AmeriCorps Project YES! Issue 3
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Transcript of AmeriCorps Project YES! Issue 3
On April 27th, Project YES!
members were joined by 32
volunteers and 91 participants
from kindergarten to eighth grade
for a sunny Saturday afternoon
filled with a variety of activities to
celebrate Global Youth Service
Day. The annual campaign
celebrates and mobilizes children
and youth to improve their community through service across
6 continents, with the ultimate
goal of setting youth on a lifelong
path of service. Project YES!
celebrated by emphasizing the
importance of healthy lifestyles
and raising community awareness
of the childhood obesity epidemic
by hosting the 4th Annual
Ultimate Field Day at Pulaski Park.
The afternoon was filled with fun
and games to encourage children
and their families to stay active
and take pride in their community.
Children enjoyed face-painting,
yoga, soccer, relay-races, kickball,
and a boot camp presented by the
ROTC members of Rowe-Clarke
Math & Science Academy, among
other outdoor events. Participants
and families alike spent the
afternoon outside learning about
new and fun ways to be active and
stay healthy. The event ended
with participant receiving
backpacks and raffle prizes. After
an extremely successful day,
volunteers and Project YES!
members enjoyed lunch together
and spent time reflecting on their
day of service.
Project YES! Celebrates Global Youth Service Day Linda Kovac
Edited by Megan Green 2012-2013, Issue 3
AmeriCorps Project YES! Operated by the Northwestern Settlement
Inside this issue:
Global Youth
Service Day
1
Augusta and
Noble
2
PY! Summer Plans 2
Seeds of Service 3
Alumni Panel:
“Where do I go
from here?”
3
Jr. AmeriCorps
Orientation
Members to
Remember
4
4
Save the Date!
5
Like us on Facebook:
AmeriCorps Project
YES
Follow us on Twitter:
@ACProjectYES
Project YES! Throughout the Year (Continued on page 2)
Project YES! Summer Plans Paul Hibbeler
Page 2
Augusta and Noble Joshua Jackson
University of Wisonsin-
Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, respectively.
Their plans involve moving and
preparing for school.
Others just plan on taking it
easy at home, like me. I’m
going to ride my motorcycle
to St. Louis and then hang out
with my family.
There are the usual vacations and trips, like Gorguis Yalda
who plans on going camping
and doing lots of fishing.
Megan Green is going to
Seattle, Washington with her
family. She says, “I’m so
excited! I’ve never been to the West Coast. The farthest west
I’ve been is Chicago to put
things in perspective!”
Annalise Petranoff has quite a
trip planned as well; in August
she is going to travel to South
Korea to teach English for a
year. “I want to travel and I’m
interested in teaching English
as a second language, so for me this is a dream job.”
Not everyone is going on
trips; most are staying in
Chicago, like Miguel Ramos
Summer is upon us, school is
winding down, and those hours logged are slowly
creeping toward that magical
number of 1700. So naturally,
I decided to find out what
other members plan on doing
with their summer and
beyond.
A few members plan on
continuing their education and
going to graduate programs in the fall. For example, Marta
Michalska and Kerianne Fullin
plan to attend medical school
at Stritch School of Medicine
at Loyola University and
Adventure Stage Chicago is
one of the most notable programs at the
Northwestern Settlement.
Adventure Stage fuses the
theatre arts and education to
develop the imaginations and
creativity of the youth of
Chicago’s West Town
community and beyond. This
year, Adventure Stage went
even further in engaging the
West Town community through its production of
Augusta and Noble.
Augusta and Noble, written by
DePaul University playwriting
professor Carlos Murillo and
directed by Tom Arvetis,
Artistic Director of Adventure
Stage, tells the story of Gabi as
she makes the transition to
high school in an unfamiliar environment. Having grown
up in a Latino community in
West Town, Gabi must adjust
to going to a high school on
Chicago’s North Side.
Discovering that her parents
are undocumented immigrants
makes her journey much more
difficult as she fears that they
may be deported.
The story was actually
derived from a series of
story circles done with
neighbors who live in the
community surrounding the
Northwestern Settlement. It is
a perfect example of how
community can be built with
art-making as well as how
social justice can intersect with
art.
Northwestern Settlement
employees and Project YES!
members were also able to
participate in their own story
circles this year. Adventure
Stage plans on using these
stories as inspiration for a
production in the upcoming
season.
who plans on preparing for a
second year of service with
the American Red Cross.
