Corps members, believe that the stipend we receive could be more for the services we provide but none the less we are all committed to our positions and were not deterred by the pay when we applied for the positions. This allows groups, many of which are non-profits, to affordably employ workers. Many of these groups provide services vital to our nation’s success. My Corps, The Highland St. Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring, helps provide effective mentoring services to the youth of Massachusetts. Many of these youths are “at-risk” youth in low-income communities. My host site is in Lawrence, a city that is struggling with crime, literacy, high school drop out rates, and economic struggle along with a number of other problems. My mentoring program is intended to help students hone the skills and confidence needed to succeed as students and eventually as professionals. This work is essential to the creation of a brighter future for the younger generations and my corps is only one of many doing similar work through out the country everyday.

Now imagine if AmeriCorps was entirely eliminated as was purposed in the initial budget. Everyone of those 75,000 people unemployed. All of those services would be eliminated. Who would help provide these services necessary to our country’s growth and success? The burden would be placed on a much smaller group making it that more difficult to combat the problems in this nation. On a bittersweet note, AmeriCorps was not eliminated in its entirety and did get some of the funding required to run the numerous programs though out the country. It is bittersweet because it is not enough to support all of the programs currently in AmeriCorps. Sadly, many of these programs will be drastically cut or straight out eliminated. This means that there might not be a mentoring program in a community anymore. No more environmental preservation group in a local forest. No more VISTA’s helping in your town’s schools. Now, I am not saying that you should run to the phone right now and call your senator’s office but rather just think about the impact that this will have on our country. This will help you understand why AmeriCorps is so unique.

For me, I guess, AmeriCorps has been a wonderful experience because it is something special. Something very few people are willing and able to do. It takes a person with strong character to do challenging work for very little money, but then again that is why they call it service and not work. We in AmeriCorps are serving this country. Everyday we make sacrifices with the hope that the work we are doing is going to make this country a better place. AmeriCorps is an amazing experience because some times it is a wonderful feeling to make a sacrifice for others.

A successful MLK Jr. Day Service project - 300 Hygiene Kits for the Homeless of MA

What Next?

2011-05-16T15:21:00.000-04:00

Natasha Threatts

Big Sister Association of Greater Boston

Boston, MA

May has always been my favorite month. Flowers are in bloom, the world is turning bright green again and of course my birthday is in May. May is also, almost always, a time of transition. Throughout life, this was always the time when school was almost over, and graduations were starting to happen. This year it brings about the near end of our service year. As always, when you get this close to the end of something you have to face that constant question of “What are you doing next?” My least favorite question in the world!

A day doesn’t go by without someone, colleagues, friends, supervisors, even family members asking what my plans are. The honest reality is that I have no idea. I don’t know where I will be in the next few months and I’m not even sure where I want to be. So when someone gets that look in their eye and I know the question is coming, I instantly cringe inside and try to think of something to say that will end the conversation as quickly as possible.

The good thing about this year is that my host site, Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, keeps me so busy that I don’t have a lot of down time to spend thinking about the future. Here, I stay firmly grounded in what’s going on now. Currently diversity is very much what is happening at my site. So far this year, 41% of the women we have recruited at Big Sister have been women of color. It’s nice to be apart of something where I feel I can have ownership of organizational change.

While I may face constant struggle with where I will be in the future, at least I know that I am succeeding in the present.

Volunteers Together

2011-05-09T17:01:00.007-04:00

Chelsy Baker

Mass Mentoring Partnership – Western MA

Springfield, MA

This year, President Obama proclaimed National Volunteer Week as April 10^th through April 16^th. Conveniently, the Ambassadors of Mentoring dove into their second service week in Boston together on Monday, April 11^th as well. This time around, we focused on three projects which include Jump into June at Sheep Pasture Farm, the 2^nd Annual Mentoring Day at Six Flags, and Fundraising through a variety of events such as a Bar Night at Lir on Boylston Street. Service week is always a unique experience, in fact, any time our Corps comes together for a prolonged period of time, something unique usually happens. We accomplish tasks some look at as daunting feats, and we get together as not only colleagues, but friends.

This year, I am serving at the Mass Mentoring Partnership Western MA office, in Springfield Mass., far away from the majority of my fellow Corps members. This creates an interesting scenario of being included and yet, an outlier. I honestly looked forward to Service week as a chance to get to hang out with my Corps members who have all become my friends for a variety of reasons. Every night, the majority of us got together some place in the city or at various members’ apartments, where the doors were opened to all 19 of us.

I feel lucky that I have not only been able to do community service during my AmeriCorps year, but also that I have been able to connect to a group in a community-type of way. I think that is something that makes our Corps special (aw, how sweet). Not only do we all have our own service projects and host sites, but our program forces us to come together monthly and work on projects together and participate in service weeks and our Wheelock class together. This is an added bonus to a year of uncertainty in knowing yourself, knowing you role in your work place, finances, etc; the bonus of a group of people who you can relate to. So yea, we did accomplish some great things during National Volunteer Week as AmeriCorps members, but we also had a damn good time goofing off in the City together, eating PinkBerry, walking to Starbucks (many, many times) and sitting in someone’s living room listening to MTV Jams or, jamming out ourselves.

Almost Done, And It’s Bittersweet

2011-04-15T16:50:00.004-04:00

Ketsia Vedrine

Catholic Charities South

Brockton, MA

To say that this service year 2010- 2011 is flying by would be an understatement…. Zooming is the word. It feels like just yesterday we were making phone calls to potential food donors or sculpting Styrofoam to the shape the letters of M.E.N.T.O.R. until about 10pm- during our first service week back in November. That whole week was pretty much in preparation for Youth Mentoring Day at the State House in January.We just recently wrapped up Service Week 2 with an aim for events to take place in June.

This month, during spring service week we were split into three proactive groups, Six Flags, Farm Day and Fundraising. If I had to compare the two Service Weeks, I would say that the second went by with more ease and less strain. We were more comfortable with each other this time around whereas in Service Week 1 we were still getting accustomed to one another. If anything, Service Week 1 was the first time that all 20 Corps members were together for that long of a period. For five days, in small and large groups we had to listen to everyone’s thoughts, opinions, feedback, likes, dislikes, and experience various worth ethics, habits etc. We got to know each other on a more business professional level.

During Service Week 2, being 8 months in, and having gotten together in small groups for work and outside of work, we have been able to know one another on a personal level. So, during this week of service, with each group understanding their respective missions and having clear objectives, we were able to turn our concepts into creation. So for the next two months we will be busy fundraising: “Have a Beer at LIR” and support youth mentoring May 26th 6-10pm.

Then we’ll be jumping into June on the 4th at Sheep Pasture Farm in Easton.

And to make sure we cover all areas of Massachusetts, we’ll be Going Big at Six Flags on June 11th.

Our two events are at interestingly low costs and cover ages 6 and up, allowing just about any program to have the opportunity to see something new and furry or try something fast and thrilling!

These events are our last two field wide events for this service year, and our last events to be created together by this corps. With our effort and diligence in making them worthwhile events, they will also become our most memorable.

We've enjoyed many meals together :)

2011-04-15T11:41:00.008-04:00

Wow, it’s already April!?!

2011-03-28T11:02:00.001-04:00

Michele Wendling
Railroad Street Youth Project
Great Barrington, MA

This year seems as if it’s flying by. July will be here as soon as we know it and I feel like I still have so much to accomplish! I have been super busy here at Railroad Street Youth Project. The mission of RSYP is empower young people by supporting the creation of youth-generated activities that promote self-worth, responsibility and inter-generational respect and communication. We have a lot of opportunities for young people in the South Berkshire County area from multiple apprenticeship programs, a United Nation Program, a youth operational board that funds youth inspired ideas, hosting youth open mic nights at our drop in center, as well as our mentoring program.

The Railroad Street Youth Project Mentoring Program is an innovative mentoring and sponsorship program for local high school students who could use support outside of school and family in order to identify and reach their personal and academic goals. The aim of the program is to provide new friendships and role models to the next generation, empowering them to succeed in their every endeavor.

My role as an AOM is to increase mentor/mentee recruitment and to provide match support for the current matches within the program. This has been an amazing experience thus far. I have had multiple opportunities to create lasting relationships within the community. In addition, I have been invited to numerous events to promote our mentoring program which has allowed me to develop new partnerships for my organization and to recruit a variety of mentors.

The most rewarding part of my year of service is directly working with youth. Since I work in our drop in center I have been able to make personal connections with not only mentees in our program, but any youth that drops by. Being able to listen to their stories, provide them with an additional outlet of information, and watching them grow as individuals really inspires me and makes me realize that I have been given a unique and worthwhile opportunity that I’m honestly grateful for.

With a little over three months left trying to figure what I am going to do next is a little stressful. After serving for AmeriCorps for two years at the same host site the thought of leaving is bittersweet. I have grown so much professionally and personally in the past year and a half. Parting with a place where I feel so comfortable is nerve wracking, but exciting at the same time. I am ready to move on and out of the Berkshires, where I have lived my entire life. These next few months will be overwhelming and life changing, but I’m prepared to take on whatever comes my way…

Burning Our Fears Together

2011-03-11T14:45:00.003-05:00

Devin Smith
Boston Partners in Education
Boston, MA

A couple weeks ago the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors got together at the Essex Conference Center and Retreat for three days to work together on a variety of activities. We spent our time working on field-wide projects, discussing issues of gender in service, evaluating our cultural competency and socializing together. The retreat was meaningful to me in so many ways. The thing that stuck with me most was the magnitude of the shared experiences. In our day-to-day lives, we are all hard at work at our individual host-sites- working on individual projects, trying to accomplish our individual goals. It can be easy to forget that we have a group of nineteen other people to lean on for support and guidance.

The first night we were there, we had a bonfire. I love to go hiking and camping, so being outside at night around a fire was fantastic. While Rich, who serves at Community Day Care of Lawrence, played his guitar, we sang songs, danced, and even made s’mores. Before venturing outside to the fire pit, we each took a piece of paper and anonymously wrote down our biggest fears. As we sat around the fire, swaddled in blankets and hugging each other against the wind and snow, we took turns reading the anonymous fears out-loud followed by burning them in the fire. This shared gesture of symbolically owning and than discarding our collective fears was very powerful and brought us all a lot closer together.

We used this rare opportunity of being together to think about and discuss the importance of community in the context of our field-wide projects. We work in a variety of programs: urban, rural, suburban, school-based, community-based, and site-based. Other AOMs interact with the communities their programs are located in on a daily-basis; others are usually behind a desk. Field-wide projects give us the opportunity to work with programs from across the state and gain first-hand experience in developing partnerships and communicating with a variety of people interested in the mentoring field. I really appreciated that everyone was willing to share their ideas about how to raise awareness about our events, gain support and resources from the communities we serve and get the word out to mentor/mentee matches. We all thought very hard about what would be in the best interest of those we are serving, not what would be most convenient or easiest for ourselves. It is this kind of dedication that I see in my corps members that constantly inspires me to do better, be better, and try harder.

Even in our downtime, we discussed how important it is to have a sense of community and shared purpose in the context of social change. Our Corps is a community in itself, with the collective skills and resources to “get things done.” By being open and honest with ourselves and each other about our goals and our fears, within the Corps and beyond, we were able to understand how our individual thoughts connect to our collective actions and make us all the better for it.

Our time together was brief, only three days, but in that time, we collaborated and shared ideas, asked probing and meaningful questions about each other and our service, and pushed each other to think about how we could be better and more effective at what we do. Being together re-instilled within in me the belief that real social change happens when everyone is able to contribute because everyone feels like they have made a meaningful contribution and they want to see their efforts through to fruition. We burned our fears together, and now we’re ready to take whatever comes next.

More Than Halfway There!

2011-02-25T15:08:00.001-05:00

Jeanette Roach
Worcester Youth Center
Worcester, MA

Mentors and mentees at the Holy Cross basketball game, 2/16/11

Laying the groundwork for a mentoring program in the community I grew up in – Worcester, MA – continues to be both a formidable and inspiring task. I am now more than halfway through the current service year, which means I am a little more than three-quarters through my stint as an Ambassador of Mentoring. I am spending my second year as a Senior Corps member at the Worcester Youth Center, an educational, recreational and social facility for youth between the ages of 14 and 24. This has been an incredible experience, one I chose because of my commitment to the Worcester community and its youth, and my belief that social connections and positive relationships need to be fostered with vulnerable youth. I am committed to implementing a mentoring program that matches young people with positive role models so that they may realize their personal, educational, and career-related goals.

While program is still in development, through gathering feedback and making changes, I have had the opportunity to begin matching youth members with students from the College of the Holy Cross for group mentoring. The program launched with a trip to see the Holy Cross Crusaders basketball team play a winning game against the Navy Midshipmen. I look forward to strengthening this program while also continuing to set the foundation for another mentoring model at the Youth Center. Up to this point, my year has involved far more than just designing and implementing mentoring programs; it has also been about forming meaningful relationships with youth.

The relationships I’ve developed with a number of the young people coming to the Youth Center have played a critical role in my project’s success, and have also given the work I do a great deal of its significance. Not only do I have ready access to crucial information for developing the mentoring program (the youth themselves) but I also experience the joy of engaging in positive youth development. Though worrying about the health and well-being of youth is stressful, it feels great when a young person comes to me with an issue and I can help them work through it – whether it be getting extra support for schoolwork or figuring out the process of setting up a dentist appointment.

Another big part of my year has also been the work I did with my fellow Corps members on a service project in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We worked in collaboration with Dynamy, another youth organization in Worcester who planned the MLK, Jr., Day event that took place at the Worcester Youth Center on January 17, 2011. For our project, we collected donations of hygienic items, and with volunteers from the community, we put together 300 hygiene kits for three homeless shelters located across Massachusetts. We met our goal, and we received a great deal of positive feedback. One volunteer wrote into the local newspaper, the Telegram and Gazette:

I was searching for a way to explain to my children, ages 3 and 5, who Mr. King was and what he represents, beyond reading a book or trying to find an age-appropriate video. I brought them to the Worcester Youth Center hoping for a positive and empowering personal experience, and we were far from being disappointed. What a wonderful event.

