Dear Readers,

Summer is here, and the Vermont Youth Tomorrow VISTA members of 2012-2013 are nearing the end of their service. We are so very proud of the anti-poverty service that they have provided to communities, youth, and

families all across Vermont. Well done, VYT team!

In this issue, members were asked to reflect on their VISTA service and the positive impact they had on their communities. We are also welcoming a new VYT member to the team, and she takes this opportunity to reflect on what she has done already, and what she hopes to do for the rest of her service year.

I hope you find the final newsletter of the 2012-2013 service

year informative, inspiring, motivating, and so much more.

In Service,

Cara Melbourne

VYT VISTA Leader, 2012-2013

Kate Piniewski 2-3

Marcella Houghton 4

Jenny Peterson 5

Alaina Wermers 6

Lillian Shields 7

Britt Wedenoja 8

Anna Houston 9

Sarah Rice 10-11

Rachel Mason 11

Ryan Stratton 12

Alison Siegel 13

Jenny Montagne 14

Valerie Woodhouse 14

Brian Fullerton 15

Jenna Geery 16

Anna Finklestein 17

Training and End of

Service Photos

18-19

Contact Information 20

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Vermont Youth Tomorrow

A*VISTA Program

VYT Voices

DREAM is primarily designed to serve

youth, ages 5-18, living in project-

based affordable housing neighbor-

hoods. Each of the communities we

serve is designated as Section 8 Public

Housing, where 100 percent of the

youth are living in families classified as

either low or very-low income. The

youth we serve are exposed to fre-

quent family turmoil, instability, and

begin caring for themselves, without

parental supervision, at a younger age

than their wealthier peers. This leads

to an increased risk for harmful out-

comes. DREAM’s exclusive focus is on

this high-need, yet hard-to-reach, pop-

ulation.

DREAM mentors are all college stu-

dents who volunteer their time to

work with children and teenagers in

affordable housing communities. Men-

tors independently plan and execute

constructive and enriching activities for

their mentees and the neighborhood

they work with. During the 2012-2013

academic year, DREAM mentors in

Vermont volunteered over 20,130

hours.

Central to The DREAM Program and

its mission is its Village Mentoring

model, which gives volunteers and

participants ownership of the program

and group culture. DREAM takes the

passion and energy of college students

and creates a unique partnership with

a housing neighborhood. Like more

traditional mentoring models, the

heart of village mentoring is the sup-

portive one-on-one relationship be-

tween the college student volunteer

and the youth, which has a significant

impact on both participants. The rela-

tionship cultivates self-confidence and

helps establish new norms through

role modeling, loving attention, and

positive messaging. The second level of

Village Mentoring is group program-

ming; mentoring pairs spend time to-

gether to generate a broader network

of caring, educated adults actively

involved in each child’s life. A group

identity allows children to safely push

their comfort zones, build teamwork

skills, and practice healthy peer inter-

actions. The third level is neighbor-

hood support, where mentors engage

as a group to integrate them-

selves into the children’s neigh-

borhood. They visit the housing

community frequently and regu-

larly engage with the parents and

other residents. This active in-

volvement with neighborhood

stakeholders is intended to

boost the neighborhood in its

own work of supporting its chil-

dren and taking collective action

on behalf of the children.

As a DREAM Program Empow-

erment VISTA, my main role is

to support mentors at Dart-

mouth College. A talented, intel-

ligent, motivated group of col-

lege students, the 65 mentors

make my days thoroughly enjoy-

able. By empowering and en-

couraging mentors to dream

big, youth in the program see

the potential for follow through

on large ideas. For example, Hol-

low Drive, one of the Local Programs

I support, was concerned that their

youth were disengaging from weekly

programming. Mentors and youth

began to plan a large event for the

end of the spring term that would

celebrate the end of a great year and

send senior mentors off with a highly

rewarding experience. On their last

day together, twelve youth and ten

mentors traveled to an amusement

park where they tested their comfort

zones on roller coasters and water

slides. Several youth have told me that

it was their favorite day of DREAM.

Local Programs are the heart of

DREAM, but we strive to provide

additional opportunities for youth

beyond their weekly programming. As

an organization DREAM runs an an-

nual mentor retreat, two Teen Re-

treats, four Winter Adventure

Camps, and a fully subsidized summer

camp for all eligible youth in the Ver-

mont programs. AmeriCorps VISTAs

serving with DREAM are integral in

the development and execution of

such events. We recruited volun-

teers, invited youth and mentors, led

activities, and supported participants

as they challenged themselves during

these DREAM experiences.

This was the first year that DREAM

has placed a Program Empowerment

Director in White River Junction.

One of my projects was to spread

awareness of DREAM and build part-

nerships for individuals, businesses,

Kate with a DREAM Youth at

her high school graduation.

Page 2

Kate Piniewski, VYT A*VISTA member

The DREAM Program

White River Junction, VT

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE

and organizations in the Upper Val-

ley. The three neighborhoods I col-

laborate with are

all paired with

Dartmouth Col-

lege. DREAM’s

presence is wide-

spread on cam-

pus, but mentors

and I were able

to expand that

awareness to

local businesses

which donated

goods and ser-

vices, to family

and friends

across the coun-

try who sent

monetary contri-

butions, and to

other mentoring

organizations in

the area. One of our most successful

events this year developed out of a

partnership with Literacy in the Up-

per Valley, a group of Dartmouth

graduate students who are passion-

ate about developing a love of read-

ing for low-income youth at an early

age. After a large book drive, men-

toring pairs met for an afternoon of

reading and ice cream and then each

youth took books home with them.

Many mentoring programs struggle

with retention. Volunteers are re-

cruited, screened, and trained, but

often end their participation for one

reason or another. This year we

have implemented volunteer manage-

ment strategies to keep mentors

engaged. This includes one-on-one

check-ins, mentor-bonding events,

and reevaluation of pairings several

weeks after the match is made.

DREAM operates under an

“Empowerment through Ownership”

model, which encourages mentors to

take charge of their own Local Pro-

gram. This distribution of responsi-

bility allocates resources effectively

and creates a

shared enthusiasm

for DREAM. Charg-

ing co-chairs,

DREAM’s program

leaders, with the

responsibility of

mentor retention

creates sustainabil-

ity for their own

Local Program, as

well as the organi-

zation as a whole.

Shared accountabil-

ity creates capacity

as mentors gradu-

ate, VISTAs end

their service, and

youth transition in

and out of the pro-

gram.

Additionally, as more mentors par-

ticipate with excitement and enjoy-

ment, youth are encouraged to at-

tend weekly programming and re-

cruit other youth to join. The three

programs I engage with have seen an

increase in the size of their pro-

grams over the year and they are on

track to continue growing in the

coming years. This year mentoring

matches have participated in weekly

Friday activities, community dinners,

culminating experiences, winter and

summer camp sessions, fundraisers,

and teen retreats, which all encour-

age and inspire DREAM youth to live

healthy, productive, fulfilling lives.

