AMERICORPS WEEK 2012:

AMERICORPS WORKS

The 2012 AmeriCorps Week, which took place March 10-17 with the theme “AmeriCorps Works”, was even more successful than last year and had 70% of AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service to America) participation for the numerous events during the week! AmeriCorps teamed up and completed a different activity each day of the week with the theme of elevating the pressures of poverty on individuals and families within Weld County.

March 12th VISTAs of Weld County hosted informational tables at the Funplex, distributing information on the services their agencies provide and explaining what they do as AmeriCorps VISTAs at these agencies.

March 13th the VISTAs got together at the Arc Thrift Store in Greeley to sort, organize, and help display clothes and items at reduced prices in the store for those in need.

March 14th at the old Guadalupe Shelter the VISTAs cleared out furniture, dismantled items from the walls, tore up carpet, cleaned the rooms, and did some landscaping to beautify the building. The Guadalupe Shelter plans to donate the old building to a group assisting single pregnant mothers and mothers with children that require housing.

March 15th emergency boxes were organized and put together to support the Weld Food Bank with the many individuals and families that are in immediate need of food.

March 16th Habitat for Humanity invited the VISTAs to seed the yard and paint the house of a home constructed for a family of five, including grandparents, a single parent and two children needing affordable housing.

AmeriCorps Week is a way to show the commitment and selflessness of AmeriCorps members and stress the importance of service within a community and those who serve. “When I think of AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps week, it reminds me of a great quote. ‘In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.’ We have such an incredible group of VISTA members who are always happy and willing to go that extra mile and make a difference in Weld County. They don’t do it for the pay (which is poverty level), they do it for the experience, that good feeling, and to make Greeley a better place!”

- 2010-2012 VISTA Leader Erika Rogness

VISTAs helping clean the old Guadalupe Shelter

VISTAs hosting information tables at the Greeley Funplex

Interested in learning more? Contact: VISTA Project – United Way of Weld County 814 9

th Street / PO Box 1944

Greeley, CO 80632 www.unitedway-weld.org E: Lisa@unitedway-weld.org P: 970-353-4300 ext 2570 F: 970-353-4738

The VISTA Verse April 2012

Vol. 2 Issue 4

The VISTA Verse April 2012

Vol. 2 Issue 4

April is a busy month for our VISTAs!

Here are some of their events:

A Woman’s Place

April 10: Sin by Silence Film Screening at UNC (Gunter

Auditorium) 7:00-9:00pm

April 11: Fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse (2451 W. 28th

Street in Greeley) 4:00-10:00pm

Bring a flyer to get a portion of your dinner donated to A

Woman’s Place. Click here to print flyers.

All of April: Fundraiser at Zoe’s Café (712 10th Street in

Greeley) Zoe’s Café in downtown Greeley is generously

donating ALL tips and donations received during the month

of April to A Woman’s Place.

SAVA

April 1: Dodgeball Tournament at International Black Belt

Academy; 11am-7pm

April 6: Faces exhibit at Harper Point Photography; 6p-9p

April 9-13: Clothesline Projects at UNC Michener East Lawn

11a-3p

April 10: Until Someone Wakes Up… play by ACTivism

Theater a Bas Bleu 6:30pm

April 18: Geeks Who Drink Trivia for a Cause at the Trailhead

7:30p (prizes!)

April 19: Salsa for SAVA at Tortilla Marrissa’s (portion of all

day sales goes to SAVA)

April 24: “kNOw More” luncheon at Greeley Country Club,

11:30am-1pm

April 26: The Clothesline Project and Faces at Zoe’s

9am-4pm

April 26: Geeks Who Drink Trivia for a Cause at The Tavern

(Greeley), 8p

April 28: The Clothesline Project in Old Town 11am-6pm

Sunrise Health Clinic

April 13: “Zumba-thon” to raise funds for the 9Health Fair. It

will be held at La Hacienda Rental Hall (3001 8th Ave suite

295 Evans, CO, next to Sunrise) from 6:30-8:30pm. It is $10

per person and there will be snacks and giveaways

throughout the event.