The youth center was packed with a large, diverse group of people. We heard inspiring speeches, watched innovative and polished Burncoat School dancers, and participated in a service project creating much-needed toiletry kits for homeless men and women. My girls loved helping out: They carried a bag, took turns putting in items, signed their names, drew pictures and even included an MLK quote in the bag.... Every youth we encountered was helpful, friendly and polite. It's obvious to me that Dynamy and the Worcester Youth Center are positively impacting the lives of our Worcester youth (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 23 Jan. 2011)

Feedback like this confirms all of our hard work does indeed pay off, whether it is implementing mentoring programs or working on a field-wide project.

Six Months In, Six Months To Go

2011-02-11T17:35:00.008-05:00

Liz Looker

East End House Youth Mentoring Program

Cambridge, MA

Progress is a great feeling.

We are now into the second half of our service year with the 2010-2011 Highland Street Corps. After a whirlwind Youth Mentoring Day, it feels good to step back, see exactly how I’ve been using all of those service hours since the summer, and resume focus on my project scope at my site, East End House in Cambridge, MA.

During the Corps orientation in August we discussed capacity building at our service sites. By mid-October I understood firsthand that working sustainably isn’t the fastest way to build a program, nor does it provide the most immediate satisfaction. Our goal in the East End House Youth Mentoring Program is to bring youth together with caring and responsible adults. Was I fulfilling this goal if our long list of to-be-matched middle schoolers in East Cambridge wasn’t getting any shorter? How was I going to balance my excitement to expand the mentoring program with the need to do it carefully and correctly?

I’ve realized that capacity building is about methodically making decisions today that will prepare us for the future: it’s the behind-the-scenes work (from researching best practices and designing protocol to becoming part of the non-profit/mentoring network in the area) that will allow our mentoring programs to continue when we leave in six months. Sometimes it’s difficult to identify slow and steady progress, particularly in start-up and/or small programs, but when I reflect on my work so far as an Ambassador of Mentoring, I’m confident that I’m leaving behind the necessary tools for my organization to succeed next fall.

Here’s an example: a large portion of my year-long project at East End House is mentor recruitment. When I first through of recruitment, I saw myself tabling at volunteer fairs with information about the program. I quickly realized all of the background work needed before even beginning to recruit interested volunteers. First, I needed to identify and plan how to efficiently reach our target populations for volunteers. Next, I had to create literature about the mentoring program for interested volunteers. Once the literature was ready, forming relationships with local organizations was crucial in integrating our mentoring program into the larger community. In summary, I learned that recruitment is a lot more than gathering a list of names, particularly if you’d like to sustain your program.

It’s rewarding to reflect on the steady progress we’ve been making as a Corps and at my individual service site. As we go forward into the next six months (I’m confident that snow-free sidewalks are in the near future…), I hope to continue balancing my enthusiasm to create change with a sustainable approach. This year is about immediate progress, but it’s also about future progress. The countdown is on, six months to go!

D-DAY: January 26th, 2011

2011-01-31T17:06:00.008-05:00

Sarah Kim
Mass Mentoring Partnership
Boston, MA

The day has finally come and gone. The greatly anticipated, Youth Mentoring Day!
When I woke up on D-Day, I didn’t know what to expect for the day. Will there be chaos or will it be calm because of our thorough preparation? Will the snow suddenly change its mind and surprise us three hours earlier? There are so many uncontrollable and unpredictable factors that can go awry. Each and every one of us has played such an intricate part in putting this day together for the past four months and all of us were eager to see everything go smoothly. Walking into the State House’s Great Hall after my breakfast pick up excursion or better described as my struggle with the Boston’s circular and one-way street system, I was welcomed by a room filled with lots of people excited for the program. Despite the late afternoon snow alert, an array of individuals, mentees, mentors, program staff, and legislators, were present. The program consisted of legislator recognition, musical performance, and last but not least, the Ignite Award.

2011 Highland Street AmeriCorps Ambassadors of Mentoring

Five of the nineteen Highland Street Corps’ Ambassadors of Mentoring, including myself, took the lead on creating the Ignite Award. The purpose of the award is to recognize the efforts of individuals who directly contributed to the field of mentoring every day, both on a programmatic level as a staff member or as a mentor meeting with a young person. With the help of Mass Mentoring Partnership’s staff, we created the nomination forms, process, scoring rubric, and review process. During Youth Mentoring Day at the State House, Matt Gelman, serving at Hyde Square Task Force, made a brief comment on the naming of the award as “the Spark Award.” His comment was a surreal reminder of the Corps’ debate in naming the award and the discussions that finally created our beloved, Ignite Award. It was a tedious and difficult process, but finally witnessing the actual recognition of the recipients, made the task worthwhile. The nominators were given the opportunity to introduce the recipients; two mentors and one program staff. The nominators’ comments were quite meaningful because we were able to bear witness to the recipients’ accomplishments and contributions for the field from their personal interactions with these committed individuals.
Amanda and Terrence’s acceptance speeches were heart touching and both provided a personal and insightful perspective on the field of mentoring. However, my personal favorite was Rob Rosenkrantz’s acceptance speech when he spoke of what he has learned from his mentee, “how to roller skate and rock climb, the best place to get a good meat pie on Blue Hill Ave., and the mystery surrounding the shootings of Biggie Smalls and Tupak Shakur.” For me, his speech grasped the essence of mentoring, not as an one sided relationship where the mentor provides all the knowledge and guidance to the youth, and described mentoring as an intersection of two individuals from different ages, cultures, and backgrounds to learn and grow with each other. If I had to work another four months to hear such inspirational speeches, I may consider doing it all over again. Youth Mentoring Day was a good and meaningful event to mark the middle of our service year.

Now my next D-Day, January 31st, the Forum at the State Street Foundation! Mass Mentoring Counts 2010 will be presented for the first time. It will be quite exciting to see my project completed and presented. Can’t wait!

What Keeps Us Going?

2011-01-19T12:03:00.005-05:00

Lise Hagen

Mentoring for Success, Roxbury Community College

Roxbury, MA

“Help Them Get There - Be a Mentor!” - The theme of National Mentoring Month 2011 embodies the simple belief that one person, utilizing small steps, can help a young person reach his or her dreams. It almost seems too easy to believe, yet I can already see the impact our mentors are making on our mentees. My host site, Roxbury Community College, RCC, has been a wonderful and welcoming community to serve in. While implementing a new mentoring program can be difficult, I have received so much support from RCC’s faculty and staff and garnered so much interest from students that it has made the rough spots much easier to deal with.

It’s hard to believe that as a Corps, we are already half-way through our service year and still going strong! This time has been a growing and learning experience for me as I’ve ventured into new tasks and accomplishments, struggled with time-management, and dealt with new types of situations. Being an Ambassador of Mentoring results in a constant act of juggling between host-site work, a multitude of Corps responsibilities, and a personal life.

At RCC, we are incredibly proud of our first group of 18 matches to belong to the Mentoring for Success program. Because we’re a school-based mentoring program, our matching period is much quicker than some of the other programs. In just a few months I have seen this mentee group endure nervous potential-mentee interviews, wait through the matching process, attend mentee orientations, and finally, excitedly share what they’ve been doing with their mentors. Mentoring for Success aims to help first-generation college bound students at RCC better prepare themselves for higher education through support in both their academic and personal pursuits. So far one great result is that all of our mentees are returning this spring semester! We worked together to encourage the RCC community to come together as we hosted a holiday toy drive benefitting a local Roxbury chapter of ABCD, Inc. (Action for Boston Community Development, Inc) and have recently published our first newsletter. I’m excited to see what else our matches will achieve this spring semester!

In addition to Ambassadors working hard at our individual service sites, we also work together on Corps projects. One of our major focuses has been Youth Mentoring Day at the State House on January 26th. My group is in charge of the event’s visual components and we’ve been working extremely hard on creating unique visual showpieces to represent the importance of mentoring. Through many (more than we realized initially!) hours of hard work, we’ve created a mosaic of the AmeriCorps logo and a 3-D display of the word “MENTOR” covered with match photos. Coming into my service year I had no idea I’d be smashing ceramic plates with a hammer for a mosaic or carving Styrofoam with an electric turkey carver half-way in the year. Part of that excitement is what it’s like to be an Ambassador - we never know what we might be doing on any given day and we’re always busy, but we know the significance of why we’re serving. We serve to “Help them get there!”

We hope you join us to see the hard work of the Ambassadors of Mentoring and Mass Mentoring Partnership on January 26th for Youth Mentoring Day at the State House!

Youth Mentoring Day at the State House

2011-01-03T14:19:00.003-05:00

Join the Highland Street AmeriCorps Ambassadors of Mentoring for Youth Mentoring Day at the State House. Check out our video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MolD8yMpP-4

Gifts Carried On

2010-12-20T11:27:00.007-05:00

Dan Edelstein

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County

Franklin County, Massachusetts

This holiday season has, so far, brought a number of fun and unique events to Franklin County, Massachusetts, and the forecast shows some formations on the horizon that are sure to please. This year, people from around Franklin County have been donating new toys and clothes for a holiday “shop” in our office. On Monday, December 20 and Tuesday, December 21, a number of families we serve, either with children that are Little Brothers and Sisters or otherwise, came in and chose a few gifts. So far we have received at least a thousand dollars worth of gifts and a large donation of food from United Way. To be sure, mentoring is a process that involves the strength of a community. One family has an annual tradition of donating gifts, rather than buying gifts for each other, and they chose to donate to us this year. I am looking forward to being around the office during those two days; I have a soft spot for happiness during the holidays and I think it is going to be wonderful to see families being able to give gifts for the holidays.

The Big Brother Big Sisters, BBBS, staff has also enjoyed its own holiday festivities. On the last night of Hannukah, we cooked and dined on some delicious potato latkes (Oy vey iz mir! Mom, you would be proud!) some of which were made, unprecedentedly, without the aid of a grater or food processor. Then, after a little nosh, we lit the candles and sang some classics: “Dreidel Dreidel”, “Hannukah, Oh Hannukah”, and, of course, Adam Sandler’s “The Hannukah Song”.

Speaking of the BBBS staff… Relocating is not something extremely foreign to me; I have moved a number of times throughout my life because of my dad’s job. In addition, after settling in Evanston, Illinois, and staying in a close area for most of my teenage years, over a decade, I was ready for a change. In many ways the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts is familiar: the rural areas are reminiscent of summers spent in northern Michigan, the small urban center of Northampton is a close mirror to Evanston. At the same time, the Valley is filled with exciting and mysterious places like the Norwottuck Rail Trail and the Montague Book Mill, and the eclectic culture just keeps growing. Yet at the same time, the BBBS staff welcomed me in with open arms, making the transition to a new part of my life meaningful and enjoyable. Kay, Vera, Jen, Jessie, Ashley and Kathy support my work and growth, making everyday at the office a fun and positive place to be. They have also introduced me to new things like Latin dancing on Tuesday nights in Northampton. No two days are alike at BBBSFC, and with the new flock of crows finding housing in the surrounding trees, it looks like this service year will be one for the books.

A short time ago, I applied for the Mass Mentoring Partnership’s Boston Marathon Team. The application asked for a story about a mentor in my own life and I would like to share it here.

“As a teenager, in middle and high school, I began taking drum and percussion lessons. My teacher lived near my house, but I needed a ride there after school. Both of my parents worked until the evening on those days, so my grandparents volunteered to drive me. My grandfather, Gershon, or Peepa as I called him, and I spent some very special times together, driving back and forth once a week. Peepa would always arrive at my house early ready to go before I was—a practice that I have cultivated and am known for in familial and social circles. The car would be filled with conversation: Peepa asking me about my day at school, my interests and goals as I grew, offering me advice, telling family stories, imparting the words of wisdom that are proverbs to my family. Although I have heard it from other people, the authorship of a schematic description for a five-paragraph essay is still attributed to Peepa: “Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em, tell ‘em, then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” These times really solidified our relationship, beginning a bond from which I have grown and cherish now. While the rides have finished, the conversations continue, and I realize how much my grandpa has an influence on my life, in terms of my goals and how to lead a good and successful life.”

Something I feel quite fortunate about is the great number of people in my life who have and do support me, my goals and ambitions. Since I have begun my service year, I have been constantly reminded of this fact; when talking to our volunteers, hanging out with Big Brothers and Sisters and their Littles at our site-based programs, or even just talking about BBBS at networking events, it is so obvious how important, yet simple, the presence of a consistent support, a motivating role model, or trusting friend is. While there are many things that I have needed to learn for myself--and still do—there are also times that I feel I have taken some of these fortunes for granted: not taking advice or guidance seriously and learning the consequences later. But the fact that I can return to those people and places if I need to is such an important value to me, and probably the source of my connection to mentoring.

In honor of that reflection, this blog entry is dedicated to the following, even though there are many more. Mom, Dad, Sam, Peepa, Kevin, Professor Steeves, Professor Thompson, Professor Millan, Sean, Goose (my other brother), Matt, and Don.

Chag Sameach! L’chaim!

The Call of Service

2010-11-25T15:15:00.004-05:00

Matt Gelman

Hyde Square Task Force

Jamaica Plain, MA

Life as an Ambassador of Mentoring is never-ending. There is always a project that needs attention, an e-mail that needs to be sent, a recruiting event that needs to be attended, and yet there is not always a great amount of time to complete all of this. Being an Ambassador requires limitless energy that can really only be inspired by true dedication to a cause. And in my case, working with youth at Hyde Square Task Force and working with such fantastic and dedicated corps members, inspiration has come easily to me these past few months.