To end with heartbreaking, yet in-

spiring, story from one DREAM fam-

ily seems appropriate to summarize

my year with DREAM. In early

March two DREAM youth from one

of my programs and their father

were in a serious car accident on

their way to school. Their father was

killed upon impact and the 17-year-

old girl was critically injured. Her

brother, a 16-year-old, sustained minor

injuries, but major psychological dam-

age. It was a horrific day for all and

DREAM reached out to the family with

full intentions of supporting the two

teens in any way possible. Both youth

have been in DREAM since they were

young; six years ago they lost their

mother and DREAM was there for

them. Two mentors and I launched a

fundraising campaign to support the

two teens as they struggled physically

and emotionally. We were able to raise

a significant amount that is available for

present basic needs, as well as future

education expenses. Additionally, we

worked closely with local high school

to support them. The 17-year-old re-

cently graduated from high school after

a very tough spring semester and I have

never heard a crowd cheer so loudly as

she crossed that stage.

Recently I received a phone call from a

teacher of the young man to express

his sincere gratitude for all of the hard

work DREAM has done with this fami-

ly. Throughout this whole ordeal, he

never missed a day of school or a

DREAM Friday. He attended a Camp

DREAM session, landed a summer ap-

prenticeship, and will soon depart for a

weeklong sailing trip. It has not been an

easy road, but the experiences with

this family are ones that I will never

forget. The ups outweighed the downs,

the smiles beat the tears, the successes

of this year prevailed over the hard-

ships. As I sadly leave my service site, I

know it will not be the last time I am

involved with DREAM youth and their

families.

Page 3

Kate and DREAM

mentoring pair from

Dartmouth College.

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 4

“Hmm. Tastes like cabbage.” I looked

over with surprise at the quietest kid in

my garden group, who stood cautiously

munching a leaf of kale, and realized that

those were the first words I heard him

speak aloud. It was a special moment for

me. Since the beginning of my VISTA year

just a few months ago (I started in late

April), I’ve become a primary point per-

son for upkeep and planning of the fledg-

ling, quarter-acre garden at Laraway

Youth and Family Services (LYFS). This

summer, I’m facilitating

garden groups twice a

week.

LYFS supports youth and

families from all over the

state through highly

specialized educational,

therapeutic, and

behavioral support

programs. Many kids

here have experienced

poverty, trauma, and

other life stresses, and

their behavioral patterns

often reflect those chal-

lenges. I’m becoming

attuned to the distinct

dynamics in each of my

groups, so I was sur-

prised when this particu-

lar student, normally

withdrawn and distant

from the group, seemed

to get suddenly engaged.

Plus, I was happy to tell

him that his observation

was right on: kale and cabbage happen to

be two versions of the same exact spe-

cies.

It was a small moment, but somehow

seemed like an indicator of positive im-

pact. LYFS broadly envisions a future

where their land offers both tangi-

ble resources (like food for the caf-

eteria) and important therapeutic

and/or educational benefits for

youth. The first part is palpable. For

example, in the past month I’ve

been able to set up a schedule for

harvesting for the cafeteria—

meaning we can see and taste the

results, like the red romaine in the

salad at lunchtime. But the process

of structuring mechanisms for the

land to teach and provide therapy is

less straightforward, with subtler

indicators about whether it’s work-

ing. So to observe a student en-

gaged and giving feedback seems

like a hint that the garden is already

working to facilitate hands-on learn-

ing and engage kids in new and/or

varied experiences.

With or without hints that my ser-

vice is making an impact, I hope

that as I continue to build LYFS’s

capacity for providing land-based

educational programming and ther-

apeutic resources over the upcom-

ing year, some of those intangible

benefits can (eventually) be har-

vested. PS: I would be remiss if I didn’t tell

a bit about the other

key piece of my

upcoming service

year. It’ll be shared

between LYFS and

another organization

concerned with the

healthy future of low-

income Vermonters:

Salvation Farms. Sal-

vation Farms is com-

mitted to strengthen-

ing Vermont’s food

system by increasing

the state’s capacity to

capture and distribute

agricultural surplus to

those in need. My

focus for this year is

building the Vermont

Gleaning Collective –

Salvation Farms’ initi-

ative to strengthen

the network of

regional agencies

concerned with

community food

security, and specifically, to

increase their capacity to capture

and distribute edible farm surplus

through gleaning. The work I’ve

done so far is incredibly motivating,

and I’m looking forward to sharing

more about Salvation Farms next

time!

Marcella Houghton, VYT A*VISTA Member

Laraway Youth & Family Services and

Salvation Farms

Johnson, VT

Marcella and chef Lisa Rock with garlic scapes

harvested by youth in summer programs at Laraway

Youth and Family Services.

“I’m going to make a difference. I will do

something to change the lives of children.

I will get things done for America!” As

college graduation approached last

year, this idealistic voice inside me

resounded and I signed up to become

an AmeriCorps VISTA serving at

Community Friends Mentoring for a

year. I smiled and pictured the stu-

dents in my program

lifted out of poverty,

like a giant hot air bal-

loon that stops at hous-

es and plucks them up

into the sunny air and

they float away into a

world without hard-

ships. I packed my bags,

flew across the country

and set out to accom-

plish this mission. Soon

I would learn how dif-

ferent this vision

looked from reality.

In the quaint city of

Burlington, poverty is

hidden, quietly consum-

ing the lives of those

not seen shopping in

the boutiques on

Church Street. Many of

the children in these

homes have a strong

need for education.

Not necessarily educa-

tion in the form of traditional school

or subject matter, but life education

and individual support. Kids learn

from the role models they have in

their life. When these role models

don’t exist or are too busy with other

things (such as working multiple jobs),

part of their education is lacking.

Community Friends Mentoring aims

to fill this need, with a mission of

matching youth age 6-12 with a fun,

nurturing adult who will provide indi-

vidual attention and community en-

gagement.

The purpose of the service I do is to

directly support the mentor pairs.

During my year serving as an Ameri-

Corps VISTA, I developed activities

and programs for the mentor pairs to

participate in throughout the year,

including an apple picking event, a

Halloween dance, volunteering for gift

wrapping, and a cross-country skiing

program. I helped to build partner-

ships between community organiza-

tions and increased financial resources

to ensure program viability. I have had

the fortunate opportunity to see the

immediate impact of my service by

becoming, on my own time, a mentor

in the fall. From this perspective, I can

see the importance of the activities,

events, and fundraising efforts. What I

don’t see though, is the long lasting

effect of our efforts. One way for us

to glimpse the impact on the individu-

als in our program is through the

feedback from surveys we send out

each year. From our mentor surveys,

59% responded that their mentee had

improved self confidence since spend-

ing time together and 50% re-

ported their mentee had more

positive expectations for the

future. One parent reported in

the survey that “[her] daughter

has blossomed into a young

lady with confidence and good

self-esteem since working with

her mentor.” In addition, we

have three mentees heading off

to college in the fall and one of

them received a $1,000 grant

for her involvement in a men-

toring organization. While we

will never know how their lives

would turn out without men-

tors, we believe that our volun-

teers positively affect the youth

in our program and help them

lead happier lives.

