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Transcript of Get to the Point Issue Vol. 5
An NCCC Atlantic Region Publication
Get to the PointGet to the Point April 4, 2012April 4, 2012
Community Relations Office
Sam McKenzie,
Community Relations Specialist,
Tristan Fowler,
Community Relations Support Team Leader,
FIND US ON
FACEBOOK.COM/
NCCCATLANTICREGION
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
(NCCC) is a full time team–based residential program
for men and women ages 18 to 24. The mission of NCCC
is to strength communities and develop leaders through
direct, team-based national &
community service.
For more information about NCCC
Visit www.americorps.gov/nccc or call 1 800 942 2677
I’m an member of the Na-
tional Civilian Community
Corps, an AmeriCorps
program. N-triple-C
members are 18 to 24 and
spend 10 months getting
things done for America
while developing their own
leadership. We serve on
teams to help communities
to prepare for and respond
to disaster, build homes and
help the environment. To
learn more, or apply, visit
americorps.gov/nccc
2
Get to the Point
Raven 1 is making smiles all over the east coast.
GET TO THE POINT ATLANTIC REGION, PERRY POINT, MD
VOL. XVIII, ISSUE 5
333 FROM TO THE MOUTHS OF STREAMS TO THE MOUTHS OF MEN AND WOMEN
by Raven 1
4 4 4 FIRE COMPOSITE TEAMS HEAD OUT
4 4 4 BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION
ALUNMI SPOTLIGHT
555 THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE by Lisa Sullivan
666 BUFFALO UNIT LEADS THE CHARGE ON ISPs
666 DOWN TIME ACTIVITY
888 CURES FROM THE KITCHEN
QUICKIES
LOOKING FOR
COLUMNISTS 6
SHOUT OUTS 7
NEWS 9
AMERIMAP 12
3
Get to the Point
Through arduous labor and posi-
tive attitudes, the Raven 1 team is de-
veloping into a premiere Atlantic Re-
gion team. Primarily based at Winter-
thur Museum and Gardens outside of
Wilmington Delaware, the team
spends the majority of their days
working with the fantastic garden de-
partment removing brush and invasive
species, pruning, mulching, fertilizing,
fence building, painting, and main-
taining their nearly 1,000 acres of
premiere garden estate.
Winterthur is a non-profit or-
ganization devoted to community en-
hancement: historic preservation of
not only the museum collection but
also the surrounding environment;
academic research; and beautification
of local flora and fauna through the
use of exclusive perennials and a
unique collection of trees.
The team rotates every task, and
the different groups working on each
project, so as to maintain a fresh per-
spective, and keep morale high. Team
member Ashley Peoples, spent an en-
tire day working on many different
teams pulling trees and weeds out of
the ground using a shovel and weed
wrench combo. This difficult task
pushed her physically and mentally,
but in the end she ―felt empowered as
a woman to be able to accomplish such
labor intensive work, keeping up with
the employees, and seeing the result of
my own blood, sweat, and tears.‖ Oc-
casionally the team will band together
to tackle huge projects in short
amounts of time. Perhaps the most
substantial was clearing out a shallow
swamp-like valley covered in thorns
the size of tiger-teeth, and bothersome
cat tail fronds, which had a furry resi-
due that would choke the respiratory
system of anyone who comes near. But
armed with weed eaters, weed saws,
hand saws, loppers, and waders, every-
one dug in, getting muddy, sweaty, and
bloody to conquer this dramatic feat. It
is at these moments when Raven 1
could truly step back and see the re-
sults of a hard day’s work.
A couple weeks into their first
round of projects, Raven 1 packed up
and headed to Danbury, Conn. to serve
at the Connecticut Mission of Mercy
(CTMOM) to set up, run and break
down a free dental clinic. The passion
and enthusiasm of everyone involved
at CTMOM was epic to the highest de-
gree. Over 2,000 patients were served
and well over $1,000,000 worth of
FREE dental treatment was provided
with the assistance of Raven 1. Even
after a 19.5 hour service day, Raven 1
used the inspiration and positive ener-
gy of a successful day to teach the
sponsors and other volunteers how to
play Ninja and ended the day on a
highly positive note. The work they did
was made most rewarding by the feed-
back of the patients they helped. One
patient said ―this is the first time
I have been able to smile in a year
and a half.‖ Through diligent work,
and high moral fiber Raven 1 left
CTMOM understanding fully how im-
portant the service AmeriCorps NCCC
is involved with is to communities.
