deep service newsletter | september 2010: vol i, no 1

8/8/2019 DEEP Service Newsletter | September 2010: Vol I, No 1

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DEEP Service NewsletterA Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the FCSA Office of Academic Community Engagement | September 2010: Vol I, No 1

ACE IN ACTIONWithin the Siena College Franciscan Center for Service andAdvocacy, the Office of Academic Community Engagement begins the ’10-’11 academic year with a new team of AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows and Bonner Service Leaders workingwith community partners to help the poor and marginalized inthe Capital Region.

IN

THIS

ISSUE:

• AmeriCorps*VISTA service year reflections

• Bonner service trip to Maine and Canada

• Academic Service Learning preview

Pictured here, hillside in Maine as Bonners

travel to Presque Isle, Northern Maine to

learn about rural poverty.



DEEP SERVICE NEWSLETTER

CSA Academic Community Engagement

Connecting academicsto service throughDEEP Partnerships

Within the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy,

he Office of Academic Community Engagement is

oused at Siena College in Hines Hall.

his year the Office of Academic Community

ngagement is proud to announce that our

rograms and initiatives are expanding and

rowing deeper into the Siena College Franciscan

radition and the greater community of the Capital

egion.

With that, we decided to expand our newsletter to

nclude not only “Life as a VISTA” but also our

ther DEEP Service programs. Look for our DEEP

ervice Newsletter on a bi-monthly basis for the

atest news regarding ongoing programs and

rojects within Franciscan Center for Service and

Advocacy (FCSA) Office of Academic Community

ngagement.

he Siena College VISTA Fellows Program started

new service year at the end of July. We are excited

to have three VISTA Leaders leading a group of

nineteen VISTA Fellows for the 2010-2011 service

year. They led a successful week long orientation for

the new VISTA Fellows and four returning, second-

year VISTA Fellows. The entire AmeriCorps*VISTA

team showed great enthusiasm and already they

have been working over two months, fighting

poverty by building capacity and sustainability

within our communities.

The Siena Bonner Service Leaders Program is

growing! Now with 40 Bonner Service Leaders

Bonners are getting settled into their academic

courses and service sites. A committee of Bonne

are also helping to plan the Halloween

Extravaganza, an annual Halloween arts and cr

event sponsored by the Office of Academic

Community Engagement. The proceeds of this

event will go to one of our community partners

Every year this event draws hundreds of

community members from across the Capital

Region.

Academic Service Learning courses are underw

for the Fall 2010 semester. Our community part

Music Mobile, Grand Street Community Arts, a

Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless are wor

with Siena College Faculty members in the

Computer Science Department and the School

Business.

We are excited to be working with a diverse gro

of enthusiastic individuals dedicated to fightin

poverty and making lasting positive changes in

community.

Jennifer AmeriCorps*VISTA

Coordinator of A.C.E. Public Rel

ervice (Change +

hallenge) = Exciting

VISTA Adventure

AmeriCorps*VISTAHilaryRaineyreflects onthe first fewweeks at her

ervice site, MusicMobile.

age 2

Transformative Change

AmeriCorps*VISTAFrancheska Soto-

Gonzalez reflects onGandhi’s notion of change and writesabout how we can be thechange we wish to seein the world.

Fr. Young Mentoring

Program

AmeriCorps*VISTA

Tanya Hendersondescribes her work siteand responsibilities.Page 2

Community Partner -

Habitat Restore

AmeriCorps*VISTA

Site Supervisor EmilyCollins talks aboutHabitat ReStore andhow Siena is helpingthe store grow.Page 3

Siena Bonner Service

Leaders First Year Trip

Bonner Service Leader Melanie Iannaconeshares her serviceexperiences.Page 5

Academics and Se

AmeriCorps*VISTALeader Jennifer Sim

reflects on AcademService Learning athe professors andstudents she workewith in the 2009-2academic year.Page 6

A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the FCSA Office of Academic Community Engagement September 2010: Vol I, N





Service (Change +Challenge) = ExcitingVISTA Adventure

y Hilary Rainey, AmeriCorps*VISTA

My life has drastically changed over the past month.

am living in a completely unfamiliar place,

urrounded by all new people from different

ackgrounds , with a new job and new

esponsibilities making significantly less than what I

made at my previous job. However, I am the type of erson who thrives on change and challenge. I

made the decision to do a year of service with the

ntent of doing something new and I actively

ecided to break out of my norm. I tend to view

fe’s obstacles and new paths as exciting

dventures. My first week at Music Mobile was very

verwhelming; it was difficult coming into an office

hat was winding down from its peak season as I

was ready to get started. The best way to describe

he feeling I got from my first days is: Chaos.

