AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Heat Volume 2

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Southern Heat

Inside: Pg 2 18A Graduation Pg 3 River 9 at HQ Pg 4 Shout Outs Pg 5 Breaking the

Ameribubble

Pg 6 AmeriMeal Pg 7 Spotlight on:

Neal Oliver

Pg 8 STL Corner Pg 9 Round 2

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region


Southern Heat

Volume 2 | May 11, 2012

Corps Member of the Year, Hannah Strauss of River 2

Team Leader of the Year, Jonathan Chan of Delta 1

Class 18 Fall (A) Graduation

On May 1, 2012, 72 Class 18 Fall (A) members crossed the stage to receive their certificates of graduation. After 10 months serving their country, it was time to bring this chapter in their lives to a close. Every member had individually completed at-least 1700 hours of service in the 11 states served by the Southern Region Campus and many completed more hours. Class 18 Fall members responded to the tornado damage in Alabama, Hurricane Irene in New York, and other floods and tornadoes that damaged Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.

trees. Now that’s a lot of work! During graduation, two members were honored for going above and beyond the expected. Hannah Strauss, a Corps Member from River 2, was awarded the Corps Member of the Year Award. When River Unit Leader, Neal Oliver, talked about why Hannah was given this honor, he said that Hannah had been nominated (multiple times) by her peers for almost every other award. She is a hard worker who selflessly devotes her time to helping those around her even after work hours. Team Leader Jonathan Chan, from Delta 1, received the Team Leader of the Year Award. Brendan Murphy, Delta Unit Leader, said Jonathan “was so on top of it. He even reminded me when paperwork was due.”

As a class, they completed 97,732 hours for 41 sponsors in 51 projects. To give you an idea of what they accomplished, here is a small selection: managed 9,187 volunteers, removed 382.6 tons of debris, assisted 33,518 people in a disaster area, served 25,966 meals, sorted and distributed 17.6 tons of clothing and 29.4 tons of food, tutored 1,198 students, and planted 13,896

Several Corps Members shared their reflections with the Corps – through songs, speeches, and slideshows – and Dr. Reginald Nichols, President of Piney Woods School, gave the keynote address. Dr. Nichols spoke about how civic engagement through service plants seeds of hope in the lives of others. The following are a few excerpts from his address: “Hope is

“Every time we reach out to another and seek to make a difference, we plant seeds in the lives of others.” Dr. Reginald Nichols

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

an emotion which affirms a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. It is the ‘feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best’ or the act of ‘looking forward to with desire and reasonable confidence’ or ‘feeling that something desired may happen’.” “As you have worked as a team this year, you demonstrated compassion. As you have served others and made a difference, you have demonstrated compassion – a deep awareness of the suffering of others and a desire to relieve that suffering.” “I still believe that we can change the world – not by ourselves individually, but we can tell the skeptics they are wrong. As you have worked as a team this past year, you have underscored the transformative power of teamwork. . Just as the whole is greater than the sum of its parts because the whole includes the connections between each part, high achieving teams generate more energy, will, passion, and ideas than the sum of what their individual members alone could muster.”

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+ River 9 Goes to Headquarters On April 20, River 9 visited headquarters, the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS), to discuss the state of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) today, and to make suggestions for the future of NCCC. River 9 has been working with Camp High Road in Middleburg, Virginia leading outdoor education classes for youth. The youth learn about local Native American tribes and gain skills such as animal tracking and fire building. River 9 has also cleared over 5 miles of trails, maintained an Eco-eternity forest, and was responsible for cleaning and upkeeping 12-15 cabins and 3 lodges. Team Leader, Alicia Anderson, said that her team has been able to do something new every day.

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

River 9 arrived in Washington D.C. early and visited a local gift shop to pass time and they bumped into Erma Hodge, the Executive Assistant to Kate Raftery. She exclaimed“River Nine!” when she saw them. As the team turned to look at her in surprise, she explained “I’m Erma, the one you are supposed to meet today”. River 9 greeted her with happy faces and introduced themelves. When the team got to the office, they met Katrina Mathis and Kevin Jones. River 9 chatted with them until until Kate Raftery came into the office. They discussed everything from FEMACorps and its direction, to how to better represent NCCC in the media through social networking. River 9 enjoyed their visit and ap-

