OneStar Grantees Made MLK Day “A Day On, Not A Day Off”

February 12th, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - 1 Comment

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our grantees did some amazing things for their communities. Scroll down to read about their MLK Day service projects:

  • Amarillo Independent School District (ISD) / Amarillo ISD AmeriCorps: Each AmeriCorps member planned lessons on the ideals of Dr. King, and presented them to groups of elementary school students.
  • AVANCE, Inc. – El Paso Chapter / AVANCE – El Paso AmeriCorps: The AmeriCorps members partnered with the local Children’s Health Insurance Program office to reach out to and educate local parents on health insurance options for their children.
  • Catholic Charities of Central Texas / CCCTX-ESDR AmeriCorps Case Management: Worked with Keep Austin Housed AmeriCorps Program and LifeWorks at the MLK Day of Wellness distributing shoes, coats, socks, meals, hair cuts, massages, hearing exams, referrals to services and more.
  • Casa De Amigos of Midland / STARS: The program held a Senior Fair, where they presented information to seniors on healthy living, general well-being and exercise.
  • Central Dallas Ministries (CDM) / N2 Texas Corps: AmeriCorps members held several projects, including repairing two homes with bcWorkshop and former Dallas Cowboys running back and 2010 Hall of Fame candidate Emmitt Smith; preparing meals for the homeless at SoupMobile; organizing the children’s library at Roseland Community Center; sorting CDM thrift store items; creating welcome bags for CityWalk@Akard’s new residents; and reflecting on Dr. King’s service.
  • Communities In Schools of Central Texas / CIS of Central Texas AmeriCorps: AmeriCorps members made 50 hats for terminally and chronically ill children through Happy Hats, adding a positive note to each hat. In addition, the members marched in Austin’s MLK Day march and rally.
  • City Year, Inc. / City Year San Antonio: Members participated in the city’s MLK Day march.
  • College Forward / College Forward Partnership for Higher Education: AmeriCorps members held five projects: working in The Caring Place’s food bank and thrift store; beautifying Copperfield Nature Trails; cleaning Guerrero Park; volunteering and playing with children at the Greater San Marcos Youth Council shelter; and cleaning and interacting with residents at the Southside Community Center shelter.
  • Communities In Schools – Dallas Region / CIS – Dallas Region AmeriCorps Program: Members met and discussed why Dr. King was important, the difference he made and how to put his spirit into action at schools and in their community.
  • Easter Seals Central Texas / ASSET*AmeriCorps: Members surveyed 13 apartment complexes for accessibility features; AmeriCorps*VISTA members will upload this data into the Access Texas Housing Web site. Members also repaired the wheelchair ramp and fence at an Accessible Housing Austin!-managed house. In addition, member Phillip C. earned a Certificate of Appreciation for his assistance with an MLK Day event at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
  • Front Steps / Keep Austin Housed AmeriCorps Program: Along with members from Catholic Charities and Goodwill, Front Steps’ AmeriCorps members hosted the annual MLK Day of Wellness, a four-hour homeless resource fair that gave shoes, socks, coats, backpacks, hygiene kits and various donated items to over 400 homeless individuals. They also provided foot care, eye exams, haircuts, massages, STD screenings, mini-case management sessions and information on accessing service providers.
  • Goodwill Industries of Central East Texas / TMC MentorCorps: Members gathered and distributed children’s books. They also participated in the 18th Annual MLK Commemorative March. In addition, they attended a banquet that honored mentors from different organizations from their community.
  • Harris County Department of Education / CASE AmeriCorps Kids’ Day Project: Members distributed AmeriCorps information at Houston’s MLK Day parade. In addition, members discussed the “I Have A Dream” speech and did an activity with children at the Jewish Community Center.
  • Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. / Jumpstart Texas / Dallas: Members organized a canned food drive and donated the collected food to a local nonprofit and fellow AmeriCorps program, Central Dallas Ministries.
  • Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. / Jumpstart Texas / Lubbock: Members worked on several projects: cleaning rooms at the Ronald McDonald House; gathering care package supplies to send to troops deployed overseas; playing Loteria and talking with a retirement community’s members; and beautifying a preschool and elementary school.
  • National Association of Community Health Centers / Community HealthCorp – Texas / Brownsville Community Health Center (BCHC): Members served food at the Good Neighbor Settlement House. They also gave free blood pressure checks and information about BCHC services at the Ozanam Center, a homeless shelter and services center.