Raven 1 returned back to Win-
terthur in Delaware for the remainder
of their first round spike greeted by
their amazing sponsor Margaret and
an enormous vat of delicious chili.
They feasted like kings on this chili for
days after the initial meal. They were
also greeted from a friend who flew in
the week they returned. It was
―Edgar‖, the mischievous yet enter-
taining Raven who was previously up
―Bathing‖ in Bath, Maine with Raven
2. Tucked away in their cozy little
abode, Raven 1 is becoming quite com-
fortable with all Winterthur entails.
The friendly faces, beautiful scenery,
or even the aggressive geese that chase
Maddi off the road, have all become
welcome sights for the Raven 1 team.
Team spotlight— raven 1
From the mouths of streams to the mouths of men and women
4
Get to the Point
CONGRATULATIONS TO FIRECAT 1 AND FIREFOX 1
PERRY POINT GETS FIRED UP Two fire composite teams have ignited this week. One group, lead by POSTL Tristan Fowler, will
head to southern Maryland for a three day burn and another, lead by MUSTL Brooke Gates, will be
in Albany, New York for the duration of the round.
Firecat 1—
Firecat 1 is ready to go right meow!‖ says Team Leader Tristan
Fowler. ―WE are ready to take on this fiery challenge. As firecats,
we are on the prowl.‖ chuckled Michael Wessely. Fowler and Wes-
sely will be joined by Moose 3’s Lina You, Bobby Russo-Tucker
and Moose 4’s Elias Tolano. This will be the first burn for most of
the members.
Firefox 1– Albany, NY
The members of Firefox 1 have put on their fire fighting pants and
are ready to burn a lasting impression at the Albany Pine Bush Re-
serve. Team Leader Brooke (Burning Up) Gates has been waiting
to get back into her Nomex since retiring them after her time as a
Phoenix Team Leader in Class XVII. She will be joined by Chan-
dler Ballentine, Ben Dillon, Liz Fraley and Madeline Nagel.
STL Corner
STRETCH YOUR FOOD BUDGET A LITTLE FURTHER
As part of a continued effort to support
our communities, the Unit Support Team
Leaders are going to start collecting Box
Tops for Education. They are found on
many products and when collected by a
participating school are worth $0.10. In
2011 participating schools earned over
$59 million. If your team purchases any products containing the logo, please save
them and return them to a Support Team Leader in your SPIKE mail or during transi-
tion. We will select a school in one of our target cities to donate the Box Tops to.
Thanks for your support!
*During your lifetime, you’ll eat about 60,000 pounds of food, that’s the weight of about 6 elephants!
5
Get to the PointAlumni spotlight
The Best Experience Of My Life
Lisa Sullivan was a Corps
Member in Class XVII for Moose 4.
I joined AmeriCorps NCCC in order to
give a year of service, travel, and meet
new people. I had recently graduated
from college and was unsure of what
field I wanted to work in. I only knew
that I wanted to help others so I fig-
ured the 10 months would be a great
opportunity to explore different career
paths.
I knew signing up for NCCC that it
would be an interesting and challeng-
ing experience, but I wasn't really
aware of all the ways it would impact
me and honestly I think I am still dis-
covering ways in which it has changed
my life. NCCC gave me a chance to re-
ally see first hand some of the struggles
that many people are going through
around the U.S. After seeing some of
the impact that I am capable of I now
have a whole list of service programs
that I would like to be apart of. I have
built some amazing friendships and
met so many inspirational people. The
impacts are endless and although my
NCCC corps year was challenging
and at times frustrating it has by
far been the best experience of
my life.
I was always learning something new
about myself, my teammates, and the
communities that I was working in. I
think that the most important thing I
learned about myself while in
NCCC was that I am capable of a
lot more than I ever realized.
Whether it be facing a fear of heights
while climbing ladders to paint a mural
on a community center building in
New Orleans, creating lesson plans at
Camp Brown, restoring cabins at Rac-
coon Creek State Park, or running a
shelter in Delaware during Hurricane
Irene.
The last few months of my corps year I
was going through the application pro-
cess for City Year Denver and have
been accepted. I will be moving to Den-
ver in about 5 months to start my corps
year with City Year.
The Lower 9th Ward Village in NOLA
was my favorite place that I worked at
throughout my corps year. It was a
warehouse type building that was
bought by a man named Mack before
Hurricane Katrina to house his antique
cars. After the hurricane
hit he realized how bad-
ly his neighborhood
needed a community
center. We painted a
mural across the entire
front of the building and
also helped out in other
areas. I had the oppor-
tunity to walk around
the neighborhood talk-
ing to the residences
after we had started the
mural and many of
them mentioned that they were not
even aware that it was a
community center until the mural was
started. That is an experience that I
will always carry with me.
