An NCCC Atlantic Region Publication

Get to the PointGet to the Point April 4, 2012April 4, 2012

Community Relations Office

Sam McKenzie,

Community Relations Specialist,

SMcKenzie@cns.gov

Tristan Fowler,

Community Relations Support Team Leader,

TFowler.Guest@cns.gov

FIND US ON

FACEBOOK

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NCCCATLANTICREGION

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps

(NCCC) is a full time team–based residential program

for men and women ages 18 to 24. The mission of NCCC

is to strength communities and develop leaders through

direct, team-based national &

community service.

For more information about NCCC

Visit www.americorps.gov/nccc or call 1 800 942 2677

I’m an member of the Na-

tional Civilian Community

Corps, an AmeriCorps

program. N-triple-C

members are 18 to 24 and

spend 10 months getting

things done for America

while developing their own

leadership. We serve on

teams to help communities

to prepare for and respond

to disaster, build homes and

help the environment. To

learn more, or apply, visit

americorps.gov/nccc

2

Get to the Point

Raven 1 is making smiles all over the east coast.

GET TO THE POINT ATLANTIC REGION, PERRY POINT, MD

VOL. XVIII, ISSUE 5

333 FROM TO THE MOUTHS OF STREAMS TO THE MOUTHS OF MEN AND WOMEN

by Raven 1

4 4 4 FIRE COMPOSITE TEAMS HEAD OUT

4 4 4 BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION

ALUNMI SPOTLIGHT

555 THE BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE by Lisa Sullivan

666 BUFFALO UNIT LEADS THE CHARGE ON ISPs

666 DOWN TIME ACTIVITY

888 CURES FROM THE KITCHEN

QUICKIES

LOOKING FOR

COLUMNISTS 6

SHOUT OUTS 7

NEWS 9

AMERIMAP 12

3

Get to the Point

Through arduous labor and posi-

tive attitudes, the Raven 1 team is de-

veloping into a premiere Atlantic Re-

gion team. Primarily based at Winter-

thur Museum and Gardens outside of

Wilmington Delaware, the team

spends the majority of their days

working with the fantastic garden de-

partment removing brush and invasive

species, pruning, mulching, fertilizing,

fence building, painting, and main-

taining their nearly 1,000 acres of

premiere garden estate.

Winterthur is a non-profit or-

ganization devoted to community en-

hancement: historic preservation of

not only the museum collection but

also the surrounding environment;

academic research; and beautification

of local flora and fauna through the

use of exclusive perennials and a

unique collection of trees.

The team rotates every task, and

the different groups working on each

project, so as to maintain a fresh per-

spective, and keep morale high. Team

member Ashley Peoples, spent an en-

tire day working on many different

teams pulling trees and weeds out of

the ground using a shovel and weed

wrench combo. This difficult task

pushed her physically and mentally,

but in the end she ―felt empowered as

a woman to be able to accomplish such

labor intensive work, keeping up with

the employees, and seeing the result of

my own blood, sweat, and tears.‖ Oc-

casionally the team will band together

to tackle huge projects in short

amounts of time. Perhaps the most

substantial was clearing out a shallow

swamp-like valley covered in thorns

the size of tiger-teeth, and bothersome

cat tail fronds, which had a furry resi-

due that would choke the respiratory

system of anyone who comes near. But

armed with weed eaters, weed saws,

hand saws, loppers, and waders, every-

one dug in, getting muddy, sweaty, and

bloody to conquer this dramatic feat. It

is at these moments when Raven 1

could truly step back and see the re-

sults of a hard day’s work.

A couple weeks into their first

round of projects, Raven 1 packed up

and headed to Danbury, Conn. to serve

at the Connecticut Mission of Mercy

(CTMOM) to set up, run and break

down a free dental clinic. The passion

and enthusiasm of everyone involved

at CTMOM was epic to the highest de-

gree. Over 2,000 patients were served

and well over $1,000,000 worth of

FREE dental treatment was provided

with the assistance of Raven 1. Even

after a 19.5 hour service day, Raven 1

used the inspiration and positive ener-

gy of a successful day to teach the

sponsors and other volunteers how to

play Ninja and ended the day on a

highly positive note. The work they did

was made most rewarding by the feed-

back of the patients they helped. One

patient said ―this is the first time

I have been able to smile in a year

and a half.‖ Through diligent work,

and high moral fiber Raven 1 left

CTMOM understanding fully how im-

portant the service AmeriCorps NCCC

is involved with is to communities.