However now, as I’ve become more adjusted

ersonally and professionally I have accepted the

haos and learned how to work efficiently in this

ew environment.

Working at Music Mobile is much different than

working at Disney, where I was at the beginning of

009. There if a single bobby pin was out of place

here was a big to-do. While working in the music

ndustry as a tour manager, I was always able to

manage myself and other people with my own

rganizational structure. At Music Mobile I have to

earn the way the office functions which may not be

he way I would do things if I were on my own, but

hat does not mean it is the wrong way. This year

will be a wonderful opportunity for me to learn

ven more about working with other types of office

nd management styles while adapting myrofessional behaviors to better fit with this new

lacement.

Transformative ChangeBy Francheska Soto-Gonzalez, AmeriCorps*VISTA

The first month as a Siena VISTA Fellow has been

challenging for I have begun to question the notion

of real change. Change can happen in different

levels and in different capacities. There is a change

that is small and takes years to see, and then there’s

change that’s immense and its affect is rapid. Yet

how can the success of change be tabulated,

calculated, rated? Who and what determines

successful change?

When asking myself these questions the only

evolving conclusion I can come up with is Gandhi’s

quote, “Be the change

you want to see in the

world.” In other words,

real transformative

change begins in our

everyday actions and

behaviors that are

influenced by our

personal perspectives

and biases. It’s

reprogramming andreeducating ourselves to see the world differently

which will then consequently affect the impact we

have on the world. In “The Pedagogy of the

Oppressed” Paul Freire’s reoccurring point seemed

to be that we cannot alleviate those in oppression by

using the same models, systems, and structures that

have programmed us to view them as inferior.

Real and transformative change is possible by

challenging our perspective on what we believe to

be the norm. We have to reeducate ourselves to see

the reality of the world and to then try and change

the circumstances that have created that reality. This

then leads me to think, have you challenged your

personal perspective today?

VISTA VisionBy Ryan Rose, AmeriCorps*VISTA

Starting my year as a VISTA (Volunteer in Serv

America), I was highly enthusiastic. The time

during pre-service orientation (PSO) was a gre

boost of excitement. I envision our group as a f

for positive change. Fighting to end poverty is

part to the success of humanity’s future.

Something that stands out in my mind from PS

was a group discussion. We talked about what

VISTAs thought the definition and causes of po

are. Most defined poverty as a lack of needed

resources to live at a comfortable level. The cau

ranged from lack of education and capability to

access resources to a natural outcome of the soc

organization we call civilization.

This discussion took us to a point where VISTA

shared personal stories of their lives. Some grew

seeing themselves as poor; others were wealthy

over time descended the socioeconomic ranks o

culture, and some never really thought of

themselves as poor until comparing the stories

other VISTAs to their own lives. Most everyone

they were rich in love and friendship.

During this little session I began to see poverty

something relative to where one stands on our

culture’s pyramid and brought this to the atten

of the group. As VISTAs, for a year we’re living

the bottom of the hierarchy, along with the maj

of humanity. I wanted to see what others thoug

my perspective on poverty. It seems to me that

poverty is the inevitable outcome in society tha

views some lives as more valuable than others.

was met with some vacant stares. I felt like I wa

speaking something invisible, like gravity; it’s t

universal force that, to be explained, takes the

soaring genius of a man like Newton.

