Look who's serving: find Indiana MLK Day service opportunities

Some technical difficulties appear to be delaying the events we have submitted in honor of MLK Day from posting on the AllForGood.org website. So as we wait, we wanted to share some Indiana-specific causes may be a fit for you (feel free to write us here at the INOFBCI and we'll update the list! You can write us at "info" at "ofbci.in.gov"). You may notice that some occur on MLK Day and others occur on different days though they are still happening in honor of Dr. King's legacy). 

Please feel free to plug your zip code into the widget above (making sure to check out the multiple tabs of types of activities) or check the list below this text (all events are organized by date):

Opportunity Title: Capacity Building
Sponsoring Organization: Porter County Partnership
Description: Members cleaned out and reorganized the facility storage for United Way.  Members will also aid in the file retention process.  Members aided the agency in reducing the congestion and clutter, reusing and repurposing items and recycling unwanted items into new homes.
Special Skills Needed: muscle, brain and spatial skills.
Location Name: United Way of Porter County
Location Number / Street: 951 Eastport Centre Dr
Location City: Valparaiso, IN  46383
Location County: Porter
Website: www.unitedwaypc.org
Start Date: 12/26/2012
End Date: 1/11/2012
How often does event happen?: daily during time frame
Days of week event repeats on: daily during time frame
Minimum age of participants: 18


Opportunity Title: Holiday for Heroes Mailing
Sponsoring Organization: Porter County Partnership
Description: Members launched holiday card collections at their host sites and aslo created holiday cards which were mailed and delivered both to active military and their families as well as veterans and their families. 
Special Skills Needed: Collaboration, coordination, creativity
Location Name: United Way of Porter County
Location Number / Street: 951 Eastport Centre Dr
Location City: Valparaiso, IN  46383
Location County: Porter
Website: www.unitedwaypc.org
Start Date: 11/29/2012
End Date: 1/18/2012
How often does event happen?: One time event
Days of week event repeats on: N/A
Minimum age of participants: 18


Opportunity Title: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Campaign
Sponsoring Organization: American Red Cross
Description: Door-to-door canvassing with fire prevention info
Special Skills Needed: None
Location Name: MLK Montessori School
Location Number / Street: 6801 S. Anthony Blvd.
Location City: Fort Wayne, IN  46816
Location County: Allen
Website: http://www.redcrossofnei.org
Start Date: 1/19/2013
End Date: 1/19/2013
How often does event happen?: Annually
Days of week event repeats on: N/A
Minimum age of participants: N/A


Opportunity Title: CANI/Red Cross Fire Safety Canvassing
Sponsoring Organization: Community Action of Northeast Indiana and the American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana
Description: Volunteers will canvas neighborhoods in Fort Wayne that have been proven to have the highest incidents of fires. Volunteers will share fire safety information and offer free batteries for smoke detectors. 
Special Skills Needed: Ability to speak with homeowners
Location Name: City of Fort Wayne
Location Number / Street: N/A
Location City: Fort Wayne, IN
Location County: Allen
Website: www.canihelp.org
Start Date: 1/19/2013
End Date: 1/19/2013
How often does event happen?: annually
Days of week event repeats on: Saturday              
Minimum age of participants: N/A


Opportunity Title: Community Diner
Sponsoring Organization: Chili and Bean Soup Supper
Description: Jackson County AmeriCorps Members
Special Skills Needed: Members will donate items and prepare the monthly meal at the Community Diner. This meal is for lower income individuals and families
Location Name: none
Location Number / Street: 107 S Chestnut Street
Location City: Seymour, IN  47220
Location County: Jackson
Website: http://www.jacsy.org 
Start Date: 1/21/2013
End Date: 1/21/2013
How often does event happen?: Annually
Days of week event repeats on: 1
Minimum age of participants: unknown


Opportunity Title: Lending Library
Sponsoring Organization: United Way of Bartholomew County
Description: Cleaning, labeling and organizing lending library inventory
Special Skills Needed: N/A
Location Name: Doug Otto Building
Location Number / Street: 1531 13th Street
Location City: Columbus, IN  47201
Location County: Bartholomew
Website: www.uwbarthco.org
Start Date: 1/21/2013
End Date: 1/21/2013
How often does event happen?: One time event
Days of week event repeats on: N/A
Minimum age of participants: N/A