Some things I learned while in NCCC
were that communication can have a
huge impact on team dynamics. You
really can survive on $4.75 a day,
sometimes a trip to Starbucks can re-
store your sanity, patience is key when
working with non-profits, and The Mo-
hawk is trickier than it looks.
(Right) Lisa Sullivan and her Moose 4 teammates sprint to the finish
*Every time you lick a stamp, you’re consuming 1/10 of a calorie.
6
Get to the Point
COLUMNIST
Want to see your
name & face here?
If you’ve got opinions,
we want to hear ’em! If you
have a fantastic personality,
we want you to show it! If
you want to
strengthen
your writing
skills and find
your voice, we
want to help
you.
The Commu-
nity Relations Staff office is
looking for writers, col-
umnists and media repre-
sentatives to publish arti-
cles in ―Get to the Point.‖
The CRS office loves using
Corps member stories
about ―AmeriLife.‖ We
want to hear how you got
those rips in your khaki
pants. What’s on your
team’s iPod? What’s the
best meal your team ever
made on $4.75 a day? The
stories you share over the
next 10 months will be crit-
ical in forming lasting
memories and moments.
This is a fantastic op-
portunity to find your
voice, strengthen your writ-
ing skills and build up your
resume. To apply, send a
writing sample and any ide-
as you have for your col-
umn. The Community Rela-
tions Support Team Leader
Tristan Fowler will work
along side the columnist to
develop their ideas and
voice.
If you are interested in
becoming a ―Get to the
Point‖ columnist, please
contact the CRSTL Tristan
ISP
Buffalo Unit Races Ahead on ISPs The Buffalo Unit has taken an early and
strong lead in total ISP hours. All four Buffa-
lo teams have over 150 team hours with
most members exceeding the 20 ISP hour
goal for the round. Buffalo 3 and 4 both have
over a 100 hour lead with 360 and 385
hours respectively. Moose 5 is also going
strong with over 200 team ISP hours. Great
job teams! These numbers were taken from
the STL internal spreadsheet based on re-
turned ISP forms. Make sure to get those
forms in!
Don’t Forget
All members must complete 80 ISP
hours to graduate.
The goal for Round 1 is to exceed 20 ISP
hours.
Individuals can not receive more than
one total hour for driving to/from an
ISP.
Check your hours regularly and keep a
list of all ISPs you complete!
NCCC members must be in uniform at
ISPs and cannot under any circumstanc-
es handle money.
JUST TO PASS THE TIME Everyone sits in a circle, and learns the 3 com-
mands and their movements.
1) Ah! – the person says “Ah” loudly, and puts
their left or right hand across their forehead in a
saluting motion, with fingers pointing at the per-
son next to them.
2) So! - the person says “So” loudly, and puts
their left or right hand across their chin in a salut-
ing motion, with fingers pointing at the person next to them.
3) Gi!– the person puts both arms together in front of them in a clapping motion and
points to someone else, anywhere in the circle.
The phrases must always go in that order, and each phrase needs its correct hand motion.
You go when you are pointed at by someone next to you using “Ah” or “So,” or by some-
one across from you using “Gi.” When you are “Gi”ed at by someone you start the se-
quence over again.
When someone makes a mistake (ie, goes out of order, uses the wrong hand motion, hesi-
tates in confusion for too long) they are out.
When someone gets out, each member of the group puts a hands in the middle with
thumbs up, and calls "You're outta here!" - like a baseball umpire. That person leaves the
circle and the group closes in the space. The person who was on right side of the exited
person starts the sequence again, by saying "Ah!" and pointing to the left or right.
The game continues until there are two people left.
*Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to watch T.V for 3 hours!
7
Get to the Point
Raven 2: Raven 2 is glad that Edgar has safely joined Raven 1 and wishes him the best adventures with his new teammates. Raven 1 please take good care of Edgar. Shout out to P1 and their wicked burns along with their allstar from Raven 2, Lark!
Raven 5:The Team Builders with the director of Top of the Pines Camp, Wilson, brought our team through a few challeng-ing courses last week. The team learned a lot about each other and themselves. It was a nice break from all the roofing we have been doing the last few weeks.