Today was my first day back at the office following service week and it felt somewhat strange not being with my fellow corps members. We spent all five days of last week together working on creating Youth Mentoring Day 2011. With so many strong personalities all in one place, there was potential for this week to be extremely difficult to get through. But surprisingly, we all found a way to work together and harmoniously share our ideas and incorporate them into our work plans. Specifically, the community recognition group, of which I am a part, did a fantastic job creating an award from scratch and coming up with a nomination process, nomination forms, marketing strategies and discovering what the physical awards would be. Seeing as the “AoM Ignite Award” started out as nothing more than an idea, to have it become a reality within a week’s time was impressive, to say the least.

While it was tough to leave my host site for a week, it was also nice to reconnect with all of the Ambassadors. It is my personal opinion (which is horribly biased) that we are one of, if not the, best corps around. At AmeriCorps Opening Day, we represented ourselves with vigor, unmatched by any other group and our time serving at Cradles to Crayons flew by as we all served together, laughing and enjoying ourselves all the while. My opinion of the corps’ greatness was reinforced during service week. From the marketing team, to the visual group, the logistics group, the MLK Day group (and of course, the community recognition group) we got things done and were able to really bond with each other throughout this process.

In the spirit of the approaching Thanksgiving holiday, it seems appropriate, albeit cheesy, to acknowledge what I am thankful for in this year of service. I am certainly thankful for being part of an amazing and passionate corps, as I really feel that I am amongst a group of some of tomorrow’s strongest leaders. But I am also thankful for all that I am learning at Hyde Square Task Force. In my first year out of college, I am already developing important leadership skills and I am able to witness my ever-increasing ability to execute and finish projects. I may not always know exactly what I’m doing, but the supervision which I am under helps guide me by asking me to identify which points I most need to develop.

I am also thankful for the ability to work with the youth of HSTF, as they are all fantastic individuals. It has been a true pleasure getting to know them over the past three months and working with them in the past two College Explorations sessions has proven the impossible, as the youth have energetically and enthusiastically participated in activities with their mentors at 10:00AM on a Saturday morning. Seeing youth who are normally quiet, uninspired or unwilling to participate come alive and take ownership of creating a Collegeville art project, or see them practicing their skits in the hallway laughing hysterically with their mentors, was definitely a highlight of my year so far. Hearing youth who complained on Thursday that they had to go to mentoring on Saturday gush about how much fun they had with their mentor made me feel amazing. It was so rewarding to hear that the mentors had begun to foster a relationship with the youth that I am becoming so close to. And what’s more, these outstanding youth who are never given the best resources and who are usually counted last, are being shown that they too can be successful college students and they are learning to believe in themselves—and I am most thankful to be a part of this process with them.

Making a Difference

2010-11-13T15:00:00.008-05:00

Adam Goldfarb

Everybody Wins Metro Boston

Boston, MA

This will be my first entry this year at my new AmeriCorps* position. The last time I blogged was to wrap up what was a very successful year with my previous site with Massachusetts Campus Compact at Framingham State College. This year is off to a busy start and it just officially kicked off with AmeriCorps* Opening Day this past Friday, November 5^th. This event is a great way to get the year going as all the Massachusetts based AmeriCorps* organizations are in attendance and we all get to see just how massive this service movement really is.

We were at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center again this year, which is a fantastic place to hold a pep rally of sorts. We had some great guest speakers, a performance by UTEC, and then all of the programs had a representative introduce who they are. When everyone settled down and had their lunch, we all separated into our groups to go off to different service events. My group went to Cradles to Crayons to sort clothes and put together the bags that would be given to the children the program works with. This was a great event to wrap up the day, and with that the year was officially off and running.

Aside from Opening Day and the work at our sites, we are currently working on field wide projects that are all designed to prepare for Youth Mentoring Day at the State House on January 26^th, 2011. I am working with the Marketing and Outreach group and we have begun preparing an action plan about how best to publicize this event, as well as, creating a logo that will be used for years to come. This is a very exciting time because the entire month of January is National Mentoring Month, and we are all able to be an integral part of that. The week of November 15^th we have our first Service Week of the year, where the entire corps gets together to work on these projects. This will be fantastic for the progress of Youth Mentoring Day since we will all be together working on this for the week, and that will be our sole focus.

This year has been a different experience so far, but like I said all throughout last year, it all comes down to the same thing:

It does not take much to make a difference.

Thanks to all my readers and if anyone wants to see what great service events were going on last year at Framingham State College, you can follow this link to my blog from last year and the YouTube video from last year’s Alternative Spring Break trip to DC to work with Habitat for Humanity:

http://goldfarbmaccvista.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvVmydHvL-c

What’s it like, being an Ambassador of Mentoring?

2010-10-27T13:46:00.006-04:00

Chon'tel Washington

ACCESS

Boston, MA

At first, adjusting to my position at ACCESS, was difficult. I grappled with having so much authority. During the orientation I was eager to get started, knowing that I was equipped with the necessary tools to handle any situation that I would encounter this year. Then I started at my site and I was overwhelmed with something that I do not feel often - power. Like Professor Irwin, said during our Wheelock College session, with leadership comes power; and I was not prepared. During the first week I had daily check-ins with my supervisor Claire, which I appreciated so much. Already, she was challenging me to embrace my leadership position. I would ask a question and she would reply, “What do you think we should do?” looking at me with a smile, waiting patiently for a response. At first, I froze, I sat there quietly. After a few moments passed I found my voice, gave a response and was greeted with a high five. For the first month I would have to constantly remind myself that I was the program coordinator for the ACCESS Mentors program and I needed to embrace my authority.

Claire is a great role model; she embodies all the qualities of a great leader that we have been learning about in our Wheelock session. She is encouraging, trusting, and patient and she nurtures my professional growth. So far I am really enjoying my time at ACCESS. I have learned so much already and we are only three months in. At times, I still get overwhelmed, but that’s because I am constantly being challenged to step out of my comfort zone. Claire and I make the perfect team as she often reminds me. Settling into my role has given me time to really think about how great this opportunity is and how excited I am for this year.

When I think about the Corps I am reminded of the documentary “Waiting for Superman.” The title of the film resonates with me, since I was a young girl I had always had a strong sense that I needed to be rescued or delivered somehow to better surroundings. As I grew older I realized that I have to save myself, and that attaining a good education is key. I sought out those opportunities to attain a better education and aligned myself with individuals who believed in me and supported my dream. In my opinion, those people are the superheroes of the world. The film supports why I joined that AmeriCorps and why our mission of mentoring is so important. The film showed me that education alone is not enough and that students need and deserve more from loving, caring adults.

I think it would be interesting if we Ambassadors of Mentoring, AOMs, thought of ourselves as mini superheroes this year in a non ‘hero syndrome’ way. We are crusaders of sorts, helping to make a world a better place through providing opportunities for young people. We are sidekicks and wingmen/women to each other, supporting one another along the way. Whenever I slide off track I know I can turn to one of my AmeriCorp members for help (in my case mostly, Krystal) and they will assist me. If someone asked “what’s it like being and AOM?” I will respond, “Everyday is like an adventure, much like a superhero, I dedicate myself to helping others, asking for nothing in return (but a small stipend and some food stamps!).

A Second Year, A Second Corps

2010-10-12T09:52:00.003-04:00

Carrie von Glahn

Senior Corps Member

Newton Community Service Center

West Newton, MA

Being in a Corps is a very special experience. You are connected with an amazing group of people who come from all walks of life but who are bonded together because of shared interests and passions. In August, I started my second year as a member of the Ambassadors of Mentoring, Highland Street Corps. I decided to stay for a second year because I had learned so much the first year but felt there was more for me to do at my host site and in the Corps. It wasn’t easy saying goodbye to last year’s Corps members (only two others had decided to stay on for a second year). We had grown into a tight-knit group that worked well together and had a lot of fun along the way. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the new Corps members, but I knew that if they were anything like last year’s group we would have another fantastic year.

When I was introduced to the new Corps members at our orientation, I was immediately impressed with the energy that everyone had. The room was abuzz with enthusiasm and positivity. I could tell that the new Corps members brought with them not only hearts focused on the work we were doing but also the intelligence and experience that would help them to be successful AOMs. Each person came with his or her own unique personality but also with the collaborative attitude that was necessary in a successful corps. By the end of orientation week, I was positive of what I had at first surmised: this was going to be a good Corps and a great year.

Since orientation, I have only seen the whole Corps together once. We got together in the middle of September for our monthly meeting and Wheelock College session. It was great to see everyone again and observe how their first complete month in the program had treated them. I was again impressed with the overall positivity and enthusiasm that all the Corps members had. I know how hard your first month in AmeriCorps can be: a new job, a new supervisor, learning to live on a stipend, and so many other big changes. The majority of the AOMs had successfully navigated those difficult adjustments. They were still enthusiastic about their host sites, MMP, and the power of mentoring.

Next week we have our second monthly meeting and Wheelock College session. Even though things have been very busy at my hose site, Mentor Connection at the Newton Community Service Center, I am really excited to have a day with the Corps. I am looking forward to hearing how their experiences as AOMs are going and what they envision for the year ahead. I also am excited to work with them on upcoming projects like Youth Mentoring Day at the State House. I know that, like last year, we have a special group of people who are going to do amazing work and accomplish great things in the field of mentoring in Massachusetts.

Serving a second year…Crazy, courageous, but necessary!

2010-10-11T16:50:00.007-04:00

Elizett Pires
Senior Corps Member

SMILES Mentoring

New Bedford, MA

How I got here…

Back in late May when my first year of service was almost coming to a close I was really forced to wrap up my decision process on what would be next in life. I knew that I still wasn’t ready for graduate school so that was out of the question. I started my search for entry level jobs in the higher education field since that’s where my passion is. The more research I did on positions and the more I spoke with potential employers it became more and more evident that finding a job in the field wouldn’t be likely since I don’t have my masters’ degree yet. I expanded my search to include opportunities that had nothing to do with the field. Those opportunities would have provided for a more favorable paycheck but at the end of the day I kept going back to the whole concept of what a job is versus a career.

So I forced myself to really think about what type of positions or fields that I would be happy doing. Then it dawned on me that I was already serving in a field that I enjoyed. That led me to the decision to stay on for another year. It also helped that I love what SMILES is doing and that the team there is amazing. I was excited to be able to stay on and really carry out the projects I had already started and too see how I could further develop myself. So when August 2, 2010 came around I was officially starting my second year of service. The running joke around the office that week was how quick the “NEW” ambassador was fitting in with everyone else and learning how to do her work independently.

What I’ve been doing…

As a senior corps member, I still had to attend August orientation and training. For a while I really wasn’t excited for it since I would be sitting through full day sessions and trainings that I had already done before. But I was lucky because Mass Mentoring Partnership decided that senior corps members would only have to participate for the first two days of training. It was also helpful knowing that there would be two other returning members as well which meant there would be 17 new members.

I was one of the first to arrive at Orientation and as all the new faces arrived I kept thinking to myself that I missed my corps from last year. As more people arrived and I started schmoozing I realized that this new corps seemed like it would be a great group. By the end of the first day I left orientation feeling like I had made a connection with at least four or five people. At that point last year I had only made one real connection. After day two, I was actually kind of sad that I was leaving the group and that I wouldn’t be able to spend the whole week with them. Lucky for me I was invited to go back and join them on the Thursday so I can present some of the marketing strategies that I used and were most successful during my first year.

I’m almost in my third month of year two and I’ve basically been spending most of my time on recruitment efforts and professional development. In terms of recruitment I am doing the same things I’m doing last year but now it just comes easier to me. I’ve really become more aware of what events are happening in the community for me to table at. I’ve really polished my presenting skills and am able to switch up my style more depending on who I’m speaking to. On the professional development side I’ve become a Leadership SouthCoast Class of 2011 member. It’s amazing that I (an AmeriCorps member) was chosen along with executive directors, managers, chancellors and other prestigious representatives from my community to part take in this great honor.

Over the next 10 months my class and I will participate in this community leadership program consisting of 2 one-day retreats, 8 monthly full-day sessions, and a series of structured small group team-building activities. The program is meant to challenge us by a variety of SouthCoast issues that will be presented to us by leaders and experts in their field. I’m excited because we will be doing readings and having discussions about topics that actually affect the region I live in. I’m excited to learn and also provide insight on topics I am familiar with. I’m also looking forward to some of the on-site visits, simulations, and other developmental activities we will be doing this year.

Besides Leadership SouthCoast, I’m also taking full advantage of the professional development opportunity provided to me through MMP. The corps has been given the opportunity to take an Intro to Organizational Leadership course through Wheelock College in Boston. The best part about it is that we don’t have to pay a thing for it (not even for books) and we can get 3 transferable graduate level credits for it. Having the opportunity to participate in this class means so much to me because it is in a field that I will be studying next fall in graduate school. So this class will give me a sense of whether I’m headed in the right direction professionally. The intro course will also challenge me to get back into the academics mode. I’ve only been out of college since May of 2009 but it is been long enough to get out of the writing papers, reading textbooks and taking exams kind of mode.

Interestingly enough, the class is set-up differently than what I can expect next year. Rather than having a weekly class over a fifteen week span of time, we are having monthly class sessions over a nine month period. We don’t even have the class on campus because the class is worked into our Highland Street Corps meeting days. So each class happens at a different location throughout the Boston area.

We actually had our first class on September 15^thand it was in a conference room at the Non-Profit Center. This was definitely a weird change for me since I’ve been confined to a typical classroom setting since my elementary school days. I’m also a little intimidated about the three hour long classes. In my four years at Bryant University, I never took a class that was longer than an hour and fifteen minutes. So, I’m really hoping that the class won’t be primarily in lecture format. But our professor, Irwin Nesoff seems great and from reading the syllabus I’m really excited to see how the rest of the sessions play out.