Opportunity Title: IndyReads (Katie VanSickle)
Sponsoring Organization: Indiana HabiCorps
Description: Volunteers are needed to help organize and stock books.
Special Skills Needed: Indy Reads          
Location Name: TBA
Location Number / Street: TBA
Location City: Indianapolis, IN                                                                                                                 
Location County: Marion
Website: TBA
Start Date: TBA
End Date: TBA
How often does event happen?: TBA
Days of week event repeats on: TBA
Minimum age of participants: TBA


Opportunity Title: Small Needs (Cody Studebaker)
Sponsoring Organization: Indiana HabiCorps
Description: Collections of small toiletry items are being collected at business around Lafayette
Special Skills Needed: Small Needs
Location Name: TBA
Location Number / Street: TBA
Location City: Lafayette, IN                                                                                                                      
Location County: Tippecanoe
Website: TBA
Start Date: TBA
End Date: TBA
How often does event happen?: TBA
Days of week event repeats on: TBA
Minimum age of participants: TBA


Opportunity Title: Letter Campaign (Emily Janas)
Sponsoring Organization: Indiana HabiCorps
Description: Emily is asking volunteers to write letters to troops currently serving in the military.
Special Skills Needed: TBA
Location Name: TBA
Location Number / Street: TBA
Location City: Indianapolis, IN                                                                                                                 
Location County: Marion
Website: TBA
Start Date: TBA
End Date: TBA
How often does event happen?: TBA
Days of week event repeats on: TBA
Minimum age of participants: TBA

When you volunteer, you become special

Jim Huston

Aleeah Livengood

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, 'Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. . . . You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.' As we reflect on 2012, we can be proud that so many Hoosiers understand that message, and the number of servant volunteers seems to be growing.

Most recently, we have seen countless Hoosier volunteers help with the recovery of Hurricane Sandy. From monetary donations to in-kind items to individuals traveling east to help out, Hoosiers have stepped up to meet needs quickly in the wake of disaster.

This spirit may be a reflection of how close to home disaster recovery efforts have hit, as so many Hoosiers responded to the March tornadoes in Southern Indiana. Within just a few days, members of the group Indiana Voluntary Organizations Active inDisaster took action. The Seventh-day Adventist Church set up a warehouse to receive donated goods, and the United Way managed volunteers and coordinated its network of resources.

As that effort continues, our community partner Hope Crisis Response Network reports that through a partnership with Country Lake Christian Retreat, The Salvation Army, UMCOR of Indiana, 87 church partners and individual advocates, they have directed more than 16,000 volunteers who have completed repairs on 257 homes. These volunteers have contributed 103,000 hours, an in-kind value of $2.2 million.

Hoosier companies also have had a remarkable year in service. Subaru of Indiana Automotive received a Governor's Service Award for Corporate Volunteerism, highlighting its multifaceted efforts of philanthropy and volunteerism. We also saw Cumminsrecognized in 'The Civic 50' for its generous heart, and Lilly continued togrow its Global Day of Service. Indiana's corporate culture includes a heart for service and volunteerism from small business to big business.

As we reflect on these highlights, it seems clear that generosity will be a priority for Hoosiers during the holidays. We can't wait to hear of the giving totals received by organizations such as Gleaner's, the Salvation Army and dozens of faith-based groups that address hunger. We can confidently say that 2012 has been a good year for service and volunteerism, and we are excited to see what's in store for 2013. The love and care we show for others in need is part of us. You don't have to be special to give of yourself, but you become special once you do.

Huston is the executive director of the governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Livengood is chairman of the IndianaCommission on Community Service and Volunteerism.

Governor urges moment of reflection for Sandy Hook victims

As so many of our readers play such a vital role in working with children, families, mental health matters, conflict resolution, community connectedness, and so many more areas of compassion, please join us in this time of reflection for Newtown, Connecticut.

Governor urges moment of reflection for Sandy Hook victims

INDIANAPOLIS (December 20, 2012) – At the request of Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, Governor Mitch Daniels is urging Hoosiers to pause for a moment of reflection Friday at 9:30 a.m. (local time) to remember the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Malloy has issued a proclamation declaring Friday as a Day of Mourning in Connecticut. He also sent letters to all other governors inviting them to ask their citizens to participate by taking a moment to honor the Sandy Hook children and educators.