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Volume 2 | May 11, 2012

Highlights

preciated realizing that their opinions mattered. Brittany, a Corps Member, said, “I really enjoyed River 9’s trip to D.C. and the Ameri-quarter! It was great, not only to see a new and historic city, but also to gain contacts and insight into how headquarters operates. I hope to keep in touch with the people we met and take their advice with me this year and beyond.” And Jourdan added “It was very informative and entertaining, I was surprised the National Director (Kate Raftery) was so down to earth. It was a cool trip.” The team also made several suggestions for further advertising. Including a larger focus on television advertising, which was considered, but found to be too harsh on the budget, and accounts on the popular picture-blogging site Tumblr. The most popular idea was the suggestion of an Ameri-app. That had been worked on in the past, but was abandoned due to lack of interest. Now that apps are far more popular, this idea might be resurfacing! So when you see the Ameri-app, remember River 9!

Shout Outs & • River 8 iheaded downtown together for a free concert in City Park! Good times for team night out! • Delta 4 was educated on the uses of the house we were working on. We invited a local entrepreneur over to our house for dinner, and listened to the various stories he had about the house. • Delta 5 worked on the 2,000 Habitat Home and discovered that this house is going to a refugee family from the Congo.

paws on his hands! • Team Leader Timothy Hairston would like to tell on Kimmy Mauldin for skipping her lunch last Saturday to continue helping volunteers with the deck we were working on. • Through the work of Macxx, we were able to get Lowe’s to provide much needed supplies to the R3SM house. • Shout out to Peaches (Talia Hopkins) for her 19th birthday on May 9th! • Slater would like to shout-out to Harry Sanders, Martha, Sharaud, Steve, Vanessa, Katera, Ceira, and everybody else. “Stay focused, work hard, and have a great productive AmeriCorps year.” • Delta 5 threw a block party on our street in Magnolia for our neighbors. We boiled hot dogs, played basketball, and had water-balloon fights. • Lacey from Delta 5 would like to give a shout out to Cheryl, Anthony, and Christiane from Delta 6 for their epic 20 hour ISP for Relay for Life. • Shout out to Adam Edwards our Team Leader for being a great leader and peer! • River 8 coined Skills POC--each • Shout out to Team Leader Angela for doing a great job week one of our members keeping the strong personalities teaches the team a new skill. of River 8 in check. Angela taught us “Head, Shoul• Wendy Thomas and Tara ders, Knees and Toes” in JapaOgunde would like to shout-out nese. Liz taught us the beginto Caitlin Bueller. ning process of writing music. Anna taught us some stretching • Delta 4 found a stray puppy a new home. movements that she learned • Delta 10 had fun exploring during her time in theater and Memphis and hitting up hot dance. And Jamaica is going spots like Graceland and to teach us his dance moves. Brooks Art Museum! • Delta 7 participated in the • Chelsea Reese and Nathan Swamp Rabbit 5k in Travelers have been doing an awesome Rest, South Carolina. A Corps job finding us new ISP opportuMember was asked to wear a nites to get involved in. rabbit costume for the race; he successfully ran the whole way wearing the rabbit head and

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

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+ Breaking the AmeriBubble News from Around the World Maurice Sendak dies at 83 CNN.com - Maurice Sendak, author of the classic children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are,” has died. He was 83. Sendak illustrated nearly 100 books during a 60-year career, winning dozens of accolades as he endeared himself to generations of children reared on his fanciful stories. One critic called him “the Picasso of children’s literature.” Former President Bill Clinton called him the “king of dreams.” Born in Brooklyn the son of Polish immigrants, Sendak grew up to take a few night classes but largely taught himself as an artist. He is best known for “Where the Wild Things Are.”

International Oreos CNN.com - Russians prefer their Lay’s potato chips dusted in caviar and crab flavors. The Chinese like their Oreos stuffed with mango and orange cream. And in Spain, Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal is served floating in hot coffee instead of cold milk. Americans might get squeamish at the thought of their favorite snacks being tweaked. But what works in the U.S. doesn’t always work everywhere. After noticing sales of Oreos were lagging in China dur-

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

ing the summer, Kraft added a green tea ice cream flavor. The cookie combined a popular local flavor with the cooling imagery of ice cream. The green tea version sold well, and a year later, Kraft rolled out Oreos in flavors that are popular in Asians desserts — raspberry-and-blueberry and mangoand-orange.

