AmeriCorps and the Medically Underserved in Utah (AMUU) J A N U A R Y
AmeriCorps... Getting Things Done!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Computers for the Community
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of Bluff, Utah
A Joyful Day with the
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Salvation Army
New Faces, in the Office and
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the Field
A Big Thank You to
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our Supporters
Inspiring Letter from the Field
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AMUU is a program of
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Worthy Celebrations and Warm Congratulations Established in 2001, the Health Access Project (HAP) is a community partnership that works to develop a more effective system for providing health care to uninsured residents of Salt Lake County. AmeriCorps members have been a part of HAP’s success since 2003, and they currently utilize FIVE full-time members. These dedicated men and women work with local physicians, hospitals, community clinics, private businesses and the state and local health department medical providers to secure specialized medical services for lowincome and underserved patients. Months after a serious flood destroyed their former office HAP was able to move into a lovely new location, full of sunshine. On December 3rd, HAP opened its doors and welcomed community members and volunteer providers to tour the new location and learn more about their vital work in the community. Staff and AmeriCorps members created excellent presentations to illuminate the important work they do. HAP Project Director Jessie Oyler notes that AmeriCorps member Tetea helped recruit volunteers with expertise in catering services as well as with businesses who agreed to donate food and materials for the event. Tetea utilized her own expertise to create a beautiful and delicious offering for their guests. AmeriCorps members Emily and Victor also were influential in making the open house successful by petitioning businesses for support and recruiting volunteers.
During the Open House, HAP also celebrated the naming of Jessie Oyler as the new Project Director. Jessie started as a Case Manager with HAP in 2004, and continued to progress and learn, eventually taking on the roles of AMUU Program Director Cindy Primary Care Coordi- Ewing and HAP Project Direcnator and Case Man- tor, Jessie Oyler celebrate their ager Supervisor. Jessie agencies’ continued collaborais grateful for the men- tion. toring of previous HAP Directors Daniel Nielson, who helped him realize his goal of getting his Masters Degree in Public Administration, and Michael Gardner, who provided him with the know-how and experience needed to be a successful Project Director at HAP. Jessie says that HAP could not perform its mission without the dedication of the AmeriCorps members he leads, that having these members saves the organization money and maximizes the quality of care their clients receive. Congratulations, Jessie, on your leadership of this wonderful community resource, we are so excited to work with you in the future!
A Good Beginning During orientation week in October, amidst trainings in chronic disease, public health programs, first aid/ CPR, and community resources, AmeriCorps members worked together to craft a vision of how they would fulfill the program’s mission this year. After multiple sessions of teambuilding and collaboration, the members of the 2009-10 AmeriCorps and the Medically Underserved in Utah pledged to fulfill our mission with Commitment, Courage, Respect, Innovation, Empathy and Joy. Since October we have seen our members bring these qualities to their service and are looking forward to an incredibly successful program year.
Mission Statement
AmeriCorps and the Medically Underserved in Utah (AMUU) strives to reduce economic, geographic, cultural, and language barriers to health care and to expand primary care services for medically underserved populations in Utah.
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AmeriCorps Member Claudia Ruiz
¡SuperRadio! Claudia Ruiz serves with Comunidades Unidas (CU), whose mission is to eliminate ethnic disparities by promoting grassroots outreach, education and long term policy change. CU has been serving the community for 11 years and helping more than 15,000 families annually. Sabrina Morales, the director of CU, says ―Claudia is a wonderful
addition to our caring group of staff and volunteers. She brings a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to everything we do. She exhibits a great deal of initiative and is very creative at recruiting community members as volunteers for our programs. Prior to becoming an AmeriCorps member Claudia was already an active volunteer for CU. Her interest in working with immigrant communities
and teaching them about how to access services has been of great help to our organization.‖ Claudia also delivers weekly news and information for the Spanish-speaking community. Listen to Claudia Saturdays from 8-10am and Sundays 68pm. The station is AM1640 ¡SuperRadio!
Innovative Service Benefits Bluff Community The Computer Lab in Bluff Utah, is the result of an Independent Service Project (ISP) organized by one AMUU member. Each of our 32 members will complete an ISP throughout the course of their service year.