My mind ventured back to a business class. Mo

organizations have a mission statement and som

have a vision statement. Something I read abou

vision was that it is to culture what gravity is to

matter. Watching a ball roll off a table, you see

gravity work. When a culture spreads outward

see vision at work. For us to end poverty; we n

to change our vision. The vision of a world with

poverty is the first step to the fight against it. T

world is as you dream it.

www.twitter.com/scvista

www.facebook.com/scvista

www.youtube.com/fcvista

www.acereflections.wordpress.com

www.flickr.com/sienacollegeace

“Real and

transformative

change is possible

by challenging our

perspective on

what we believe to

be the nor m.”

http://www.youtube.com/fcvista

http://www.twitter.com/scvista

http://www.facebook.com/scvista

http://www.flickr.com/sienacollegeace

http://www.acereflections.wordpress.com/

















FCSA Academic Community Engag

Fulfillment throughService By Nezia Munezero

Nearly a month ago, I

embarked on a journey that I

knew would not be the same

as anything else I have done in

the past. I took a vow to “work

myself out of a job.” In other

words, I have to make

sustainable efforts to connect

my VISTA Site with the

community it serves so that

after me, my Site will not need

me or another person to do my job.

his is the case with all AmeriCorps*VISTA

members. We sign up to spend a year serving in

arious non-profit organizations around the

ountry. We are assigned to do work from grant

writing to volunteer recruitment to general capacity

uilding. When I applied to the program, I was not

ully aware of what I was signing up for. I knew it

would be a toughyear, with financial

difficulties and

culture shock, but I

knew it would all

work out. Was I

right? Yes, indeed.

My worries have

been confirmed. I

ave financial difficulties, but what I did not fully

ealize before I started working was the support

ystem that I am going to have throughout the year.

his is how this year is going to happen

uccessfully.

My assignment is at Unity House of Troy, Inc. where

eople in the community can get all sorts of

ervices, including food, clothing, counseling, legal

epresentation, housing support and much more.

Community members benefit from all of these

ervices because Unity House employees are

edicated to “making life better.” And for the next

ear, my life will be included in this commitment.

ince I came to Unity House, I can say with a doubt

hat my co-workers really strive to make life better

ot only for our consumers, but also for members of

he community interested in volunteering their time

working at Unity House. My position gives me

pecial lenses to see first hand the impact workingwith our organization has on volunteers.

During my first week here, I visited our Street

Ministry location, where a volunteer was working at

Unique Boutique, organizing the thrift store and

elping out in other ways necessary. I was there

uring the week his volunteering would end, but he

was not ready to say goodbye to what he saw as his

wn way of contributing to his community. He took

leasure in putting price tags on every item in the

tore. He stopped for a short conversation with one

f our employees. He later asked me for my contact

information to be able to make arrangements for

him to come back and continuing volunteering. He

does not see an end date to his commitment here

with us.

This kind of fulfillment is difficult to obtain, but it is

made easier at Unity House. Our employees share a

strong dedication to improving lives and those who

step into our doors to volunteer take the same back

with them. Though I have only been here for a little

while, I can already see that my experience here willstrengthen my commitment to serve with no end

date.

Father Young Mentoring

Program By Tanya Henderson

Under the Peter Young

Housing Industry

Treatment I have

developed the Father

Young Mentoring

Program. This program

has a unique opportunityto work with individuals who have a desire to move

forward in life and become self sufficient. This

program was created to service individuals who

were previously incarcerated and families who are

at risk or disadvantage. We will provide sustainable

support services for clients residing at the following

facilities/programs: Albany County Transition

House and Albany Parole Stabilization of 45 South

Ferry Street, Albany NY; and Temporary Aid

Families residing at Schuyler Inn located on 575

Broadway, Menands NY.

Although we will be servicing those locations we

are not limited to just those programs. It is our goalto work with anyone in our area who can benefit

from our services. The mentoring program is

designed strategically so

that individuals will go

step by step through our

program and

comfortably move

towards an independent

life style. The mentors

will: help individuals

learn how to be self-

sufficient; provide

individuals with a

trusted friend and guideto support them; link

participants with another

adult who will have an

understanding of what it

is to have gone through difficult life situations and

have grown to be successful; work as a liaison

between our program and other community

services our clients will need. We will correlate our

services with other programs like literacy program,

career development and a lot more; and provide

encouragement for an easier transition from

incarceration into mainstream society.

As the Coordinator of the program it is my

responsibility to asses the needs of the incomin

clients as well as assess the strengths and quali

of each Life Coach. Having this information all

me to properly pair each Mentee to a Mentor/L

Coach in hopes that this will help assist them re

their goals and guide them to have the greatest

chance for success. The Mentors in our programindividuals who have gone through and compl

an orientation training prior to becoming a Men

Life Coach. They have been trained and well

prepared to work with our clients and various

situations either through formal training and/o

previous life experiences. Allowing individuals

have been successful in overcoming obstacles

become mentors is part of what makes our pro

so great and unique.