  • National Association of Community Health Centers / Community HealthCorp – Texas / Valley Primary Care Network: Members visited a local nursing home, where they spoke to the residents about MLK Day, sang songs from MLK’s protest in Selma and recorded the residents describing their experiences with the civil rights movement.
  • Project Transformation / Project Transformation AmeriCorps: Community volunteers, staff, AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps alumni sorted book donations and organized a library at Wesley Rankin Community Center. The book donations were form from Barnes and Noble, which distributed 2,000 books to Project Transformation over Christmas.
  • Schulenburg Weimar In Focus Together Inc. / SWIFT AmeriCorps: Members conducted a food drive at grocery stores in Schulenburg and Weimar, then sorted and delivered the donations to the Weimar Community Food Pantry and the Schulenburg Area Food Pantry.
  • Texas A&M International University / TAMIU ADELANTE: AmeriCorps members from Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Carrizo Springs, Crystal City, Cotulla, Zapata, Hebbronville, San Diego, Benavides and Edinburg provided educational activities on Dr. King’s actions, moments and events for students in third through seventh grade.
  • Texas A&M University / TAMU Colonias AmeriCorps Disaster Recovery and Preparedness / Del Rio: Members distributed food to parents while children learned about Dr. King through coloring books and storytelling.
  • Texas A&M University / TAMU Colonias AmeriCorps Disaster Recovery and Preparedness / Eagle Pass: Members created coloring books of Dr. King and distributed them to Seco Mines Head Start, They also read to children and taught them about Dr. King.
  • Texas A&M University / TAMU Colonias AmeriCorps Disaster Recovery and Preparedness / Laredo: In Webb County, AmeriCorps members distributed handmade blankets, clothing, toys and food baskets to 20 families living in colonias. Members raised the money for blanket fabric and sewing supplies and hand made these beautiful, warm blankets for the children and adults.
  • Texas A&M University / TAMU Colonias AmeriCorps Disaster Recovery and Preparedness / Lower Rio Grande Valley: Members and volunteers canvassed the colonias, speaking to over 1,800 people about the 2010 Census and how it impacts communities.
  • Texas A&M University / TAMU Colonias AmeriCorps Disaster Recovery and Preparedness / Western Rio Grande Project: Members developed an emergency goods response system that will help provide essential food, hygiene products and household items to families after a disaster. The project was launched in Fort Hancock and may be expanded to Canutillo and Socorro. In addition, materials were gathered to help 12 families.
  • Texas A&M University / TAMU Colonias AmeriCorps Disaster Recovery and Preparedness / Zapata County: Members visited a nursing home, where they talked to the residents and shared diabetes management information with them.
  • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board / Collegiate G-Force / Texas A&M University – Kingsville: AmeriCorps members held educational arts and crafts project with the children at three Kingsville Housing Authority housing developments. The members led the children in learning about Dr. King as well as African-American inventors Garrett A. Morgan and George Washington Carver.
  • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board / Collegiate G-Force / Texas State University: In the morning, members volunteered at the Greater San Marcos Youth Council Emergency Shelter, where they prepared breakfast and lunch for residents and played with children. In addition, members adopted and cleaned a San Marcos park; they will continue beautifying the park throughout the year.
  • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board / Collegiate G-Force / University of North Texas: AmeriCorps mentors cleaned the interior and exterior of an adult day care center in Lewisville, preparing the facility for its opening next month.
  • Travis County Department of Human Services / Travis County CAPITAL AmeriCorps Project: Along with Waste Management, members worked on trail clearing, mulching and Chimney Swift tower installation on a wildlife trail.
  • United Way of El Paso County / HIPPY El Paso: Members divided up and worked on three different projects: cleaning and repairing a house for a local family; sorting food for a local food drive; and cleaning out the Westside Animal Shelter’s storage room and animal play area.
  • United Way of El Paso County / Ready for Disasters: Along with HIPPY El Paso and AmeriCorps NCLR Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe sorted canned goods and distributed them to the Salvation Army, the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, the El Paso Rescue Mission, the Center Against Family Violence and additional organizations.
  • University of North Texas / Texas HIPPYCorps: Members sorted cans and perishable foods for the North Texas Food Bank.
  • The University of Texas at Austin – Charles A. Dana Center / ACE AmeriCorps: Members cleaned the Austin Groups for the Elderly headquarters, beautifying a historical building while also organizing the materials of a nonprofit that provides classes, fun activities and free rides to Austin-area senior citizens.