Cathlena Plummer had the idea of starting a computer lab in her community (the tiny town of Bluff in southeastern Utah) one day while visiting with her mom and aunts. Her relatives talked about how today’s technology had surpassed their expectations while growing up and how modern kids were all glued to their iPods and cell phones. Cathlena’s mom pointed out that she didn’t even know how to turn on the computer, let alone do anything with it. So Cathlena struggled to give her mom a mental picture that the computer was a huge filing cabinet filled with important documents and pictures. This is when Cathlena had an ―Aha!‖ moment, and realized that teaching computer classes would be a great service for her community. Cathlena and her mother spread the word and a lot of people came through with help. The first five computers were donated from the elementary school in Bluff by the Principal Monique McDermott. Cathlena’s online buddy from California donated his old PC, rather than just recycling it. Finding space for the computer lab room has been a struggle. For 3 months, the computers were housed in the local priest’s personal office before being moved into an abandoned building. The current location has a lot of wiring problems and doesn’t have an adequate heating system; it’s hard to schedule classes in the winter. Despite these challenges, Cathlena is excited to build the computer lab. Her students have already learned how to write up resumes and cover letters. They hope to someday move into a building with heat and a working bathroom. Cathlena dreams of someday having access to a satellite internet system and wi-fi connectivity.
Please consider donating your used, good condition computer supplies to the computer lab in Bluff, Utah! WISH LIST An up-to-date computer (PCs or MACs with Microsoft Word) A Microsoft Windows textbook (that is the current software on all PCs now). A Printer where at least 10 PCs could connect to as a network Extra ink cartridges for those printers (enough for 10 students) A phone line for broadband linkage between a network of PCs Microsoft Excel software if not already on donated PCs or MACs Printer paper Keyboards and mouses (mice?) Stable tables and chairs Mouse Pads Surge-protected extension cords CD-ROMs or flash drives so students can save their work and take them with them. Donations are being accepted at the AMUU office in Salt Lake City. Please call 801-716-4605 for more information.
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Important Dates: January-March January 6 January 15
Member Meeting AmeriCorps Member Social A Celebration of Service Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service Project
9-noon 6:30-9:30pm
AUCH offices Our Lady of Lourdes
10:30-noon
Utah Food Bank
January 20 January 28
Workshop: Writing Proposals Diabetes Training (Spanish)-Optional
10am-1pm 9am-4pm
AUCH offices Utah Department of Health
February 3
Member Meeting **
9-noon
AUCH offices
March 3 March 24
All-Day Member Meeting 9am-5pm Workshop: Motivational 10am-1pm Interviewing and Behavior Change Members will Submit ―Letters from the Field‖A Reflection on this quarter’s service
January 18
March 31
Indian Walk-In Center AUCH offices
Due by 5pm
** Please remember to bring your donated blankets for the International Rescue Committee (IRC)—part of Jo Hubbard’s ISP.
Angel Tree Service Project When a group of people come together with the intention to get things done, it’s amazing what you will see happen in a day. On December 18th, AMUU partnered with the Salvation Army Angel Tree project to get something done for low-income children in Utah. Bright and early, AmeriCorps members pulled into the parking lot of the old Utah Food Bank warehouse, the seasonal home of the Angel Tree project. Spilling into the warehouse with smiles on their faces, the AMUU crew started by quickly organizing themselves and dispersing into working groups. In one corner of the warehouse, donated items (clothes, shoes, winter wear, and toys) were set out on tables AMUU member Karina Martin does some heavy lifting
and racks so that a collection of items could be compiled for each Angel Tree recipient. Volunteers selected a large black garbage sack printed with a child’s name, gender, size, and requested items. Volunteers then went ―shopping’ and packaged gifts of much needed items for a child in our community. Laughter and encouraging remarks could be heard as members did a different kind of ―holiday shopping‖ and filled bag after bag with donations for low-income families. In vast aisles of bags that stretched from one end of the warehouse to the next, members worked together to ensure that all the requested items were present and that the bags were neatly sealed and organized for pick up. Other members could be seen transporting bags of collected donations throughout the warehouse, talking and smiling as they collaborated to accomplish something they believe in – getting things done for the community. Still more AmeriCorps members could be found at the front of the warehouse taping labels on an endless stream of bags, which were quickly filled and prepared for distribution to Utah families.
AMUU members Victor Villasmil and Cristina Ramos and Program Director Cindy Ewing “shop” for kids.
“While volunteering at Angel Tree with my AmeriCorps group, I was filled with excitement and joy. Angel Tree is such a great program and I was glad to see my fellow AmeriCorps members working together... to give local kids a great Christmas. No matter what the value or quantity of the clothes and toys we picked out, it was obvious that the greatest gift given this holiday season was the gift of love and service.” – Ashley Bridges, AMUU member
The day passed quickly and everyone left feeling the deep satisfaction of having donated a tangible service for the people in their community. The angel tree service project was just the first of many service projects planned for AMUU this year.
