Category Archives: Resources

08.04.09
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Teach For America Podcast Transcript

Aaliyah El-Amin

Aaliyah El-Amin

Below is the transcript of our August podcast, “An Interview with Teach For America Alumna Aaliyah El-Amin.” Huge thanks to podcast intern Sara Lozito, an AmeriCorps team leader, for work in creating the transcript. Listen to the show here.

Amy: Welcome to the Idealist podcast. I’m Amy Potthast and this is the The New Service Podcast from Idealist.org – moving people from good intentions to action.

This month I chatted with Aaliyah El-Amin, a Teach For America alumna.

In 2000, at age twenty, Aaliyah graduated from Davidson College and joined Teach For America to teach 4th and 5th grade in Atlanta, Georgia. After leaving the corps and working as an instructional facilitator at her placement school, Aaliyah became the executive director of Teach For America Charlotte. She’s currently a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in in Education Policy, Leadership and Instructional Practice.

Hi Aaliyah, welcome to the show. Continue reading →

07.29.09
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Volunteering Up in America (Slightly)

From VolunteeringinAmerica.gov

From VolunteeringinAmerica.gov

A study published by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) yesterday details the latest volunteering trends.

Volunteering in America 2009, the latest version of an annual report that looks at volunteerism in the United States, shows a slight increase in the number of volunteers in 2008. A companion website also called Volunteering in America offers links to summaries of the report and a look at volunteering trends in the 50 states and nearly 200 cities.

Last year, a million more people age 16 and older volunteered (without pay) at organizations than in 2007.  61.8 million people (26.4 percent of the adult population) volunteered 8 billion hours of their time through organizations.  CNCS Continue reading →

07.29.09
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Mistakes I’ve Made, Lessons I’ve Learned…Wisdom from a Second-Year VISTA

Marissa Pherson, AmeriCorps VISTA

Marissa Pherson, AmeriCorps VISTA

A second-year VISTA and new blogger shares her thoughts with new members of her team.

Over-communicate with everyone! In the beginning, I didn’t communicate enough with off-site program staff. They’re super busy and may not be easy to get in touch with, but be persistent and do your part.

Keep track of names, contact info and the type of contact. Another way to think of this is: Imagine on your way home from work one night you get hit by a bus and are in a coma (god forbid). The world continues to go on without you – whoever has to take over for you needs to have something to go on. Can they figure out your mess of notes?

On this note, start with the end in sight. What about the VISTA that replaces you eventually?  Do you want to have to write a procedures handbook to pass on to them during your last week as a VISTA Continue reading →

07.24.09
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House Appropriates $1.069B for the Corporation

Youth Today’s Nancy Lewis reports today that the House of Representatives passed the appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Education Programs today with 264 representatives for it and 153 against.

National service supporters had hoped that the bill would fund the Corporation for National and Community Service at the President’s requested level, $1.149 billion. But Reps. John Kline (R-Minn.) and Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) had hoped the final figure would be much lower. They proposed an amendment that would have decreased $169 million of the Corporation’s proposed budget in order to fund special education initiatives. (The $1.069 billion included in this appropriations bill for the Corporation represents a $169 million increase over last year’s Corporation budget.)

According to the Youth Today article:

There were virtually no changes from the committee version, despite the White House’s requests that the $90 million reduction in the proposed $1.159 billion allotment for CNCS be restored. Included in the $90 million reduction is a $15 million reduction in the proposed $50 million Social Innovation Fund.

The Senate debates its appropriations bill related to Corporation funding next Tuesday, July 28.

07.21.09
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New Minnesota GreenCorps Looking for Applicants

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has launched a new program in Minnesota, Minnesota GreenCorps logoto focus on sustainable living and energy issues.

In its first year, the new Minnesota Green Corps will fund 22 corps members, including 18 full-timers. Each member will assume one of five position types: