Thursday, September 06, 2007
Calling All In-Kind Donation Teleseminar Attendees - Yes, You're At the Right Place!
Okay guys - make your posts right here - put your name, your project and a little about it - what you're trying to do, who you're helping, where you're located at - and what 3 things you need to help you accomplish your goals! Come on, don't be shy! Let the Great Experiment Begin!
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22 comments:
Shawn Welker, Youth and Education, Albion (MI) Volunteer Service Organization.
I have three projects that I am currently working on. (1) Bringing Imagination Library to the low-income communities/Educating the volunteers (Albion College Education students) on poverty. (2) Creating a community garden in one or more of the low income communities. (3) Rebuilding the VolunTEENS program.
My biggest problems have been in creating my own personal and profeesional network. Why wasn't this in place before I started, especially considering that my specific program is in its 4th and final year? Additionally, it seems that I have very little direction or support from my program sponsor, the Executive Director of AVSO. My final concern lies in simply educating myself to do my job better; finding trainings and funding to be able to attend trainings. I have no concerns about volunteer management/retention, as I completely have to build my volunteer base from scratch. Again, why is that?
It sounds like you've got some legitimate concerns Shawn - and you might want to go over to the activist guide Website and make a post in the forum...
So, what 3 things - give me tangibles - do you need the most - right now - to help you make your projects successful...think in terms of people, places or things...and post again - be specific about 3 things that could help you right now. Okay?
Cheryl
My name is Bunny Dugo and I am the Rochester, NY AmeriCorps Leader. I am in the process of planning a city park renovation project that my 32 members will engage in hopefully along with community members and city recreation dept workers. I am requesting playground equipment (swings, slides, etc), paint, and mulch.
Hi, I am Bunny Dugo, Leader for the Rochester, NY Rochester AmeriCorps. I am in the planning process of a project to renovate a city park, engaging the 32 Rochester AmeriCorps members alongside the community and city recreation staff. I am requesting playground equipment (swings, slides, etc), mulch, and paint.
My name is Kristin Zawistowski in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. I'm starting a national environmental program for the Blackstone Valley of RI. It's been challenging for me to "sell" my program and get nine cities and towns interested in it and see the real value. I'm always in need of in kind donations for litter cleanup projects and other would include graffiti removal services.
My name is Hunter Sweet. I've been placed at the North Country Chapter of the American Red Cross in Plattsburgh NY. I'm working on the emergency preparedness project and the largest part of my project plan involves starting a youth group, a college group, and a community group. All service-based with an emphasis on increasing community education on disaster preparedness (specifically in a local low income community). Oh yeah, some grant requests, increasing our volunteer base, and forming business partnerships.
Three things to help me:
1) More people working with me. I'm a first year VISTA at my site and they aren't really sure how to approach the project plan, so I've sort of been left on my own with little support to make it happen.
2) Access to funds. (who doesn't need it?) The first projects I've planned for the groups are fundraisers to address this. The later projects involve spending those funds.
3) Knowledge about opportunities and resources that will help me with my project plan. (You can help me a little bit here.)
Thanks Cheryl, I hope I helped.
Respectfully,
Hunter Sweet
I am Amy McCampbell. I am a 2nd year VISTA with the Chariton County-Mind Your Own Business, youth entrepreneurship project. Our project educates the youth in our county about owning and operating small business, encouraging them to start small businesses and why it is important to the community as well as educating them on why they should return to their hometowns when they want to settle down. Jobs are not abundant as we a pretty rural area, so we are teaching them that they can create their own opportunities at home.
Three things that I need: 1)grant money and time to research and write them 2)always in need of supplies for presentations and activities for classrooms-such as candy bars, pens, paper, small fun items for prizes (no stores in our county sell anything in bulk for the numbers that I need) 3)some bigger office supplies-new copier, laminator, paper cutter
Hi! My name is Jenna Nathan and I am the VISTA Development Associate for Habitat for Humanity located in Des Moines, Iowa. As one of only two members of the development staff I work with donations, in-kind and monetary on a daily basis. Our main problem regarding in-kind donations is that our ReStore and construction supervisors also deal with in-kind donations on a daily basis and we are having a difficult time keeping track of who we have called upon in the past, whose ask takes priority, etc. Three things I currently need are:
1. silent auction items
2. computer software
3. signage
Thanks!
My name is Sarah Hodgkinson and, as an AmeriCorp VISTA, I am placed at Leadership Southwestern, a collegiate service-learning organization in Winfield, Kansas. Because many people dealing with poverty struggle with paying utility bills in homes that are often so old they lack energy efficiency and risk being shut off, I am currently working on developing a program, called "Fighting Poverty - Saving Energy", which involves having college students/youth go into low-income homes, and thru a series of assessments and changes, make them more energy efficient, thus saving them money on their utility bills. So far, I am working to establish partnerships between the City of Winfield, Fire Department, SRS and other organizations that have a poverty focus.