Phoenix 1: Phoenix 1 wishes that all of the rest of the firefighters could have enjoyed our 150 acre burn with us on Friday. Be prepared for an awesome time down here! B4 we miss you and can see that you are having too much fun without us! Keep rocking it! – Evan and Jess AMERIPEEPS!!!.. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU GUYS BACK HOME - Justin B3!!!!! You guys are amazing! Thank you for all the shout outs and sup-port I can’t wait to see you all again during transition! STL Liz- Thanks for the Tapatio!!!! -Thomas
Buffalo 3: Thomas, are you doing your ISPs? Hope you are having fun on fire! We are all proud of you! We wish our Buffalo Brothers and Sisters on B1 a safe and fun journey to Maine! Kick butt on your next project
Buffalo 4: BUFFALO lV ROAMED WITH THE BUFFA-LO at the Lehigh Valley Game Preserve! Also got to ex-perience hiking in the Appalachian Trail at Night…it was such an amazing opportunity!
Moose 4: Shout out to Tubby’s Krew, Michael, Brooke, and Amelia Thank you for such a wonderful birthday dinner! We are fighting the good fight, slaying the green briar dragon is no easy task.. can’t wait to see you all in three weeks.
Moose 5: We visited the art museum in Philadelphia and got to take a few pictures with some bronze Moose! Brammer we all miss you greatly, but we are proud you are representing us on P1!
Laura Tuck: Thank you to B1 Debra Ostrander and Grace Hahm for the assistance with my HAWL boards!
Raven 1: This week a mulch spreading ISP took a turn for the eerie when Raven 1 was invited to tour a haunted mansion in their socks. From a visit to the treacherous tunnels beneath the grounds to the foreclosed attic where numerous ghost sightings have been document-ed, the team was able to keep their composure and stature while ex-panding their knowledge of Delaware culture. Raven 1 also had a visi-tor fly in from Maine this Friday. Edgar finally joined the team and he has been kept busy ever since, joining Jerramie on a walk in down-town Delaware to pick up chicks and bonding with the team gnome, Bach Lava. Edgar has also been pulling his weight in the kitchen, help-ing Henry whip up a scrumptious Dorito pizza." - Maddie Nagel
8
Get to the Point
Kitchen Cures Natural remedies can be a useful way to effective-
ly treat a number of common ailments. While an-
tibiotics are useful for chronic or severe infections
they may be unnecessary for minor ailments as
they often kill helpful bacteria within the body.
Here are some natural alternatives you may have
in your kitchen:
Honey
Use it for: Minor cuts and
burns, cough or sore throat
How it works: This natural
sweetener contains 3 power-
ful wound-healing compo-
nents: sugar for absor-
ing moisture so bacteria
can’t survive, hydrogen peroxide to disinfect, and the
nectar-based compound propolis to kill bacteria. An
added bonus: Honey dries to form a natural bandage.
Try this: Apply warm honey to a minor cut (one
without a lot of bleeding) or mild burn, then put a
gauze bandage on top; change the dressing daily.
Salt
Use it for: Sinus congestion, sore throat
How it works: When you mix salt into water at a
stronger concentration than the salt water in our bod-
ies, it helps draw fluids out of tissues," You can use
this "hypertonic" solution to clear up stuffy sinuses
and ease a sore throat.
Try this: To make a hypertonic
solution, dissolve half a teaspoon
of non-iodized salt in an 8-ounce
glass of water. For a sore throat,
simply gargle the water.
Peppermint tea
Use it for: Indigestion, stomach-
ache
How it works: The oil found in
the peppermint leaf and its stems
calms the muscles of the digestive tract, allowing gas
to pass more easily and relieving indigestion.
April 7th is World Health Day!
MUST READ!
The VA Police have informed us that the back gate to the campus is no longer available for our use. AMTRAK has deemed the road PRIVATE and we can no longer drive through the tunnel to come on campus. As of now, everyone must use the main entrance to the campus; no excep-tions. TRESPASSING tickets will be issued and YOU will be responsible for any fines or fees associated with that ticket.This includes walking on the road. ~LaQuine
9
Get to the Point
Woolly mammoth may have been killed by humans BBC -- The discovery of a well-preserved juvenile woolly mammoth suggests
that ancient humans "stole" mammoths from hunting lions, scientists say.
Bernard Buigues of the Mammuthus organization acquired the frozen mammoth from tusk hunters in Siberia. Wounds
indicate that both lions and humans may have been involved in the ancient animal's death.
"Already there is dramatic evidence of a life-and-death struggle between Yuka and some top predator, probably
a lion," says leading mammoth expert, Daniel Fisher, professor of earth and environmental sciences at the Uni-
versity of Michigan. "Even more interesting, there are hints that humans may have taken over the kill at an early
stage." If further investigation by Mr Buigues, Professor Fisher and fellow scientists at the Sakha Academy of
Sciences in Yakutsk confirms this analysis, it will be the first carcass to show signs of interaction with ancient
humans found in this part of the world.