One is Never Certain Where the Journey of Life Will Lead

2010-09-08T15:28:00.005-04:00

Bruce Dillenbeck
Home, Inc.
Boston, MA

Unlike many of my peers whom I meet during my week of orientation, I was considerably older. I had been unemployed for over a year and underemployed for several years as I was struggling with the worst recession I’d seen in my lifetime. I had previously worked with community non-profits and in government a good part of my life and was looking for a means to jump-start my career again. This was not my first time doing national community service work. I was a VISTA volunteer back in 1980 (now subsumed under AmeriCorps) upon completing my undergraduate degree. Then I was young in my twenties. Now I am young in my fifties.

I came upon my host sponsor, HOME, Inc. by accident. HOME, Inc. is a youth media literacy non-profit that partners with the public school systems in Boston and Somerville to teach middle and high school aged children a range of skills in the media arts. The Executive Director had been advertising for another position in May, which I responded to but wasn’t really qualified for. He felt that I might be a better fit for the AmeriCorps position he had just been granted to extend another year. Although my background was quite different – I had previously been working in the housing world - I also had a lifelong interest in the creative arts and visual media – HOME, Inc.’s mission. I was also intrigued by the concept of using the arts as a means toward community building. We kept on talking over the summer, and in July I accepted the position to work on developing HOME, Inc.’s mentoring program.

Our initial orientation through Mass Mentoring Partnership had been delayed until the second week of August but I began work at HOME, Inc. on August 2nd. Lucky for me, I lived in the same neighborhood where my sponsoring agency was located – in Boston’s neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. After initially orientating myself to the office, I began my first week reviewing the procedures manual that my predecessor had created (which was incomplete) and attempting to develop a more detailed scope of work for myself over the course of the next three months. That proved to be a difficult process as I had yet to undergo formal training and I was guesstimating how much time certain tasks would take to complete.

My second week encompassed my formal orientation led by Mass Mentoring Partnership at a community center in Newton, a suburb of Boston. I had been greatly anticipating it, as the whole concept of developing a program around mentoring was new to me. I had much to learn.

The week of orientation went by in a flash. The excitement of my fellow AmeriCorps members was palpable. For many, who had just graduated from college, it would be their first real expereince in an office setting; like a first job. Although they were quite a few years younger than me, I enjoyed their enthusiasm and company. Overall the training was excellent although I did suffer from information overload by the end of the week. I walked away feeling a little daunted by the challenges ahead of me. As one who is principally in charge of implementing every aspect of the program I felt a little intimidated. I would be responsible for program planning, operations, recruitment, publicity, running workshops, and program evaluation. That list requires very different skill sets and personality traits. Over the course of the orientation, I learned that the handbook of best practices, the Elements of Effective Practice (our “Bible”) would be my best friend, and that I have friends at Mass Mentoring to provide technical assistance along the way.

When I returned to service at my host site the following Monday morning, I asked myself: “where do I begin now?” The challenge of implementing a new program is a formidable one. One can get paralyzed knowing where to begin. Although I’ve provided administrative support to a state housing agency in a previous incarnation and have worked in a variety of non-profit settings, I’ve never had the responsibility of getting a program up and running from scratch. I sipped my first cup of coffee of the day and stared at my blank computer screen. Over the course of the next two to three weeks, I reviewed through the best practices manual on mentoring and from that began reviewing and editing our procedures manual in great detail; developed marketing material I could utilize in recruiting mentors and mentees; met some of my fellow staff members who were working on a special summer jobs program called “Teen TV”; and generally pondering next steps. The year’s great big adventure was just beginning.

[AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring Season 3 Episode 1]

2010-09-01T16:02:00.025-04:00

Krystal Hope

Mass Mentoring Partnership

Boston, MA

Boston Skyline

Wow, I can’t believe how quickly the past few weeks have flown by. It’s almost like someone just pressed the fast forward button on my life remote and I’m moving in double time. I’m realizing now that life in the real world moves pretty quickly. I feel like it was just yesterday I was gearing up to do the big move to Boston. After spending 4 years attending a small school, Juniata College, in Central, PA, living in a city again is quite a change. Luck for me, I was born and raised in NY so getting adjusted to city life again shouldn’t be too difficult; at least I hope so. As a person who looks forward to change and can adapt to new environments fairly easily, the transition has been pretty smooth. It’s taken the usual amount of time to learn a whole new transit system and I’m still working on getting around the city. Thanks to the internet I’ve been able to find my way around without getting too lost.

I started my first day of service in my new city on August 4th and have been busy ever since. I was thrown right into the mix, starting with preparing for the 2010-11 AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring Orientation. I knew a little about my fellow Corps members before I met my Corps in person; but, not nearly as much as I was able to learn about them during our week of Orientation. I was excited to meet a whole new group of people who I would share my year of service with. We’re all different, some of us from different parts of MA, others have hometowns in other states; many of us come with so much experience and so much to offer. It was a pleasure to meet all of them in person and begin working with them.

We Play
while working

I’d say the year is off to a great start! We all clicked really well, it’s almost as though our paths had crossed on purpose. I had a good feeling about this year and it hasn’t failed me yet. The 15 of us have shared similar professional experiences and goals for the future. It’s great to be surrounded by positive energy and people who are just as passionate about making a difference in our community. I’m surprised yet comforted by the fact that so many different personalities can function and get along so well. You’d think after spending five days of eating, laughing, working, sharing our anxieties, and playing we’d all be at each other’s throats or unable to bare the sight of each other. But no, on the contrary, I think we all miss each other’s faces and can’t wait for the September Corps meeting.

One step at a time

2010-07-26T11:07:00.003-04:00

Jessica Allen
7/26/2010
Boston AHEC

The Youth-to-Health Careers Program at Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC) helps students to grow academically, socially, personally and professionally through in-school, after-school and summer enrichment programs. As an AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring, I am coordinating the start-up of the pilot mentorship program and developing a handbook for other centers in the MassAHEC network to utilize in order to create a similar program model.

It is late in the afternoon on a Thursday. I am walking from work on Mass Ave in Boston to the bus stop on one hot and sunny day in July. I am on my way to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to meet with José Corporan, a BAHEC alum who is interested in being a mentor for the pilot program that is starting up this Fall. Since I have never been to the area of Brookline Avenue and Longwood Avenue, it was quite a site to see. Children’s Hospital, Brigham & Women’s, Beth Israel, Mass General, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School and the list of medical facilities can go on, are all in walking distance of one another, as if I have just landed in a small city of health care and education.

While I was on the bus to Beth Israel, I was thinking about my year in AmeriCorps and what it has taught me and given me. First, I will preface by saying that I believe that the experiences in my life are presented to me in order to help me explore what it is I want to work on, whether it be personally, professionally, spiritually, physically, intellectually, etc. I have found that what I want to work on is this feeling that I need to rush. Granted life is short and I am all for doing my best at any given moment, but that does not mean that I need to figure my whole life out right here and now or even what I am doing 6 months from now. However, that feeling that I need to rush and to know the answer now is my weakness. I can get impatient and worried about what I am doing next. AmeriCorps has helped me to see my life as a process that takes patience, the importance of getting enough sleep in order to function well the next day, and the points of view and feedback of many different people.

There were some moments over the year when I looked at my work plan and asked: How am I going to get this done? As someone who was used to being in jobs where the work was given to me, I was now placed in a situation where I needed to do the initiating and the creating. As someone who is a self-defined introvert, I now needed to reach out, to use BAHEC community contacts and to build new ones, and to interview staff members and ask them what they think is needed for the pilot mentorship program. I had barely heard of Office Publisher until my fellow AmeriCorps members Emily and Casey introduced me to it during our corps service week in November. From that necessary tutelage, I created mentoring recruitment materials -flyers, brochures, and email blasts. I posted information on Facebook and idealist.org. I contacted local universities and networked with people who are in other mentoring and youth education programs. I developed mentor orientation curriculum and held a mentor orientation night (six alumni attended but it is better than five!). I did not see the importance of networking, or scheduling my time, envisioning what I want to create, and taking the steps to make that a reality until this experience as an AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring. Over the course of the year, I realized that step by step and with the help of many good and talented people, I am able to make things happen and to get things done.

I walk through the spacious lobby of Beth Israel Hospital and meet my potential mentor, José. We sit in the coffee shop by the lobby. I ask him questions about his experience working at BAHEC and his experience working with youth. I ask what kinds of activities he would have in mind as a mentor in the area of health career exploration. As I am speaking with him, he answers every question with sincerity and with a relaxed seriousness. I am getting the sense that being a former BAHEC scholar had in some way played a role in his working where we were meeting that day as a physician’s assistant at Beth Israel Hospital and as a graduate of Duke University. He answers my question by sharing his idea of having a career day at the hospital or elsewhere, where the mentee can meet health professionals in various specialties. “There are so many health career choices out there”, he adds, “and to help a young person see their options and also to learn the steps needed to make those options a reality is something that BAHEC did for me . . . and I want to give back.”

As we are talking, I realize what I want to focus more on in my life: the steps I am taking now, the choices I am making now. After my service-year ends, I could be enrolling in a graduate program or I could be volunteering or working in another country I have yet to step foot in. I am not so much planning the destination but creating opportunities for myself. The 24-year old who walked into Boston Area Health Education Center last October rushing to figure things out and getting frustrated when she was not sure what to do is now 25 and a little more aware that she does not need to know everything. And the things she does need to know, she will learn, one step, one day, one experience at a time.

It's almost over...

2010-07-12T10:22:00.003-04:00

Shaylin Deignan
7/12/2010
Family Service Inc, Big Friends Little Friends

So I am sitting here in disbelief that this year is all almost over. After the hardest month of my life- not getting into school, my mom in the hospital with Lyme’s Disease, getting Kidney Stones and my car getting towed across the city, I am happy it is finally July! Two weeks from today we will all be at the AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring recognition event wondering how we got through this year and made it to the end of this challenging yet rewarding road. In a way it is a bittersweet end, some of us are ready to move on to new challenges and experiences and at the same time are sad to leave the matches we have made throughout the year and the ones we have yet to make. I have read so many files of children on our mentee waiting list that need a mentor and am excited to see them matched, but probably will be gone before it happens. I know I am leaving these youth in good hands with the staff here at Big Friends Little Friends, and for that I am grateful.

I do not consider myself an emotional person at all. I have been through hard times, just like everyone else but never showed too much emotion throughout my life. However, at the beginning of this year of service, this all began to change. As I began to read through the files of all the youth we have waiting I would cry every day! Straight up weep tears over these folders of kids that have been to hell and back in their lives and are in need of a simple friend, role model and guide. As hard as it was to read through all of their life experiences, risk factors, and challenges I knew a mentor may help them cope. This experience allowed me to be emotional for the first time in my life and it gave me the motivation necessary for success.

At this point in the service year I have made a smaller amount of matches than I had originally hoped, but the matches I made thriving and the mentors still tell me how happy they are that I matched them up with their mentees! On Monday, I will be matching a foster child with a mentor who will have the patience, understanding, and time to give to him. I have been trying to match him for so long that I am extremely excited! This mentee is a great kid and leaving after finally matching him will be an amazing end to this service year and will give me the motivation I need to push on through to my own next challenge in life!

Power Lunch shows the Power of Mentoring

2010-06-03T10:21:00.006-04:00

Jess Gorkin
6/3/2010
Everybody Wins! Metro Boston

May is busy month at Everybody Wins! Metro Boston (EWMB). Students are bustling through the hallways of each of our fourteen participating schools, standing on tiptoes peering around corners to spot their Power Lunch mentors coming through the school entrance. There is only one day that all Power Lunch mentors, students, teachers, administrators and staff meet in one place at one time. This one special day we call “The Year End event” and it is actually fourteen special days, one for each of the school sites where EWMB runs our Power Lunch program. Year End Events are a flurry of bagels, participation certificates, nametags, books, and spreadsheets with student names. Smearing cream cheese on one bagel after another at 9 a.m., it’s easy to get lost in the bustle of the whole thing. A mantra plays in my head that goes something like bring the laptop to the Condon School, take extra cream cheese out of the fridge tonight, grab the Shaw’s giftcards from the locked drawer in the office, get labels for the books that Jillian donated…. I look up to hear myself asking “Cream cheese or butter?” or, “No, I’m not sure what kind of muffin that is.”

Whirlwind is one way to describe it. Within an hour, mentors and mentees have exchanged books and thank you cards, and each student has had a moment in the front of the auditorium (or cafeteria or playground, depending on the school), in front of all assembled Power Lunch participants to receive a certificate that commends him or her for participating in the program. Our Executive Director has reminded the students that to keep reading during the summer, and our Program Manager urges volunteers to leave their nametags in the main office. Mentor and mentee pairs smile at each other and I scan the room for napkins that have fallen underneath the tables.

Just before the Event ends, one thing happens at each place that causes me to refocus on the importance of this event. Two Power Lunch students come timidly to the microphone to explain what they liked best about Power Lunch. At the Alighieri School in East Boston, a petite second grader in a bright pink shirt practically whispers into the microphone that her favorite book was “The Wimpy Kid Diaries.” She turns to leave the stage but before she gets back to her seat, she pivots on her sneakers, long ponytail swooshing behind her. She approaches the microphone again, with shoulders raised this time, “I have something else I want to say,” she proclaims. “I just want to thank every mentor who is here today. It means so much to me.”

