may 2015 vista verse
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
May 2015
Volume 5, Issue 5
The VISTA Verse
In this issue:
Brigit’s Bounty and Brigit’s
Village Thunder Valley
School Trips
By Marielle Grenade-Willis
Page 2
Very Valuable VISTAs:
Ashley Boyer -
Arc of Weld County
Sean Boyle - Weld Recovers ,
United Way of Weld County
Pages 4 and 5
VISTAs helping to garden at Brigit’s Bounty
VISTA Site Spotlight:
Sunrise Community Health By Kristina Sandquist
Page 3
By: Marielle Grenade-Willis
Page 2 Volume 5, Issue 5
Brigit’s Bounty and Brigit’s Village Thunder Valley School Trips
April and May for Brigit’s Bounty has been marked by rain, rain, and more
rain. As much as I like Emerson, I don’t agree that a weed is a “plant whose virtues
have never been discovered” and we have lots of weeds due to the recent monsoon.
However, Brigit’s Bounty has remained steadfast in its efforts to not be dissuaded
by the weather and we began seed planting some of our crops in April.
Brigit’s Bounty has had an ongoing partnership with Thunder Valley K-8
School located just a half mile away. The students do not get to go on exciting field
trips due to lack of funding and so they have come out to the garden in the past for
hands-on activities. I had the opportunity to go into the schools over three
consecutive days in April and bring the garden to the students through a seed
starting activity. All in all, I taught 180 students how to plant a seed and look
after a plant.
I worked with the second-graders on cucumbers and pumpkins with the first-graders. They were all
very excited to have a hands-on experience in which they learned about the life cycle of plants, the necessary
conditions that a plant needs to live, and how a cucumber/pumpkin might benefit them nutritionally. The
second-graders got to take home their cucumbers while the first-graders, with the aid of their teachers, took
care of the pumpkins in the classroom for us. I picked them up four weeks later and couldn’t believe how
beautiful and big the vines were already.
Jonathan Basso and Lyn Davis— VISTA Leaders, United Way of
Weld County
Laura Hobbs—Youth and Family Connections
Sean Carlson — Community Impact, United Way of Weld County
Kendra Wilson — Turn Around Bikes, Northern Colorado Youth
for Christ
Abigail Yeagle —High Plains Library District Foundation
Kali Arena —Poudre Learning Center
Melanie Falvo —Community Impact, United Way of Weld County
Eli Kapitancek —RISE
Henry Danska —Longs Peak Council, Boy Scouts
Cecily Hahn —A Kid’s Place
Sean Boyle —Weld Recovers, United Way of Weld County
Ashley Boyer —Arc of Weld County
Marielle Grenade-Willis — Brigit’s Bounty and Brigit’s Village
Angelina Calantjis—The Success Foundation
Kristina Sandquist — Sunrise Community Health Center
VISTAs and Agencies
It was a really a gratifying experience to directly
communicate how important our food is to these kids and try
to impress upon them to eat healthy! I plan to have the first-
graders come out to the garden to the fall to see all the big
and bountiful pumpkins that they helped to grow! I hope that
it is as exciting for them as it will be for me!
By: Kristina Sandquist
Page 3 Volume 5, Issue 5
Sunrise Community Health is composed of 10 clinics which provide integrated culturally competent, comprehensive primary medical, dental and behavioral health care to the Weld and Larimer county communities. Sunrise has five family clinics, one stand-alone dental clinic, one pediatric clinic, one school-based clinic, one prenatal clinic, and one mobile outreach van. Sunrise Community Health serves everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for services. In 2014, nearly 34,000 patients received care in more than 140,000 visits.
At Sunrise Community Health, I am responsible for several different public health capacity building projects. These projects include: monthly cancer screening reports; bilingual patient health education materials; and refining a new patient portal through provider and patient feedback. Through community partnerships, I am also identifying donors and obtaining donations for the Migrant and Homeless Outreach Program’s wellness packs.
In May, I have focused on recruiting staff who are also patients at Sunrise to volunteer to test Sunrise’s new patient portal. Through questionnaires and focus groups, we have received very useful feedback from these volunteers which will help us make the portal the best it can be before it is rolled out to all of Sunrise’s patients. I have also been creating bilingual educational materials to be posted in the waiting rooms of our clinics. Our health topics for the months of May and June include women’s health, men’s health, physical activity, smoking cessation and high blood pressure.
VISTA Site Spotlight: Sunrise Community Health
Important dates in June:
June 14 - Bidding for Bikes Fundraiser
For more information see page 6 of the VISTA Verse
June 25 - VISTA Meeting at United Way of Weld County
Page 4 Volume 5, Issue 5
How has VISTA been a valuable experience for you?