Gov. Daniels urges graduates to find their “discomfort zones"

We at the INOFBCI thought you may enjoy reading the commencement address that Gov. Daniels delivered to the graduating class of Indiana University this past Saturday, including his encouragement for graduates to engage in service and volunteerism.

In the comments section, feel free to leave your own stories of going beyond your comfort zone to give or serve the needs of others.

BLOOMINGTON (December 15, 2012) – Governor Mitch Daniels today challenged the graduating class of Indiana University to continually step out of their societal comfort zones to avoid insulating themselves from the less fortunate.

“It’s at times of discomfort that we encounter the new and are taught and challenged and stretched by it.  Each of your new commencements, and perhaps especially the toughest of them, will be the times through which you grow the most,” Daniels said.

The governor also urged the graduates that “when your success enables you to assist those less fortunate, as I trust you will do, don’t stop at writing a check.  Do it face to face, for your own good as much as those you are helping. And if it’s a little uncomfortable at first, well, that was the idea.”

The full text of the governor’s speech is included below:

Indiana University Commencement

Remarks by Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.

December 15, 2012

Assembly Hall, Bloomington, IN

The first thing you need to know is, I gave President McRobbie a chance to get out of this.  I mean, there is no shortage of more interesting speakers he could have invited.  Then I went and took a next job at a different university, and not just any university, and so, I thought it might be, well, as the Daniels girls would say, “a bit awkward”.

But in a display of the personal graciousness that is among his hallmarks, and, as I see it, a gesture of the spirit of collaboration that is growing between this great school and its northern cousin, Dr. McRobbie said, no, come on ahead.  For his kindness and yours, many thanks.

It’s worth noting on these occasions that we label them “commencement” ceremonies.  Not “completion” or “culmination” or “climax” ceremonies, but commencements, and to commence, of course, is not to finish but rather to begin.  Today we do celebrate what you outstanding students have completed, but much more so the new lives and adventures you are about to begin.

If you’re a little scared, get used to it, because this is not your last commencement.  It’s the first of a series that, for folks your age in this era of life science miracles, will probably extend for six or eight or, who knows, ten decades.  Why, even I, at my near-geriatric stage of life, am about to commence to something entirely new.  I promise you I’m at least as scared as you are. 

That’s only natural.  Every commencement means leaving behind the familiar and entering – it will often feel like plunging – into the unknown.  A new job, a new city, maybe a new continent, parenthood for sure – each will take you from a comfort zone to a zone of distinct discomfort.  I’m here to argue that’s a good thing, something not to dread but to look forward to.

It’s at times of discomfort that we encounter the new and are taught and challenged and stretched by it.  Each of your new commencements, and perhaps especially the toughest of them, will be the times through which you grow the most. 

College is often the ultimate comfort zone, and now you have to leave it for someplace strange and very different.  As you do, let me start you with a word of reassurance, coupled with a caution.

When this event concludes, you will commence membership in a highly important society, and I don’t mean the IU Alumni Association.  You are now members of the new American elite.  It’s a little bigger than the so-called 1%, but it’s a special, privileged class by any definition. 

Unlike elites of the past, it’s not based on an aristocratic name, or inherited wealth, or membership in the political party of a communist or otherwise totalitarian state.  The elite of our day is a knowledge elite, comprising those like you who have acquired the skills, knowledge, or at least the credentials of what we call higher education. 

In all of history, the marketplace has never conferred so high a premium on cognitive skills, that is, on brains and smarts, as it does today.  The data tell us that, on average, you will earn more money, work in safer occupations, and live longer and healthier lives than those without the kind of degrees you are about to receive. 

Statistically, you are far more likely to take the actions that produce success in modern life.  For instance, you are more likely to practice prudent preventive health.  You are far more likely to get married and stay that way, most of you to spouses of similar academic background.  That in turn means your children will have greatly increased chances of success themselves. 

That’s not to say that your success will come easily.  You are more likely to exhibit the qualities of hard work and industriousness that correlate closely with prosperity and leadership.  Scholars have found that the factor most directly associated with human fulfillment and happiness is not money or material things but rather what they term “earned success”.  That means tangible accomplishment based on personal effort, the kind that generates genuine self-respect.  As a group, you are far more likely to achieve it than those outside the knowledge elite. 