Although I like them all, my favorite Year End Event took place on the morning of May 26th, at our oldest Power Lunch school site, the Morse School in Cambridge. Power Lunch began in Boston at the Morse School seven years ago with 13 students and mentors reading together in the library. Today there are 1026 mentors reading to 809 students during Power Lunch in fourteen schools in the metro Boston area. The Morse is a Kindergarten through grade 8 school, and so many of the original Power Lunch students are now in eighth grade. Our school coordinator has arranged for them to speak at our Year End celebration, and that is why five lanky eighth graders have assembled in front of the crowd, sticking out like sore thumbs in this group of second-through-fourth graders and their adult mentors. “It meant the world to me,” says one eighth grader as he takes the microphone. “I always wanted to come to school on Tuesdays. I would zoom through the cafeteria line and run to the library to find my Power Lunch mentor.” The crowd of students and volunteers watch these much older kids, many of the adults with baited breath. The microphone is passed down the line. “I know I was a rascal in fourth grade,” says the next student. “I’m glad he put up with me every week.” He passes the microphone to the third student, a boy named Chris in an oversized hoodie sweatshirt. “When I was younger,” starts Chris. “I never really said thank you. I didn’t really think about. Today I want to thank all of the mentors in the room.” Applause erupts and everyone smiles. Then I spot some crayons that have rolled between two chairs and I reach to grab them.

I think about what Chris has said. He’s right – sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the value of something – to feel thankful when you’re in the thick of it. As my mental to-do list runs through my mind this month, it can be easy to forget how thankful I really am to be involved with EWMB as an Ambassador of Mentoring, to attend not one, but fourteen Year-End events where I am afforded the experience of hearing what different book mentors and mentees have read together this year. Now, as my AmeriCorps year with EWMB winds to close, I have to stop sometimes to remember – to remind myself, I am thankful to be here, writing this journal entry, cutting bagels, collecting crayons, and reflecting on the words of Power Lunch mentees.

The 7th Inning Stretch

2010-05-25T13:34:00.003-04:00

Emily Porter
5/25/2010
Mass Mentoring Partnership

The Champions of Mentoring Breakfast was a bit like the 7th inning stretch of my service year. At about three-quarters of the way through, it’s only natural that I would start to feel a bit restless. As an Ambassador serving in the MMP offices, I am indirectly serving youth. Although I know that I am theoretically helping to improve their lives, I am an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of gal. Without their little faces in front of mine everyday, I often lose sight of the big picture. And so I grumble about my project, feeling like the emails, spreadsheets, and meetings are all in vain. Going to Boston to stretch my legs and clear my head couldn’t have come at a better time. I needed a reminder of why we do the work that we do at an umbrella organization. So I threw my “MMP is #1” foam finger, my “I <3 Boston Red Sox". It is a chance to honor individuals and corporations who have “championed” mentoring by going above and beyond the call of duty to support the field. It is also a time to honor the mentees for THEIR hard work by awarding several scholarships. Hearing multiple speeches from these two divergent groups of people, it was clear to see how an indirect service organization like Mass Mentoring is an important piece of the service puzzle. MMP is able to connect the dots between the “champions” and funders and the program staff, mentors, and mentees. It was quite a sight to see that entire spectrum of people in one room together.

Speaking of sights, there were a few other good ones that day. The breakfast is held in the EMC club at Fenway, and if you ever have a chance to go there, I highly recommend it. You have a bird’s eye view of the entire park, and in the early morning light, it was really a beautiful thing to see. We were also treated to a sighting of Joe Mauer from the Minnesota Twins, who came to speak about the importance of community involvement. Some of my fellow Ambassadors will tell you that this was their favorite part of the day. I have to say, being an Ambassador really has its perks sometimes.

For me, the best part of the morning was hearing the mentee acceptance speeches. I was amazed at the courage and confidence that it took for these young people to get up and stand in front of that room. I thought about what a long road it must have been for them to get to that point. I watched the mentors watching their mentees with pride as they spoke. I imagined that speaking at this event was just one of the many things that their mentor had helped them prepare for and get through. Seeing them speak was just the push I needed to get through the last few months of my service. Now, when I want to moan and groan and think to myself “whyyyyy am I doing this?” I can think about the mentee who said in his speech that he “knows a thing or two about loss”. I’ll remember that I’m doing my small part within the broad spectrum to hopefully help a few kids know a little less about loss, and a little more about gaining someone in their life to help them through it all.

A Grand Slam for Mentoring

2010-05-25T10:54:00.012-04:00

Jessica Silva
5/25/2010
Stand & Deliver

"Perks of being an Ambassador of Mentoring"
In this photo Christy Silver and Jess Silva

Fenway Park is great for obvious reasons: the Boston Red Sox fan culture, the excitement of the beach ball coming towards you in the bleachers, the $7.75 sausage stands (which, even on an AmeriCorps budget, you still have to indulge in sometimes), and oh yeah…the ball game. On May 20, 2010, there was a different feel to Fenway; and for me, that feeling was pride.

The bleachers were filled with hundreds of mentors and their mentees from across Massachusetts all wearing their “Mentoring Night at Fenway” shirts. Mentoring Night is an annual event supported by Mass Mentoring Partnership and made possible by the Red Sox Foundation. Over 700 mentors and mentees attend each year. Some matches even participated in pre-game ceremonies such as throwing out the first pitch, saying “play ball”, and singing the National Anthem. I cheered louder after Stand and Deliver hit the high notes than when Dustin Pedroia made a double play (and I LOVE Pedroia). It was so fulfilling to see the smiles from ear-to-ear on all the matches at the ballpark. It is satisfying to know that all the time put into mentoring actually does work.

"Stand and Deliver Post Anthem"
In this photo the Stand and Deliver/Raytheon octet

I am proud to identify myself with Boston and good people. Being among a crowd of dedicated mentors and their determined-to-succeed mentees at Fenway was like an inside the park home run. Pun intended.

P.S. The Sox defeated the Twins 6-2, not a bad day to support mentoring and the Red Sox!"Perfect night at Fenway"
In this photo the Ambassadors of Mentoring

3 years of work experience in 1.

2010-05-03T11:43:00.003-04:00

Kate Mathison
5/3/2010
Old Colony Y Big Sister Big Brother

When I signed up for AmeriCorps, I was told that this year of service would be equivalent to 2-3 years of work experience. I didn’t understand how that could be possible, since I had already seen my job description, but was happy to know that it would at least look good on my resume. Now that my service year is winding down and I am reflecting on my experiences, I am amazed to realize that I actually feel like I have gained 2-3 years of work experience. As an AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring at the Old Colony Y Big Sister Big Brother program, I have had a wide variety of resources and experiences available to me that not many other people do.

As an AmeriCorps member, I have a network of members and alumni available to me that provides workshops and advice on topics ranging from how to survive on the living stipend to what I want to do after my year of service. As an Ambassador of Mentoring, I am part of a team that provides guidance and support and serves as an excellent resource for myself and my host site. Our team of Ambassadors, in turn, is supported by Mass Mentoring, who gives us all the tools to succeed and move forward together in our shared and individual goals. Our shared goals, of course, revolve around improving mentoring across the state of Massachusetts. Our individual goals are much more varied. Each host site has specific assets and needs that we are working with and each Ambassador brings a unique set of skills to the table.

While this year and my experience at my host site has been challenging, I feel that my knowledge and abilities have grown exponentially because of that. I have had the opportunity to work on so many different projects, learning about so many different aspects of mentoring and non-profit work. While I was brought on mainly to work on curriculum development and volunteer recruitment and management, I have been lucky enough to get my feet wet in casework, fundraising, interviewing, event planning, and even running youth programs. Where else could I learn so much and make such an impact in so little time? The Ambassadors of Mentoring program really has the winning combination of guidance, resources, support, and opportunities to grow that allow us to GET THINGS DONE for the field of mentoring and for ourselves.

A Thoughtful Snapshot

2010-04-19T09:24:00.002-04:00

Miki Leach
4/19/2010
Boston Partners in Education

It’s hard to believe that I am more than halfway through my year of service. Since this would be my first college post-grad position, I was not sure what to expect. However, I did know that mentoring worked and I was ready to put my energy towards an organization that promoted this! Parallel to adjusting to a life after college, I also learned immediately that the non-profit world is far from smooth sailing. As a school volunteer placement coordinator at Boston Partners in Education, I am in charge of “efficiently” and “smoothly” placing academic mentors in the Boston Public Schools. Unfortunately, the two words in quotations may not qualify as the best descriptors. Mentors drop out of the process mid-way, school staff members are difficult to reach, challenges in finding a convenient enough school placement, database frustrations— there is usually a daily dose of challenges.

With that said, these challenges do not exist without a reaping of rewards. Maybe this could be a balance of dualities? As we work through each obstacle, we are rewarded by the realization that we are indirectly helping others. While interviewing and screening potential volunteers, I learn about what draws them to our program. Many want to give back, decrease the education gap, and put the skills that they’ve acquired towards a common good. I realize that as a coordinator, this is exactly what I am promoting! The mentees benefit with a support person in their life, and the mentors benefit by adding fulfillment into their own lives. Through the various obstacles or bumps in the road, I find that it is helpful to be mindful. When I look at the big picture, I feel as though I have benefited the field of mentoring. During service week, we pondered the meaning of service. Each one of us brought forth his/her own unique skills and talents to give back. We’ve persevered and made sacrifices so that others could benefit. In the end, that is pretty darn rewarding!

Getting Things Done

2010-03-29T11:18:00.004-04:00

Carrie von Glahn
3/29/2010
Newton Community Service Center- Mentor Connection

This time last year I was living in southern China teaching English to freshmen and sophomores at Sun Yat-sen University. I had been there for seven months, and while I had enjoyed the experience I knew that I would not renew my contract for the next year. I didn’t want to be a teacher (grading 75 English essays a week will do that to you!), but I wasn’t sure what my next step would be. I started thinking about what it was that I like about my job: the students I worked with, the encouragement and motivation I could provide, and the tools I was able to share so that my students could succeed on their own. As I reflected on my current position, I was also beginning to look for AmeriCorps positions. I had decided on AmeriCorps because I wanted to have the opportunity to really challenge myself in a new position while working to help others.

When I read the description for Mentor Connection at Newton Community Service Center’s Ambassador of Mentoring position I realized that it was a perfect fit for me. The position focused on mentor recruitment, mentor and mentee training, and general match support. In those three main areas I would be able to serve and support others in some of the ways I liked about teaching, without having to worry about the grading and disciplining that I loathed. So, I applied, interviewed (over Skype!), accepted the position, and packed my bags and headed to Newton.

Over the past eight months I have learned so much about mentoring, the non-profit sector, and myself. The projects that I was assigned at my host site challenged me and forced me to quickly develop new skills. Luckily my supervisor has been incredibly supportive and has helped me along the way. I have found that when I really, really care about something—in this case my mentees and mentors—I have no problem working long hours and pushing myself to learn more and do more. Even though it is a bit cheesy, when I feel overwhelmed or tired from working late, I can’t help but think about the last lines of the AmeriCorps pledge: I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

With only four months left as an Ambassador of Mentoring I am working harder than ever to make sure that I complete my service projects and leave my host site knowing I have done more than was expected of me. As for next year, I’m not sure what I will be doing. I haven’t made any final decisions yet, but I am looking into some options at non-profits that work with teenagers and young adults. My time here at Mentor Connection has made me very aware of the need that all young people have for support and guidance, and I hope that I am able to work to make those opportunities more readily available to those most in need.

We ARE the Highland Street Corps

2010-03-15T10:26:00.004-04:00

Casey Conway
3/15/2010
Year Up

Looking back over my fellow Ambassadors’ blog postings, I am struck by how much every entry resonates with my own experiences over the course of the past eight months. These entries aren’t unique to our individual experiences at 18 different service sites- they tell the story of what it means to be an Ambassador, a shared experience no matter who you are and where you might be serving. As I nod my head and smile at the familiarity of Steph’s experience experimenting with food stamps, Nya’s challenge to recruit a more diverse mentor pool, and Sandy’s struggle to elicit participation at meetings as a facilitative leader, it strikes me yet again how good it feels to have a corps of strong women and one strong man who share my experiences and can offer support in the face of the innumerable obstacles associated with building a mentoring program. To be an Ambassador is to be part of a team, and that is what makes the Highland Street Corps unique in the large sea of AmeriCorps programs.

So what is it exactly that makes us unique? We aren’t the largest AmeriCorps program in the state of Massachusetts, and we certainly aren’t the most well-known. But we are, how shall I say this… spirited. And opinionated. And doing some darn fine work in a multitude of programs across the state.

As Sandy alluded, we successfully created a record-breaking tall tower out of office supplies at our last retreat. We broke conventional norms by rejecting the small teams into which we had been separated in order to form one giant corps-wide team (a phenomenon that momentarily stumped our facilitator). And while this may sound rather silly and perhaps trivial, it is a great example of our ability to work together- and more than that, our desire and immediate inclination to serve as a team. For a more complete account of our success as a team, ask any Ambassador about January’s Youth Mentoring Day at the State House, or stay tuned for more information on Mentoring Day at Six Flags.

Our success goes beyond corps-wide projects though. By working as a team and providing support, we also empower one another to accomplish great things individually at our respective host sites. My project scope, for example, entails the creation of a policies and procedures manual for Year Up’s mentoring program- a pretty large and somewhat daunting task, considering that my program serves 280 students a year and is just one part of a much larger organization. As a newcomer to the field of mentoring, the creation of a policies and procedures manual is a tall order. But I have been helped immeasurably by the other Ambassadors who have willingly shared their own manuals and ideas in order to kick-start my own creation process.

We have all received the exact same kind of support in numerous other areas: mentor recruitment; event planning; communication; match support; and curriculum development, just to name a few. With the diverse educational backgrounds and work experience that we bring to the table, it wouldn’t make sense to work any other way. We have too much to offer, and are too willing to help one another, for our program to work any other way.

The result of our collaborative approach is that we are a much closer and tighter-knit corps than any other that I have encountered during my year of service. I have several friends serving in other AmeriCorps programs, and exactly none are receiving anywhere near this amount of support from their program peers. The winter retreat proved that we are incredibly capable of working together and accomplishing great things. And even more than that, it proved that we are great friends. There were many late nights spent playing games together, swimming in the pool, and just generally enjoying the gift of one another’s company. We are a team- we are the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring, and every day through our work and interactions we demonstrate how proud we are to carry that title.

