An NCCC Atlantic Region Publication

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September 20, 2012

Community Relations Office

Sam McKenzie,

Community Relations Specialist,

SMcKenzie@cns.gov

Tristan Fowler,

Community Relations Support Team Leader,

TFowler.Guest@cns.gov

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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

Cover: Center- Oc-copocho, Honey Badger and Hydra 33, prepared to get things done while on disaster! Top Left: Kelcy Engstrom and Colleen Shulte sharing tender moment at the health fair. Top Right: Phoenix 4 walks the line on their first burn together. Bottom Left: Melinda Long and Justin Brammer spreading the word at a DC CAP event. Bottom Center: Edward Schultz, Tierra Caldwell and Kateri Gruber walking through the airport on their disaster deployment. Bot-tom Right: Monique Cruz, Raven 4, releasing a bird after learning how to band it. Get it, Girl!

GET TO THE POINT ATLANTIC REGION, PERRY POINT, MD

VOL. XVIII, ISSUE 17

3. 3. “The Impacts We Make” By Ally Ramirez

4. 4. A Q and A with a Playworks Program Associate

5. 5. Staff Announcements/Photo Bubble Contest

Alumni Spotlight

6. 6. That Ron, He’s So Hot Right Now Featuring Ron Wheaton, By Alice Peterson and Cecilia Quillin

7. 7. “Here’s a Little Pat on the Back” By Moose 4

This issue has been brought to you by Robert Russo-Tucker and Melinda Long, Composite Capybara 1

QUICKIES

SCOREBOARD 8

AMERIBUBBLE 9

SHOUT OUTS 10

AMERIMAP 11

3

Get to the Point

When joining AmeriCorps getting to

go on disaster was going to be the icing

on the cake of my service year, some-

thing I had hoped for since February.

So when it was finally confirmed the

second time that we would be getting

deployed to the South, text messages

and phone calls traveled across 9H

and Facebook statuses were updated

within minutes. As I packed my good

old red bag a rush of excitement ran

throughout my body as I didn’t know

what to expect down South. Then sud-

denly a flow of questions crossed my

mind, “Would we be staying in shelters

or hotels? How long would we be down

there? What would we be doing?” All

were questions that could not be an-

swered until we were actually down

South. Talk about an anxious plane

ride!

My plane seat was between Jessica

Johnson and Cody Hanke, two familiar

faces. When we landed in Atlanta,

Georgia I looked at the flight itinerary,

our next plane took off at 8:30pm, the

current time was 7:50pm and we were

seated in the very last row of the plane.

Just our luck! What felt like a century

later we were off the plane, now not

only were we at the biggest, busiest

airport in the U.S but we also had no

idea where we were going. So there

you have Jessica, Cody and me run-

ning and sprinting around the airport

together, NO MAN LEFT BEHIND!

We get to our gate all out of breath (me

realizing how out of shape I was!) and

what do you know, we missed our

flight. But that didn’t stop us from

smiling, in fact we were laughing.

Luckily Lydia was there to come to our

rescue and we were all on the next

flight to Memphis, Tennessee. This all

felt like one big scavenger hunt and

when we finally arrived at the shelter

we would stay the night at, it was al-

most 1am and everyone was beyond

exhausted.

The next few days were full of traveling

to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and orien-

tations at the American Red Cross

Headquarters. We were all placed in

dorms at the University of Southern

Mississippi. The team of 28 of us was

soon split up into three individual

teams, Ashley leading Hydra 33, Oliver

leading Octopocho and my team of

Honey Badgers lead by Miss Lydia.

As we arrived at the headquarters for

our first work day we all felt very wel-

comed. People would see us in the “A”

and would say things like “Yay Ameri-

Corps here!” or “We’re in good hands

now!” It felt really good to have people

who have never even met you before

applaud you for the work you do. I

guess when people think AmeriCorps

they think a team of strong dedicated

men and women who are here to get

things done. Which is exactly who we

were. Eventually the first assignment

for the Honey Badgers was handed out

and we headed to Pascagoula to help

with bulk distribution. When we ar-

rived the ball was already up and roll-

ing. We weren’t really given any in-

struction on what to do but we could

just see what was going on and what

needed to be done so we jumped right

in and started helping. Within minutes

shirts were full of sweat and I was hot

and bothered! But as I was making

clean up kits for families I realized it

didn’t matter what the temperature

was, this wasn’t about me or my needs.

I looked around and seen compassion-

ate helpful hands of all ages coming

together to help their community and

those families who needed it most. It

was about them.