April 28: 9Health Fair at Sunrise Monfort Family Clinic (2930

11th Ave Evans, CO) 7am-12pm

Weld Food Bank

April 26: Dine Out for Hunger. Restaurants donate a portion

of their proceeds to the food bank that day. Some

participating restaurants are Rumi’s, Tavola, Roma Pizza, Rio

Grande Mexican Restaurant, and others! Click here for a list

of all the restaurants.

Weld County School District 6 April 21: Worksite Wellness Committee will be hosting a 5K Run/Walk at McAuliffe Elementary. This event will provide a great opportunity for physical activity and the promotion of healthy lifestyle choices. The committee is looking for volunteers who are excited about assisting with the event (student groups or any other interested individuals). Volunteers will be helping with all aspects of the race: set-up, registration, providing race materials to participants, manning water stations, directing the flow of racers along the route, clean-up, etc. Please contact Kara Sample at ksample@greeleyschools.org to find out more and to sign up to help encourage exercise and health! Faith Communities Service Fund April 19: Bridges of Hope connects people with resources in

an informal environment, includes a free meal. 6:30-8:00pm

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

April 13: The First Annual "Home is where the heART is" Art

Benefit Auction sponsored by North Colorado Medical

Center. 6-8pm at the Greeley Area Habitat for Humanity

ReStore. This event is FREE to attend.

April 28: Spring Cleaning Sale at the ReStore! 30% off your

entire purchase.

United Way

April 14: Children’s Festival at the Island Grove Event Center,

421 N. 15th Ave. 10am-3pm

April 21: Grand Ol’ Auction 5pm. Volunteers needed to set up

on Friday April 20.

Perfect Spring Picnic: Black Bean and Corn Salad

This salad is simple and cheap, and is great for taking

to work or a picnic. Plus, avocados are in season now

so it’s the best time to use them. Add rice, tortilla chips

or eat in wrap if desired.

Ingredients:

1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained,

or use dried beans

1 (15 1/4 ounce) can corn kernels, rinsed and drained,

if you have fresh corn in season that's even better

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 avocado, chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, can use

cilantro if you prefer

1 jalapeno pepper, VERY finely minced

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients for the salad in a bowl.

2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a

separate bowl.

3. Pour the dressing on the salad and mix well.

4. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

5. Refrigerate the salad at least 4 hours,

overnight is best.

V^3: Very Important VISTA: Aylin Saribudak – Weld Food Bank

1.) If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

I gave this quite a bit of thought. I will go with a female elephant, in the wild. They are so beautiful, healthy adults have no natural predators, and the females live in tight knit matriarchal groups! 2) Are you a collector of anything?

Cats. Just kidding! Don’t have more pets than you can carry! 3) What are 3 things from your bucket list?

I would like to live in an ashram at some point. I want to become fluent in both of my parents’ native languages. I want to be a mom! 4) What is your dream job?

My dream job would be as a vegan chef. I love food and I love animals, so it would be perfect! 5) If you could go anywhere where would you go & who would you take? French Riviera with all the Saribudaks! 6) Who is your hero? My hero is currently a holistic nutritionist/chef named Sarah Britton. She runs a blog called My New Roots, and I’m learning so much from her. I recently started making my own nut milk and nut butter, and her recipes in general are so wonderful. 7) Why did you become an AmeriCorps VISTA? I became an AmeriCorps VISTA because in college, I loved volunteering for various organizations. One evening, I was volunteering at an event called The Blind Café (Google it! J), and I met a girl who was a VISTA. She told me all about her work at the Blind and Deaf school in Austin, and I immediately went home and searched for job opportunities related to promoting food justice. 8) What do you miss most about home? I miss my dog, Daisy, most of all. We’ve been BFFs for 15 years! 9) What do you love the most about being in Colorado? Of course, the beautiful mountains. Otherwise, Colorado actually reminds me quite a bit of Texas, which is a good thing!