This year, I did not float from

house to house in a hot air

balloon, lifting kids out of pov-

erty. Instead, I made small

changes in a mentoring pro-

gram and continued supporting

every match that helps shape the life

of one individual. It’s difficult to see

these changes happen in just a year,

but I have faith

in the work I do

and in a positive

future for the

youth in our

community.

Jenny Peterson, VYT A*VISTA Member

Community Friends Mentoring

Burlington, VT

Page 5

Jenny and her mentee attend a VT

Lake Monsters baseball game, an

annual mentoring event.

My biggest contribution to the

Winooski community this year came

from a very unlikely place. I have men-

tioned in past newsletters that the

Community Gardens was a program

that I was not looking forward to co-

ordinating. I had never gardened be-

fore, and I had very little interest in

gardening. This changed once I partici-

pated in the fall workday at the O’Bri-

en Community Center Garden. I got

to know some of the gardeners and

began to understand the care and

management that the gardens needed.

I knew that I could not give the atten-

tion to the gardens and the gardeners

that they deserved nor was the infra-

structure physically there for the

O’Brien Community Center (OCC)

Garden to function sustainably.

The Gardens are extremely important

resources for many of Winooski’s

residents. The one grocery store in

the city closed several years ago, leav-

ing parts of the city to become what is

known by the USDA as a Food De-

sert. Many of Winooski’s residents

walk to the nearest grocery store

which is a 20 minute walk along a busy

road with no sidewalk for part of the

way. There is also the matter of the

economic resources of the communi-

ty; according to the 2010 Census, 23%

of Winooski residents live below the

poverty line. The cost of fresh pro-

duce can be cost prohibitive for many

residents.

Knowing that the current manage-

ment structure was failing the gardens

and the gardeners, I felt that some-

thing needed to change. For several

months I wrote grant proposals to

support the stipends for the two Gar-

den Manager positions we created and

for the rebuilding of the O’Brien

Community Center Garden. I also

wrote a Garden Plan with the help of

several gardeners’ input. The Garden

Plan outlined the vision we have for

the program as well as the manage-

ment structure. It will be there to

help future VISTAs and staff under-

stand the direction we hope to take

the gardens.

I was successful in securing two grants

for the gardens: one to support the

stipends and the other to rebuild the

OCC Garden. The rebuild was a long

process, but the finished product

makes it all worth it. I got to know

some great community members from

Nepal; and even though we could not

always communicate clearly verbally,

we managed to work well together

and get a lot done. They were great

to have around not just because they

were hard workers but because they

shared my enthusiasm for building the

garden.

We now have two Garden Managers,

one for each garden, and a Garden

Team comprised of several gardeners.

Having both the team and the Garden

Managers has been a boost for the

program. I now have a better under-

standing of what the gardeners want

and need as well as people on the

ground to communicate issues and be

resources for gardeners. I am excited

to see where the program goes and

how it flourishes over the next year.

As the Garden Team and Garden

Managers become more established, I

believe that this program will become

self-sustaining and a vibrant communi-

ty resource.

I am truly excited that I will be con-

tinuing on in my role for a second

service year. This will give me the

opportunity to continue to grow the

program and to provide more con-

sistency for the gardeners. Now that I

have had a year to get to know the

City and establish some practices, I

believe that I will be able to do some

really great work next year including

providing more service and civic en-

gagement opportunities for youth as

well as providing continued support

to the community gardens and other

programs.

See you all next year!

Alaina Wermers VYT A*VISTA Member

Winooski Community Services Department

Winooski, VT

Page 6

The O’Brien Community Center Garden in Winooski

“I may be a youth but I have a lot of

good things to say.” Month after

month at Youth Development Com-

mittee meetings—Vermont’s advisory

board for youth in foster care—young

men and women share their thoughts

and feelings on Vermont’s foster care

system.

There are approximately 400,000

youth in foster care in the United

States. There are roughly 1,000 youth

in the custody of the state of Vermont.

Although the reasons that children and

youth enter foster care vary, the great-

est percentage enters custody because

of abuse or neglect. The largest repre-

sentations of youth in custody are be-

tween the ages of 12 and 17. These

youth are also at the highest risk of

aging out of foster care without perma-

nent connections with caring adults.

Although when they reach the age of

18, very few youth are ready and able

to support themselves financially and

emotionally at that age. Many have ex-

perienced traumatic histories and upon

reaching their 18th birthday, are ex-

pected to behave like adults without

resolving their feelings as a result of

those histories. The Vermont Youth

Development Program (YDP) serves as

an extended care program, providing

youth with resources, supports and

assistance building permanent connec-

tions with caring adults until their 22nd

birthday.

Last fall I began as an AmeriCorps

VISTA member at the Vermont De-

partment for Children and Families,

Family Services Division (DCF-FSD).

At midyear, I was given the privilege of

working with the Youth Development

Committee as their Youth Leadership

Coordinator, also. As a VISTA in both

of these capacities, I attempted to

merge both roles into one, asserting

youth voice into policy and practice

development on the state level. In

the process of doing so, it became

clear to the Committee that in order

to advocate for what they believe,

they need to effectively articulate

what those beliefs are.

Recognizing this need to develop a

concrete foundation for the Com-

mittee to advocate from, members

began redeveloping the Committee’s

mission statement, values and pur-

pose statements. Youth on the

Committee also defined what nor-

malcy is, to them, what they believe

can make the lives of foster youth

more normative. The Committee

also developed some goals and pro-

jects for the future.

All of the work that the Committee

did to put these foundational pieces

together have left them with a

strong base for the Committee to

stand on in the future. With a solid

mission statement and focus, the

Youth Development Committee can

now articulate what it does and why

it does it. Further, the Committee

will also be able to better serve as

its own liaison between the Family

Services Division and the Youth De-

velopment Committee.

AmeriCorps VISTAs are tasked with

building capacity or, in other words,

helping an organization function

without the help of a VISTA. I hope

that the service I have done with the

Youth Development Committee can

get them one step closer to serving

as key stakeholders in future plan-

ning for the child welfare system.

Lillian Shields, VYT A*VISTA Member

VT Department for Children and Families &

Youth Development Program

Essex, VT

Projects the Youth Development Committee

members have been working on.