Now for the 28 of us who were down

on disaster and are wondering why I

didn’t mention all the “hurry up and

waiting” that occurred, well it’s simple,

because that stuff did not matter.

What matters most are the hands that

we did lend, the lives that we did touch

and the impacts that we did make, big

or small. Just know that I am inspired

by each and every one of you. It’s great

to know that we did care, we did show

up and we did try, we realized it wasn’t

about us, it was about them. I am

thankful to be part of a generation of

smart, dedicated, ambitious, young

men and woman who believe they have

the power to change the world and

make it a better one.

Disaster Composite Honey Badger

disaster spotlight

The Impacts We Make By Ally Ramirez

4

Get to the Point

Playworks Q&A

Panel Questions: Sunanda, Playworks

Q: Tell us your name, position, organization and

favorite hand tool?

Sunanda Pou, Program Associate, Playworks, gel pens

Q: What is your agency tagline and what’s the

idea behind it?

Mission: To improve the health and well-being of children

by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe,

meaningful play. We serve our lower income communities

through our national direct service program, but also pro-

vide a training component. We want everyone to know that

"Everyone can be a Playworks school"

Q: Tell us about the scope and size of your agency

or program?

We currently have 10 office staff members, 11 AmeriCorps

members, and 13 staff Program Coordinators, All together

33 staff members in the Baltimore office. Playworks, as a

national non-profit, currently serves 23 cities Nationwide

and in Baltimore we serve 24 schools.

Q: Is your office culture tuck in or tuck out?

TUCK OUT! We wear what we would want to play in! We

are what we call a "Playful Professional," we bring play and

work in one place! Judge free practice.

Q: Can you tell us about any positions currently

available and any key skills necessary?

We are always hiring for Program Coordinators both AC

members and staff. To distinguish, how we are between

AmeriCorps members and staff - usually first year recess

coaches are AmeriCorps members. After the AC slots are

filled is when we hire for staff positions, but that is usually

filled by 2nd year coaches. However, we usually hire for the

school year. That process begins early April. Although, each

city is different so it depends on which city you apply with.

We are looking for individuals that love kids and passionate

about providing a safe and organized recess.

Q: How does a person apply for your career posi-

tions?

Playworks.org Apply online! We are also always looking for

interns and volunteers!

Q: Tell us about the benefits offered to national

service members?

About $21,000 plus the $5,500 education award

(depending on the amount of years that you have served as

a member) upon completion of 1700 hours, health insur-

ance, Playworks t-shirts, no relocation.

Q: How does a person apply for your national ser-

vice positions?

Playworks.org. Online Application. Tips: Thoughtful an-

swers to the questions asked on the application because

maybe you don't have much experience with kids, but your

passion for working for kids will show through your an-

swers.

Q: What general professional advice would you

offer? Or tell us how you got started in your role?

Just keep applying to jobs in fields that you want to work

in. Really try to narrow down your field and what you want

to do. Research organizations that you want to work with,

don't settle. You will be discouraged, but it takes time. If

you put in the time, it will all be worth it! I started as an

intern for the National Training department and after

learning what Playworks was and its mission, I knew I

wanted to stay with the organization so I applied internally.

I did get some rejections during this process, so its not al-

ways easy this way nor is it a guaranteed job, but like I said,

hard work pays off, just be patient. :) I really recommend

interning - good way to learn the tricks of the trade.

5

Get to the Point

Staff Announcements

AWARDS BANQUET- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 REQUIRED ATTENDANCE: YES DATE: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2012 TIME: AFTERNOON, 2pm to 4:30pm LOCATION: TBD – CONTRACTING BID PROCESS PAYMENT: CORPS MEMBERS ARE FREE, ALL GUESTS (CHILDREN INCLUDED) MUST PAY A COST PER PERSON PAYMENT AMOUNT: TBD WITH CONTRACT PAYMENT METHOD: TBD WITH CONTRACT – IT WILL BE HANDLED SEPARATELY FROM NCCC. THE WAY TO PAY WILL BE PRO-VIDED AS THE DATE APPROACHES RSVP DEADLINE: THREE BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE EVENT– FRIDAY, NOV 9 AT 4:30 PM EST, NO EXCEPTIONS... CORPS ROLES: CORPS SPEAKER IS NEEDED – TEAM LEADER OR CORPS MEMBER. FIVE MINUTES TO EIGHT MINUTES IN LENGTH. SUBMIT TEXT TO SMCKENZIE@CNS.GOV ADDITIONAL AWARDS BANQUET Q&A ATTIRE: NOT UNIFORM. MORE DETAILS COMING OUTSIDE FOOD & DRINK: NOT PERMITTED SEATING ARRANGEMENTS: BANQUET ROUNDS OF TEN, ASSIGNED BY TEAMS WITH GUESTS SITTING WITH TEAMS WHERE POSSIBLE MENU: TBD WITH CONTRACT, VEGAN OPTIONS AVAILABLE