While partnerships have been easy to find, I am now looking at ways to fund the program. The cost of FPSE in each home is approximately $100. Materials needed are: CFLs, showerheads, aerators, smoke/CO detectors, temperature gauges and cards, tools, safety equipment and client education/marketing materials (brochures, etc.).
I am interested in:
1. Finding government grants for long-term sustainability.
2. Work on how to "sell" the program so we can recieve donations.
3. I am also interested in having the program be more "thorough", such as low-flush toiliet, weatherized windows & doors, and better insulation. With this, I would need more significant donations.
My name is Aprl Hook I work at Nothern Colorado YFC. I am seting up an after school program for teens 12-19. I am the first Vista here and the after school program is only in the idea stage. I am tring to come up with a plan to comunacate what we want to do and then try to get money or gifts in kind for it.
things I need.
1. seed money or a partner to help things get started
2. I need to know where to go and who, and how to ask for things like computers, costruction materals, and discounts for things like ISP service
3. I need to know how to get this stuff eavan though my progect has not started to function yet.
My name is Sarah Hodgkinson and, as an AmeriCorp VISTA, I am placed at Leadership Southwestern, a collegiate service-learning organization in Winfield, Kansas. Because many people dealing with poverty struggle with paying utility bills in homes that are often so old they lack energy efficiency and risk being shut off, I am currently working on developing a program, called "Fighting Poverty - Saving Energy", which involves having college students/youth go into low-income homes, and thru a series of assessments and changes, make them more energy efficient, thus saving them money on their utility bills. So far, I am working to establish partnerships between the City of Winfield, Fire Department, SRS and other organizations that have a poverty focus.
While partnerships have been easy to find, I am now looking at ways to fund the program. The cost of FPSE in each home is approximately $100. Materials needed are: CFLs, showerheads, aerators, smoke/CO detectors, temperature gauges and cards, tools, safety equipment and client education/marketing materials (brochures, etc.).
I am interested in:
1. Finding government grants for long-term sustainability.
2. Work on how to "sell" the program so we can receive donations.
3. I am also interested in having the program be more "thorough", such as installing low-flush toilets, weatherized windows & doors, and better insulation. With this, I would need more significant donations.
Aeriolle Ivy
Saint louis Healthy Marriage Coalition
This is my first time voluntering for any organization and I'am very excited to do so. My positon at the St. Louis, MO coalition is Public Relations & Program Coordinator. What we do here is focus on family wellness and healthy marriages in out community. The seminars we hold for our participants are sometimes long and our grant doesn't allow us to purchase food, so food, plates, cups, and adobe acrobat & adobe publisher are some of the things our organization needs. Kelly Bryant is the other VISTA who works with me on family and marrriage projects. We as VISTA's need a better outlook on the project considering we both just started and maybe even this teleseminar about in-kind donations would be a great start for us. So thank you, so very much
Aeriolle Ivy
Kelly Bryant
Tami Dowd, Medical Access Coalition. We assist low-income individuals with no health insurance to access community resources to get a sliding fee for office visits and/or labs. Our program actually provides our clients with a limited generic pharmacy card that covers a wide range of medications and diabetic supplies for our clients. We are located in Escanaba, Michigan.
Hi!! My name is Katy Irving and I am in the same project as Hunter (New York State Emergency Preparedness Project)but in a different location -- the Allegany County Chapter of the American Red Crossin Wellsville, NY. The main goal of my project is to educate the community on disaster preparedness and put in Red Cross clubs in local schools and universities. I am also required to write grants and recruit volunteers.
(1)Because of the limited resources at the Chapter (right now there is only one person working and there has been a dramatic decrease in volunteers) I would love to be able to ask local organizations to help out in any way they can i.e. monetary and other donations.
(2) I also have to get the clubs up and started and need either money or donations to get the clubs functioning and performing service projects. I also need places to offer space for the clubs to meet.
(3)Any information can help me. This is my first time being involved in a project like this and I feel as though my entire site runs because of people donating either time, money, blood or other supplies so we need to keep it coming.
Thank you and have a great weekend!!
Andrea Gouin, Department of Residential Life at St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI.
Three of my goals include developing a partnership between the college and the local Boys and Girls Club, strengthening the service program in one of the residence halls, and working with faculty/staff to develop an academic service-learning infrastructure on campus.
One project I may need help with is bringing some of the high school kids from the Boys and Girls Club to St. Norbert College to tour the campus and help get them interested in attending college.
*How do I arrange/fund the transportation of the kids to the campus?