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 7

Page 8

Going into my second year of service

as a VYT AmeriCorps VISTA serving

with The DREAM Program, I was excit-

ed to take on a new challenge. I moved

from being the Bennington area Pro-

gram Empowerment VISTA to being

the Burlington area Program Empower-

ment VISTA and with that location

change came a wealth of new responsi-

bilities and opportunities. Last year I

supported 32 mentor pairs with youth

from two low-income housing commu-

nities while this year, in my new role, I

supported over 140 pairs with youth

from four different low-income housing

communities. The location change also

introduced me to a whole new com-

munity of youth with a unique dynamic;

a large number of them are new Amer-

icans. In the beginning I struggled with

adapting the strategies I used last year

to my larger programs and my new

community. Eventually I was able to

feel confident and comfortable in my

new role and had a very successful year

of service.

When I began serving in my new

area it was apparent that the youth

in the low-income housing communi-

ties in Burlington had many of the

same needs as youth in DREAM’s

southern Vermont programs. The

youth lacked structured out-of-

school time activities as well as the

benefits that a strong mentoring rela-

tionship can provide. Also, the Bur-

lington area communities are so

large that it is almost impossible to

recruit enough mentors to accom-

modate every youth who wants to join DREAM. For instance, our

Franklin Square community has

twelve youth currently on the wait-

ing list and more youth age into our

program every year. In order to

meet this need I implemented a lot

of new volunteer management tech-

niques so that volunteer mentors felt

supported and empowered to design

better activities and serve more chil-

dren in the community.

One of the biggest steps I took was

in implementing new mentor check-

ins throughout the year. Program co

-chairs would meet with the new

mentors one-on-one to discuss how

their experiences were going and

figure out what support they still

needed. I also helped mentors feel

more ownership over their pro-

grams by empowering them to make

decisions and encouraging them to

have high expectations for new men-

tors. This year was the first year

where a trial period was instituted

for new mentors. This allowed co-

chairs to determine if new mentors

were a good fit for the program and

also make better mentoring match-

es. The stronger the connection

between the mentor and the youth,

the more dedicated the mentor vol-

unteer! Even though the co-chairs

decided that a few mentors weren’t

right for the program, I think that

this was better for the long run than

letting them continue in the pro-

gram.

In total, this year, the new volunteer

management practices that I institut-

ed at DREAM led to a 14% increase

in mentor numbers which in turn

allowed us to serve 29 additional

youth in the Burlington area. Hope-

fully, as these effective volunteer

management strategies are employed

in the rest of DREAM’s programs,

mentor numbers will continue to

increase and more youth can experi-

ence the benefit of a one-on-one

mentoring relationship.

Britt Wedenoja, VYT A*VISTA Member

The DREAM Program

Burlington, VT

DREAM summer interns, camp staff, and VISTAs

enjoy a week of orientation at Camp DREAM

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 9

As I write this, the children’s librarian is

helping a young man search for a book

at the circulation desk. Downstairs,

patrons sit quietly in the reading room,

taking in the day’s news and browsing

the newest books in the collection. At

the computers, people from all walks of

life search job databases. Behind me, an

outreach volunteer and the outreach

coordinator talk about a boy at the

local daycare she recently visited who

immediately wanted to read a story

upon the volunteer’s arrival. Tonight

the Children’s Library will be trans-

formed into a meditation space and

tomorrow the Hayes Room will host a

speaker from Gaza.

In small and varied ways, my ser-

vice as an AmeriCorps VISTA

makes all of this possible. From

the planning and implementation

of large scale fundraisers such as

An Evening at the Library and the

Onion River Century Ride to the

comparably smaller book sales and

raffles and (new this year!) the

Cabin Fever Spelling Bee, my con-

tributions to the development side

of the library have helped keep it

afloat during a difficult time. With-

out a steady stream of funding, the

library would be unable to offer

free, educational programs each

year for youth and adults. Folks

came as far as Plymouth, Vermont

to attend a Vermont Humanities

Council First Wednesdays lecture

on Calvin Coolidge in February and

locals in Washington County attended

a Timebanking 101 program in May to

learn how this unique concept of using

time as currency works in real life.

In April, an annual celebration of Na-

tional Poetry Month co-created by the

Kellogg-Hubbard Library and Montpel-

ier Alive, filled downtown Montpelier’s

windows with the poetry of Vermont-

ers. A variety of readings and work-

shops were available to the public

throughout April. This is an event

that is wholeheartedly embraced by

the entire community and I feel for-

tunate to have been a part of it.

Montpelier Alive and the Vermont

Humanities Council are just two

examples out of the twelve different

community organizations that I was

fortunate enough to develop rela-

tionships with as a regular facilitator

and attendee of programs. Two-

thirds of the collaborations between

the library and the community were

new, as I imagine they are every

year. Community Cinema was a new

addition this year. A collaboration

between Vermont Public Television

and the library, Community Cinema

is a national civic engagement initia-

tive featuring free screenings of films

from the PBS series Independent Lens.

Each month we would show a new

film and follow with a panel discus-

sion featuring community leaders and

experts in whatever topic the film

happened to be addressing. June’s

film was Love Free or Die, a docu-

mentary about Gene Robinson, the

first openly gay bishop in the Epis-

copal Church. The discussion that

followed, with the panelists and

audience, was thought-provoking

and powerful, just like many of the

conversations that happened fol-

lowing Community Cinema screen-

ings. For this reason, Community

Cinema was probably one of my

favorite program series.

The VISTA serving the library is

responsible for program publicity in

print and online, reaching out to

new audiences, and preparing for

and attending library programs.

With the assistance of the

VISTA member, fundraising,

programming, and outreach

are able to happen simultane-

ously and successfully. During

my time here, the library host-

ed over seventy programs,

with an average of thirty-five

people attending each pro-

gram. I’ve helped raise

$26,431, not including the

Onion River Century Ride

which, at the time of writing, is

happening in just over a week.

Our goal is to raise $15,000

this year. This library is

well-loved and I have no doubt

that we will reach that goal.

Although I have given a great

deal of my time and energy to the

library over the past eleven

months, I can’t help but feel that I

have gained far more. The Kellogg-

Hubbard Library is an organization

that is deserving of and has benefit-

ted tremendously from VISTA ser-

vice in the past and will continue to

do so in the future.

Anna Houston, VYT A*VISTA Member

Kellogg-Hubbard Library

Montpelier, VT

Bikers participating in the Century

Ride fundraiser take a break at the

Sugar Mill Farm food stop in Barton.

Something peculiar happened at the

Swanton Public Library this year: the

Bookmobile held a Stuffed Animal

Sleepover. Over thirty children came

to the library to listen to stories and

tuck their stuffed animals in for the

night amidst stacks of books. After the

kids went home to their own beds,

their furry friends had a night full of

(meticulously photographed) mischief

in the library. We arranged the photos

into a slideshow, which the kids

watched with awe and only a little

incredulity when they returned the

next morning to pick up their stuffed

animals. Toward the end of the event,

I saw something that was as magical

for me as the stuffed animals’ exploits

were for the kids: one of the parents

took her child by the hand and led him

over to the circulation desk to get his

first library card. He left carrying the

first book he had ever checked out for

himself.

