HURRICANE RECOVERY:
URAP ENGAGES COLLEGE STUDENTS

College students will have the opportunity to assist in recovery efforts for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita under through the Universities Rebuilding America Partnership (URAP), an initiative co-sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). During the grant announcement in Louisiana, Corporation CEO David Eisner announced a $100,000 Learn and Serve America grant to Tulane University to support expansion of service-learning programs based at Tulane, Dillard, and Xavier universities. The grant will aid students carrying out research and service projects to help their campuses and communities rebuild in the wake of the hurricanes. HUD’s portion of URAP is $5.6 million, which will support projects by schools of architecture and planning with affected communities, and an initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to provide sustained services to affected communities. In addition to the grant funding, the Corporation and HUD are issuing the URAP Toolkit, a step-by-step guide on how to select and arrange service projects in the Gulf Region, and what to expect.

MAKING COLLEGE POSSIBLE:
AMERICORPS PROGRAM HONORED

The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits recently honored an AmeriCorps program, Admission Possible, with its Mission Award for Innovation. Admission Possible places AmeriCorps members at nine high schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul to help low-income students prepare for and apply to college. The project started in 2000 with 35 students. Currently, 600 high school students participate and more than 500 Admission Possible alums are now in college. AmeriCorps members help high school juniors and seniors prepare for ACT tests, tour college campuses, and secure scholarships. Admission Possible continues services to alums, including pairing them with mentors from local corporations, throughout their college career. The first students to complete Admission Possible are scheduled to graduate in the spring.

SERVICE HERO:
RSVP VOLUNTEER JIM JENKINS

Jim Jenkins discovered RSVP when he was looking for something to do after retiring from a 32-year career in law enforcement. The Madison, Wis., resident quickly found a calling as an RSVP volunteer: as a Community Emergency Response Team instructor, he helps local senior citizens prepare for disasters. In discussing types of disasters, he stresses the affects that particular seasons have on the types of disasters that occur. He and his listeners discuss ways to mitigate disasters, how to communicate when phone lines go dead, and the need for emergency kits with supplies for when lights and power go off. In keeping with his interest in being prepared for disasters, Jenkins headed south after Hurricane Katrina, helping to deliver food, water, and supplies to residents in southern Mississippi. All this volunteer effort has had at least one great affect: “I’m happier with my day-to-day life than I ever was.”

PROMISING PROGRAMS:
MISSISSIPPI YES! SERVICE LEARNING

The Program: About two dozen high school students from across the Magnolia State are selected each year to participate in Mississippi YES!, which stands for Youth Engaged in Service, a service-learning program sponsored by the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service. Selection is based on service activity prior to joining the program; those selected are supposed to act as service ambassadors within their communities. The students meet for monthly retreats that include training and service, with the participants choosing a theme each year as a focus of their service activities. As part of this year’s theme, which is hurricane relief, they have partnered with a family in Moss Point, MS, a town that was heavily damaged. Over several visits to Moss Point, the students have helped with initial repairs to the family’s home. The wife of the family is a public school kindergarten teacher, so Mississippi YES! participants collected backpacks, which they filled with donated school supplies, to distribute to the town’s students. They also are undertaking an oral history project to document the stories of those impacted by the hurricanes. Over the nine years of the program’s existence, the students have chosen a variety of issues to address. Last year, they focused on serving people with disabilities. In addition, each year the participants plan and lead the Mississippi Youth Service Summit to provide guidance and training in service for elementary and middle-school aged children.

The Results: Participants take lessons learned back to their own communities, looking at how their communities can address issues that the program has considered. Their commitment to service was evidenced this year by the fact that participants got involved in hurricane relief projects in their own communities before the theme had been chosen for the year. As for the hundreds of students who have now completed the program, they tend to remain active in service once they move on to college or careers. Some former members, including three this year, continue with the program by serving as mentors.

Why It Works: The program is effective because it is for youth and led by youth. The members are the decision makers, in choosing the theme for the year, investigating community assets, and running reflection sessions to assess lessons learned during service. Also, because the program is free of charge to the students, the group is economically and geographically diverse, which adds to the richness of the experience and ensures that all Mississippi students have the opportunity to participate. .

Lessons: Program director Sharonda Bristow points to the sense of community fostered by the program as the common thread that pulls the program together. For more information, contact Sharonda Bristow, (601)432-6650 or email sharonda@mcvs.org.