Many of our grantees submitted service project photos to us. Visit our MLK Day album on Facebook to view them!

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Staff Stories: “I Volunteered On MLK Day”

February 1st, 2010 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

AmeriCorps members and College Forward participants volunteered together this MLK Day. (Courtesy of College Forward.)

Nicole Watson, Strategic Communications Specialist at OneStar Foundation, is one of millions of people volunteered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. She talked with the OneStar Blog about her experience, and about the importance of volunteering as a youth.

Why did you choose to volunteer on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

The main reason I decided to volunteer was to give back to my community on a day that commemorated a leader who passionately believed in making our nation a better place.

How did the service project you participated in impact your community?

I participated in United Way Capital Area’s 2010 Martin Luther King Day of Service on Saturday, January 16, 2010. United Way convened about 700 volunteers to work with local organizations that hosted MLK Day service projects throughout the Austin community. The day started with a kick-off ceremony at Huston-Tillotson University, featuring a keynote speech from Dr. Richard Reddick, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin, and a moving performance from The Cipher – Austin’s Hip-Hop Project. After the kick-off ceremony, people went to the location of their projects.

The project I worked on was with College Forward, a program that works with economically disadvantaged high school students who are transitioning to college. We joined the Copperfield Neighborhood Association to clean up the Copperfield Nature Trail in north Austin. Along with the neighborhood’s residents, staff members, volunteers and College Forward students removed two truckloads of litter and three flatbed trailer loads of underbrush.

How did your service project celebrate Dr. King’s legacy?

I think that the project I served in celebrated Dr. King’s legacy by reminding me how important it is to participate in making my community a better place. The project helped ensure that the trail was accessible for residents and visitors to enjoy the trails, ponds and greenbelt with friends and family.

College Forward participants cleaned up the Copperfield Nature Trail on MLK Day. (Courtesy of College Forward.)

What did you learn from participating in your service project? How has it influenced you?

I learned two things during my MLK Day service project:

1) Our group effort had impact. Due to the size of our group, we were able to accomplish more tasks involved with maintaining the trails than the residents could have done alone. This demonstrated the amount of impact a dedicated group can have.

2) The importance of instilling an ethic of community service at a young age. I was already familiar with College Forward through their involvement with AmeriCorps*Texas, but after getting involved on a personal level, I was inspired when I saw how involved the students were. I was unaware that, as part of their high school programs, students are required to complete community service hours. I think this is very important because for me, my community service involvement started at a young age and I have held on to it as an adult. I still remember volunteering with my mother when I was a child; those experiences have positively affected my life and my choices.

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Thoughts and Pictures from the Points of Light Institute Presidential Forum on Service

October 26th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - 1 Comment

Photos by: Cliff Cheney / cliffcheney.com

Photos by: Cliff Cheney / cliffcheney.com

On October 16, 2009, OneStar Foundation was honored to participate in the Points of Light Institute Presidential Forum on Service.  Service leaders, AmeriCorps members, Texas A&M University students and additional supporters gathered for a day dedicated to the power and potential of volunteerism and service.

OneStar proudly co-hosted the Service Leader Roundtable at the forum with Bank of America. Before the program began, however, roundtable attendees were surprised and greeted by former President George H. W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush. After their kind welcome remarks, an exciting discussion on the future of service began.

Thank you to all of our partners who attended the Service Leader Roundtable. We are eager to continue the conversation in the coming weeks and months.

We are also delighted to present some pictures we took at the forum. Enjoy!