A book is an extraordinary thing – a

library card even more so. Research

shows that “children who grow up in

homes where books are plentiful go

further in school than those who

don't.”* Books can serve as a leveling

force for children in poverty, who

often face barriers to educational suc-

cess: “Children with low-education

families can do as well as children with

high-education families if they have

access to books at home.” Poverty

runs high in the service region of the

Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile,

where I have served as an Ameri-

Corps VISTA for the last year. In the

2011-2012 academic year, 41% of pub-

lic school children in Franklin County

and 47% in Grand Isle County were

approved for free or reduced lunch.

Conversely, educational access and

quality often run low. When my fellow

Bookmobile VISTA and I interviewed

community members about how to

address local poverty, our interview-

ees were in consensus that the great-

est contributing factor was poor edu-

cation.

The Bookmobile achieves a vital im-

pact on education and on

the struggle against poverty

through targeting early liter-

acy, which can be a deter-

mining factor in later educa-

tional success. According to

the Annie E. Casey Founda-

tion, “Students who don't

read proficiently by third

grade are four times more

likely to leave school with-

out a diploma when com-

pared to proficient readers.

The number rises when

those kids also come from

poverty.” As a VISTA, I

served to ensure that under-

privileged children had the

educational resources to

succeed from a young age so

that they could reach their

full potential and break the

cycle of generational pov-

erty.

I helped my organization thrive

through a combination of capacity

building and direct service. I created

and implemented new programs such

as a replicable curriculum for an after-

school Grossology class that taught

elementary school children chemistry

and biology through icky experiments.

To help the Bookmobile develop a

more robust public relations strategy,

I created our first ever annual report

and arranged for our organization to

be featured on Channel 3 News. The

St. Albans Messenger printed seven

articles about Bookmobile programs

and events during my service term,

reflecting on our efforts to bolster the

Bookmobile’s presence in local print

media. I worked with the Bookmobile

team to plan and/or implement eleven

events, including fundraisers and

free/low-cost family events like the

Stuffed Animal Sleepover. One of

those events, our 10th Birthday Bash,

drew over 300 people to celebrate

literacy with the Bookmobile. Almost

all of our events raised more money

than those same events had generat-

ed in previous years. In total, my fel-

low Bookmobile VISTA and I were

able to raise $19,000 in in-kind dona-

tions and $8,000 from events, as well

as editing grants that awarded the

Bookmobile a total of nearly $50,000.

We brought the year to a close by

helping to successfully launch the

Bookmobile’s first ever summer

camp. The camp served as a means of

raising additional funds for the Book

Continued on next page

Sarah Rice, VYT A*VISTA Member

Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile

Swanton, VT

Sarah helps a camper build an animal

out of marshmallows during arts &

crafts at the Dig into Reading camp.

Page 10

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE

mobile while also engaging kids in

the environment, reading, and LOTS

of fun. All told, our VISTA service

supported the Bookmobile in serv-

ing more than 1,500 youth and 486

adults over the course of the year,

kindling the joy of learning and

bringing literacy services to those

who might not otherwise have had

access to them.

Some accomplishments are easier to

gauge than others, however. One of

my favorite aspects of my position

was getting to ride along on the

Bookmobile’s circulation route once

a week. Over the course of the

year, I checked out hundreds of

books to children along that route

and supported the Bookmobile in

reaching a circulation of more than

8,000 books. I read Knuffle Bunny

aloud so many times that the book

felt like an old friend, and I finally

mastered the tune of “Open Shut

Them,” which initially made me

sound as off-key as my grandfather

singing in church. But I was still frus-

trated by not being able to see

firsthand the change that I was

working to create – that miraculous

transformation of a child into a read-

er.

That is why I was inordinately proud

as I watched the boy go up to get his

first library card at our Stuffed Ani-

mal Sleepover. I saw, for the first

time, that moment of transfor-

mation. I began to realize that I had

been seeing that transformation all

along on the Bookmobile, but in

slow motion. I wanted the super-

speed version you see on the Dis-

covery Channel, where it takes a

caterpillar 1.5 seconds to spin a

chrysalis and even less to break free

from it as a butterfly. The metamor-

phosis that happened on the Bookmo-

bile was more subtle, more constant,

and more goofy – but just as beautiful.

I have learned that, just like a book, a

year of service is an extraordinary

thing. It can change 1,500 lives, and

mine among them.

*Evans, M.D.R., et al. Family scholarly

culture and educational success:

Books and schooling in 27 nations.

Research in Social Stratification and Mo-

bility (2010), doi:

10.1016/j.rssm.2010.01.002

**Hernandez, Donald J. Double Jeop-

ardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills

and Poverty Influence High School

Graduation. Annie E. Casey Foundation

(2012).

Page 11

Since I have started my service with

the Vermont Migrant Education Pro-

gram in August 2012, I have served to

build the foundation of a strong volun-

teer program. The point of this volun-

teer program is to expand the amount

of educational service VMEP can pro-

vide to migrant farmworker youth. The

volunteer program specifically targets

Latino Out-of-School Youth, who have

discontinued their education to pursue

a career in agriculture. Prior to having

a Volunteer Coordinator, VMEP did

not have the capacity to recruit, train,

and manage large groups of volunteers.

This VISTA position is the first full-time

Volunteer Coordinator position at the

Vermont Migrant Education Program.

By having a Volunteer Coordinator,

VMEP is able to focus more time and

energy on dispersing volunteer educa-

Rachel Mason, VYT A*VISTA Member

UVM Extension: Migrant Education Program

Berlin, VT

tors into the field. As a result, there

have been sixteen volunteers this year,

who have served approximately 180

hours in total. The majority of these

volunteers taught English to Spanish-

speaking migrant youth in Vermont.

In addition to teaching English,

volunteers have participated in pick-up

soccer games and organizing vegetable

gardens with their students.

Both volunteers and students have

expressed enthusiasm for the program.

When I interviewed volunteers, they

stated what a positive and impactful

experience it was for both them. One

example of a very positive experience

is with two volunteers from the Uni-

versity of Vermont, who worked with

a student from October to May.

When I first met this student, he spoke

very little English. When I came to a

goodbye dinner for the volunteers and

this student, we had almost the entire

dinner conversation in English! I was

amazed by how much the student had

advanced. Beyond learning English, it

was clear that this student and the

volunteers had formed a friendship.

While I value the educational services

volunteers are providing, I also believe

this volunteer program is building a

more inclusive and understanding

community through connecting

migrant youth to community members.

