Tag: AmeriCorps VISTA

AmeriCorps Week

by Marketing DepartmentCategories: News

AmeriCorps Logo

This week is AmeriCorps Week!  We are celebrating our longstanding partnership with AmeriCorps and the VISTA members who have dedicated their lives to service. AmeriCorps, established in 1994, has grown into a vast network of national service programs. The program relies on civic engagement to address our nation’s most critical community needs.

For 10 years, United Way has had the opportunity to participate in the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program.  This national program has provided us with top of the line staff members, allowing us to significantly expand our programs to reach more children and their families in Lake County. Each volunteer member makes a year-long, full-time commitment to serve on a specific project at a nonprofit organization or public agency. Indeed, they are some of the most passionate and service-minded individuals we’ve ever worked with. By hosting our very own VISTA member, Katherine Velazquez, we are proud to join the list of over 80 United Ways who partner with AmeriCorps to make their community a better place. Here’s what Katherine and her manager, Edna Galvan, had to say about this special week:

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Celebrating Dr. King’s Legacy of Service

by Jennifer StromCategories: News

Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” He lived his life by that statement, and so to celebrate and honor his memory and legacy, every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Americans across the country use their day off to perform acts of service to better their community.

On January 15, the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel on the Lake Forest College campus was filled with students, faculty, staff and families waiting to take part in the campus’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration: One Better World. The program started with songs sung by The Voices of Innerpeace followed by opening remarks from the President of Lake Forest College, Stephen Schutt. He led the audience to think about the impact and movement Martin Luther King Jr. would have today. As an AmeriCorps VISTA, full-time volunteer that serves for a year with an organization fighting poverty in exchange for a modest living stipend and an education stipend, my volunteer experiences serve to partake in eliminating poverty and creating access to opportunities.

Keynote speaker, Vernon A. Wall, opened his speech with his favorite quote by Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. His captivating speech took us through a journey of connecting the head to the heart. During this journey there were five points for the audience to consider, but there was one point that particularly stood out to me: to ‘be about “true service”’. This point is something important to me because this is my second year of AmeriCorps service and it made me reflect on how my work impacts not only my personal growth, but also the communities I work in. Doing “true service” is not just about going into a community, getting the job done, and then leaving; it is about getting to know the community you are involved in, engaging with people in the community and listening to their needs. However, at the same time, doing “true service” does not have to be one day. Every day there are opportunities to get  involved. Vernon spoke about how “moments make movements” and everyone has a story. It is up to us to listen to each other’s stories and find your voice in the conversation. Dr. King asks us to be better people in the world. We have to think about our personal stories and why equity and inclusion are so important to us. Finally, Vernon emphasized to ‘Do Work’ because if we don’t get out there and do it, then who will.

Image of Vernon A. Wall performing his speech

After his powerful speech, five students from the university spoke about the Unity Candle Ceremony. The Unity Candle holder is a wooden plank with 12 white candles that represent community, amazing cultural diversity and its representation to humanity, allowing our spirits to be renewed. The students reminded us that if we don’t let the candle in our hearts go out, hope will never die. Overall, this was an inspiring celebration.

If you missed an opportunity to get involved, there are other ways you can do so. If you would like to volunteer with United Way of Lake County, here is a link to learn more about our on-going or one-time opportunities. Another resource is Find Help Lake County for different opportunities all around Lake County, IL. If you, or someone you know, is interested in becoming an AmeriCorps VISTA there is more information here.

 By: Katherine Velazquez, AmeriCorps VISTA, Success By 6

AmeriCorps VISTA: Katherine Velazquez

by Marketing DepartmentCategories: News

We are thrilled to welcome Katherine Velazquez to our United Way of Lake County team. Katherine will be joining us as our AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member working on our Success By 6 team. Join us in welcoming Katherine!

  1. What is your name? Katherine Velazquez
  2. Where did you go to school? I went to Central Connecticut State University
  3. What was your major? I graduated in 2016 with a Bachelors in Sociology
  4. Where are you from? Southington, Connecticut
  5. What’s your favorite restaurant/food? Chipotle is one of my favorite restaurants and my favorite food is a tie between Mexican cuisine and Japanese cuisine
  6. What is something interesting that no one knows about you? I have a HUGE fear of ketchup
  7. If you had to sing one karaoke song for the rest of your life, what would it be? That’s such a hard question but I would have to say Love Yourself by Justin Bieber
  8. What is the best movie in the world and why do you think so? Lilo and Stitch. Hands down, this movie is so much about family with no love story. “Lilo” actually translates to “lost” so it is “Stitch’s” job to “stitch” them back together. I can watch that movie a million times.

If you’d like to learn more about our past AmeriCorps VISTA, click here.

AmeriCorp VISTA Experience: Ismael Calderón

by Marketing DepartmentCategories: News

AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) has one very powerful goal: to support organizations that help eradicate poverty. This goal can be served in many different ways, such as United Way’s commitment to providing education and resources for children and families living in low-income communities. Ismael Calderón Fúnez served his AmeriCorps VISTA year of service with our Success By 6 Program working with in Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion, Round Lake and Beach Park to promote healthy early childhood development to ensure children enter school ready to succeed. Below is his experience.