To be or not to be a Facilitative Leader

2010-03-02T10:00:00.007-05:00

Sandy Ho
3/2/2010
Roxbury Community College

“Now that we have all of the results from the needs assessment survey we can begin to build the program. What do the numbers tell us? What does the mentoring program we envision look like? Do the numbers match what we envision?”

It was two months into my year of service at Roxbury Community College; here I am developing a mentoring program for first-generation college students. The questions I posed to the faculty and staff members were on the agenda for the advisory council meeting I was leading. I was visually and audibly nervous, my pen tapped and my eyes danced from one blank stare to the next. I grew frustrated as I thought to myself: I did not wake up at 6:30AM to run a silent meeting.

It wasn’t until last week, during the Highland-Street Corps’ three day retreat in Sturbridge, MA that I have finally been able to conceptualize and give a name to the work that I’ve been doing: Facilitative Leadership. Prior to the retreat I struggled with how to tell family and friends what it is I signed myself up for this year. Up until last week the conversations tended to go something like this:

“I run a lot of meetings and write all the policies and procedures for the program. It’s program development work, ya know?”
“Uhh… not really, but it sounds really cool and amazing!”

The journey to Facilitative Leadership was eventful to say the least. I traveled with twenty of my other colleagues far away from civilization; sat in a windowless conference room over the course of three days for hours on end; pretended I was an elephant (and then a star and then a moose); plotted out a plan to create a Public Service Ad; made history with our tower-building skills; scented my life from birth to present with Mr. Sketch markers, and debated how to regulate the world population (of people and pandas!) Those activities and events were the landmarks on our trip but we were propelled by the inspiration of each other, the laughter we created and the knowledge we shared.

Our presenters came from the Interaction Institute for Social Change. The leadership style we learned about is centered on seven practices that together form Facilitative Leadership. Throughout the workshop we grappled with the new concepts as a group through skits and through individual reflection. Though I have been to many leadership workshops, the key to this session was the encouragement of criticizing honesty of our own leadership style, and the insight to be consciously aware of how to improve.
This method of leadership is one I now know that I have been using since day one. The focus on data I have collected has led to the process of program design, all of which rests on the relationships I have forged throughout the school. Program development can be an overwhelming task and I have been humbled when I ask for help and seek appropriate involvement from others more knowledgeable than myself. I have managed contentious opinions and ideas from various stakeholders, and then painstakingly lay the grounds for agreement. I go to my service site not to merely develop a program, but to facilitate leadership from myself and others around me. It is from these efforts a mentoring program has developed, not the other way around.

That night after the workshop I was overwhelmed by all the work I have to do for both myself and back at my office. Like many of the other Ambassadors I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and seeing something other than the four walls of the conference room. I distinctly remember having trouble going to sleep because I was excited by the potential of us as individuals - each of us striving to excel in our service-work, and as a corps that facilitates the reality of success.

“Sandy, the meeting you ran a few weeks ago was one of the most productive I have ever been to during all my years at this school. I want you to tell me the secrets of leading a productive meeting!”
“Well, actually, I just learned about on my retreat last week…”

Retreat is my vacation

2010-02-12T09:56:00.003-05:00

Christy Silver
2/12/2010
Children's Friend and Family Services

This is my second year as an AmeriCorps Ambassador and every once and a while I wish I hadn’t done a second year. It’s not because I don’t like my supervisor or new Corps members, the long commute from Hampton, New Hampshire to Salem, Massachusetts, or the fact that it is impossible to get food stamps in NH, but it is because I can’t afford anything my friends do.

It is getting to that time of the year when you are starting to think about needing to get away or just have a break from the New England weather and going to and from work in the dark on a daily basis. Generally this is the time when middle schools and high schools would have week vacation in February or Spring Break in college. Last year (my first year of AmeriCorps and first year out of college) I realized that I really needed that break from everything, so I used my tax returns to pay for a trip out to San Diego California to visit a friend. This way I could at least have a free place to stay.

I never really thought about what my money situation would be like after the trip, I just went. It was probably one of the best things I have ever done because I have realized that’s where I want to be when my second year ends. I also went out on my own and before then I had never gone anywhere or done anything by myself. I had only been on a plane a few times before this and I was with my family, so I didn’t really have to worry about what I needed to do or where I needed to go in the airport.

Since that trip I have been more broke than ever, even though I’ve worked a total of three jobs at once while being an Ambassador. It really is starting to get to me that I’m killing myself trying to save money to be able to go to California before my birthday in November of 2010. I haven’t really gone out with friends or done anything too exciting to save my money and now it’s getting to that time of the year that I feel like I need a break.

I know that during our three day retreat at the end of the month in Sturbridge Massachusetts will be my only time to get away. I know that we will be working hard through out those days, but physically being away from New Hampshire and Salem will help. Granted there isn’t much to do out in Sturbridge but physically being in a different and new environment will help me. We stayed at the same hotel last year on our retreat so I know that there is a nice hot tub and pool and some pretty good food that is served there, which will be a nice treat.

Of course I would love to be able to afford a nice cruise or trip to somewhere warm, but it just isn’t going to happen this year. So, yes I am looking forward to the retreat in a couple of weeks because last year it was a great way to bond with the rest of the corps members and our supervisors at Mass Mentoring. Hopefully we will be able to find some fun and interesting places to go at night this year and maybe we will go to Applebee’s and embarrass Marty by saying it’s his birthday again.

The little girl inside...

2010-02-08T13:27:00.002-05:00

Elizett Pires
2/3/10
SMILES Mentoring

It’s amazing how fast time goes when you’re doing something you truly enjoy. Six months of my service year is complete and I still have so much to do. I may have to face road blocks such as lack of funds, time, man power or other issues, but I choose to persevere and continue with my mission each day. My motivation comes from the little girl within me. She grew up in the same neighborhood as most of our SMILES mentees. She went to some of the same schools that SMILES programs are in.

She moved to New Bedford from Cape Verde when she was about three-years-old with three older sisters and her mother, who by the way had never worked a day in her life. It wasn’t until they came to the US that her mother got a job. Her mother slaved away in a fish factory for sometimes what were 14/15 hour days, leaving her eldest sister who was only 10 at the time to take care of the younger children after school. Her mother would still manage to come home each day to make them dinner and braid their hair for school the next day. After that she still had another task, night school to learn English.

That was their life, the only life they really knew back then since the little girl’s father was always working at sea. You may read this and think that her mom was an unfit parent but to this little girl she was and always will be the glue that keeps their family together.

In those days she was fortunate enough to have a few people in her life that really helped her to mature and flourish. They were a next door neighbor who was like a second grandmother to her, a church member who pushed and challenged her both emotionally and spiritually and an academic who showed her the opportunities that were available to her if she worked hard enough for them.

The little girl was fortunate enough to have three amazing mentors throughout her childhood. So, it is that little girl that I hear and see in so many of the young mentees in SMILES. That little girl and SMILES mentees may not all have the same story but they have one thing in common, they are or were once considered at-risk youth in the South Coast community.

I am that little girl and I don’t think I would be the person I am today without their influences. In some ways I think I am luckier than other Highland Street Corps members because I have the privilege to serve in my own community. I have been given the opportunity to place amazing individuals with great hearts and intentions into the lives of youth who truly need another positive influence and role model.

I’ve shared my story but you must be wondering, “How exactly are you making a difference?”

Well at SMILES I serve two major functions with one important mission, capacity building. My first function is recruitment efforts. This includes processing new mentors, going out into the community and presenting about SMILES, creating new marketing tools or creating new strategies for getting SMILES’ name out there.

Some projects that I have especially enjoyed have been going into the local universities and presenting to college students about SMILES. It’s so nice to see 18-22 year olds who care about those that come after them and truly wanting to make a difference. As someone who recently graduated from college I know how hard it is to balance school, student life, and jobs alone; never mind adding in a huge commitment such as mentoring.

I’ve also been able to and will continue to work on creating video PSA’s and recruitment videos for SMILES. It is such a time consuming task but the end result is truly amazing. In the videos we hope to capture the true essence of what mentoring is. They will include feedback from mentees, school teachers/counselors, staff and mentors who have powerful stories to share.

In terms of recruitment, things are going great. I’ve been able to match 100 mentors since I began my service year in August and have received almost 400 inquiries. This is truly amazing and I’m so happy to be working on such a critical part of what SMILES does.

My second major function at SMILES is match support. In my opinion this is the area that needs the most attention so I am always trying to find new ways to reach out to current mentors. I’ve called many mentors to talk about what is going on, I’ve created a newsletter and a wall of fame for them, and I’ve also helped with planning events for them.

The match support effort that I am most proud of so far is the Monthly Mentor Magazine I created because it is a simple way of reaching out to just about all of our mentors. The magazine includes tips for successful mentoring relationships, answers to tough questions, it highlights matches and more.

As you can see I have been busy but I’ve enjoyed it and expect to get busier as the year progresses. I am an AmeriCorps member and I will get things done!

Time has untouchable wings

2010-01-13T12:18:00.008-05:00

Nya Alemayhu
1/13/2010
Big Brothers Big Sisters Massachusetts Bay

Time, I have always believed is the only beast that will forever be untamed. When I found out I’d be filling the Ambassador position for Big Brothers Big Sisters in August, I was thrilled—I had so many ideas I wanted to bring to life. I knew a year was short, but I was certain I would be able to make the best of it. Now, 6 months later, I battle with my insecurities about my position because I am not so sure just what I have done, how it has enhanced my host site and what happens from this point on. I am not quite able to separate the anxiety of having reached half of my service year and recruiting culturally and ethnically diverse mentors, so I will write about both of them as one in the same. After all, this is how I have experienced them.

Initially, I did not understand what the challenge was in recruiting and retaining non-whites as mentors. I’d like for it to be understood that I have a strict aversion to using the term “race” or “people of color” in explaining those who are not White-American. After all, who isn’t of color? And when reversed, “people of color” sounds far too much like “colored people” to me. I have found that I am increasingly uncomfortable using that term. Race, I have always felt is socially constructed. We all belong to a different ethnic background, our race is one; mankind.

One of my premier disappointments was after I had done an info table at a job fair at Roxbury Community College back in October of 2009. I was so thrilled to come back with 11 Potential Big Brothers (PBB). My supervisors were thrilled also because this had never happened in BBBSMB history from RCC. I had given them my messaging without illusions and given them the opportunity to make a decision for themselves & even empowered them in doing so. Nearly all of them showed for their interviews and after a week or so, I learned that nearly half of them had criminal records. It upset me on many levels. I did not want it to be true, I was so upset that I had given these men the opportunity to disclose their information, but I suppose it wasn’t quite the venue to do so. I wanted the agency also to not take this as the rule…it is so easy to assume that anyone that comes from that district is automatically a criminal. I felt helpless in not having the power to change that perception.

In targeting the outreach for culturally and ethnically diverse men, I found myself reaching out to every affinity group at Boston University, Northeastern University, UMass Boston and Wentworth Institute of Technology. I was determined to bridge the gap, and if I could help it, accomplish this in 12 months. In the beginning it seemed to be working, we were gathering info sessions/info tables & 5 to 6 Potential Big Brothers a session. I had absolute faith in the fact that my messaging was different, real, and gave each individual an opportunity to decide for himself what he wanted and if he could contribute his time. What I didn’t see however, is an increase in recruiting Black & Latino men. As soon as I began zeroing in on the African Student Union, National Society of Black Engineers, Black Student Center and Latin American Student Organization, I felt a bit reassured in the sense that I knew I could reach these ethnically diverse individuals, I just had to dig. Since the start of my service year, whether this increase is attributed to my efforts or not, I have learned there has been a 5% increase since last year in the number of non-white mentors.

Today, while recruiting has slowed down because of finals and winter breaks for the college students, I have moved on to building the Hispanic Advisory Committee. Time though is pretty persistent in reminding me that its there and that I have only a bit more to go before the sand in the hour glass is finished running its course. I hope that when I leave, I feel a sense of completion. As if I had done something not only for the agency, but also for the mentors and potential mentors I have met in my time. A legacy, as my old supervisor would call it, is hard to build in 12 months. I was unclear of how challenging it would be until I dove head first aiming to accomplish a number of goals I had set for myself. Is there a challenge in retaining Black/Latino/and other ethnically diverse mentors? Absolutely. Why? Well, I believe that remains to be answered. Are my emotions in disarray over the fact that I am half way through my service year? Absolutely. Well? Ultimately, there is never enough time in the universe to make change, we can only try to use our 24 hours wisely.

Just a Small Town Ambassador, Livin’ in an Expensive World

2010-01-07T15:23:00.004-05:00

Jeanette Roach
1/7/2010
Railroad Street Youth Project

You would think it’s cheaper to live in a small town. Think again! The cost of living varies tremendously from place to place, and I am not just talking about big city versus small town. I recently learned just how expensive it can be to move to and live in a rural area.

I have been given the opportunity to serve as an Ambassador of Mentoring at the wonderful Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP) in Great Barrington, a town of just over 7,000 residents located in the Berkshires. One of the last corps members to join, I found out that I was selected on October 20th, 2009. I had just one problem before I could dive into my new position – I had to find housing as soon as possible. I certainly couldn’t commute 2 hours each way from Worcester to Great Barrington every day!

In scrambling to secure a place to live, I discovered that the cost of housing in the southwestern corner of Massachusetts is actually quite high. I can see why: the area is home to absolutely gorgeous scenery, numerous ski resorts, and other outdoor recreational resources (now if only I knew how to ski…). Add to this the fact that places are spread out, as well as the lack of public transportation, and well, you see that the cost of owning and driving a vehicle becomes a significant factor in the cost of living. I knew I needed something fairly close to my host site as well as within my AmeriCorps budget.