During my two years of service at the

In-Sight Photography Project in Brat-

tleboro, I have done much to help my

organization achieve its mission of

providing affordable afterschool pho-

tography education to youth ages 11-

18 throughout southeastern Vermont.

Brattleboro youth have a need for

structured out-of-school activities, and

the multi-level photography education

classes that we offer provide

many young people with their

only opportunity to learn

digital or analog photography.

All equipment and materials

are provided to students, and

no interested student is

turned away if unable to con-

tribute financially based on a

suggested sliding fee scale.

As part of my service, I have

helped In-Sight to improve its

existing photography educa-

tion programming and devel-

op a few new programs, as

well. Programs that I have

worked on include developing

a course on animation and

reviving interest in our Open

Lab sessions, where students

are welcome to work inde-

pendently outside of their regular

class times. In addition to program

design, I have helped In-Sight establish

a solid group of dedicated volunteers

who teach classes and provide extra

programming support. Through volun-

teer appreciation events and improved

communications and expectations, our

volunteers are happier at In-Sight and

more eager to teach, improving the

class experience for our students.

Of course, an important factor in

maintaining and improving that effec-

tiveness of In-Sight’s programming is

the financial health of the organiza-

tion. Through the efforts of the staff

and my support in donor relations,

marketing, and exhibition installation,

last year’s annual benefit photography

auction was our most successful yet. I

have also begun an effort to sell less-

than-useful donated photography

equipment, which has both raised a

significant amount of money and has

helped to improve the usability of our

cramped space.

During my second year of service, I

made an effort to improve the enroll-

ment in our programs. While the past

few class sessions had classes with less

-than-full numbers, I am proud to say

that our summer classes were all filled

to capacity. These students benefitted

from a more lively classroom environ-

ment, as well as all classes having two

volunteer instructors, making the stu-

dent-to-teacher ratio at 4:1 or better.

Many of our students take their first

pictures in our classes; most do not

have any other access to analog dark-

room facilities. For some students, In-

Sight classes provide their most con-

sistent access to computers and spe-

cific computer programs. Participants

learn countless indirect skills, as well,

such as visual literacy, developing a

critical vocabulary, teambuilding and

communication, and, especially in the

darkroom, patience. The foundation

of In-Sight’s curriculum is a multi-level

approach to photography, so classes

are treated as a place to im-

prove skills through succes-

sive courses. In-Sight has also

been able to reach new popu-

lations due to new and re-

kindled partnerships with or-

ganizations such as the Brat-

tleboro Retreat Meadows

School, Northeast Family In-

stitute, and Brattleboro En-

richment Activities for Middle

Schoolers.

While In-Sight, in its next

stage of growth, will expand

its systems of data collecting

and statistical reporting, quali-

tative feedback suggests that

In-Sight’s programming has

left an extremely positive im-

pact on youth participants.

Take, for example, a moment

at In-Sight’s recent Annual Student

Exhibition—the mother of a partici-

pant expressed her appreciation for a

volunteer instructor who made a

favorable impression on her teenage

daughter, and the class that the stu-

dent was taking provided a safe space

for the difficult time that she was hav-

ing. I was glad to hear this story and

to know that I played some small part

in welcoming this volunteer to In-

Sight and encouraging her to stay

involved, and I am pleased and as-

sured to know that this volunteer will

be serving as In-Sight’s AmeriCorps

VISTA member after me.

Ryan Stratton VYT A*VISTA Member

In-Sight Photography Project

Brattleboro, VT

Page 12

Ryan at In-Sight

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 13

The primary need DREAM works to

address is education. In our Local Pro-

grams, DREAM mentors serve as posi-

tive role models for DREAM youth

and provide constructive out-of-

school activities, to which youth might

not otherwise have access. In each

Local Program, the mentors, activities,

and families are unique, but they all

work toward the same goal through

mentoring.

As a Program Empowerment VISTA, I

manage volunteer mentors from two

of our Local Programs to ensure they

are meeting the needs of their com-

munities. For both programs, I pro-

cessed paperwork, attended meetings,

and worked with mentors to address

any questions or concerns about

DREAM. Over the course of the year,

I screened and trained 15 new men-

tors across the two Local

Programs, and I welcomed 10

new youth to DREAM. I also

supported the returning men-

tors as they took on new

leadership roles and dreamed

bigger and better for their

programs.

Because each of the mentors

and families brings unique

energy and excitement to

DREAM, I got to know each

program in order to support

mentors most effectively. I

supported Bennington College

mentors in planning a retreat,

holding more effective meet-

ings, and figuring out trans-

portation for events and trips.

At Green Mountain College, I

trained mentors on behavior

management techniques, sup-

ported co-chairs in sharing

responsibilities among men-

tors, and coordinated with

community partners to re-

cruit several new families to DREAM.

Through my AmeriCorps service, I

have built strong relationships with

mentors and families. At a celebration

for graduating mentors, everyone

shared their favorite DREAM mo-

ments. Hearing how much DREAM

meant to them was inspiring, and I

took pride in knowing I was a part of

their experiences. Children may not

have the vocabulary to express what

DREAM means to them, but they

show their appreciation in other ways.

Their faces showed their excitement

during a trip to the Montshire Muse-

um of Science where they learned

about scientific principles. New

mentees showed up to DREAM in

their bright yellow t-shirts, bursting

with energy. Youth revealed big ideas

while brainstorming possible summer

activities.

I wish I had one story that perfectly

sums up the impact I have had on the

community, but over the course of

this year, I have realized that it has

been the little moments that let me

know I have made an impact. A 10-

year-old boy realized that “the men-

tors are like our friends.” A parent

was excited to learn about the photos

section of the DREAM website be-

cause she could see how her son has

grown up with DREAM. A mentor

exclaimed, “I wish we had more time

with the kids.” Moments like these

result from building supportive rela-

tionships with mentors and with

DREAM families. The impact of my

service has been in helping these mo-

ments happen.

Ali Siegel, VYT A*VISTA Member

DREAM Program

Burlington, VT

Ali poses with the graduating DREAM mentors from

Bennington College.

While serving as the Joint Communica-

tions and Outreach Coordinator VISTA

at the Vermont Coalition to End

Homelessness and the Vermont Afford-able Housing Coalition, I was tasked

with helping to build capacity for both

organizations. Housing insecurity and lack of safe and affordable housing are

serious issues in Vermont. Both the

VCEH & VAHC work to increase af-

fordable housing and confront home-lessness, here in Vermont and nation-

wide.

My role within the coalitions is to in-crease communication between our

members, promote their work through

social media and publicity events, and provide up-to-date and timely infor-

mation concerning their work. Distrib-

uting accurate information is important

because developing stronger relation-ships among partners hinges on the

sharing of resources and best practices.

monters. Not only do people grapple

to find a safe and stable home, but

they fight against stigmas and misun-

derstandings. My role at the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC)

is to meet with residents in public

housing to encourage them to gain the skills and knowledge needed to

have a stronger voice in their housing

and community. Residents joining

associations discuss issues that their community is facing, and work togeth-

er to improve the place they live in.