My journey as AmeriCorps VISTA has left a very strong mark in building my personal and professional future. As with pursuing any goal, there were challenges that came with it.

I decided to come to the United States to contribute something more towards the communities around me. Moving to a new country is always challenging, but pursuing my passion for philanthropy has always been important to me. I was able to do that through AmeriCorps VISTA, which helped me understand the challenges that still affect this country, while addressing such problems as poverty and social inequality in education. Through this pursuit I started to correlate the values of service to others as a universal value that this country holds. 

In order to reach this conclusion, I had to become more involved with the needs of the communities I have served and in the same way, it became the best scenario, not only to give my best, but also to know myself as an active social-being with rights and duties to others. 

Thanks and Goodbye from an AmeriCorps VISTA

by Marketing DepartmentCategories: News

My year of serving as the Success By 6 AmeriCorps VISTA at United Way of Lake County is drawing to a close, so I’d like to say thank you to everyone who made it possible and helped me have such an impact. When I started back in June 2015, I jumped right in working with Kindergarten Countdown Camp, which started just a couple weeks after I started.

VISTA Nicole Delaney helps a child read at Kindergarten Camp

AmeriCorps VISTA member, Nicole Delaney, helps a child read at the Kindergarten Countdown Camp.

Kindergarten Camp was a great experience to start my time at United Way of Lake County because I was able to dive right into the community as well as work behind the scenes to ensure the program ran smoothly while measuring results. From there, I kept busy with exciting and meaningful projects such as the Waukegan Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and much more. For my work throughout this year, I received the New Volunteer Award at the Annual Meeting, which was a big honor. I was even persuaded to take a selfie with Kristi Long, our CEO, and Scott Jones, our Board Chair, to celebrate the award.

Nicole at the Annual Meeting 2016 with United Way of Lake County

Nicole receiving the Outstanding New Volunteer Award at United Way of Lake County’s Annual Meeting in May 2016.

The chance to have an impact in my community has been so meaningful, but it has only been one of the great parts of my year of service. I have also learned so much from my coworkers and supervisor at United Way of Lake County.

Volunteer Event at AbbVie

United Way Day, last summer, painting an early learning trail at the North Chicago Public Library.

Reflecting on my year, I want to thank everyone at United Way of Lake County who made my service year so meaningful, educational, and fun. I have learned so much while working here at United Way of Lake County and can’t wait to take that with me!

Now that my time here is ending, I am enrolling in graduate school. I have decided to pursue a Master of Public Service Administration at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. I am very excited about this opportunity, but I know it would not have been possible without everything I learned here at UWLC. A million thank yous go out to everyone who has supported me and made this such an incredible experience!

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Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy of Service

by Marketing DepartmentCategories: News

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” He lived his life by that statement, and so to honor his memory and his legacy, every year on his day Americans across the country use their day off to perform acts of service to better their community.

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

As an AmeriCorps VISTA, a full-time volunteer that serves for a year with an organization fighting poverty in exchange for a modest living stipend and an education stipend, I participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (MLK Day). Together, with staff members from Waukegan Public Library who organized the event, I chaperoned 24 Waukegan High School students as they went on a field trip to a service activity and a celebration of Dr. King’s legacy. We went to Highland Park’s 7th Annual MLK Day of Service, where the students could participate in a number of small service projects.

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Waukegan High School students getting ready for their day of service.

To be honest, at first, the students did not seem very excited about their day of service. There were probably a number of reasons, including that they were spending their day off learning and working or the fact the temperature was zero degrees when they arrived. The bus ride down to the Highland Park Rec Center, where the event took place was cold, and there was not a lot of enthusiasm amongst the students.

However, once we got there, the students quickly got into the service projects. The library hosted a table where the students and visitors could write Valentine’s Day cards for seniors. In addition, 25 other organizations hosted stations at the event that included writing letters thanking veterans for their service, making quilt squares for children in the hospital, and helping make soup packets for a food bank.

Quilt

Waukegan High School students make quilts for a local after-school program.

After the service portion of the day was completed, the city of Highland Park sponsored a program for the volunteers that included songs, a reading of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech recited by Lynn Epps of Highland Park, and a short speech by Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White, recalling when Dr. King was his minister. The day ended with the fantastic feats of the Jesse White Tumblers.

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The Waukegan High School students and chaperones pose for a picture with Secretary of State Jesse White.

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The Jesse White Tumblers show off their acrobatics.

At the end of the day, almost every student said they would be interested in returning next year for another day of service. It was impressive to see young high school students take their very cold day off from school and spend it helping others. Listening to Dr. King’s speech likely reminded them of the importance of fighting against racism, intolerance, and injustice in our society. As Dr. King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It was a good reminder of the importance of service, not just on MLK Day, but every day.

If you missed your chance to serve on MLK Day, but are looking to get involved, there are always opportunities! You can look here for ongoing and one-time opportunities with United Way of Lake County or check out Find Help Lake County for volunteer opportunities throughout Lake County, IL. For more information on becoming an AmeriCorps VISTA, visit here.

By Nicole Delaney, AmeriCorps VISTA, Success By 6

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