Raven 1 returned back to Win-

terthur in Delaware for the remainder

of their first round spike greeted by

their amazing sponsor Margaret and

an enormous vat of delicious chili.

They feasted like kings on this chili for

days after the initial meal. They were

also greeted from a friend who flew in

the week they returned. It was

―Edgar‖, the mischievous yet enter-

taining Raven who was previously up

―Bathing‖ in Bath, Maine with Raven

2. Tucked away in their cozy little

abode, Raven 1 is becoming quite com-

fortable with all Winterthur entails.

The friendly faces, beautiful scenery,

or even the aggressive geese that chase

Maddi off the road, have all become

welcome sights for the Raven 1 team.

Team spotlight— raven 1

From the mouths of streams to the mouths of men and women

4

Get to the Point

CONGRATULATIONS TO FIRECAT 1 AND FIREFOX 1

PERRY POINT GETS FIRED UP Two fire composite teams have ignited this week. One group, lead by POSTL Tristan Fowler, will

head to southern Maryland for a three day burn and another, lead by MUSTL Brooke Gates, will be

in Albany, New York for the duration of the round.

Firecat 1—

Firecat 1 is ready to go right meow!‖ says Team Leader Tristan

Fowler. ―WE are ready to take on this fiery challenge. As firecats,

we are on the prowl.‖ chuckled Michael Wessely. Fowler and Wes-

sely will be joined by Moose 3’s Lina You, Bobby Russo-Tucker

and Moose 4’s Elias Tolano. This will be the first burn for most of

the members.

Firefox 1– Albany, NY

The members of Firefox 1 have put on their fire fighting pants and

are ready to burn a lasting impression at the Albany Pine Bush Re-

serve. Team Leader Brooke (Burning Up) Gates has been waiting

to get back into her Nomex since retiring them after her time as a

Phoenix Team Leader in Class XVII. She will be joined by Chan-

dler Ballentine, Ben Dillon, Liz Fraley and Madeline Nagel.

STL Corner

STRETCH YOUR FOOD BUDGET A LITTLE FURTHER

As part of a continued effort to support

our communities, the Unit Support Team

Leaders are going to start collecting Box

Tops for Education. They are found on

many products and when collected by a

participating school are worth $0.10. In

2011 participating schools earned over

$59 million. If your team purchases any products containing the logo, please save

them and return them to a Support Team Leader in your SPIKE mail or during transi-

tion. We will select a school in one of our target cities to donate the Box Tops to.

Thanks for your support!

*During your lifetime, you’ll eat about 60,000 pounds of food, that’s the weight of about 6 elephants!

5

Get to the PointAlumni spotlight

The Best Experience Of My Life

Lisa Sullivan was a Corps

Member in Class XVII for Moose 4.

I joined AmeriCorps NCCC in order to

give a year of service, travel, and meet

new people. I had recently graduated

from college and was unsure of what

field I wanted to work in. I only knew

that I wanted to help others so I fig-

ured the 10 months would be a great

opportunity to explore different career

paths.

I knew signing up for NCCC that it

would be an interesting and challeng-

ing experience, but I wasn't really

aware of all the ways it would impact

me and honestly I think I am still dis-

covering ways in which it has changed

my life. NCCC gave me a chance to re-

ally see first hand some of the struggles

that many people are going through

around the U.S. After seeing some of

the impact that I am capable of I now

have a whole list of service programs

that I would like to be apart of. I have

built some amazing friendships and

met so many inspirational people. The

impacts are endless and although my

NCCC corps year was challenging

and at times frustrating it has by

far been the best experience of

my life.

I was always learning something new

about myself, my teammates, and the

communities that I was working in. I

think that the most important thing I

learned about myself while in

NCCC was that I am capable of a

lot more than I ever realized.

Whether it be facing a fear of heights

while climbing ladders to paint a mural

on a community center building in

New Orleans, creating lesson plans at

Camp Brown, restoring cabins at Rac-

coon Creek State Park, or running a

shelter in Delaware during Hurricane

Irene.

The last few months of my corps year I

was going through the application pro-

cess for City Year Denver and have

been accepted. I will be moving to Den-

ver in about 5 months to start my corps

year with City Year.

The Lower 9th Ward Village in NOLA

was my favorite place that I worked at

throughout my corps year. It was a

warehouse type building that was

bought by a man named Mack before

Hurricane Katrina to house his antique

cars. After the hurricane

hit he realized how bad-

ly his neighborhood

needed a community

center. We painted a

mural across the entire

front of the building and

also helped out in other

areas. I had the oppor-

tunity to walk around

the neighborhood talk-

ing to the residences

after we had started the

mural and many of

them mentioned that they were not

even aware that it was a

community center until the mural was

started. That is an experience that I

will always carry with me.