This year, VAHC’s Resident Organizing

program saw the residents of several

affordable housing properties in Burling-

ton began to meet with their neighbors and make a difference in their buildings.

Not only did I work with residents on

issues specific to their buildings, but watched residents get involved in the

larger problems that low-income Ver-

monters face. There is still a long way to

go before the housing needs of Ver-monters are met, but I believe that with

residents involved, we can make real

change and faster.

For many people, public housing is a top-

ic that politicians argue over for a part of

town they don’t know much about. Until

my VISTA year, I had no idea how the process of applying for or receiving pub-

lic housing worked, let alone how much

was available. However, it seems like “Section 8” evokes images of high-rises

full of crime, unemployment, and people

getting handouts.

Available and affordable housing is an

everyday struggle for low-income Ver-

Page 14

Over the past year, I challenged myself

to learn and use new systems in order

to more effectively disseminate infor-

mation. I was initially very intimidated by all there was to absorb; up until this

year, my experience with communica-

tions had been focused primarily on writing and theory. From the start of

my VISTA year at the VCEH and

VAHC, I have been pushed out of my

communications comfort zone and feel lucky for it. I have become familiar

with two listserves, written policies to

ensure their continuance, created and distributed press releases to news me-

dia, given presentations to individuals

working in the field, and helped organ-ize monthly coalition-wide meetings. I

have promoted the work of the VAHC

through our Facebook and Twitter

pages as well as our newsfeed blog. In doing so, I have helped to provide ac-

curate and relevant information to

members from both coalitions so that they may serve their communities

more effectively.

I feel that I have made a difference

when members come to events that I

have helped organize, when individuals comment on articles or reports that I

have distributed, and when I have a

grasp on a new housing concept that

once eluded me. I believe that when you’re working for organizations that

are fighting poverty and increasing

quality of life for individuals every-where, it reinforces the idea that we

are all in this together. My sense of

accomplishment at both coalitions comes from seeing more and more

people become part of the conversa-

tion, more involved, and more aware

of the important issues that we face.

Jenny Montagne, VYT A*VISTA Member

VT Coalition to End Homelessness & VT

Affordable Housing Coalition

Burlington, VT

Jenny and Valerie show a poster on

affordable housing in VT

Valerie Woodhouse, VYT

A*VISTA Member

VT Affordable Housing Coalition

There are about a dozen services and

initiatives run or co-run by Essex

CHIPS for youth in the Essex, Ver-

mont area. Most notably, the organi-

zation runs a drop-in after school

center for 5-8th graders, drug/alcohol

abuse prevention initiatives, and runs

a program that helps students transi-

tion from middle school to high

school in the form of an 18 mile hike

through the woods.

Last year Essex CHIPS

started the FriendCHIPS

mentoring program. Until

FriendCHIPS came along,

there were no programs

that offered any sort of

mentoring. This year

FriendCHIPS expanded

from only serving the

schools in Essex Town to

also schools in Essex Junc-

tion.

With 24% of the kids in

the Essex Town and Junc-

tion areas on free or re-

duced lunch, the kids need

one-on-one youth-adult

partnerships to supple-

ment the fantastic work

the schools and other or-

ganizations here are al-

ready doing.

Back in 2002, the study "Mentoring:

A Promising Strategy for Youth De-

velopment" by Susan M. Jekielek,

M.A., Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D., Eliza-

beth C. Hair, Ph.D., and Harriet

Scarupa, M.S, argues that youth who

are a part of mentoring programs—

have fewer unexcused absences from

school than youth not participating in

these programs; a better chance of

going on to higher education, better

attitudes towards school; and are less

likely to try drugs. Mentoring also

promotes positive social attitudes and

the mentoring program. Perhaps

most importantly, I documented

what was working and what wasn’t

through surveys with the current

mentors and monitoring the ana-

lytics of the social media and web-

site traffic.

Someone taking a step back and

trying to assess the outreach strat-

egies for a specific program at Es-

sex CHIPS has never really been

done before. Essex

CHIPS now has a good

look at where their

outreach efforts should

be used for the expan-

sion and sustainability

of the program.

And the outreach sys-

tem I created isn’t

unique to just the

FriendCHIPS program;

it is applicable to most

everything else Essex

CHIPS does. None of

this existed before for

any of the programs.

So, I pass the Commu-

nications Coordinator

reigns to the next

AmeriCorps VISTA in

August. I have met her.

She seems neat. I am

fully confident that she

will build upon the projects I have

already started in the past year

while adding unique touches to

take it in places I wouldn’t have

ever thought about.

My service has expanded the

FriendCHIPS mentoring program’s

capacity as well as the number of

youth it serves. I have worked on

essential, targeted and effective

outreach strategies in place.

relationships.

In other words, youth mentoring pro-

grams like FriendCHIPS helps kids do

better in school which is the best signifi-

er we have about whether or not a kid

will succeed in life later.

The activities the mentor and mentee

participate in aren't super structured. In

my case (I volunteered as a mentor),

when I met with my mentee eve-

ry Wednesday we would just chat about

Pokémon, walk around, and take our

Uno games way too seriously. Some

mentors and mentees just play basket-

ball, some do arts and crafts, and some

go on a Frog Hunting Adventure (FHA).

The expansion of the program into the

Essex Junction school doubled the num-

ber of students served by the one-on-

one mentoring. My role in this process

was to collaborate with the

FriendCHIPS coordinator, and reach out

to the community to let them know of

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 15

Brian Fullerton, VYT A*VISTA Member

Essex CHIPS

Essex Junction, VT

A FriendCHIPS mentor pair go on a frog

hunting adventure.

Page 16

Creating economic opportunity for

students through job training and

internships has proved to make a

difference in the life of many youth in

Vermont. By preparing students to

enter the working world, we are

better equipping them to lead ful-

filling lives. As an AmeriCorps

VISTA

serving at

Navicate

(formerly

Linking

Learning to

Life) I had

the chance

to help

students discover their interests and

learn about job opportunities right

here in Vermont.

The Training Interns and Partnering

for Success (TIPS) program and

Learn to Earn Career exploration

events were platforms for me to

build partnerships with many local

businesses and organizations.

between school and work.

I know that during my year of

service I created many new part-

nerships with businesses that will

last long after I leave. Both stu-

dents and businesses benefited

from my service at Navicate. As

Thomas Ward, Colchester High

School Student and Heritage

Toyota Intern said at TIPS exhibi-

tion night “This class (TIPS) is

probably what I will take most

away from high school, It gave

me so much real world experi-

ence, I feel like I will use it every

day. “ Thomas is now employed

full time at Heritage Toyota.