All these facts are matters of averages and probabilities, not sure things. Your diploma today will not come with a warranty or money-back guarantee inside.  (Will it, Michael?)  But, odds are, after the inevitable scariness of the first of your series of new lives, you will find yourself in a place of relative security and comfort.

Relative, that is, to that large number of our fellow citizens who will not be joining you in this new elite, and it is about them that I ask you to think for a minute this morning.

Whatever career or geographic or lifestyle changes lie ahead, life will invite you to stay nestled snugly inside one ongoing comfort zone.  Unless you take conscious steps to escape it, you may spend your entire adulthood there.  I’m talking about the increasing tendency of our new knowledge elite to congregate together, cozily insulated from contact with those less fortunate.  Professionally, socially, residentially, and most important attitudinally, today’s new upper class is separating from those different from themselves.

In the most important book of your graduation year, Charles Murray catalogs the ways in which this is occurring.  To avoid being misunderstood or misrepresented, his research deals solely with white America.  It presents a troubling picture of a society that is, as the book’s title says, “coming apart”.  As Murray puts it, “We need to worry about what happens when exceptionally able students hang out only with each other.”  And, he goes on, “It is not a problem if truck drivers cannot empathize with the problems of Yale professors.  It is a problem if Yale professors, or producers of network news programs, or CEOs of great corporations or presidential advisers cannot empathize with the priorities of truck drivers.”

In this audience are many future leaders of the sort he is describing.  You are destined to take up positions of influence in the America to come.  What will you do to make sure you are not mentally and emotionally distant from people who do not live near you, work where you do, send their kids to the same schools, and consequently do not look at life in the same way you do?

For the last decade, as a hired hand of the people of this state, I have had literally tens of thousands of personal encounters with Hoosiers of all kinds.  The nature of the work naturally brought on many of these experiences, but I also have made it my goal to maximize them, any way I can.  I have traveled constantly, to our inner cities and most remote rural spaces and to all the small and mid-sized towns in between, seeking out ordinary citizens and giving them a chance to speak directly, through me, to their government.  I’ve ridden motorcycles with a lot of folks you won’t find on this campus or any other.

Most usefully, I have spent all my travel nights not in motels but in Hoosier homes.  A few days ago I did so for the 125^th and presumably final time, on a dairy farm near the northeastern town of Stroh.  You all know Stroh.  It’s near Valentine.  Not far from Plato.  OK, think Ft. Wayne.

Those 125 overnights have been fun.  I’ve slept in guest rooms, spare rooms, lots of kids rooms, and sometimes just the living room couch.  I’ve gotten lost on morning runs, been bitten by the family dog, and taken a bath when I couldn’t figure out the basement shower.  I’ve made lots of new friends.  But most of all I’ve learned, in those last couple hours before lights out, about the dreams, problems, and often the fears of folks very different from me and from each other.

You won’t all be lucky enough to be able to mooch on the hospitality of strangers the way a governor can.  But I hope you will remember to find some way, some new zone-- a bowling league, an ethnic club, a church across town, something--to connect with people unlike yourself and your fellow graduates.  When your success enables you to assist those less fortunate, as I trust you will do, don’t stop at writing a check.  Do it face to face, for your own good as much as those you are helping.

And if it’s a little uncomfortable at first, well, that was the idea.

The last and most dangerous comfort zone to guard against is the one inside your head.  It’s the zone of certitude, the smug or maybe just unthinking confidence that you and those around you have all the answers.

Here, too, today’s world will invite you to isolate yourself, to stay in the zone.  It’s never been easier.  You can watch only cable news channels that select the stories that seem right to you.  You can settle in to the chat rooms or internet sites where everyone agrees with the obvious superiority of your point of view. 

Supposedly, college has taught you to resist this temptation, to think critically and to stay open to opinions contrary to your own.  I hope that’s so. Did you learn to be suspicious about things that “everyone agrees with?”  Did you tune up your b.s. detectors?  (That stands for “bogus statistics” but they can help you guard against indoctrination, too.)   Did you learn that someone’s disagreement with your ideas is not a character flaw or a cause for personal animosity?

Most important, did you learn, as Ben Franklin urged, “to doubt just a bit your own infallibility?”  The simple wisdom of Lord Keynes when he said “When I find I’m wrong, I change my mind.  What do you do?” 