Some things I learned while in NCCC

were that communication can have a

huge impact on team dynamics. You

really can survive on $4.75 a day,

sometimes a trip to Starbucks can re-

store your sanity, patience is key when

working with non-profits, and The Mo-

hawk is trickier than it looks.

(Right) Lisa Sullivan and her Moose 4 teammates sprint to the finish

*Every time you lick a stamp, you’re consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

6

Get to the Point

COLUMNIST

Want to see your

name & face here?

If you’ve got opinions,

we want to hear ’em! If you

have a fantastic personality,

we want you to show it! If

you want to

strengthen

your writing

skills and find

your voice, we

want to help

you.

The Commu-

nity Relations Staff office is

looking for writers, col-

umnists and media repre-

sentatives to publish arti-

cles in ―Get to the Point.‖

The CRS office loves using

Corps member stories

about ―AmeriLife.‖ We

want to hear how you got

those rips in your khaki

pants. What’s on your

team’s iPod? What’s the

best meal your team ever

made on $4.75 a day? The

stories you share over the

next 10 months will be crit-

ical in forming lasting

memories and moments.

This is a fantastic op-

portunity to find your

voice, strengthen your writ-

ing skills and build up your

resume. To apply, send a

writing sample and any ide-

as you have for your col-

umn. The Community Rela-

tions Support Team Leader

Tristan Fowler will work

along side the columnist to

develop their ideas and

voice.

If you are interested in

becoming a ―Get to the

Point‖ columnist, please

contact the CRSTL Tristan

at tfowler.guest@cns.gov.

ISP

Buffalo Unit Races Ahead on ISPs The Buffalo Unit has taken an early and

strong lead in total ISP hours. All four Buffa-

lo teams have over 150 team hours with

most members exceeding the 20 ISP hour

goal for the round. Buffalo 3 and 4 both have

over a 100 hour lead with 360 and 385

hours respectively. Moose 5 is also going

strong with over 200 team ISP hours. Great

job teams! These numbers were taken from

the STL internal spreadsheet based on re-

turned ISP forms. Make sure to get those

forms in!

Don’t Forget

All members must complete 80 ISP

hours to graduate.

The goal for Round 1 is to exceed 20 ISP

hours.

Individuals can not receive more than

one total hour for driving to/from an

ISP.

Check your hours regularly and keep a

list of all ISPs you complete!

NCCC members must be in uniform at

ISPs and cannot under any circumstanc-

es handle money.

JUST TO PASS THE TIME Everyone sits in a circle, and learns the 3 com-

mands and their movements.

1) Ah! – the person says “Ah” loudly, and puts

their left or right hand across their forehead in a

saluting motion, with fingers pointing at the per-

son next to them.

2) So! - the person says “So” loudly, and puts

their left or right hand across their chin in a salut-

ing motion, with fingers pointing at the person next to them.

3) Gi!– the person puts both arms together in front of them in a clapping motion and

points to someone else, anywhere in the circle.

The phrases must always go in that order, and each phrase needs its correct hand motion.

You go when you are pointed at by someone next to you using “Ah” or “So,” or by some-

one across from you using “Gi.” When you are “Gi”ed at by someone you start the se-

quence over again.

When someone makes a mistake (ie, goes out of order, uses the wrong hand motion, hesi-

tates in confusion for too long) they are out.

When someone gets out, each member of the group puts a hands in the middle with

thumbs up, and calls "You're outta here!" - like a baseball umpire. That person leaves the

circle and the group closes in the space. The person who was on right side of the exited

person starts the sequence again, by saying "Ah!" and pointing to the left or right.

The game continues until there are two people left.

*Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to watch T.V for 3 hours!

7

Get to the Point

Raven 2: Raven 2 is glad that Edgar has safely joined Raven 1 and wishes him the best adventures with his new teammates. Raven 1 please take good care of Edgar. Shout out to P1 and their wicked burns along with their allstar from Raven 2, Lark!

Raven 5:The Team Builders with the director of Top of the Pines Camp, Wilson, brought our team through a few challeng-ing courses last week. The team learned a lot about each other and themselves. It was a nice break from all the roofing we have been doing the last few weeks.