Through community outreach I discov-

ered the amount of dedicated community

members that exist in Chittenden Coun-

ty. By acting as an intermediary between

schools and business I was able to create

opportunities for students to realize the

connection between what they are learn-

ing in the classroom and the “real world.”

I helped re-

cruit over 40

businesses to

host high

school in-

terns, recruit-

ed and

trained 62

professionals to facilitate career explora-

tion workshops, and reached over 1,400

students. The impact I had was immedi-

ately apparent with some students, while

with others it will become more apparent

as they make choices throughout their

lives. Whether it was telling a student

that anything is possible or simply expos-

ing a student to a career they didn’t

know existed I was able to bridge the gap

Spring Semester TIPS students and Governor Peter Shumlin pose at TIPS internship night.

Jenna Geery, VYT A*VISTA Member

Navicate

Burlington, VT

Big Picture South Burlington serves 27

students of diverse socio-economic

backgrounds in grades eight through

twelve. To contrast a portion of our

students who come from middle and

upper-class families, there are others

who have experienced or will experi-

ence homelessness this year. The

community of South Burlington, how-

ever, is not one that readily confronts

inequities like this one within its own

community. Meaningful service learn-

ing opportunities

allow for an in-

crease in the

awareness and

sensitivity of

youth to the so-

cial issues that

exist both locally

and globally,

which ideally re-

sult in increased

civic and social

participation.

In order to ad-

dress the need

for more mean-

ingful and in-

depth service

learning opportu-

nities, I designed

and co-led a

month-long expe-

ditionary learning

course called

“Storytelling for

Social Change,”

which examined issues of race, immi-

gration, and identity through the arts.

Students gained an understanding of

the importance of personal storytell-

ing to engaging in conversation and

problem-solving across differences.

Students examined photographs that

told the stories of African refugees in

Vermont, collected the stories of resi-

dents at a local elderly housing com-

munity, and wrote poetry that de-

scribed their own personal connec-

tion to this place, Vermont. The term

culminated in a five day trip to New

York City, where we learned from

organizations (Urban Bush Woman

dance troupe, Voices UnBroken, El

Puente) that use the arts to facilitate

social change on a large scale.

Participants learned about key con-

cepts like “privilege” and

“gentrification” and received a founda-

tional understanding of how the arts

can be used as a vehicle for personal

storytelling and understand across

differences. Anecdotal evidence from

the experience leads me to hope and

believe that participants will be more

likely to take into account the unique

stories of individuals as they approach

a community or personal issue.

When we stepped off the subway in

Brooklyn, New York City, a wave of

discomfort immediately swept

through the group. Looking around,

we silently noted the stark difference

between our own skin color and the

skin color of those walking by. When

we arrived at our hostel, behind

closed doors, we began to address

the discomfort. What’s so uncomfort-

able? I asked. One student put it best:

Everyone’s black. Coming from Ver-

mont, most of my students have not

been exposed to

people of color, par-

ticularly out of a

refugee community

context. Therefore,

they immediately

began to associate

the images and ste-

reotypes that have

been fed to them

about race and class

by the media, family,

school, etc. One

student noted that

we must be in the

“ghetto.” When I

asked him why, he

didn’t have an an-

swer.

After visiting several

organizations and

becoming more

comfortable with the

environment—just

by the very act of

navigating through

it—students began to see a foreign

community as merely a collection of

families, of friends, just like them.

Everyone had a story of immigration,

whether small or large, and everyone

experienced fear and joy like we do.

However, we are not all the same. By

simultaneously introducing concepts

like privilege and gentrification, we

were able to see how racism and

classism plays out in communities.

Anna Finkelstein VYT A*VISTA Member

Big Picture South Burlington

South Burlington, VT

Big Picture students visit the Urban Bush Woman

dance troupe in NYC

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 17

Page 18

Snap Shots of VYT

The 12-13 VYT team finishes their professional development series

by learning about effective job searching and interviewing.

VYT member, Anna Houston, and VYDC member, Sarah Campbell, move bricks from a flood

damaged wall at the Barre Historical Society as

part of a team service project.

VYT member Jenny Peterson gives an AmeriShare presentation about up-cycling books to create journals; an activity that

she and her mentee did this year.

Throughout the 2012-2013 VISTA ser-

vice year, the Vermont Youth Tomor-

row A*VISTA team has gathered togeth-

er in Montpelier every month to partici-

pate in training or activities relevant to

their service.

In this last quarter, VYT members were

joined by members from Vermont Youth

Development Corps AmeriCorps Pro-

gram (VYDC), Vermont Housing and

Conservation Board AmeriCorps

(VHCB), and SerVermont VISTA to par-

ticipate in several service projects in the

Barre and Montpelier area. VYT mem-

bers also finished the Professional Devel-

opment series with discussing how to ef-

fectively search for a job and how to pre-

pare for a job interview.

In July, VYT members participated in our

annual End-of-Service event. At this event

each member gave a short presentation

about the service year and shared stories

about their favorite moments in service.

VYT, VYDC, VHCB, and SerVermont AmeriCorps/VISTA members

get ready to participate in service projects in Barre and Montpelier.

VOLUME 11 , ISSUE Page 19

Members gather around tables to create “Warm

Fuzzies,” a DREAM Program tradition where

participants write kind words to the other

participants.

VYT VISTA, Alaina Wermers, gives her End-of-Service presentation on the evolution of the O’Brien

Community Center’s community garden

The VYT team circles up to play the game “Have You Ever,” with a

service twist.

Drew DeVitis reflects on his service year before

passing the talking stick to Ryan Stratton.

Members mingle to fill their Bingo card by matching

short descriptions to each team member.

E N D

O F

S E R V I C E

CONTACT US

A*VISTA Leader:

Anna Houston

vyt.vistaleader@gmail.com

Assistant Directors:

Meghan Jaird Jessi Engelke Callie Frey

mjaird@wcysb.org jengelke@wcysb.org cfrey@wcysb.org

Program Director:

M. Kadie Schaeffer

vyt.vydc@gmail.com

P.O. Box 627/ 38 Elm St. Montpelier, VT 05601

Phone: 802-229-9151

VYT is sponsored by the

Washington County Youth Service

Bureau/Boys & Girls Club, and

receives funding from the

Corporation for National and

Community Service.

The opinions expressed in this

newsletter belong to the

individual writers and do not

necessarily reflect the views of

the site where the VISTA member

serves, Vermont Youth

Tomorrow A*VISTA Program

(VYT), the Washington County

Youth Service Bureau/Boys &

Girls Club, or the Corporation

for National and Community

Service (CNCS).

VERMONT

YOUTH

TOMORROW

A* VISTA

PROGRAM

Want to learn more? Visit our website:

https://sites.google.com/site/vermontyouthtomorrowavista/

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