Hannah Lantz also plans to
relax this summer before starting a job at Rowe-Clark
Math and Science Academy
this fall.
Let’s not forget the people in
charge of Project YES!,
Yasmin and Claire. While we
are all relaxing and enjoying
our break, they will be busy
getting ready to start up the
next year of Project YES!
Project YES! Throughout the Year (Continued from page 1)
2012-2013, Issue 3
$1,200 (double our original goal!) for pro-
ject supplies through Razoo, an online fund-raising site for nonprofits. At the day’s con-
clusion, all volunteers enjoyed a delicious
meal together and took home a keepsake
that included everything they needed to
grow an herb of their own.
Seeds of Service: Growing an Ethic of Service in Humboldt Park Neha Ahuja
Alumni Panel: “Where do I go from here?” Annalise Petranoff
Page 3 2012-2013, Issue 3
On May 6, 2013, current and past
AmeriCorps Project YES! members had
the chance to meet and talk about life
after AmeriCorps at the Alumni Panel.
Ten PY! alumni joined the current members to share their experiences in
the post-Project YES! world. It was
great to be able to hear where life after
Project YES! can lead and all of the
alumni had different paths, from
teaching to law school to other
AmeriCorps programs. I know that life
after Project YES! is a somewhat
daunting prospect for many members,
even if you know what you are going to
do. It was a great opportunity to talk with alumni about what they are doing
and how their experiences in their year
(or years) of service helped them in
their current career paths.
At the start of the day, we heard from
all ten alumni about what they were
doing now and had a chance to ask
them questions, mostly about what they
enjoyed most about their PY!
experience. After learning a little bit about everyone in the whole group, we
moved on to breakout sessions with
two alumni each. Unfortunately we
didn’t have time to talk to all of the
alumni during these smaller sessions,
but everyone I talked to had great
advice about how to leverage your
Project YES! skills in order to get the
most out of your experience. Some of the advice that stuck with me is “You
don’t have to take on everything to
prove that you are a good employee,”
“Make sure you take time for yourself
too,” and “Never underestimate the
importance of networking.”
Overall, it was a great Monday meeting
and I know that the current team
really appreciated hearing from alumni.
As we approach the end of our time with Project YES!, we are all looking to
the future and what will come next
year. It was great to hear from some
people who had no idea what they
wanted to do after Project YES! and
also from people who had already
decided where they were going and
what they were doing. Hearing from
the alumni, the bottom line of
everything was that things will always
work out in the end and you should try to hold on to the connections and
friendships you have made along the
way.
This year marked our 9th Annual Seeds
of Service volunteer day. Project YES!
partnered with nine community gardens
and engaged over 75 volunteers to get
things done! Seasoned and inexperienced gardeners came together
to plant and beautify Humboldt Park’s
community gardens on Saturday, May
18th.
This year’s committees went
beyond the core goals to enrich the
experience of their volunteers.
Volunteers had the opportunity to
participate in informal gardening workshops and engage in meaningful
discussions on food justice. Seeds of
Service also raised the awareness of
food deserts and highlighted the
importance of access to affordable
healthy foods.
Our hard work in preparing for the
event gave us results far beyond the
day of service. At the end of the day,
many volunteers expressed an increased interest in volunteering and
were thrilled with the opportunity to
able to give back to the community
and try to new things, such as radishes
from the garden. We also raised over
Junior AmeriCorps Orientation Hannah Lantz
Spring Members to Remember
Page 4 2012-2013, Issue 3
With the end of the school
year comes the beginning of
Project YES! Jr. AmeriCorps, an opportunity for students to
gain valuable service
experience and earn a stipend
as well as an Education Award
to be used for higher
education. The program has
grown to 48 members this year, with placements at
Association House,
St. Stanislaus Kostka School,
Pritzker College Prep, and the
Northwestern Settlement.
Depending on their site,
members help out with
summer camp for children or
perform tutoring and
mentoring duties with high school students.
Project YES! members took
the lead on training the Jr.
AmeriCorps members during
the three day orientation. The
three days consisted of ice breakers, an introduction to
AmeriCorps and Project YES!,
and trainings on child
development, tips for keeping
kids engaged, including
spontaneous games and
rhymes, conflict resolution,
March: Dan Schleich
Dan was recognized by his
peers for his dedication to
his site, the program, and his fellow Project YES!
members. A peer noted,
“He is always willing to listen
to others and put them
first.” Several members
recognized and appreciated
his hard work and leadership
at House In The Wood
during the Spring Retreat –
pushing others to keep going
and never complaining about the difficult jobs or cold
weather. Additionally, peers
commend Dan for his
personal development and
growth throughout the year
as he has continuously
worked on improving his
public speaking skills.
and aspects of
professionalism
such as
leadership and
effective
communication.