Hollande President of France CNN.com - The calm and cautious François Hollande, who dramatically wrested the French presidency from Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday, faces immediate foreign policy challenges, analysts say. Hollande strides onto the world stage with major events over upcoming days and weeks -- the Group of Eight meeting at Camp David, Maryland, and the NATO summit this month and a G-20 meeting set for Mexico City, and a European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in June. Hollande became France’s first Socialist president since François Mitterrand left office in 1995 as he swept to election victory over the incumbent Sarkozy, one of the most America-friendly French presidents in decades.

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Chinese Chicken Salad 4 packages of Ramen noodles 4 lbs of chicken breast, cut into strips 1 Tablespoon of salt 2 teaspoons of pepper 2 teaspoons of ginger 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder 1/2 Cup of orange juice 1/2 Cup of Rasberry Vinigrette 1 Cup of soy sauce 1/4 Cup of sugar 2 Tablespoons of oil 6 Cups of coleslaw mix 3/4 Cup finely chopped onion Mix salt, pepper, ginger, garlic powder together and sprinkle over chicken breast strips. Turn the strips and sprinkle on the undersides. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a skillet and brown the chicken strips. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cook untill liquid is absorbed. Remove from pan and shred with 2 forks. Set chicken aside. Mix orange juice, soy sauce, rasberry vinagrette, and sugar until the sugar disolves. Set aside. Toss coleslaw, chopped onion, chicken, crushed ramen noodles, and dressing and serve. Sprinkle remaining ramen over each serving. This recipie can be made veggie friendly by leaving out the chicken and adding additional veggies and toasted nuts. If you have a favorite team recipie or want to see certain types of foods email nicole.wojcik@ncccdelta.com

Maze & Message Find

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

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+Spotlight On: River Unit Neal Oliver What was your job with NCCC? I was a Unit Leader. I supervised Team Leaders. What did you do before NCCC? A number of things. I taught a leadership class at a university, worked in residence life at a college, and worked on a ship traveling around the world with 700 students for a semester. I was also a Corps Member (Class XI) and a Team Leader (Class XII). What are you going to do after? I am going to move to California, have twin boys, and start an MBA program at the USC Marshall School of Business in L.A. Those are my short term goals (3-6 months). Long term, I plan to create a Social Entrepreneurship Business Incubator that involves young people learning about business and creating companies that address pressing social issues. Think of it as NCCC but instead of going on a project, you create the next TOMS shoes.

Favorite Memories? Too many! 6 CTIs, 5 TLTs, lots of spikes. I don’t even know where to begin: Setting up this campus, seeing our first class graduate (and many more after that), really just goofing around with members and Team Leaders. What will you miss the most? Site visits with teams. There is nothing like the experience of being on spike and it always is fun to see teams. The best part of this experience is the bonds that you form with those who go through the experience with you. What did NCCC teach you? It taught me that I know very little about this world, but also that some truths are universal. Treat others with respect, do more than your share of the work, be inclusive, leave a place better than you found it, think and reflect – do these things and you will find success.

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

Who/what inspired you to service? Many people. I have been lucky to have great mentors in my life. My grandfather served in the military. I learned a lot about service through becoming an Eagle Scout and getting involved in the Order of the Arrow – the “brotherhood of cheerful service.” I had a friend in college tell me about her plans to join NCCC. I applied as soon as the listing opened for the following Fall. I was accepted by December and assigned to the Capitol Region campus for the following October. Words of wisdom to leave behind? You never know where your path will take you in life. Treat those you encounter with love and respect. Learn from them. Surround yourself with good people. Be thankful for what you have, but always strive to do better, and never stop learning.

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STL Corner As I sit typing this on my laptop, I am in the back seat of a pickup truck headed to Alabama. The Support Team Leader position becomes really busy - it requires you to be able to drop every project that you are working on to go support a team in the field. Currently, two STLs are on a site visit with a potential new sponsor and the other three of us are going to pick up vans in Alabama. I find it crazy that technology has advanced to a point where I can continue to work - even when I am in a truck.

Now, I type on a computer that can easily fit in my backpack and listen to music on my ipod that can also surf the internet and take pictures. And I wonder where technology is going. Remember, before 2000, when we were promised jet packs and flying cars and refrigerators that made food just appear? Instead, we got phones that can do anything so that we can take work with us anywhere we go, cars that run on electricity and gasoline, and tiny devices that play lots of movies and videos.