If you are interested in these services or volunteerin

becoming a Mentor/Life Coach please contact Tanya

Henderson at [email protected].

Habitat ReStore By Ricky Ryan

My first day on site,

site supervisor, Emily

took me around to se

some of the houses th

the Capital District

Habitat for Humanit

(CDHfH) has built in

22 years of service to the Albany area. I was slig

taken aback when we

started walking down the

street and not to her car. I

soon came to realize thatmost of the houses

CDHfH has built are

right in the same

community as our office

on North Pearl Street in

Albany. That’s the first

thing that I loved about

Habitat; they serve their

neighborhood, and come to find out, the

neighborhood serves back. Capital District for

Humanity only consists of a handful of paid sta

the rest is done by volunteers from the commun

That’s the same for their ReStore as well.

What’s a ReStore you may ask, as I did myself,

attended Siena for four years, only ten minutes

down the road. The ReStore is a store that takes

donations of used housing supplies, building

materials, and furniture and then sells them at

reduced price. The best part? All proceeds go to

fund CDHfH.

Check us out at http://www.capitaldistricthbabitat.o

(click on our ReStore tab). So think of us the next ti

you need to donate or buy something.

“My position gives me

special lenses to see

first hand the impact

working with our

organization has on

volunteers.”

“The mentoring

program is

designed

strategically so

that individuals

will go step by

step through our

program and

comfortably movetowards an

independent life

style.”

“That’s the first

thing that I lovabout Habitat;

they serve their

neighborhood, a

come to find ou

the neighborhoo

serves back.”

http://www.capitaldistricthbabitat.org/







Where Homeless Doesn’tMean Hopeless

y Samantha Tymchyn ’09, AmeriCorps*VISTA

In December of 2009,

the Siena VISTA team

visited Interfaith

Partnership for the

Homeless (IPH) as aprofessional

development training.

After touring the

acilities, we sat in the boardroom and had an

xtensive discussion about a variety of different

evelopment topics. Needless to say, it was love at

rst sight. I soon volunteered with IPH helping the

rganization plan their Taste of Albany fundraiser

nd found myself assuming more responsibility as

time progressed. In

deciding to do a

second year of service,

IPH had already felt

like home, and mychoice to join the team

felt natural.

Tucked away in

downtown Albany,

Interfaith Partnership

or the Homeless has been providing essential

ervices to the community for the past 25 years and

ow manages three major programs. The 30 bed

ormitory - style emergency shelter provides basic

ecessities, a daily lunch, case management, life

kills training, housing assistance, all allowing

uests to stay at the residence all day, unlike most

helters in the area.

he Sheridan Hollow Drop-In center, located

round the corner from the shelter, provides case

management, meals, showers, laundry, phone,

mailboxes, storage lockers and transportation to the

Albany community. The drop-in center serves as a

afe-haven for those who are chronically homeless

and those threatened by homelessness. The drop-in

center is one of a kind in the Albany community and

is cherished by those who benefit from the services

it provides.

The final major program of Interfaith Partnership

for the Homeless is the housing program. This

program helps adults and families that are

homeless, or in threat of becoming homeless, seek

guidance from a case manager in finding safe and

affordable housing and support for up to a year to

assist with issues related to housing retention. Inaddition, in

November of 2009

IPH finished

building two

apartment

buildings to assist

adults and families

who have been

chronically homeless or disabled. These apartments

are available for long term housing housing at a

subsidized rate.

Beyond providing services, the mission of Interfaith

Partnership for the Homeless is to successfully helppeople get back on their feet. IPH is truly

supporting the homeless population of Albany on a

multifaceted level, but with a tough economy and

budget cuts, some programs are threatened. As the

new Marketing Coordinator of IPH, my next year

will be dedicated to generating and implementing

fresh development tactics to increase capacity and

sustainability. I welcome the community to visit the

shelter anytime for a tour and a chance to fall in

love with Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless

too!

To get the latest on Interfaith Partnership for the

Homeless, join their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ albanyhomeless.