I have never found “oops” a hard word to say.  Someone who never finds an occasion to use it either never tried anything bold or risky, and therefore never made a big mistake, or never considered that someone else might have a better argument.  I suggest keeping “oops” in your vocabulary. Take it into that most important discomfort zone, the one where you reexamine your own convictions regularly, in the light of changing facts and new circumstances.

On behalf of the taxpayers of this state, who have co-invested with you and your families in the excellent education IU provides, thank you.  Our nation, and this state in particular, needs more college graduates and the abilities they contribute to our collective betterment.    So you have already performed a first act of civic leadership by earning the degree you’ll collect in a few minutes. 

Now please earn it over and over, in all the future commencements ahead, by seeking out and relishing new zones of discomfort where the greatest satisfaction, achievement, and contributions to the common good await you.

Congratulations and may God speed.

AmeriCorps*VISTA reflects on service, conference success

By Cassandra Tice

I moved to Indianapolis for one sole purpose- to volunteer. As a recent college graduate, I decided I wanted to do something worthwhile. I wanted to make a difference. At the same time, I wanted to use my Professional Writing and Creative Writing degrees. I researched several wonderful programs and finally found the perfect one for me, AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer In Service To America). 

As a VISTA you commit to one year of service, 40 hours a week, to building the capacity of a nonprofit agency. To some this may seem overwhelming. How can you volunteer full-time for an entire year? Trust me, it was a challenge. However, AmeriCorps provides each VISTA a modest living stipend and enables student loan deferment. Plus, what I learned in life experience makes up for the low income.  

From July 2011 to July 2012, I served as the Fund Development VISTA for the Indiana Youth Institute. The Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) promotes the healthy development of Indiana children and youth by serving the people, institutions, and communities that impact their well-being. 

That first day of my service year, I knew very little about the nonprofit industry, how IYI served its mission, or how to fundraise. Fortunately for me, IYI is staffed with experts on youth development, programming, nonprofit management, education, fundraising, and so much more. Within the first month, I had a solid fundraising plan that included grant-writing and promoting the Indiana Mentoring Partnership specialty license plate.

IYI gave me the opportunity to attend trainings and seminars on topics such as fund development, poverty, and nonprofit management. By the time I ended my year of service I had accomplished two things: raising more than $70,000 for IYI and deciding to pursue a career as a fundraising professional for a nonprofit agency. Today, I am the Development Manager at Jameson Camp, a year-round youth serving agency working to enrich the lives of Indiana youth by inspiring them to develop their strengths. This is a position I would not have been qualified for or would have considered prior to my year of service with VISTA and IYI.

For youth-workers, December doesn’t just mark the month of Christmas, it marks the month of IYI’s Because Kids Count Conference. This conference is an incredible professional development opportunity for anyone who works or volunteers with youth. Last year, I worked the conference with the IYI staff. Working in fund development, I had little interaction with the people we served until this two-day conference took place half way through my year of service.

For the first time, I spoke face-to-face with teachers, program managers, development directors, volunteer mentors, and board members about the impact IYI’s services and the Because Kids Count Conference had on their professional development and the development of their organizations. It was rewarding to hear that my volunteer work and the work of the IYI staff was making it possible for youth-workers to follow best practices and build the capacity of their organizations, which in turn impacted youth all around the state of Indiana. 

This year, I received a scholarship to attend the Because Kids Count Conference and my experience was completely different than the previous year. Instead of serving youth-workers, I was being served. I attended workshops on engaging “millennials” as volunteers and donors, writing successful proposals, and board development. I networked with other nonprofit professionals and exchanged ideas and tips. I listened, I learned, and I connected. Now I’m working on transferring what I heard from the speakers and my fellow youth-workers into action steps for my fundraising and marketing plans.

Over the past year and half my eyes have been opened to the importance of after-school programs, mentoring services, summer camps, and other youth development programs. The sad truth is there are kids going hungry, being bullied, dropping out of school, and facing a variety of obstacles every day, and youth programs are stepping up and taking action to improve the lives of these children. These programs need the support of people of like you.