GRADUATION CEREMONY, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15 REQUIRED ATTENDANCE: YES DATE: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15 TIME: TBD, ANYTIME BETWEEN MORNING AND AFTERNOON LOCATION: TBD, WITHIN 1 HOUR OF THE NCCC ATLANTIC REGION CAMPUS REHEARSAL: YES, THE DAY PRIOR, SIMILAR TO INDUCTION WITH THE ADDITION OF WALKING ACROSS THE STAGETO RE-CEIVE CERTIFICATES. EVERY MEMBER WILL HAVE THEIR NAME CALLED ATTIRE: FORMALS – CLEAN, IRONED, BOOTS FREE OF DIRT, NCCC LAPEL PIN CORPS ROLES: CORPS SPEAKER IS NEEDED, TYPICALLY A CORPS MEMBER, FIVE MINUTES – SEND TEXT TO SMCKEN-ZIE@CNS.GOV

PHOTO

CAPTION

CONTEST

Write in what you

think Jason is

thinking here in

this photo, send in

your captions, and

the best ones will

be featured in Get

to the Point!

Any questions?

Contact CRSTL

Tristan Fowler at crstlatlantic@gmail.com

6

Get to the Point

. Alumni spotlight

That Ron, He’s So

Hot Right Now

Ron was a Corps Member on Silver 2,

Class XVI in Sacramento, CA

By Cecelia Quillin and Alice Peterson

What did you do and where did

you go in your AmeriCorps year?

Rounds one and two:

We went to Salt Lake City for a month

and worked at a Food Bank. We

worked at the Sacramento Zoo for

chain saw and wildlife training. Then

we went to Vashon Island, where we

stayed at a Campfire camp and cleared

one of their buildings and areas around

it.

Rounds three and four:

We worked in Plumas National Forest

in Northern California. I was on a fuels

reduction team doing burns. This was

also my favorite round because it was

just a combination of everything. We

had a really cool sponsor and site su-

pervisor, Marv. My team worked really

well together. We lived in barracks, a

house with four or five rooms and a full

kitchen/ living room.

What was your favorite moment?

What really stands out was the work in

the forest. We had no direct action

with the community. There was this

huge storm and everything within an

hour was destroyed, so we spent all day

clearing trees and stacking wood so the

public could use the trails. On our way

back we could see

people enjoying the

trail, biking and

running and so on.

It was a really cool

moment.

Did you ever

want to quit?

Nope. I never had a

moment where I

wanted to quit.

Anything you would do different-

ly?

I wouldn’t get involved with a girl on

campus *laughs*

What are you doing now?

I graduated from Community college.

AmeriCorps helped me to realize what

I wanted to go into, environmental

work. I would like to come back as a

team leader at some point.

Would you recommend Ameri-

Corps?

Yes! I recommended it to you. (Cecelia

Quillin)

What has AmeriCorps has taught

you?

To do community service. Travel out-

side of the realm in my home state,

Michigan. It has opened my eyes to

what is possible in the world and what

Iʼm capable of.

Now I know I can work 18 hours a day

and how to problem solve with my

team. I realize now even in my daily

life I approach things differently. Being

dirty is okay *laughs* and appearance

doesn’t matter as much.

How was your day?

It was really good! I got my bike fixed

and I got a good deal. I’m eating ice

cream and hanging out with friends.

Ron Wheaton, third from the left, with Silver 2

Ron on one of his burns

Working at the Sacramento Zoo

7

Get to the Point

Moose 4 shares their thoughts on

fourth round, and the upcoming end of

our service year.

Here’s a Little Pat on the

Back

We’ve made it folks, it’s round

four. The last beginning; the

spike we thought might never

come. Looking back at my

journal entries from CTI, I

laugh because I can sense an

underlying tone of fear and

trepidation in my writing: Ten

months. TEN MONTHS?! This sounds like a lifetime when I only have one day under my

belt…

It was completely reasonable to have the thoughts of,

“What the heck am I doing here? Is this what I thought

it was going to be?” I don’t believe I was the only per-

son in the Corps to ask themselves these questions at

least once. In retrospect, is this what I thought I was

getting myself into? My answer is both yes and no. Did

I think I’d help struggling communities, befriend total

strangers, live in the middle of nowhere, and feel good

about this work? Totally. But did I consider that I

might hate parts of a project, loathe in cadence and 6am PT, clean up after teammates, or

have a limit on the number of granola bars I can eat… definitely not.