Phoenix 1: Phoenix 1 wishes that all of the rest of the firefighters could have enjoyed our 150 acre burn with us on Friday. Be prepared for an awesome time down here! B4 we miss you and can see that you are having too much fun without us! Keep rocking it! – Evan and Jess AMERIPEEPS!!!.. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU GUYS BACK HOME - Justin B3!!!!! You guys are amazing! Thank you for all the shout outs and sup-port I can’t wait to see you all again during transition! STL Liz- Thanks for the Tapatio!!!! -Thomas

Buffalo 3: Thomas, are you doing your ISPs? Hope you are having fun on fire! We are all proud of you! We wish our Buffalo Brothers and Sisters on B1 a safe and fun journey to Maine! Kick butt on your next project

Buffalo 4: BUFFALO lV ROAMED WITH THE BUFFA-LO at the Lehigh Valley Game Preserve! Also got to ex-perience hiking in the Appalachian Trail at Night…it was such an amazing opportunity!

Moose 4: Shout out to Tubby’s Krew, Michael, Brooke, and Amelia Thank you for such a wonderful birthday dinner! We are fighting the good fight, slaying the green briar dragon is no easy task.. can’t wait to see you all in three weeks.

Moose 5: We visited the art museum in Philadelphia and got to take a few pictures with some bronze Moose! Brammer we all miss you greatly, but we are proud you are representing us on P1!

Laura Tuck: Thank you to B1 Debra Ostrander and Grace Hahm for the assistance with my HAWL boards!

Raven 1: This week a mulch spreading ISP took a turn for the eerie when Raven 1 was invited to tour a haunted mansion in their socks. From a visit to the treacherous tunnels beneath the grounds to the foreclosed attic where numerous ghost sightings have been document-ed, the team was able to keep their composure and stature while ex-panding their knowledge of Delaware culture. Raven 1 also had a visi-tor fly in from Maine this Friday. Edgar finally joined the team and he has been kept busy ever since, joining Jerramie on a walk in down-town Delaware to pick up chicks and bonding with the team gnome, Bach Lava. Edgar has also been pulling his weight in the kitchen, help-ing Henry whip up a scrumptious Dorito pizza." - Maddie Nagel

8

Get to the Point

Kitchen Cures Natural remedies can be a useful way to effective-

ly treat a number of common ailments. While an-

tibiotics are useful for chronic or severe infections

they may be unnecessary for minor ailments as

they often kill helpful bacteria within the body.

Here are some natural alternatives you may have

in your kitchen:

Honey

Use it for: Minor cuts and

burns, cough or sore throat

How it works: This natural

sweetener contains 3 power-

ful wound-healing compo-

nents: sugar for absor-

ing moisture so bacteria

can’t survive, hydrogen peroxide to disinfect, and the

nectar-based compound propolis to kill bacteria. An

added bonus: Honey dries to form a natural bandage.

Try this: Apply warm honey to a minor cut (one

without a lot of bleeding) or mild burn, then put a

gauze bandage on top; change the dressing daily.

Salt

Use it for: Sinus congestion, sore throat

How it works: When you mix salt into water at a

stronger concentration than the salt water in our bod-

ies, it helps draw fluids out of tissues," You can use

this "hypertonic" solution to clear up stuffy sinuses

and ease a sore throat.

Try this: To make a hypertonic

solution, dissolve half a teaspoon

of non-iodized salt in an 8-ounce

glass of water. For a sore throat,

simply gargle the water.

Peppermint tea

Use it for: Indigestion, stomach-

ache

How it works: The oil found in

the peppermint leaf and its stems

calms the muscles of the digestive tract, allowing gas

to pass more easily and relieving indigestion.

April 7th is World Health Day!

MUST READ!

The VA Police have informed us that the back gate to the campus is no longer available for our use. AMTRAK has deemed the road PRIVATE and we can no longer drive through the tunnel to come on campus. As of now, everyone must use the main entrance to the campus; no excep-tions. TRESPASSING tickets will be issued and YOU will be responsible for any fines or fees associated with that ticket.This includes walking on the road. ~LaQuine

9

Get to the Point

Woolly mammoth may have been killed by humans BBC -- The discovery of a well-preserved juvenile woolly mammoth suggests

that ancient humans "stole" mammoths from hunting lions, scientists say.

Bernard Buigues of the Mammuthus organization acquired the frozen mammoth from tusk hunters in Siberia. Wounds

indicate that both lions and humans may have been involved in the ancient animal's death.

"Already there is dramatic evidence of a life-and-death struggle between Yuka and some top predator, probably

a lion," says leading mammoth expert, Daniel Fisher, professor of earth and environmental sciences at the Uni-

versity of Michigan. "Even more interesting, there are hints that humans may have taken over the kill at an early

stage." If further investigation by Mr Buigues, Professor Fisher and fellow scientists at the Sakha Academy of

Sciences in Yakutsk confirms this analysis, it will be the first carcass to show signs of interaction with ancient

humans found in this part of the world.