VISTA has been the utmost valuable
experience for me! If I'm being
completely honest, I had originally
chosen the path of VISTA solely as a
means of getting to the state I wanted
to be in; I had my heart set on
Colorado. I was working as a custom
designer sales consultant at an
interior design and remodeling firm,
and was itching for a way out. VISTA
seemed like a perfect transition
opportunity for the upcoming year,
and something my mother said to me
right before I left still rings in my
head... "Well, you're either going to
figure out what you absolutely do not
want to do, or you may find out what
it is you want to do. Either outcome is
a good thing so I'm on board." I am so
very lucky and gracious that this
experience has yielded the latter for
me. I had never thought of working in
the nonprofit sector until my
arrival at the Arc of Weld County. My
VISTA year opened my eyes to so
many new doors and possibilities
to which I had previously been
indifferent. I found myself excited to
come into work every day and
absolutely love all aspects of my job,
which is something I could not say
before. I owe this new and excit-
ing direction of my life to the Arc of
Weld County, for I'm not sure where
I'd be now had I not ended up here.
That is what has made my VISTA
year such a valuable experience for
me.
What is your proudest achievement during your term thus far? Helping Cesar, one of our self-advocates
at the Arc of Weld County, acquire and
move into his very first apartment was
an especially proud moment and I am
ecstatic that I was able to be a part of
him succeeding in one of his life goals.
What do you love the most about being in Colorado?
Aside from the weather being absolutely
stupid amazing all the time, I'd have to
say being surrounded by amazing friends
and all the new adventures left to
explore. I'm a strong believer of "it's not
where but who you're with that matters"
and I am very lucky to have so many
of my people around me here in
Colorado.
Who is your hero?
I have two... my parents. They both
encompass everything I aim to become
and so much more. And if you've seen
my mom, well then you'll know I
also can't wait to look like her when I
grow older. She makes 50 look good
(and so does my dad, it's sickening
actually)!
What are your favorite hobbies?
You can always find me dancing at a
show or festival! I love camping and
lounging in my hammock. Pretty much
anything that gets me out of a shower for
a couple days (kidding...kind of). I try to
learn something new every day.
What is your favorite childhood memory?
When my family moved from California to
Pennsylvania, we drove across country. It
was an amazing near week stopping at all
of the major stops like the Hoover Dam,
Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, etc. While I
wish I was a little bit older so I could have
appreciated it a little more at the time, it
was an amazing experience. We made the
drive over the Thanksgiving holiday (we
spent Thanksgiving at The Luxur in Las
Vegas) so Christmas would be the first
holiday to be celebrated in our new house.
Christmas Eve came, and I remember my
two sisters and I running outside in the
front yard like crazy little lunatics because
that was the first time we had seen snow
and I remember thinking ,"It's just like all
the Christmas books!"
For more information contact
Jonathan Basso | VISTA Leader
United Way of Weld County
970-304-6194
814 9th Street | PO Box 1944
Greeley, CO 80632
Check us out on facebook!
Click here:
The The The VISTA VISTA VISTA VerseVerseVerse
Very Valuable VISTA
Ashley Boyer
Arc of Weld County
Page 5 Volume 5, Issue 5
What were your most interesting
job experiences before VISTA?
Well, I was in the Air Force for
almost 26 years. I had the chance to
visit sunny places like Iraq, Somalia
and Bosnia. Believe me, they were
interesting job experiences.
If you were a teacher, what would
you teach?
History. An unknown source once
said “Never forget the importance of
history. To know nothing of what
happened before you took your place
on earth, is to remain a child forever
and ever”. Kind of says it all, no?
If you could visit anywhere in the
world where would you go?
The Asia-Pacific Region. There you
will find some of the nicest people
on the face of the planet. Oh yes…
Ireland too!
What is your proudest
achievement to date?
Being able to keep my wife happy
for almost 28 years.
If you could live in any sitcom,
what would it be?
I have to say Seinfeld since I
actually did live in that sitcom
during my time in Brooklyn.
What are your favorite hobbies?
Hiking, fishing and camping with
my dog O’Keefe.
What is the most life-changing
choice you’ve ever made?
It’s when I joined the Air Force. It
got me out of New York and
allowed me to see the world in all
its terrible beauty. Poetic huh?
Has your view on poverty
changed at all through your
VISTA work?
Somewhat. I grew up in Brooklyn,
NY during the 1970s and had a
chance to see that grand old city
while it was in an economic
depression. Some neighborhoods
were pretty close to as badly off as
those I would later see while
serving in Africa as a Peace Corps
volunteer. I learned that poverty is a
disease and that we all should be in
the fight to eradicate it.
Very Valuable VISTA
Sean Boyle
Weld Project Connect and
Weld Recovers
For more information contact
Jonathan Basso | VISTA Leader
United Way of Weld County
970-304-6194
814 9th Street | PO Box 1944
Greeley, CO 80632
Check us out on facebook!
Click here:
The The The VISTA VISTA VISTA VerseVerseVerse
What is it you like most about your
agency’s mission?
My agency (United Way of Weld County)
is a nonprofit that brings the community
together to solve health and human
problems. You can’t do better than that.
What I like most is that there are times in
my job when I get to actually see the good
that we bring to our community. I get to
experience great things whether it’s while
working on a Weld Recovers flood assis-
tance project or a Project Connect task that
directly helps needy individuals.