“The drop-in center

is one of a kind in

the Albany

community and is

cherished by those

who benefit from the

services it provides.”

Featured Community

Partner - Habitat ReStoreBy Emily Collins

I am Emily Collins, manager of the Habitat

ReStore in Albany. The ReStore is a home

improvement resale store which accepts

donations of new and gently used building

materials and home improvement items. Itemare then sold at bargain prices to raise money

Capital District Habitat for Humanity (CDHfH

As the ReStore raises money to support CDHf

it makes home improvements possible for any

income level and keeps tons of useable materi

out of the landfill.

I have always been interested in issues

surrounding housing and homelessness. For

years, I worked at a non-profit with individua

struggling with homelessness and alcoholism

feel passionately that housing is a right and I a

fortunate to have a job that combines so many

my interests.

Since the Habitat ReStore is a major fundraise

for CDHfH, we are concentrating this year on

making the store a household name. While ou

accomplishments have been the expansion of

space, employees and hours open, the store’s

greatest challenge has been getting the word o

about this project with such limited resources

The quintessential Habitat moment is when

someone is handed the keys to their new hom

and I am proud that our Habitat ReStore help

make that moment a reality. It is also incredib

when first time homeowners on a tight budge

find the perfect set of cabinets for an affordab

price, or surprised look on a first-time visitor tthe ReStore, seeing all the treasure it holds.

I have always valued service since I think it is

important to be engaged in the issues that our

community’s and neighbors face. I participate

in AmeriCorps NCCC program after graduati

college and it remains one of the highlights of

life. I had the opportunity to work with variou

non-profits and made incredible friends durin

that time.

Siena is helping us combat ReStore’s greatest

challenge. Siena VISTA volunteer Melissa Moo

and Ricky Ryan have focused on the ReStore a

continue to be instrumental in helping the stogrow. CDHfH and Siena’s partnership extend

into our affordable housing program, with Sie

College sponsoring our Habitat house at 486 N

Pearl St. in Albany. Volunteers are key to

Habitat’s success, and Siena students have bee

very involved in this aspect. As Habitat

continues to build homes for families in the

Capital District, we hope that Siena will contin

to join us.

To get the latest updates about Habitat ReStore,

search their page on Facebook or visit them on the

web!

Below: Inside Habitat ReStore

Did You Know?

Since 2007, Academic Community

Engagement initiatives have create more

than one million dollars in new resources

for service to the poor and marginalized?

http://www.facebook.com/albanyhomeless










The Bonner Service Leaders Program is an academic

ommunity engagement scholarship program that

provides access to education, and opportunity to serve,

or Siena students. From freshman to senior year,

Bonners get the opportunity to step beyond collegiate

walls to understand real life social justice issues. Melanie

annacone ’12 describes her experience on her first year

ervice trip.

For the first year service

trip, Siena Bonner studentstraveled to Presque Isle,

Maine. Presque Isle is a

small town in Northern

Maine that boarders

Canada. It is surrounded

by rich mountains and

beautiful scenery. With a

population of about 9,500, this small town is

nothing like the city of Albany, NY in which Siena

Bonners typically serve. Most of the town’s

population is involved with farming the area’s most

common crops, potatoes.

We began the trip with information sessions aboutAroostook County, which is larger than Connecticut

and Rhode Island combined. Claudia Stevens, from

United Way, said to us “What’s at the core of the

problem... and let’s fix it.” This simple statement

epresents what us Bonners aim to do at our service

ites. It is not just putting a band aid on the problem

but also getting to the root of it and stopping the

cycle. In our next meeting with ACAP we learned

that the unemployment rate in Aroostook County is

13%, where as in Albany it is 6.3%

Our journey then took us

to Catholic Charities where

we really began to get our

hands dirty and dig into

service. Dixie Shaw runs a

thrift store with all locally

donated items to provide

24 food pantries in thecounty with food. The

Siena Bonners helped around the store and also

unloaded over 15 trucks of furniture in two days!

Dixie is so excited about what she is doing and her

positive energy radiates to all of the volunteers at

the agency. The way she empowers the people that

come into her agency is incredible.