Space burials: dy-ing to go into orbit New York (BBC) – In com-

ing months, a US company

Celestis is planning to

launch its latest memorial

spacecraft. The craft will be

packed with lipstick sized

capsules , each containing

up to seven grams of the

ashes of participants. The spacecraft will orbit the Earth

for years before burning up in the atmosphere.

Space burial is a memorial service that began in

1997 in the United States. The first rocket, Pegasus, con-

tained the remains of 24 people, primarily Americans

and Japanese. There are many opportunities for those

wishing to spend eternity in the cosmic realm. Celestis is

currently signing people up to have a gram of their re-

mains delivered to the lunar surface. A UK company

offers the opportunity to incorporate your ashes into a

firework display and another company will fly your re-

mains on a weather balloon into the upper atmosphere.

Some famous people buried in space include Gene

Roddenberry, creator of Star Treck and Clyde Tom-

baugh, American astronomer and discoverer of Pluto in

1930.

NORTH KOREA TO HOLD SPECIAL PARTY

CONFERENCE AHEAD OF SATELLITE

LAUNCH

Hong Kong (CNN) -- North Korea said Monday that a special

conference of its ruling Workers' Party would take place next

week, an event expected to solidify the authority of its new lead-

er ahead of a controversial rocket launch.

The meeting of party delegates, announced by state media, also

comes just ahead of a significant anniversary for the secretive,

nuclear-armed state -- the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim

Il Sung, the founder of North Korea.

At the conference on April 11, Kim Il Sung's grandson, Kim

Jong Un, is likely to be named secretary-general of the Workers'

Party, a key post that would underline his status as "supreme

leader" of the insular regime, said Chung-In Moon, professor of

political science at Yonsei University in Seoul.

10

Get to the Point

CAP REP INFORMATION!

Reminders: CAP Reps! Transition back to the Point is coming soon. By April 16 you need to have at least three CAP events completed and logged on the Google Site!

End of Round Paperwork for most teams is due on Monday, April 16 by 4:30 p.m.

End of Round Paperwork includes the following:

All CAP Event Reports must be logged on the Google Site

Any Celebrity and Elected Officials that interacted with your team must be logged on the Google Site

One NCCC alumni spotlight. The alumni spotlight can be submitted on the CAP & Media Google site

One CAP evaluation for your team on the Google site. This is the evaluation you do about how well you did your CAP work during Round 1

Sam McKenzie, Community Relations Specialist will share with your team its CAP Rep Performance Evaluation during transition. This evaluation comes from the CRS and it includes comments and changes to improve your CAP Rep work for Round 2.

Something Extra: CAP Rep alumni have advice to share. See the packet in your spike mail

CAP Shout Out: Chelsea from Raven 5 has done an awesome job of coordi-nating CAP events in the DE/MD/Philly area! Moose 3 also went to Freestate Challenge Academy on Monday and spoke to numerous cadets about NCCC as a CAP event! Thanks to Moose 2 for completing the elected officials form!

11

Get to the Point

MEDIA REP INFORMATION!

Reminders: How are your media hits looking for Round 1? By April 16 you need to have at least two media hits secured and logged on the Google Site!

Media Hits –include the YouTube question of the round—what does your team do for Free time? Videos answering that question should be added to the YouTube channel under your team’s gmail account. All teams should create one video answering this question.

End of Round Paperwork for most teams is due on Monday, April 16 by 4:30 p.m.

End of Round Paperwork includes the following:

All Media Coverage Forms must be logged on the Google Site

Eight Yearbook Photos in the Facebook Media Hub Group!

One Round Write Up (article) We are in the process of making a yearbook for Class 18. Each team must turn in a write up (article) about Round 1 including information about your service project. Put this on the Google Site.

One Media Rep Evaluation for your team on the Google site. This is the evaluation you do about how well you did your Media Rep work during Round 1

Sam McKenzie, Community Relations Specialist will share with your team its Media Rep Performance Evaluation during transition. This evaluation comes from the CRS and it includes comments and changes to improve your Media Rep work for Round 2.

Something Extra: Media Rep alumni have advice to share. See the packet in your spike mail

Media Rep Shout Out: Buffalo 3, Moose 1 are rocking the media hits big time! Shout out to M3 who has a great blog —each blog post counts as media hit—http://twigeaters.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/welcome-to-the-moose-3-blog/

12

Get to the Point

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