But you roll with it, and that is why we are still here. Something has kept each of us going

through our lowest times in AmeriCorps.

Whether it has been the anticipation of a

Phoenix round, prospect of being a TL, the

education award, a special confidant, or a pro-

ject that you’ve believed in, as a Corps, we’re

almost done and we should be proud of that.

The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter,

almost tangible at this point. This is just a

mini hoorah from a fellow peer. Keep the ad-

venture going strong for the next seven weeks.

And cheers to us for escaping the ordinary,

even if it was only for a little while.

8

Get to the Point

CAP & MEDIA UPDATES

The Scoreboard Shout-outs, Tips and the weekly progress report. All the info

you need to stay on top of your CAP and Media work.

CAP

Events

Media

Hits

Alumni

Events

Elected

Officials

Buffalo 1 0 0 0 0

Buffalo 2 0 0 0 0

Buffalo 3 0 0 0 0

Buffalo 4 0 0 0 0

Moose 1 0 0 0 0

Moose 2 0 0 0 0

Moose 3 2 3 0 0

Moose 4 0 2 0 0

Moose 5 0 0 0 0

Raven 1 0 2 0 0

Raven 2 0 0 0 0

Raven 3 0 0 0 0

Raven 4 0 0 0 0

Raven 5 0 0 0 0

Phoenix 4 0 0 0 0

Hurricane Isaac

Composites

0 4 0 0

Rutabaga 1 0 0 0 0

Super 6 0 0 0 0

Dream Team

Supreme

0 0 0 0

Sufi Surfers 0 0 0 0

M3, M4 and R1 start the round with a BANG! Way to

go guys, keep it up! Special recognition to the Hurri-

cane Isaac composites for managing to get 4 media

hits while on disaster. No fourth round fatigue, let’s

finish the year strong!

Shout-Outs:

Hey media kittens! Remember, this round is your very

own Choose Your Own Adventure.

Just a refresher, here is what each team committed to:

B1 - Hometown media hits and videos

B2 - TV, radio and video media hits

B3 - Stay ahead of work and local media

B4 - Pictures and photo-tweets

M1 - NPR, personal team member outreach videos

M2 - Editorial/opinion piece

M3 - Blog, video and WSJ

M4- TV, radio, video and Get to the Point article

M5 - Radio

R1 - Special event media hits

R2 - Traditional media hits - hometown press releases

R3 –Traditional media hits, videos and veterans

R4– Videos

R5 - TBD Ah ah ah! Get those hits!

9

Get to the Point

US ambassador to Libya killed in Benghazi attack

By Hadeel Al Shalchi | Reuters – Wed, Sep 12, 2012

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three

embassy staff were killed in an attack on the Benghazi consulate and a

safe house refuge, stormed by Islamist gunmen blaming America for a

film they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad.Gunmen had attacked

and set fire to the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the cra-

dle of last year's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, late

on Tuesday evening as another assault was mounted on the U.S. embas-

sy in Cairo. California-born ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed

in the assault, but it was not clear how or where he died. U.S. consular

staff were rushed to a safe house after the initial attack, Libya's Deputy

Interior Minister Wanis Al-Sharif said. An evacuation plane with U.S. commandos units then arrived from Tripoli to

evacuate them from the house. "It was supposed to be a secret place and we were surprised the armed groups knew

about it. There was shooting," Sharif said. Two U.S. personnel were killed there, he said. Two other people were killed

at the main consular building and between 12 and 17 wounded. The attack raised questions about the future U.S. diplo-

matic presence in Libya, relations between Washington and Tripoli, the unstable security situation in post-Gaddafi Lib-

ya and whether more protests might erupt in the Muslim world over the film. The amateurish film, promoted by a U.S.

pastor, portrayed Mohammad as a fool, a philanderer and a religious fake. In one clip posted on YouTube, Mohammad

was shown in an apparent sex act with a woman. For many Muslims it is blasphemous to depict the Prophet and the

incident had echoes of the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons that touched off riots in the Middle East, Afri-

ca and Asia in 2006 in which at least 50 people died.U.S. President Barack Obama, whose administration supported

the Libyan insurgency with funds, weapons and training, branded the killing an "outrageous attack" and ordered in-

creased security at U.S. diplomatic posts worldwide.