Next we traveled to Canada to get a look into life on

the Tobique reservation. There we met Dan, a

Native American who lives on the reservation. We

spent two days, learning about his past and the past

of his people. He had such a quiet and simple

approach to life and it caused a lot of us to rethink how we live our day to day lives. Dan could say so

much by not saying anything at all. That’s

something all of us will bring home with us. We

may have left the small town of Presque Isle, Maine

but the things we learned and felt will never leave

the 11 of us that went on the trip.

- Melanie Iannacone ’12

Bonner Service LeadersTaking their understanding of poverty to a new context, Freshman Bonners

explore rural poverty in Maine and border issues in Canada on their first year

service trip in August.

“It is not just

putting a band

aid on the

problem but also

getting to the root

of it and stopping

the cycle.”

First Year Bonner Service Trip“This experience trip has stretched me beyond my comfort zone and taught me about how weare all connected despite our differences whether it be race, income, or location. I hope to bringthis message back to Albany and share the message.” - Ananda Brinkmann





Upcoming Community EventsGrand Opening of the New

Sr. Thea Bowman Center for

Women

09/17/10, 12:30 p.m. - 5:00p.m., Siena College, NewResidence Hall, GardenLevel Room 06, freeadmission, [email protected]

Come tour the new location of

the Sr. Thea Bowman Center for

Women.

Siena College Celebrates:

nternational Day of Peace

09/21/10, all day, SienaCollege, 515 Loudon Rd.,Loudonville, NY 12211,contact [email protected]

The International Day of Peace

provides an opportunity for

ndividuals, organizations and

nations to create practical acts of

peace on a shared date. It was

established by a United Nations

resolution in 1981 to coincide

with the opening of the General

Assembly.

BoardedUP Auction

9/25/10, 5:00 p.m. - 9:00p.m., 68 Grand Street,

Alban y, NY 12202, (518)463-2222,www.grandarts.org

Six months worth of artist

boards all up for auction! Livemusic (DJ Truemaster), dancing,

refreshments. Over 70 local

artists represented.

Tour de Habitat 2010

9/26/10, register online atwww.EvansAle.com, entry fee is $100 per individual orfamily, for more infocontact CDHfH at (518)462-2993

The Tour de Habitat gives riders

a choice of pedaling a 100, 50, 25

or family-friendly 10 mile route

to benefit Capital District

Habitat for Humanity. All rides

start and finish at the Albany

Pump Station, with a post-ride

Reception.

Saints & Ghouls: Halloween

Extravaganza 6

10/30 /10, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00p.m., Sarazen Student

Union, 515 Loudon Rd.,Loudonville, NY 12211, $5per child, group discountsavailable. [email protected]

An arts and crafts festival and

fundraiser for kids and families

in the Capital Region. All funds

raised will go to Interfaith

Partnership for the Homeless in

Albany, NY.

HATAS Home Sweet Home

Gingerbread Home

Fundraiser/Silent Auction

11/13/10, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00p.m. @ Crossgates Mall / 11/18/10 from 6:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. @ Dale Miller,contact Liz Hitt, AssistantExecutive Director,[email protected], (518)463-2124, ext. 229

Homeless and Travelers Aid

Society Home Sweet Home

Gingerbread Home is a two partevent featuring decorated

Gingerbread Homes on 11/13

and an evening dinner auction

on 11/18.

A Simple Day of Giving: A

Community Service Day for

Families

11/20/10, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00p.m., St. Sofia Church, 440

Whitehall Rd., Albany, NFREE, contact RobertaSandler for more info,[email protected]

Making practical homemad

gifts to share with local

organizations. No skills

necessary.

Latino Youth Conference

10/16/10, 10:00 a.m. - 9p.m., Siena College, 51Loudonville Rd,Loudonville, NY 12211,

registration, contact:www.LatinoYouthConfee.org

The Latino Youth Leadershi

Conference is an exciting an

inspirational day where Lat

youth learn about leadershi

development, future educat

opportunities and making g

decisions.

Our MissionAcademic skills and knowledge can be

acquired and strengthened through

application to real world challenges faced in

the greater community. Placing Siena

students in partnership with the poor and

marginalized provides a context for the

knowledge they learn at Siena and brings to

life the Franciscan Tradition as the hallmark of a Siena education.