I understand you may not be able to volunteer a year of service to AmeriCorps, but there are various volunteer opportunities with organizations around Indianapolis. Become a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters, tutor homeless children at School on Wheels, teach creative writing at Second Story. Want a one-time volunteer opportunity? Participate in a Day of Impact with IndyHub or help with registration at next year’s Because Kids Count Conference.

Do you have a specialized skill like graphic design or electrical engineering? At Jameson Camp we could always use volunteers for grounds maintenance, marketing, committees, clerical work, as well as with our youth programming. Volunteering for a youth development program doesn’t have to involve working directly with children. Find an organization with a mission you believe in and ask them how you can help.

My year of volunteer experience was very rewarding, and set my life in a new direction revolving around helping youth. You may not be at the point in your life to be a VISTA, but I encourage you to search for ways to make a difference outside of your important work. One small action can have a huge impact. You can change lives, and as I discovered, one life that might be changed could be your own.

When service comes from personal experience

By Aleeah Livengood


I first met Michael Prickett when he was a quiet 12 year old with tousled auburn hair, a few scattered freckles, and a pair of somber brown eyes. Not a lot has changed, though his hairline has receded a little and his somber brown eyes are now filled with passion for helping at-risk youth.

“I tell the kids they’re lucky because they’re on probation. They’ve got someone to show them the right way, and they’ve got someone to advocate for them. This is their wake up call…something is wrong but it can be fixed.”

At the time, Mike was working for the Tippecanoe Juvenile Alternatives Program (JAMS) as a Program Case Manager to advocate and facilitate for high-risk juveniles; helping them to improve their decision making and coping skills, and to learn to take responsibility for their actions.

“I didn’t have a lot of people in my life fighting for me but they do,” he says. Mike’s concern for these kids goes beyond professional responsibility because it wasn’t that long ago he was almost one of them. Mike’s parents were divorced and absent, leaving him to fend for himself.

“I’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for my friend’s family who took me in,” he reveals.

Despite this, he was still angry with his family’s detachment; so he frequently ran away from home, showed rebelliousness against authority, and abused drugs and alcohol. As a result, he was expelled during his senior year of high school, taking away his opportunity for graduation. Describing that period of his life Mike explains, “I had a lot of anger and a lot of hate, it was directed in the wrong way but I directed it in the only way I knew how.”

His adopted family challenged him to take an honest look at his life; once he did he realized it was going nowhere. He believes their support changed the course of his life.

“It was just having those caring people around that supporting me, even when I screwed up.….I didn’t have that before.”

Afterward, Mike hit the ground running; he got his GED, got married, had a family, and enrolled in college. This new perspective inspired him to give back, resulting in an internship at the Adult Drug Corps. His commitment remained strong even after the internship ended, continuing to volunteer, he eventually received a recommendation for his present position. Mike has worked tirelessly to create asset-based programs, and to solicit community support for inexpensive extracurricular activity options to help keep teens out of trouble.

“One of the biggest gaps has been in after school programming. There are all kinds of sports programs, until you hit age 13, but those kids who don’t meet those qualifications are kids who are interested in the arts and civic education: there’s nothing for these kids to do and no money to pay for it.”

In order to fill the gap, Mike beat the streets looking for civic support to create community garden projects, art classes, and book clubs; he even introduced Project Citizen to give them community service credit.

“When we send them out to do meaningless community service they’re not gaining anything. It turns them more against the system that’s in place to help them. There is no tie to their community.”

What’s supposed to be interpreted as service becomes punishment. So as to change this perception, the youth create community service projects based on their interests, and with his guidance they personally coordinate the project. For example, several of the youth have adopted parks, landscaping them with community donations. It wasn’t long before the magic began to unfold.

“They no longer feel as outsiders but a part of something bigger. In turn, the community is invested in them.”

All of this is pretty amazing when you actually take the time to consider that it started with one person’s steadfast desire to share a couple of life’s greatest lessons: the importance of gratitude and taking responsibility for yourself and those around you. These youth are learning that service and volunteerism is a powerful tool that brings communities together. What they have yet to realize is just how it is shaping and changing their own lives.

Aleeah Livengood chairs the of the Indiana Commission on Community Service and Volunteerism (ICCSV), which is the governing board for the Indiana Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI). Through Indiana's AmeriCorps*State and many other programs, the ICCSV and OFBCI CONNECTs organizations and communities to grants, services, and each other; PROMOTEs volunteerism and service to improve the lives of Hoosiers; ENCOURAGEs public and private resources to seed and sustain innovative and high quality community and faith-based initiatives; and, HIGHLIGHTs the good works of individuals and their communities with best practices and innovative models.