Gwen Stefani is back with No

Doubt

AFP Relax – Tue, Sep 11, 2012

In an exclusive interview, Gwen Stefani

told The Sun that her band No Doubt

never split up in spite of an 11-year hia-

tus between album releases, and that she

isn't keen on going solo again. She con-

fides that going solo was not the best

experience: "It's such a vulnerable situa-

tion to put yourself in. And I never need

to do that or want to do it again. I'm hap-

py being in No Doubt. And it's nice to

have a record where there's no fat on it."

Gwen Stefani released two solo albums --

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004) and The

Sweet Escape (2006), produced respectively

by Dr. Dre and The Neptunes -- during the 11

-year period when all four No Doubt band

members took time off from the studio to start

families. The California rockers sold more

than 45 million records globally and hope to

repeat the feat with their next one, Push &

Shove (Universal), which is set to hit stores on

September 24. Its first single, "Settle Down,"

was revealed to the general public a couple of

weeks ago. This winter, No Doubt is launch-

ing a world tour that will take the band to Eu-

rope, but no details about the tour have been

announced yet.

10

Get to the Point

Raven 2: Raven 2 wishes

Moose 4 a fantastic time in

Philly. “It’s great to be

alive!” Raven 2 has been learn-

ing how to put up siding on a

home this past week. We are

getting quite good at “may-sure

-ments.”

Raven 1: Mikey Q- get ready

for veggie heaven and the com-

post toilet, stay away from UB-

P’s. Jerbear- we miss your

bearded magic. Raven One has

peace like a river.

Buffalo 3: Shout-out to our

wayward members: Cedez, Tom-

Bomb, Travvy-Trav, Steak, and

let’s not forget our old Insanity

workout instructor, Rocky!

Buffalo 2: B2 is loving Maine!

Attended a home dedication cer-

emony in Wiscasset, ME and we

are motivated to get some WICK-

ED work done!

Buffalo 1: Shout out to Han-

nah. Shout out to Deb. Don’t

forget that you are on Buffalo

One.

Rutabaga 1: Rutabaga one is having a

grand ole’ time in New Hampshire so

far! Shout out to Moose 5 for meeting us

in beautiful Portsmouth! Dinner one of

these days?

Shout out to all of the lovely STLs on composite: you are all beautiful and do-ing such a glorious job. This is the long-est we have been away from each other! Keep it up and keep it real! <3 Michael

Sufi Surfers: Shout out to all of the

Sufi Surfer’s permanent teams. We are

having an awesome time and we hope

you are too! Hang loose!

Moose 3: This goes out to

Robert, Melinda, and Ja’Lis-

sa: Baby come back! You can

blame it all on me.

Moose 2: York Habitat is

wonderful! We were almost

kicked out of our housing

though! MOOSE DEUCE!

Buffalo 4: Shoutout to the

NEWEST Field Team Leaders,

especially Buffalo V & Buffalo

VI!! Welcome to the FIELD!!!

Super Six: The newly-formed

“Super Six” in Camden would

like to shout-out to Moose 4

across the river, Buffalo 3 in

Canada, Moose 3 in Broken-

Clock-and-Big-Ben, NY and

Moose Deuce in with our cous-

ins in York. Tristan would also

like to give best wishes to Pat-

rick, and know that all the

green shirts “got your back.”

Phoenix 4: 70+ hours, 900+

miles, and 30+ acres = one heck

of a week!

11

Get to the Point

Buffalo 1 Taft— Baltimore, MD

Buffalo 2 Tomoyo— Bath, ME

Buffalo 3 Tony— Berlin, VT

Buffalo 4 Tiffany— Baltimore, MD

Moose 1 Patrick—Portland, ME

Moose 2 Megan— York, PA

Moose 3 Jami— Schoharie, NY

Moose 4 Casey— Philadelphia, PA

Moose 5 Toby— Deerfield, NH

Raven 1 Keiper— Marion, MA

Raven 2 Davey— Newburgh NY

Raven 3 A.T.— Bridgeport, CT

Raven 4 Millena—Wells, ME

Raven 5 Dan— Brownsville, PA

Phoenix 4 Brooke— Wells, ME

Rutabaga 1 Michael— Manchester, NH

Dream Team Supreme Alix— Wilmington, DE

Sufi Surfers Liz— New Lebanon, NY

Super Six Tristan— Camden, NJ