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AmeriCorps Members Are the Real Stars!

September 4th, 2009 - Posted by OneStar Foundation - No Comments

Over the years at OneStar, we’ve been fortunate enough to hear many inspiring stories from AmeriCorps members about what the program did for them, and what they learned from it. So, as part of our celebration for the 15th anniversary of AmeriCorps, we are launching an AmeriCorps recruitment campaign.

Part of the campaign will involve distributing printed materials to high schools, universities, volunteer centers and independent living centers across Texas. These materials will highlight the different opportunities that are available through AmeriCorps.

In addition, we are creating a special project to spotlight a few of our dedicated AmeriCorps members and alumni. What is it? Well, we can’t tell you just yet! But watch for our big announcement coming soon.

In the meantime, we want to thank the following AmeriCorps placement sites, which are doing a tremendous job helping us with this project:

Stay tuned to our blog for more details in the coming weeks!

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“Volunteering in America”: A Call to Action for Texas

August 10th, 2009 - Posted by Elizabeth Darling - No Comments

Last month, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) released the eagerly awaited updated version of their annual “Volunteering in America” report. It’s true that Texas fell slightly in the rankings. But if we ever needed the spark to get motivated and share the importance of volunteering, we have it now. The powerful data found in this report builds the case to stakeholders, nonprofits and members of the public that volunteering has the power to make tremendous change, both locally and statewide.

According to “Volunteering in America,” Texas is now ranked 36th in the nation (down from 33rd a year ago). Approximately 4.1 million Texans engaged in volunteer service (down from 4.6 million). Yet nationally, organizations have seen a surge in volunteers, especially among people ages 16-24.

I felt encouraged when reading about the national trend of more young people getting involved in service, and I hope you do, too. This holds great promise for our future. If millennials see the levels of impact that volunteering can create, they will develop a trend of civic engagement and a sense of responsibility to their communities. This can create a domino effect, with the next generation engaging in service for years to come while influencing their peers to do the same.

Additional statistics in the report give me even more optimism about the future of volunteering in Texas:

  • While fewer Texans volunteered this year, 23% of the state’s population remained committed to volunteering.
  • In 2008, these 4.1 million volunteers gave 556.6 million hours of service. These service hours had an estimated economic value of over $11 billion.
  • Not all community impact happened through volunteering at an organization. According to the “Volunteering in America” report, nearly 470,000 people in Texas “worked with their neighbors to fix a problem or improve a condition in their community but did not serve through an organization.”

I believe that, if surveyed, a majority of Texans would answer that they would love to volunteer, but simply don’t have the time. They have enthusiasm and passion for helping others, but perhaps their work schedules are too hectic. Or they have too many time commitments. Or they cannot find someone to watch their children while they volunteer. But consider this: last year’s “Volunteering in America” report stated that people who have recently volunteered watch approximately 15 hours of television per week, while non-volunteers watch 23 hours per week. That’s a difference of 436 hours per year—and 436 hours could let you accomplish something wonderful in your community.

While I hope that Texas is ranked higher next year, I realize that rankings are not our end goal. What matters most is engaging as many Texans as possible in positive, long-lasting volunteering experiences, thus strengthening our communities and improving the quality of life for those around us and ourselves.

So I challenge you—and all Texans—to find the time to volunteer over the next year. Here are some resources to help you get started:

  • OneStar’s blog post, “Finding Volunteer Opportunities Online,” lists several Web sites where users can match their interests with volunteer projects.
  • United We Serve is President Obama’s initiative encouraging Americans to engage in service this summer and beyond.
  • OneStar’s blog post, “What’s the Right AmeriCorps Program for Me?” This post notes the distinctions between three national service programs, and lists questions to ask yourself when deciding which program to pursue.

Volunteering, even for just a few hours a week, can make an enormous difference. Find an organization about which you feel passionate, and see if it could utilize either your professional skills pro bono or your enthusiasm to help where needed. Better yet, gather a group of friends and volunteer together with an organization. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish, both for others and for yourself. And your efforts will have a much larger effect than simply changing statistics—they will change your community for the better.

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