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New Faces in the Office: Cindy, Sara, and Baby Kai Cindy Ewing, Program Director
Cindy Ewing has a rich history of working with local non-profit organizations and is now bringing her passion and leadership to AmeriCorps and the Medically Underserved in Utah (AMUU). An alumnus of AMUU, Cindy has already developed a strong commitment to reducing barriers to health care in our communities and an appreciation for the dedicated citizens who step forward and contribute their time and talents to benefit Utah’s medically underserved populations.
―The most exciting thing about leading such an extraordinary program is the wonderful group of people I have the opportunity to work with. Our AmeriCorps members come from all over the world and bring an incredible diversity of skills and talents to the program. Working with our AmeriCorps members to promote access to health care and to deliver compassionate and respectful service to our community members is so rewarding. I know our members are out there making a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis, and there is no way to measure the true value of that kind of work. It is an honor to be able to lead such fabulous people and to help them
achieve their professional and personal goals. The spirit of service is strong in our program and the dedication of our members to their clients is incredible.‖ Cindy is actively developing new relationships with community organizations who will promote our vision for accessible health care and will enrich the services we are able to offer our clients and community members. Through quarterly service projects, AMUU will address Human, Environmental, and Educational needs in Utah communities.
Sara Moses, AMUU Program Assistant Director We would like to welcome Sara Moses, AMUU’s new Assistant Director. Sara has a long tradition of working with non-profit organizations in Salt Lake City; she started fresh out of high school working specifically with teen clients at Planned Parenthood and stayed on for many years working with patients and then later with donors. For the last few years, Sara served as the Office Manager of City Academy.
On the side, Sara shares her love of knitting by teaching kids and adults needleworking skills at a local yarn shop. Sara is proud to join AMUU: ―I am so lucky to have worked with so many kind, generous individuals over the years. I truly believe in the power of people to help others, to support our community, and to actively change the world for the better. I am looking forward to working more closely with our AmeriCorps members, who are serving people and our communi-
Kate Corrigan, AMUU Program Assistant and new baby Kai It is with joy and warm congratulations that we announce the arrival of a new baby! Kate Corrigan, AMUU Program Assistant, and her husband Paul welcomed Kai William Corrigan to the world on Dec. 29, 2009. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 22 inches long. The little fellow has red hair! Kate and Paul, we know you’ll enjoy this grand new adventure and hope you enjoy spending time with your new little guy!
ties with everything they’ve got (and who are smart, interesting, fun folks too!). I would like to thank everyone who has welcomed me into this excellent program. I will continue to work hard to support our members and the agencies and clients they serve.‖
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” - Gandhi “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
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New Faces in the Field: Dave and Bek Engaging Books Dave Black recently joined AmeriCorps to work with the Moab Free Health Clinic. The clinic will soon be moving into their own building, and Dave will be instrumental in all aspects of moving the operation and opening the new clinic.
This isn’t Bek Brochtrup’s first time serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer; but it is the first time we’ve been lucky enough to work with her. Bek will be serving at the Seekhaven Family Crisis and Resource Center, which provides services for victims of domestic violence and homeless people in the Moab community.
Our newest members bring to AmeriCorps a diverse set of skills and a “get it done” attitude. Welcome aboard!
“In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez (fiction) “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver (fiction)
“Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg (non-fiction)
Thank You! We would like to highlight two non-profit agencies who donated significant time during Orientation Week. The Cultural Competency training provided by the Human Rights Education Center of Utah prepared AmeriCorps members to go out into the community and work with diverse populations in respectful and compassionate ways.
“Drumming got everybody together on the same level. We were ONE group. That was the most excellent thing that happened during orientation.” ~AMUU member
Rhythms of Life generously provided AMUU members with the opportunity to come together in collaboration, in self expression and in group celebration, with a session of African Drumming led by owner Mike Liston. The following businesses and individuals also contributed greatly to the success of Orientation Week: Anna Farnsworth, Sally Patrick, Rita Ballesteros, Lorna Koci, Emma Chacon, Kevin McCulley, Milton Birbridge, Spencer Cannon, Erik Perez, Marc Babitz MD, Emily Carlson, Harmon’s, Chipotle, Soup Kitchen, and Einstein’s Bagels.
“Rhythm is a universal language, allowing dialog among us at the most basic creative level. Drumming together cuts through racial , cultural and gender differences to the core of who we are as human beings” - Arthur Hull
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d l e i F e h t m o Letter Fr
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