Space burials: dy-ing to go into orbit New York (BBC) – In com-
ing months, a US company
Celestis is planning to
launch its latest memorial
spacecraft. The craft will be
packed with lipstick sized
capsules , each containing
up to seven grams of the
ashes of participants. The spacecraft will orbit the Earth
for years before burning up in the atmosphere.
Space burial is a memorial service that began in
1997 in the United States. The first rocket, Pegasus, con-
tained the remains of 24 people, primarily Americans
and Japanese. There are many opportunities for those
wishing to spend eternity in the cosmic realm. Celestis is
currently signing people up to have a gram of their re-
mains delivered to the lunar surface. A UK company
offers the opportunity to incorporate your ashes into a
firework display and another company will fly your re-
mains on a weather balloon into the upper atmosphere.
Some famous people buried in space include Gene
Roddenberry, creator of Star Treck and Clyde Tom-
baugh, American astronomer and discoverer of Pluto in
1930.
NORTH KOREA TO HOLD SPECIAL PARTY
CONFERENCE AHEAD OF SATELLITE
LAUNCH
Hong Kong (CNN) -- North Korea said Monday that a special
conference of its ruling Workers' Party would take place next
week, an event expected to solidify the authority of its new lead-
er ahead of a controversial rocket launch.
The meeting of party delegates, announced by state media, also
comes just ahead of a significant anniversary for the secretive,
nuclear-armed state -- the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim
Il Sung, the founder of North Korea.
At the conference on April 11, Kim Il Sung's grandson, Kim
Jong Un, is likely to be named secretary-general of the Workers'
Party, a key post that would underline his status as "supreme
leader" of the insular regime, said Chung-In Moon, professor of
political science at Yonsei University in Seoul.
10
Get to the Point
CAP REP INFORMATION!
Reminders: CAP Reps! Transition back to the Point is coming soon. By April 16 you need to have at least three CAP events completed and logged on the Google Site!
End of Round Paperwork for most teams is due on Monday, April 16 by 4:30 p.m.
End of Round Paperwork includes the following:
All CAP Event Reports must be logged on the Google Site
Any Celebrity and Elected Officials that interacted with your team must be logged on the Google Site
One NCCC alumni spotlight. The alumni spotlight can be submitted on the CAP & Media Google site
One CAP evaluation for your team on the Google site. This is the evaluation you do about how well you did your CAP work during Round 1
Sam McKenzie, Community Relations Specialist will share with your team its CAP Rep Performance Evaluation during transition. This evaluation comes from the CRS and it includes comments and changes to improve your CAP Rep work for Round 2.
Something Extra: CAP Rep alumni have advice to share. See the packet in your spike mail
CAP Shout Out: Chelsea from Raven 5 has done an awesome job of coordi-nating CAP events in the DE/MD/Philly area! Moose 3 also went to Freestate Challenge Academy on Monday and spoke to numerous cadets about NCCC as a CAP event! Thanks to Moose 2 for completing the elected officials form!
11
Get to the Point
MEDIA REP INFORMATION!
Reminders: How are your media hits looking for Round 1? By April 16 you need to have at least two media hits secured and logged on the Google Site!
Media Hits –include the YouTube question of the round—what does your team do for Free time? Videos answering that question should be added to the YouTube channel under your team’s gmail account. All teams should create one video answering this question.
End of Round Paperwork for most teams is due on Monday, April 16 by 4:30 p.m.
End of Round Paperwork includes the following:
All Media Coverage Forms must be logged on the Google Site
Eight Yearbook Photos in the Facebook Media Hub Group!
One Round Write Up (article) We are in the process of making a yearbook for Class 18. Each team must turn in a write up (article) about Round 1 including information about your service project. Put this on the Google Site.
One Media Rep Evaluation for your team on the Google site. This is the evaluation you do about how well you did your Media Rep work during Round 1
Sam McKenzie, Community Relations Specialist will share with your team its Media Rep Performance Evaluation during transition. This evaluation comes from the CRS and it includes comments and changes to improve your Media Rep work for Round 2.
Something Extra: Media Rep alumni have advice to share. See the packet in your spike mail
Media Rep Shout Out: Buffalo 3, Moose 1 are rocking the media hits big time! Shout out to M3 who has a great blog —each blog post counts as media hit—http://twigeaters.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/welcome-to-the-moose-3-blog/
12
Get to the Point
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