Finally on the
last day,
Jr. AmeriCorps
members
gathered in Vittum Theater to
receive their AmeriCorps
‘Getting Things Done’ medals and Project YES! t-shirts, and
to recite the AmeriCorps
pledge.
We all wish them a fun,
educational summer that
increases their ethic of
service!
April: Emma
Vanderheyden
Project YES! members value
the energy Emma puts forth into the program. Emma
continuously goes above and
beyond and Gets Things Done
for Project YES!. She was an
excellent Project Leader for
Global Youth Service Day,
working well under pressure
to ensure a successful event.
Additionally, Emma is equally
invested at her site,
implementing an afterschool soccer club, canned food
drive, and career fair, and
being a great team member.
April: Gabriel Solis
Gabriel’s peers wanted to
acknowledge his passion for
and commitment to helping
others. Members value his
leadership as the Seeds of Service Logistics Committee
Head, and his ability to make
everyone feel comfortable.
Gabriel is very engaged in the
communities he lives and
serves in and is always sharing
events and news to help raise
his Project YES! peers
community engagement levels
as well.
Members (left to right): Dan Schleich, Emma Vanderheyden,
Gabriel Solis, Annalise Petranoff, and Kerianne Fullin
May: Annalise Petranoff
Annalise was nominated by her
peers for her strong work ethic
and her positive attitude. Members appreciated this
especially as she served as a
Project Leader for Seeds of
Service, noting that “she helps
eliminates obstacles.” One
member shared, “Annalise
always goes above and beyond
her duties as an AmeriCorps
member. She really deserves to
be recognized.” Members also
appreciate the baked goods and treats that Annalise regularly
shares with the group.
May: Kerianne Fullin
Members recognized Kerianne
for her hard work and
leadership as the Donations Committee Head for Seeds of
Service. As a leader, she did a
great job motivating the group,
while keeping things fun.
Project YES! members and
gardens alike appreciated how
hard she worked to
accommodate the garden’s
supply requests. Kerianne was
also described as being open
and engaging, involved, helpful, and a great friend.
AmeriCorps Project YES! 1012 N. Noble Street
Chicago, IL 60642
Phone: 773-278-7471
Fax: 773-278-2621 E-mail: [email protected]
Save the Date!
AmeriCorps Project YES! is
a proud program of the
Northwestern Settlement.
More information on Settlement programs can
be found on our website:
www.nush.org
PROJECT YES! (Youth, Education, and Service)
Project YES! educates youth holistically by providing classroom support, after school
programming, and volunteer initiatives.
Project YES! nurtures youth through positive mentorship by fostering relationships of trust
and respect.
Project YES! inspires youth through connections with caring role models by encouraging and
facilitating civic engagement and leadership opportunities.
Project YES! provides a structure of growth and self-motivation that empowers youth to develop
skills in becoming self-sufficient individuals who succeed and contribute responsibly in a global
community.
Make a Difference Day : Saturday, October 26, 2013
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service : January 20, 2014
Global Youth Service Day: April 12, 2014
Seeds of Service: May 2014, TBA
Email [email protected] with questions
The 2012 - 2013 AmeriCorps Project YES Team
Top Row: Dan Schleich, Linda Kovac, Jamie Donaldson, Leila Walker, Diane Rutter, Bridget Sanchez,
Claire Unger (Program Manager); Second Row from Top: Josh Jackson, Miriam Barcus, Julia Weinberg, Jessica Griggs, Gorgius Yalda, Paul Hibbeler; Middle Row: Ally Moloney, Miguel Ramos, Megan Green, Marta Michalska, Hannah Lantz,
Annalise Petranoff, Robin Gilbert; Second Row from Bottom: Sue Winn, Tasha Richardson, Tasha Banks, Naomi David, Neha
Ahuja, Gabriel Solis; Bottom Row: Kerianne Fullin, Emma Vanderheyden, and Yasmin Rodriguez (Program Director)
Looking for more service
opportunities?
Check out Serve Illinois
at: www2.illinois.gov/serve/