I searched through the Craigslist want ads for roommates in western Massachusetts, a process that proved very discouraging. The few listings that were within 20 miles of RSYP were out of my budget or required an initial payment well beyond my meager savings. I started to a feel a bit pessimistic about the whole thing, but luckily the executive director of my host site knew someone looking to rent out a room that fit my budget!

While the monthly rate for my room is higher than I would like, I do live only 15 minutes away from where I serve, and I was able to pay my first month’s rent in two installments. This left me with enough funds to move all of my belongings from Worcester to my new home in Housatonic. Fortunately for me, the woman I now live with is very familiar with the staff at RSYP and felt secure enough with their decision to choose me that she allowed me to start moving in right away.

So while living in the Great Barrington area is not cheap, there are many benefits of a small town for a community-based mentoring program such as the one I coordinate at Railroad Street Youth Project. One of these advantages is the tightly knit network of individuals that provides many of the mentor referrals I receive. I feel confident in the mentors that we accept not just because of the background checks that we run, but because of the many people that can attest to a mentor’s character. As the saying goes, “The nice part of living in a small town is that when I don't know what I'm doing, someone else does.”

As an Ambassador of Mentoring at Railroad Street Youth Project I have seen the power of networking from the very beginning, whether in finding a place to live or in recruiting mentors. I am also excited about the many opportunities I’ve had and will have for meeting a broad range of people. Who knows, maybe they will be that key connection for some important goal or event I have during my time as an Ambassador and after!

Oh, and one of the other benefits of living in a rural area is that I’ve already made the front page of the local newspaper!

(Photo: Caroline Bonnivier Snyder / Berkshire Eagle Staff)

FOOD and FOOD STAMPS

2009-12-29T09:39:00.042-05:00

Stephanie Oh
12/29/2009
Mass Mentoring Partnership

This past month, I gave my food stamp card to a CVS cashier to pay for my beverage. She looked down at the card, looked back up at me and whispered, “are these food stamps?” I replied, “yes.” She tilted her head to the side, pursing her lips in an expression of pity. She scanned the card, and handed me the card face down discreetly, so the customers behind me wouldn’t see.

On our $13,000/year stipend, most Ambassadors of Mentoring qualify for full food benefits under the food stamp program—or as it’s called now, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to gettingfoodstamps.org, SNAP became a nationwide entitlement program in 1971. That means that as long as you meet the rules for SNAP/food stamps, you have a legal right to get them.

But it’s obvious that there is still a significant amount of social stigma associated with using food stamps. My parents and friends wrinkle their brow when I tell them I’m on food stamps. An AmeriCorps VISTA alum told me that when she went to apply for SNAP, a little girl in the waiting room came up to say to her, “you don’t need food stamps, you’re white!” The words ‘caseworker’ and ‘government assistance’ draw unwanted pictures in many people’s minds.

I’m here to tell you otherwise. One of the senior Ambassadors, Kira, refers to SNAP as “the best thing EVER.” And I’m inclined to agree.

The application process was relatively painless and easy. I researched the SNAP application thorough websites such as gettingfoodstamps.org and massresources.org and decided to apply in person rather than online. I gathered up my pay stubs, lease, bills, passport, and ID, and visited my local DTA (Department of Transitional Assistance) office at 8AM. I waited for an hour before I met with my caseworker, who had me out of there with my Bay State Access card in less than 30 minutes. Yes, it’s true. Food stamps no longer look like monopoly money. Instead, you get a handy dandy card with which you can access your food and/or cash benefits through an electronic account.
(just a note: SNAP application process and eligibility differs state by state. This is in MA.)

	from this
	to this!

Imagine my joy when I found out that most large grocery/convenience chains such as Star Market, Shaw’s, Market Basket, Stop & Shop, CVS, Trader’s Joe’s, Super 88 (Asian food!), and Whole Foods (gourmet cheese!!) accept food stamps. Wholesale clubs such as BJs and Costco will accept SNAP as well.

My stipend meant that I couldn’t eat out as much as I wanted to. But SNAP gave me a chance to cook more at home and explore my skills as a chef. I found myself browsing cooking blogs such as tastespotting.com and saving recipes to try out later. I cooked my lunches the night before and brought them into work. And being an amateur shutter bug, I took pictures of my creations.

My lunch sometime in October. Donkatsu with rice, a boiled egg, and celery. full of yum.

One of my favorite things to do is to invite friends, cook a dinner together, and share a delicious meal + movie. One of my roommates who happens to be a foodie lent me all of her fancy kitchen gadgets and in November, my friend Salo and I tried making stuffed shells. It took us less than half an hour to prep everything and put it in the oven!

	pre-made garlic bread to save time and effort.
	Ricotta, mozzarella, and ground beef stuffed shells
	sautéed asparagus in olive oil + garlic
	et voila!

It was delicious.

This month, I tried my hand at Alexa (another ambassador!)’s Bruschetta recipe as well as Nurit’s madeleine cookie recipe. First, I shopped like a boss at Stop & Shop.

	The booty
	Bruschetta was surprisingly easy to make. Peel and chop up tomatoes and marinate in a little olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, basil.
	French baguette slices ready to be sprinkled with some balsamic vinaigrette+ olive oil + garlic!
	Add mozzarella and tomatoes = Instant gratification!
	My roommates approve of this easy snack/appetizer (snacpetizer?)

The madeleine recipe was way more involved. My arms hurt from whipping the egg/sugar mixture for 10 minutes (we didn’t have an electric mixer), I dropped the flour all over the kitchen floor (a nightmare for my gluten-intolerant roommate), and I splashed the mix all over another roommate’s shirt. But it was totally worth it.

	I splurged on the Madeleine pan at Williams-Sonoma. $15 for a 12-dent pan. Not a bad price for my first frivolous culinary purchase!
	Dipped in chocolate ganache (melted semi-sweet chocolate + heavy cream)
	I love their cute, scalloped backs, sponge cake texture, and citrus flavor!
	I zested the orange with a serrated knife (my poor arm muscles). The entire kitchen smelled like delicious oranges.

I love food and I’m grateful for the fact that the government provides assistance to those who need it.
I found out that many of my friends were actually eligible for (full or reduced) SNAP benefits if they cared to apply. I’m getting the hang of efficient cooking and budget management. Something like this perhaps?

step 1: Add up living costs (rent, gas, cable, etc.) nod in grim acknowledgment.
step 2: Add up $ spent on eating out per week. despair.
step 3: add up $ spent on coffee each week. wrinkle your forehead in surprise.
step 4: Add up misc 'fun' costs (taxi, bar, club, shopping, movies, concerts, etc) despair some more.
~~step 5: find sugar daddy.~~
step 5: note that AmeriCorps will reimburse you for work-related transportation costs. Also food stamps are awesome. feel a bit better.
step 5.5: promise to be more accountable.
step 6: bring Tupperware for Ambassadors of Mentoring events to pack up left-overs.
step 7: buy in bulk, cook a lot at a time, and freeze the lot!
step 7.5: Get frustrated with the amount of time it takes to shop and cook. invite friends (read: cheap labor) to help shop, cook, and watch movies on hulu.com/play games.
step 8: find out about free/low cost events. (google search 'free movie screenings boston' and find stuff like this.) Impress equally poor, just-out-of-college friends with elite knowledge of all things free.
step 9: Enjoy the small things. like bothering desk mate Alexa with inane questions and decorating the office pillar.

Say 'G'day, Sir!' to Dr.Pillar. He keeps Allie from smacking into the pillar all the time with his cheery demeanor.

Getting away from my silliness in this post...

Serving as an Ambassador of Mentoring (AOM) means you get to work with amazing people every day. Your fellow Ambassadors, leaders in non-profits, the oft-underrepresented population that you serve, they all make the little sacrifices worthwhile. You gain invaluable insight into our system, and learn so much about the great things being accomplished by the very people you share an office with.

But most importantly, you see all that is left to be done and what you can do to further the cause. And you know how to accomplish this while still having fun and eating the good stuff. =)

We live in a Fast society

2009-12-02T11:00:00.003-05:00

Allison Smith
12/2/2009
Mass Mentoring Partnership

Communication is quick and sometimes too simple, it has changed the way we think, the way we write, what is appropriate, what fits and what doesn’t. The growth of communication and the influence of social media on it is palpable. CNN reports tweets about Miley Cyrus and Barack Obama as news. I mean come on, Twitter was just declared the most popular English word of 2009. Twitter and Facebook have become the conversation ice breaker- where discussion and controversy are simultaneous. Why? Cause controversy breeds discussion, and discussion breeds more controversy.

But what conversation are we really talking about? In this fast society, words and phrases are written “thx, idk, 4, 2, bffl” , hardly the form of communication that our 8th grade English teachers wanted for us. It is hard to imagine, for those of us growing up in the Facebook, Twitter, SMS Text and Blogosphere world (the social media generation) that when it comes to actual social networking, can face to face communication even compare to Facebook and Twitter? This seems awkward and hypocritical for me to write as 50% of my job description is Facebook, Twitter and Blogging- but it is one that I grapple with in my day to day work.

Case and point- I am an awkward person and I believe that I must have missed the “How to Network” class in college- it seems to come so fluidly to some people, natural conversation starters and witty repartee. But when it comes to social media- I can tweet and Facebook with the best of them. That is my form of social networking. With that said I am always up for a challenge, and for me it came in the form of a new project- a Fundraiser at a Bar- one where the original form of social networking-face to face- takes precedence. It would be an interesting chance for me to experience the other half of the dichotomy- one that doesn’t involve communication via the internet.

Now the idea for a fundraiser at a bar for our AmeriCorps program came about in a few ways- 1. One thing you learn from working in this job sector is that non-profits and especially AmeriCorps have budgets smaller and tighter than most of Lady GaGa’s outfits. This becomes increasingly trickier when you factor in the cost of living in Massachusetts and our year of service corps requirements. As part of our year of service my entire corps is responsible for 3 projects that benefit the field of mentoring- last year it was Youth Mentoring Day, the June Jamboree and the Match Activity Handbook. When trying to plan our field wide projects we are constantly asked by our boss “How are you going to pay for this?” And 2. It would be a great project for the Senior Corps to focus on and flex their Senior Corps muscles.

The 2 other Senior Corps Members and I jumped right into planning, as well as the helpful assistance by a former corps member Lydia now working at Sociedad Latina. We each shared the duties of hunting down a venue, liquor sponsor, donations, outreach lists, ticket pricing etc. After 2 months of planning the day arrived, the final reminders and invites were sent out, people were buying tickets online at literally the last possible second. Our fundraiser that we dubbed “The Greatest Party” was held at The Greatest Bar on 262 Friend Street in Boston. A gigantic shout-out to Mike Kalil who is the events manager at the bar and donated the 4th floor space- he was quite helpful in the planning process checking in with us and making sure we had all the help we needed. We organized it so you could buy VIP tables online for $45 with a free drink ticket included, at the door you could donate $10, or you could donate $5 to AmeriCorps and a non perishable food item for the Greater Boston Food Bank- therefore supporting two great causes on one great night. During the night DJ Chubbles was spinning music, with some great requests from the 90’s, while guests enjoyed their drinks and appetizers and purchased raffle tickets for a $50 gift certificate for dinner at Elephant & Castle.

In the long run it was a success; we had over 70 guests join us for the festivities and made over $800. Every table was filled with interesting and scintillating conversation that ranged from work projects, to thanksgiving, to making plans to meet up again strengthening the existing bonds. More interesting for me were the conversations that included my form of Social Media- people tweeting about being there, updating Facebook status via their iPhones, emailing each other new information on their Blackberries. There was the infinite blend of both sides, social media and face to face conversations.

Neither form would exist without the other today. Back in the day there was still the ability to write a letter to the editor- which I view as an original form of social media since it really opened up the modern mode of standardized communication to the public for their opinions; Now that has transitioned in digg and reddit, posting and rating articles, leaving blog comments. The difference I find is the time attributed to each form- you don’t really have to wait (well only for wifi) when it comes to social media- it is at your finger tips on your phone, computer and netbook. But the face to face conversations, well those take time, time to orchestrate, time to talk, time to soak in. You can’t have a drive-by conversation and have it mean something, and there is not an online record of everything you have said to each other like in social media. It is simply something that happens with little ceremony and notoriety.

In this fast paced society, it takes more time to have a real conversation, unlike the bullet like quickness of Facebook and Twitter. And time is not always on our side.

Future Film Stars in Service

2009-11-13T10:00:00.004-05:00

Alex Weeden
HOME Inc.
11/13/2009

It's the movies that have really been running things in America ever since they were invented. They show you what to do, how to do it, when to do it, how to feel about it, and how to look how you feel about it.
- Andy Warhol

I am serving my year of service at HOME Inc., a school based program that teaches media literacy and film and television production to students ages twelve to eighteen. The younger students learn basic storytelling using digital media while the high school participants create their own film projects and are responsible for everything from initial storyboards to final editing.

Simply from an artistic point of view HOME Inc. is rad as hell, but it is the entire skill set that they are teaching that makes HOME Inc. such an intriguing program. We are teaching kids a new and empowering set of communication skills at the age when they need them most-when they are beginning to form their own outlook on the world and their own personal philosophies. We give them new avenues of expression.

Our students not only learn means of communication, but the responsibilities that go along with it. In their documentary films they must present themselves as serious and inquisitive investigators, speaking and dressing with a maturity that most teenagers would not normally possess. Our students must relate to a broad range of individuals. They have interviewed everyone from Senate candidate Mike Capuano to The Hardest Working Man in Show Business (James Brown). Our students are also learning invaluable interviewing skills that will help them as they enter the work force. Skills I could have used during my Guitar Center interview in high school. Apparently I wasn’t “metal” enough. That was fine with me.