Indiana AmeriCorps*State member earns high praises for hurricane relief work

We're always happy to share good news about the impact of our AmeriCorps*State members, and this is a special one as the American Red Cross of West Virginia is giving special commendation to a Hoosier AmeriCorps member helping with relief work in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

CHARLESTON, WV. Nov. 9, 2012 – There are many agencies the American Red Cross partners with in times of need to support the mission of providing relief and comfort to victims of manmade or natural disasters. Although the Red Cross is not a government agency, there is a government program that offers college students an opportunity to combine education with volunteering. AmeriCorps is one such agency.

Emma Forthofer of Wabash, Indiana
ARC Photo by: H.Walker

Emma Forthofer of Wabash, Indiana says that this program has given her a scholarship to finish her education but requires her to be a volunteer in order for her to receive living expenses through the program.  The program offered many volunteer choices for her to work on and she chose the Red Cross. She could have done her volunteering as an animal shelter worker, joined the Big Brothers, Big Sisters programs or one of many others. When Hurricane Sandy struck with a mighty force she knew it was time to put her Red Cross training and personal skills to the test. She finds herself today in Upshur County West Virginia (in the city of Buckhannon) where snowfall from the super storm did an extensive amount of damage. People are stuck in isolated areas and not able to feed themselves because all power is out, there is no running water and roads are impassable.  As bad as things are, Emma remains upbeat.

Emma is working at a feeding site at the Wayside Southern Baptist Church in Buckhannon. She is filling the position of managing coordinator for feeding distribution. The Virginia Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief Organization brought in a mobile kitchen that can cook up to 10,000 hot, nutritious meals a day. The meals are cooked and sent out to shelters where residents go for heat and food.  Food also is distributed by Red Cross Emergency Response personnel door to door to people who cannot get to a shelter and have to stay in their homes.

Emma receives a list of the amounts of food that is going to each county and time schedules as to when it has to go out. The food and water is delivered according to a schedule that is military precise. The cooked foods are delivered to her in special containers called Cambros. The Cambros are placed on pallets and she directs the familiar red and white Red Cross box trucks into the loading area. She carefully checks off everything that is loaded and rechecks several times to make sure everything that is on her list is there. She has her routine down to a science it would seem, as she works to make things happen. “Some of these trucks are going into isolated areas as much as three and four hours away” she says. “Because of having to have military escorts into some of these mountainous areas, it is very important that we send everything out on the trucks that is needed all at one time.” Emma is very efficient at what she does and demands of herself to display a positive attitude at all times. As more people from the community begin to come out from being isolated for days, some find their way to the site and come into contact with Emma. “Everyone at the site is wonderful and generous” says Buckhannon resident Jason Cane who received food and water for his family from Emma.

She is credited by many who have worked with her at the site for days for keeping them in a positive mood. In these tough times there are many opportunities for despair and depression, but Emma seems to be a young woman with a lot of energy and willingness to give a lot of herself. “It would be easy to get depressed” says Emma. “After all, it is sad to see parents coming in to ask for food and water knowing this is the only way the kids will have something to eat. These are a proud people in this area and it is hard for them to ask for help. Yet when the kids have nothing to eat, they eventually have to swallow their pride and accept what is available to them. That’s when I get a feeling of self-fulfillment because I know I am a part of a team that is providing something essential. Take away what we are doing here and many people snowed in will not eat anything tonight.”

As a hobby, Emma likes to refinish furniture but will put that aside for now and pursue a marketing degree from Purdue University next year. Everyone wishes her well and knows she will be successful because of her attitude, outlook on the future and willingness to work hard for what she wants to achieve. Sadly though, when she does leave, the Red Cross will lose a valuable asset.

A snowed in WV resident makes his way to theRed Cross Emergency Response Vehicle to receive hot meals for himand his wife. They have not been able to get out of their home for 5days and this is the first hot meal they have had in that timebecause of the power being knocked out by super storm Sandy.National Guard had to clear the road of downed trees before the RedCross could get into the area.

ARC Photo by: Sheila Crunkleton