The VISTA Verse April 2012

Vol. 2 Issue 4

April 2012

Vol. 2 Issue 4

The VISTA Verse

To Christina I leave: a whistle for Greeley Night walking, many, many plastic Tupperware containers (don’t chase them across the street), free internet, and Trader Joe’s beverages. To Paige I leave: The song, “Circle of Life”, hugs, Disney Trivial Pursuit (or any trivia), confusing text messages (with autocorrect), party games, and Tex Mex. To Chris I leave: every Pearl Jam album that was ever made, multi-language dictionary, tickets to the World Cup, my one and only “The Departed” dvd, a haircut, candles from Kohls, memories of making Michigan friends at Patricks, and too many tv show/movie links to count To Annmarie I leave: a trampoline, beaches/grilling, anything that provokes her wonderful laugh, dances with Frank Sinatra, and a mascot uniform. To Jeff I leave: suckers, an unaccompanied gym bag, Sunday hikes, twin telepathic messages, office wars, lunchtime thrift store trips, and pants with a pink zipper To Aylin I leave: kale chips, elegant footwear/outfits (you always look so cute!), friend requests to sisters, a late night in FoCo, V-Day discussions, and Vegan Pesto Pasta that I will make from your recipe blog! To Melody I leave: Greeley fresh air, REAL sugar sodas, refrigerated aloe, long, comical conversations in the living room, and shared small town feelings. To Sarah I leave: kickball, David Bowie in The Labyrinth, unicorn cookies, Peebers, Bob Ross, South Park, and Patrick pajama outings To Connor I leave: trips to Walmart, Cosmic Burger, amazing music conversations (mimosa!), Amy’s Lasagna, neck tattoos, and ultra light spackle To Susan I leave: piercings/tattoos, potlucks, a red coat (with buttons, hooks, & zipper), stories of my father, foot in mouth comments, cubicle/office visits, and United Way free food! To Lisa I leave: an unfairly super amazing VISTA group that is better than any other VISTA group and should never be compared because they are epic, confidence in yourself to be a great leader, enthusiasm to enjoy this year, patience to deal with red tape/procedures, and humor to laugh at it all.

From Erika… I can’t believe I have been here for 16 months – that’s 485 days, 11,640 hours, 698,400 minutes – spent right here in this great state of Colorado with wonderful people and extraordinary times. This is the fifth state I have lived in. This will be my ninth move. This will be my 3rd year of AmeriCorps. These will be the 15+ best friends that I will be leaving, once again. Baby, I’m a rolling stone, and it’s time to roll on (to California). I’m terrible at goodbyes, so I leave you with these lyrics and my VISTA Leader Last Will & Testament. “Been dreaming of blue skies, New horizon and sights for my eyes. The discovery of the unknown is something to tell the folks back home. I want to get away to feel the sun on my skin, to feel it really sinking in”

VISTA Leader Last Will & Testament: To Lizzie I leave: mass amounts of cheese, beautiful Wisconsin accents, 7/11 Big Gulps, hilarious fake laughs, lime green tights/leggings, but I’m stealing some of that Minnesota nice To Ally I leave: worn out shoes, gorgeous scarves (because I love yours), a slice of milky way cake, The Dark Crystal and some waffle fries! To Ginnie I leave: talks of In N Out (animal style!), Golden spoons, fun hikes, best chocolate covered peanut butter ball Christmas gifts, cooking in my kitchen, and staying up way past our bedtimes to hang with VISTAs To Nora I leave: Tupac singing (introducing me to more awesome music, Gotye!), sparkly dresses, red hair dye, volcano computers, West Coast LOVE, and boy talk To Kristy I leave: harmless comments at inappropriate times, Pho Duys, awkward meetings at Crabtree Brewery, in-promptu songs (Loveland is not the land of love & candy corn), and our amazingly ridiculous conversations