*How could I make it possible for the high school students to eat dinner at the cafeteria on campus and possible sit in on a college class? (I will probably get my answers by talking to the right people on campus, but if you have any advice on doing this I'll gladly take it)
*Is there a possibility of establishing a scholarship fund that would provide at least one high school graduate from the Boys and Girls Club with a full-tuition scholarship to St. Norbert College? If this is possible how would I go about accomplishing this??
Michele Dickinson - Stevens Point, WI
UWSP Service-Learning Coordinator
I have been working with Empty Bowls - an annual fundraiser for the Portage County Hunger & Poverty Prevention Partnership. The event takes place on Saturday, October 20th this year. Every year we have 100's of community members, students, and artists create and paint ceramic bowls and donate them to the event. On the day of the event community members join us and pay $10 for a bowl of their choice. They then enjoy a soup lunch (donated by local resturants), music/entertainment, and a raffle. I have coordinated the raffle for the last 2 years. This year's raffle will feature over $4000 worth of great prizes from local businesses.
My question regarding this project is:
How do we make sure that we sell enough raffle tickets to at least justify the cost of the raffle prizes? (Last year's prizes were worth about $3,800 but we only sold about $2,500 in tickets)
Hi, my name is Courtney Irish and my project is the Mayaguez Children's Library in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. I have been here for 2 1/2 years and it has been challenging. Puerto Ricans do not read like people in the states and getting funding for the library is difficult.
We have many needs. Updated reference books, updated non-fiction books, more books in Spanish(you'd be surprised how many donated books are in English). We are the only bi-lingual library on the west coast and we serve lots of people. But we need new stuff.
I need ways to get the materials we need. And it's hard to get support from PR.
My name is Kristin Yocum, I am working with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Weld County. We are currently in need of sports equipment of all types, including football cleats and jerseys ect.
We are also starting a county wide marketing campaign.
I need ideas on obtaining marketing materials at low cost or donated of course would be best!!
Hi, I'm Casey K. from Asociacion Mayaguezana de Personas con Impedimentos (the Mayaguez Association for People with Disabilities) in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. AMPI offers services to adults with mental retardation and intends to improve their quality of life by offering various services including living skills classes, a summer camp, medical coordinators, and recreational activities.
It is my project this year to open a second hand store in downtown Mayaguez to provide an ongoing source of income for AMPI, provide employment opportunities for clients of our program, and to create a source of inexpensive goods for the general community in Mayaguez.
Three things I need to succeed with this project this year are (1) some sort of training on how to organize the finances of a small business, (2)donations for the setup of the thrift store, and (3)some sort of long-term network of support for the thrift store to keep it's operating costs down so that it may be a sustainable operation.
My name is Katie McKeown, and I'm half way through my VISTA term at the Montana Conservation Corps in Bozeman, Montana. I'm also a coordinator of the Montana Americorps Member Advisory Council. As part of my project, I will be heading up a Make A Difference Day planning committee. We will implement our project on October 27th.
I would benefit most from advice in the following categories:
How do I approach huge businesses for in-kind donations? I'd like to get tons of toiletries donated from Wal-mart, Target, and Costco.
How do I approach small, local businesses for in-kind donations? These businesses are constantly being hit up for donations. I'd like to ask them for t-shirts, pizza, and drinks for our volunteers.
How do I best approach media outlets and other entitities for free advertising? I'd like to have ads on the radio, plenty of coverage in papers, and possibly even a banner donated by the city.
Hi my name is Andrea Hidalgo I am a VISTA for the Colorado Youth Corps Association. I am working to get in-kind donations for our scholarship gear bank-Scholarship Gear Bank - Many young people who participate in youth corps are low income and have little experience in the out of doors. CYCA proposes launching a Scholarship Gear Bank, to help these young people be safe and comfortable during their corps experience. While the corps provides many items for their participants such as tents and cooking equipment, the youth do need to have some personal gear such as sleeping bags, pads, and packs in order to participate.
My name is Kelsey Zlab and I'm serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Iowa Campus Compact. My direct site is at Central College in Pella, Iowa (1 hour southeast of Des Moines, Iowa). Campus Compact is a network of colleges and universities dedicated to community service and civic engagement. I work directly with the Director of the Office of Community-Based Learning at Central.
My main responsibilties include coordinating service-learners with roughly 60 NFP's around Central Iowa, leading orientations and reflection sessions, building new partnerships with NFP and government organizations, and buildling bridges wit faculty and staff.
This is the third year we've had a VISTA; therefore, currently our program is very sustainable. Our overarching budget is always pressured by the cost of gasoline, as most of our budget goes towards reimbursing students for gas and providing them with college vehicles. We do this as most students do service-learning as part of a course, and therefore, we must provide transportation, as many of our community partners are in Des Moines.
Three things I and/or the program needs:
1) more transportation opportunities
2) money for a service-learning research center
3) space for new offices (in the making--will have in 2 years)
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