Besides the program itself, I am really digging the people working in it and the volunteers and mentors I have recruited. Our lab coordinators – the instructors in the classroom with the students – are mostly recent film school graduates from schools like Brandeis, Yale and University of Tennessee. I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with them and watching their previous projects. And of course we all have bands. We have also attracted interest from media professionals including a Pixar director, the head of a French language radio station, and a former “20/20” director who digs the spiritual effect of creating art. It will be a real trip seeing what the kids come up with as the year progresses.

An Improvisational October Retreat

2009-10-28T11:14:00.004-04:00

Last Friday the Highland Street Corps had their 1 day retreat. Our 22 corps members made it into Boston to the Non-Profit Center building on October 23rd where we were delighted to all get to know our 4 new Ambassadors from Boston AHEC, Railroad Street Youth Project, LPVEC, and MMP's Western Mass Office.

This was no ordinary corps meeting though as we soon found out. We were joined by Chet Harding, founder of Improv Asylum to facilitate an improv session focused on team-building and effective communication. Chet led us through a number of funny and challenging improv games that helped the members think about communication styles, group dynamics, leadership taking initiatives and definitely the power of saying "yes" and "no". He gave us all tools and new way s of thinking that we could bring back to our projects.

After our session with Chet ended the Highland Street Corps headed to the Massachusetts State House where they were able to get a first hand view of the Great Hall where Youth Mentoring Day is going to be held on January 21, 2010. This is a project that has been in the hands of the Ambassadors since last year and the plans for the 4th Annual Youth Mentoring Day are already being solidified by this years corps.

At the end of the day we all gathered in our reflection circle to update each other on projects we have been working on. Being in the Great Hall among the flags of each town and city of Massachusetts was awe inspiring and really drove home the point that this is the state that we are serving for this year. We ended the day reciting a portion of the AmeriCorps Pledge- the portion that reflected best that feeling in the Great Hall:

"I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities. I am an AmeriCorps member and I will get things done!"

A View from the Top

2009-10-26T15:43:00.003-04:00

Kira Glassman
ACCESS Boston
10/26/2009

I am serving my second year of AmeriCorps at ACCESS, an organization in Boston’s Back Bay that provides financial aid and scholarship counseling to high school seniors at the city’s public schools. ACCESS has never had a mentoring program, so what I am creating is brand-new – ACCESS Mentors!

Starting a mentoring program from scratch is fun and challenging. ACCESS Mentors matches college freshmen and sophomores with young professionals in the area. Most of our students are the first in their families to attend college and come from low-income backgrounds. The program’s goal is college retention and persistence; only 35.5% of BPS’s class of 2000 who enrolled in college earned a degree, and I hope that ACCESS Mentors can play a part in improving that dismal statistic.

I’ve spent most of the past few weeks interviewing potential mentors. We were thrilled (and a bit overwhelmed!) by the incredible response from qualified people (for anyone having trouble with recruiting, the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network listserv is amazing!). Over 30 yuppies expressed interest – about three times the number of students who signed up. Yikes!

I’m the only one interviewing, and am relieved that recruitment is winding down. Still, it’s gratifying to see first-hand how many people in this city want to make a difference. Despite their bizarre obsession with baseball, Bostonians truly are a good-hearted bunch.

This week, I’m working on planning our first mentor training and am soliciting tickets, passes, and restaurant gift certificates from places in the city so that mentors and mentees can frolick around the city without spending a dime.

Here’s what’s great about being an Ambassador of Mentoring: you expand your professional horizons more than you would at a typical entry-level job. If you had come to Brandeis and informed the naive, college-senior version of myself that I would spend the next two years using words like branding, match support, and EBT, please, I would have thought you were speaking a foreign language. It’s been nothing but a fun, wild, educational ride, though, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year!

What does it mean to ME, being an AmeriCorps Ambassador?

2009-10-12T11:43:00.004-04:00

Brooke Canada
Big Brother Big Sister Franklin County
10/09/09

When I applied for the AmeriCorps Ambassador position with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County, it was a very deliberate, well-thought-out decision. I had been working in various insurance agencies, mainly working as a customer service representative, and generally being yelled at by unhappy clients or customers (not because I was bad at my job, but because they were not happy with the company in general. Since I happened to be the person answering the phone, I was on the receiving end of almost constant unsolicited verbal abuse). I was so unhappy at my job(s) that I decided to leave them altogether, without securing another job.

Some may view that as irresponsible but I knew, with every fiber of my being, that I was not in the right place and that by remaining in those positions I was becoming someone I hated. I was always stressed, not eating or sleeping well, and not the most pleasant person to be around. I left my job in June and began to hunt for something fulfilling. Scary? YES!! To be unemployed during an unstable time in our nation’s economy was frightening. I thought I might never find another job, and knew that in order to maintain financial stability at home, I would need to find a position that paid, even if minimum wage.

Even more frightening was trying to find a position in the non-profit sector and/or human services-where budgets are being cut left and right, but where I felt I belonged. After searching for a position without much luck, I decided to look into going back to school (I have always wanted to go back to school for photography). That search ended quickly with the realization that I didn’t have the money to pay for school, nor did I want to accumulate more debt than I could handle. After much soul-searching and conversations with my husband and family, I began to research service opportunities. I looked into the Peace Corp and AmeriCorps. Many of the positions involved re-locating. I was considering the possibility of re-locating temporarily, without my husband and dog, when I came upon the AmeriCorps Ambassador position with BBBS-FC. Fate? Maybe. I sent a resume and cover letter the same day, and was accepted/hired within a month.

I have now been serving at BBBS-FC for two months, and couldn’t be happier! I am sleeping and eating better, my moods have improved exponentially, and I am doing work that I truly love! I look forward to going to work, I look forward to meetings and workshops in Boston, and I can now say that I am proud of the work I do. Not only that, but I’ve met 18 (soon to be 21) other fabulous corps members who are just as passionate about service work as I am. The camaraderie is amazing, and I am convinced I will create lasting friendships throughout this year and beyond.

Being an AmeriCorps Ambassador means: positive responses when I tell people what I do, gaining support from Mass Mentoring staff and other corps members, being creative (both at work with my photography and unique recruitment ideas, and at home with a limited budget), feeling good about what I do, making a difference; and having fun! :-)

Use These- 2009 AmeriCorps Video Contest Winner

2009-09-29T11:17:00.001-04:00

Linda Raynes, a second-year AmeriCorps member serving with Plus Time New Hampshire AmeriCorps, won first place for her video “Use These,” which highlights the ways AmeriCorps members change their communities through service.

The contest was part of the third annual AmeriCorps Week, a national recruitment and recognition event that took place May 9 through 16. The contest, which was open solely to AmeriCorps members and alums, drew more than 40 video and 325 photo submissions. All of the entries can be viewed at the AmeriCorps Video and Photo Contest website at www.AmeriCorpsContest.org.

Read More Here...

The Bright Side of 6:30am

2009-09-24T12:06:00.008-04:00

Charline Alexandre,
Boston Scholars Program (BSP)
September 23, 2009

When you start traveling via MBTA at 7:45 am to be at your host site by 9:30am it’s tough, but then you remember that you are making efforts to help build an organization for sustainability. That 6:30 am wake up call becomes more important than hitting the snooze button one more time.

Today is Wednesday, and I had the hardest time peeling myself away from my bed and blankets this morning. Despite the fact that I’m not a morning person, I have recently found that getting up early on the weekday mornings is something I look forward to because I spend my time at the Boston Scholars Program (BSP). I’ve been with BSP for seven weeks now. The Boston Scholars Program (BSP) is a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunity through scholarship awards and mentor support. We award tuition assistance scholarships to students who are accepted into independent or private schools for all four years of their high school career. We also provide each student a mentor to foster students' motivation toward college and university admissions.

A typical day at BSP includes my arrival at 9:30am. I am usually the first one to arrive to our office; by our, I mean Frank, my supervisor, and my office. We share a small office space in the downtown Boston area. Frank is the Executive Director of BSP. Frank and I make 100% of the BSP staff. This makes event planning, match support, recruitment, Mentee and family support and marketing very…interesting.

Upon my arrival, I like to simultaneously turn on my computer (it takes a LONG time to start up) and check my voice-mail box. Typically I get calls from parent/guardians inquiring about how they can get their student involved with our program. I like to respond to emails and send marketing inquiries first thing in the morning and right before I leave for the day that way my message can catch people’s eyes when they have down time during the day or first thing the next morning.

My current projects are planning a potluck for the entire BSP scholar community and assisting in planning the BSP “Holler for Scholars Benefit Party”. The potluck was my idea so I have taken it full range. It will occur on October 3rd. We have a space that was donated to us and we will have a potluck style meal to keep costs down. The potluck will be the first time I get to meet all the students and their families. It will be a great opportunity to meet and greet people as well as a forum to allow the students to mingle with each other. The “Holler for Scholars Benefit Party” is a work in progress. Frank and I have teamed up on this project to create a benefit that will attract young professionals, older professionals, and folks with a good heart to come together, enjoy each others’ company and contribute to our small non-profit organization. We have decided on a date, venue, and style for this benefit. We are currently working out marketing details as well as promotional networks.

There is never a dull moment at BSP. I look forward to meeting the students next week, and increasing my event planning skills with the “Holler for Scholars” benefit. I’m sure there are many more tasks, projects, and people I will help on the way this year… see I told you the 6:30 am wake up call was worth it.

Why AmeriCorps? Why Not!

2009-09-22T15:34:00.004-04:00

The winner of the 2008 AmeriCorps Video contest:

Learn more about our AmeriCorps Program: The Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring

My Life in Mentoring

2009-09-14T10:01:00.008-04:00

By Alexa Magdalenski, Mass Mentoring Partnership
August 31st, 2009

I am currently starting my fourth week at Mass Mentoring Partnership in the Ambassadors of Mentoring program here. For the first four weeks, I have adjusted into life at a growing non-profit fairly well. So much of my time has been spent meeting with all of the members of the office and learning about their specific roles here and how I may use them as a resource for our AOM recruitment efforts. They also may be calling on me to assist them in such activities as Match Support and Match Activities. Things are definitely still a whirlwind, as I grapple with my Work Plan and try to nail down a sea of tasks that literally seem to be floating in my future here. Today is the first day I feel like I am truly working towards something more concrete, as I finish up my first recruitment newsletter and start to plan a strategy for Youth Mentoring Day at the State House in January 2010.

Two weeks ago we completed our AOM Orientation. I can honestly say it was a pleasure and gift to meet the other 18 Ambassadors and learn about what drives them to serve. Something I have always struggled with especially after college is showing to others why I do service; why compassion and empathy have always driven my career pursuits and led me to AmeriCorps. My passion for service seemed so much more justified when I was a college student at Boston College (BC) and immersed in volunteering, Jesuit ideals and experiencing the Faith, Peace and Justice courses that dabbled in philosophy, theology and justice. Now that I am scrambling to pay rent and enter into the real world, from the outside, justifying completing a year of service seems more daunting. My fellow Ambassadors at orientation also expressed some of these sentiments about proving why they do service to others and staying true to their ideals. I am so excited to share this experience with the corps and be inspired by their commitment to mentoring.

They are bright, intelligent, compassionate people and already I feel so lucky to be a part of the group. In the upcoming months I will try harder than ever to stay true to myself and to the ideals that have shaped me. I am trying to serve with more understanding and commitment. Just because my Jesuit education has ended, it doesn’t mean that my commitment to the Jesuit principles will stop anytime soon. There is a quote that I remember from BC from a very important Jesuit that really rings true for AmeriCorps-whether it is in my budgeting, or in the service I do each day:

"Teach us to give and not to count the cost."
-Ignatius of Loyola

Start of Ambassador Year 2!

2009-08-31T11:49:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Highland Street Corps blog! This is a chance to get to know what it is like to be an Ambassador of Mentoring! The second year of this AmeriCorps program just started with 19 Ambassadors trained during orientation. Each Ambassador will be posting their insights on this blog throughout the year.

Check out where the Ambassadors are serving this year and how you can get involved!

http://massmentors.org/ambassadors

Highland Street Corps

Job-Readiness? You Betcha!

Turns out, there's a lot to be thankful for...

Looking Back - Alumni Perspective

What does it mean to be an Ambassador of Mentoring?

Join the Ambassadors for Masks and Drafts

We are All in This Together!

Research + Practice = Continuous Learning

Real World Journey

Time Flies in a Year of Service

*Ding Ding Ding* ROUND 2!

We Got Things Done!

This is it

There’s No Place Like Home

AmeriCorp's Impact

What Next?

Volunteers Together

Almost Done, And It’s Bittersweet

We've enjoyed many meals together :)

Wow, it’s already April!?!

Burning Our Fears Together

More Than Halfway There!

Six Months In, Six Months To Go

D-DAY: January 26th, 2011

What Keeps Us Going?

Youth Mentoring Day at the State House

Gifts Carried On

The Call of Service

Making a Difference

What’s it like, being an Ambassador of Mentoring?

A Second Year, A Second Corps

Serving a second year…Crazy, courageous, but necessary!

One is Never Certain Where the Journey of Life Will Lead

[AmeriCorps Ambassador of Mentoring Season 3 Episode 1]

One step at a time

It's almost over...

Power Lunch shows the Power of Mentoring

The 7th Inning Stretch

A Grand Slam for Mentoring

3 years of work experience in 1.

A Thoughtful Snapshot

Getting Things Done

We ARE the Highland Street Corps

To be or not to be a Facilitative Leader

Retreat is my vacation

The little girl inside...

Time has untouchable wings

Just a Small Town Ambassador, Livin’ in an Expensive World

FOOD and FOOD STAMPS

We live in a Fast society

Future Film Stars in Service

An Improvisational October Retreat

A View from the Top

What does it mean to ME, being an AmeriCorps Ambassador?

Use These- 2009 AmeriCorps Video Contest Winner

The Bright Side of 6:30am

Why AmeriCorps? Why Not!

My Life in Mentoring

Start of Ambassador Year 2!

Ding Ding Ding ROUND 2!