Academic Service Learning (ASL) at Siena

includes all forms of academic teaching and

learning in which learning outcomes of an

academic course or project are met in whole

or in part through meaningful service to a

community-based organization. The ASL

Program assists Faculty through training,

design assistance, managing community

partner relations, identification of community

partner needs, building ASL network of

faculty across the region, and student and

community partner training and

development.

Academics and Service: A ReflectionAcademic Service Learning is a

pedagogical approach that seeks to

meet the course learning objectives in

and through application of academic

skills and knowledge-base of the

course to a real community need.

Americorps*VISTA Leader, Jennifer

Simek, highlights the AcademicService Learning projects she worked

on in the 2009-2010 academic year.

In my 2009-2010 service year as an

AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellow at

Grand Street Community Arts

(GSCA), I had the opportunity to

work with Siena College School of

Business Professor Paul Thurston

and Sage College of Albany Visual

Arts Chair and Professor Sally

Packard. I witnessed through the

coordination of these ASL

partnerships how successf ul anacademic service learning course

can be. The impact the classes had

on GSCA lasted far beyond the

semester. Leaving us with their

knowledge and research, the

students did more in a semester

for GSCA than what could have

been accomplished by the small

staff in the same timeframe.

Professor Thurston’s class,

“Leading Sustainable

Organizational Change,” helped

Grand Street Community Arts

look in-depth at six core needs

within the organization, including

database management,

sustainable funding, and external

communications as well as

strategic planning for three youth

art programs.

Professor Packard’s class, a

freshman art foundations course,

consisted of 70 students who

rotated art professors within th

semester, learning about a varie

of artistic methods and

applications. In Professor

Packard’s section, each student

developed a kid friendly art les

plan to be utilized by the GrandStreet Kids Club summer progr

coordinators.

Working with these professors

and students helped make my

AmeriCorps*VISTA year

successful. This year, I am a

AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader

helping new AmeriCorps*VIST

Fellows make those connection

and I’m excited to see the impa

their college partner classes ma

- Jennifer Simek, AmeriCorps*VI

Le

Fall 2010 Academic ServiceLearning Partners

Music Mobile & Siena College

Computer Science Department

Animating Music Mobile songs by

Ruth Pelham

Interfaith Partnership for the

Homeless & the School of Business

Organization and Management

Grand Street Community Art

the School of Business

Leading Sustainable Organizatio

Change

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.evansale.com/






http://www.latinoyouthconference.org/



http://www.grandarts.org/































Our Missio

The Franciscan Center for Service aAdvocacy AmeriCorps*VISTA Fello

Program provides help to build, sustain, apromote civic engagement by fosterreciprocal DEEP relationships betwe

students, faculty, administration and olocal community in ne

Our program focuses on assisting facustudents, and community partners to w

with all walks of life. Our actions commitour core values of St. Francis and allow ostudents, faculty and administration to s

direct actions towards academic excellenthrough their civic engagement a

participation in programs that helpincrease capacity in areas of our commun

that need it most through DEPartnershi

Our PartnePeter Young Housing, Industries, a

Treatm

Homeless and Travelers Aid Soci

FOCUS Churc

Boys and Girls Club of Alba

Unity House of Troy, I

Catholic Charities/Roarke CenInterfaith Partnership for the Homel

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigra

NAA/SNA

Grand Street Community Arts, I

Trinity Allia

Music Mob

YMC

Green Tech Charter High Sch

Siena Office of Enrollment Managem

Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Wom

Siena Research Instit

Konenia Hea

Capital District Habitat for Human

Have a story about DEEP Service? Submit one!We want to hear from you! Send your stories (350 words max.) to Jennifer Simek,Coordinator of A.C.E. Public Relations. Your story may be featured in our next DEEPService Newsletter.

Siena CollOffice of Academic Community Engagem

515 Loudon RLoudonville, NY 12

P: (518) 783-6886 |F: (518) 786-5https://www.siena.edu/pages/2203.a

Get Involved!Interested in learning more about our programs and projects? Becoming anAmeriCorps*VISTA, Bonner Service Leader? Interested in Academic Service Learning?Contact us to learn more about how you can get involved!

https://www.siena.edu/pages/2203.asp

https://www.siena.edu/pages/2203.asp

deep service newsletter | september 2010: vol i, no 1

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