Although I am not quite old enough to pull a “back in my day”, I still marvel at the huge leaps that technology made in just a few years. My dad believed in early adoption of computers, so I don’t remember when computers were introduced into our family. Apparently, my dad once had a $200 calculator- with only basic calculation features. In my time, I personally remember when MP3 players (quickly followed by ipods) overcame CD players. I remember when most people would only have 1 desktop computer (if they even had a computer) and when even getting a cell phone was a special priviledge.

What will be important in the next 20 years? I envision personal health technology, something that keeps your body in shape, but that allows you to be personally lazy (maybe a micro-version of the vibration band?)

I also see super micro phones/music players. I really, really want projection

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

phones and music players to become more popular - but I’m not sure if that is in the cards yet. Will we have personal aircraft cars that will turn us into James Bond look a-likes? Or the jetpacks that will enable us to rise above traffic? Check back with me in 20 years. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, in the backseat of a pickup truck, talking about “back in my day” things. Apparently, being an STL turns some people into someone much, much older. How, you ask? Well, I very obviously went on a “back in my day” rant and I may have been this close to talking about walking uphill both ways. I also get done with work and enjoy my supper, do some laundry, and fall asleep on the couch to TV or reading a book. An exciting evening for me might include a trip to the grocery store or the library. I also look fondly at Corps Members and think or say, “Back when I was I Corps Member...” and actually forget that it was only last year. Please hurry back to campus before I start growing a beard and start resembling Rip Van Winkle!


Southern Heat

Volume 2 | May 11, 2012

Round 2 Projects Delta 6 River 11

Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham

Fairhope

AL

DR

5/21

5/22

7/19

7/20

Birmingham

AL

DR

5/21

5/22

7/19

7/20

River 5

Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa

AL

DR

5/21

5/22

7/19

7/20

Delta 10

The Redbud Project: Model for Green Space Preservation

Gainsville

GA

ENV

5/21

5/22

6/3

6/4

Composite-­‐ Jocelyn Simpson

National Park Service-­‐ Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Middlesboro

KY

ENV

5/21

5/22

6/21

6/22

River 8

Camp Habitat/Habitat for Humanity-­‐ Simpson County

Franklin

KY

URD

6/11

6/12

7/6

7/7

Delta 10

Rebuilding Together New Orleans

New Orleans

LA

DR

6/4

6/5

7/19

7/20

Delta 4

Louisiana Dept. of Education, Recovery School District

New Orleans

LA

DR

5/21

5/22

7/21

7/22

Delta 8

Habitat for Humanity-­‐ Greater Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge

LA

DR

5/21

5/22

7/19

7/20

River 6

St. Bernard Project

Chalmette

LA

DR

5/21

5/22

7/21

7/22

River 7

Green Light New Orleans

New Orleans

LA

EC

5/21

5/22

7/21

7/22

River 9

Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana

New Orleans

LA

URD

5/21

5/22

7/17

7/22

Delta 9

Mississippi Children's Home Services

Saucier

MS

ENV

5/21

5/22

6/19

6/20

River 10

R3SM

Hattiesburg

MS

DR

6/17-­‐ 6/18

6/19

7/19

7/20

River 8

Vicksburg Main Street Program

Vicksburg

MS

INF

7/7

7/9

7/20

n/a

Delta 7

Habitat for Humanity-­‐ Cape Fear

Wilmington

NC

URD

5/21-­‐ 5/22

5/23

6/18

6/19-­‐ 6/20

Composite-­‐ Tiffany Segura

Boys & Girls Club of the Monroe Area

Madisonville

TN

URD

5/21

5/22

7/19

7/20

Delta 5

VECA

Memphis

TN

URD

5/21

5/22

7/19

7/20

Delta 7

Wolf River Conservancy

Memphis

TN

ENV

6/19-­‐ 6/20

6/21

7/19

7/20

River 8

WellSpring Lifestyle Retreat

Goodspring

TN

URD

5/21

5/22

6/10

6/11

Delta 9

Hobson Artesian Well Association, Inc.

Suffolk

VA

INF

6/20-­‐ 6/21

6/22

7/19

7/20-­‐ 7/21

River 10

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation

Lorton

VA

ENV

5/21-­‐ 5/22

5/23

6/16

6/17-­‐ 6/18

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region


Southern Heat

Volume 2 | May 11, 2012

+ Contact

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region 2715 Confederate Ave, Vicksburg, MS 39180 Phone:

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region

601-630-4040

Twitter:

@nccc

Web:

americorps.gov/nccc

Facebook:

AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region


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