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DEEPSERVICE March/April 2011A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy Office of Academic Community Engagem
In This Issue
Winter Highlights and Spring
Activities
VISTA and Bonner Activities
New ASL Courses
Upcoming Events and more!
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VISTA Leader Nefisah Sallim
and VISTA Fellow Victoria
Malaney during a VISTA
recruitment tabling event at
Skidmore College.
Contents
Message from the Editor
The March/April 2011 DEEP Service Newsletter has a new
and improved look! In our ongoing efforts to provide our
community with an engaging and appealing newsletter, yo
will notice a few formatting changes but the same great
content. Also, there is a new icon that will appear at the bo
of select featured stories. This icon indicates that you can fi
more information online:
I hope you enjoy reading the great stories featured in this
newsletter. All of the columns are written by our program
participants who are change makers in our communities. If
there is something you would like to see added to the DEE
Service Newsletter, e-mail us with your ideas at
Thanks for reading,
Jennifer Simek, VISTA Leader and Coordinator of ACE Pu
Relations
Photos - 200 plus flickr photos of
program participants, service
activities, and events
Stay in Touch with ACE Online!
www.siena.edu/ace
ACE Winter
Highlights and
Spring
Happenings
Page 3
VISTA Service
Activities and
Recruitment in
Full SwingPages 4 - 7
Bonner Service
Activities and
Mid Year
Retreat
Pages 8 - 10
New ASL
Coordinatorand Spring ASL
Partnerships
Pages 11 - 13
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VISTA Leader
Nefisah Sallim and
VISTA Fellow
Victoria Malaney
during a VISTA
recruitment tabling
event at Skidmore
College.
ACE Winter Highlights and Spring
HappeningsBy Jennifer Simek, VISTA Leader
This winter has been snowy and cold but that has not
hindered the service activities happening within the
Office of Academic Community Engagement. In fact, our
staff and program participants have been busier than
ever. Since our last issue, we hosted our first ACE Mid
Year Retreat. Organized by our Administrative Staff and
VISTA Leaders, the Bonner Service Leaders and VISTA
Fellows engaged in stimulating workshops that touched
on topics like volunteer recruitment and management,
networking tips and strategies, strategic planning,
managing difficult conversations and conflict resolution,
as well as much more. We also incorporated social
activities and team building exercises that everyone
enjoyed.
At the start of February, the VISTA Program began
recruiting for new VISTA Fellows for the Summer2011-2012 service year. Recruitment will end at the
March 30th Siena Career Fair where VISTA Leaders and
Fellows will be on hand to inform interested Siena
students and young professionals about our campus-
community engagement opportunities. Before the end of
recruitment, the VISTA Program will have visited six local
colleges, including Skidmore College, College of St.
Rose, Union College and SUNY Albany. Our applicant
pool is growing and we are excited to begin the interview
process in April and May.
We are also recruiting for participants for our Summer
Service Associates Program. We are excited to organize
and coordinate another great summer of service for local
students and community members who wish to
volunteer.
We are excited to welcome new staff member Ruth
Scipione, who will be coordinating our Academic ServiceLearning (ASL) program. She is a welcome addition to
our growing program and we are thrilled to have her join
our team. She is stepping into a variety of compelling
ASL projects that our VISTA Members have helped to
initiate this Spring. Our community partners Music
Mobile, Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany, and the Sr. Thea
Bowman Center for Women are working with faculty and
students on a variety of exciting projects that are fulfilling
course objectives and helping the community.
Lastly, we have officially launched our Change Makershalf-hour radio show on Sienas radio station, WVCR
88.3 The Saint. Each week we feature a change maker
in our community. Hosted by the Director of ACE, Dr.
Mathew Johnson and Assistant Directors Yalitza Negron
and Gretchen Mielke, our show airs every Saturday at
5:30 p.m. Please tune in and be inspired by the amazing
work of our community members who are tackling local,
national, an international issues.
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VISTAFELLOWS
I will get things done for America - to make
our people safer, smarter, and healthier. I
will bring Americans together to strengthen
our communities. - Excerpt of The AmeriCorps
Pledge
ReStore RenovationsBy Ricky Ryan 10, VISTA Fellow
The Capital District Habitat for Humanity ReStore is
currently undergoing a considerable transformation thanks
to a grant received from the New York State Department of
Economic Development. The Environmental Service Unit
has awarded our store the ability for expansion,
renovation, and reorganization. Presently we will be
searching for a new full time staff member to join our
ranks, helping to run the store during our upcoming
expanded hours. Our hours will be increased from our
current 21-hour shopping week to 40 hours per week.
We are excited for some physical renovations to the
ReStore as well. To increase accessibility to our store, we
are repaving our driveway and putting in a much-needed
new ramp. Lighting and shelving are also changing, as
part of a whole new floor plan that will provide a more
customer-friendly atmosphere. Want to take the guesswork
out of buying an appliance? Soon you will be able to, with
the impending addition of an appliance testing area.
New lighting aside, we are also increasing our visibilityworking with a communications agency called Zone 5.
Zone 5 is helping us recreate our marketing materials t
help expand our outreach even further into the commu
and raise awareness of our ReStore. It is an exciting n
partnership that will make all of these changes even m
worthwhile.
One of our most important upcoming additions is the
search for a new and more reliable Habitat ReStore tru
to make pickups. A generous grant from the Wright Fam
Foundation has made this acquisition possible.
The Capital District Habitat for Humanity ReStore is
located at 454 N. Pearl Street in Albany. NY. We are op
Thursdays 2pm-7pm and Fridays and Saturday 9am-5
For more information, check out our website as
www.CapitalDistrictHabitat.org and click on the ReStor
link.
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We Are the ChangeBy Natasha Grant, VISTA Fellow
So, Ive been living in Albany, as a Siena College
AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellow, for about 35 days. Ive been
at my service site (Green Tech Charter High School) for
16 days. And amidst all the excitement and goodwill, I
cant help but notice the abandoned buildings in the area
adjacent to Green Tech. In just a one block span on
Clinton Avenue, between Lark and Henry Johnson, there
are, at least, twelve abandoned buildings, and two empty
lots. This is Arbor Hill. In my first week here, I was told
that people drive aroundArbor Hill to get downtown,
even though driving throughArbor Hill is quicker and a
more direct route to the downtown area. A cab driver told
me not to go down that street after dark, pointing in the
direction of Clinton Avenue. Apparently this area is
known for making news. Bad news. And, two weeks ago,
this area made even more news. The students at Green
Tech (with behind-the-scenes efforts of Amanda Wilson,
the Academic Service Learning VISTA Fellow at Green
Tech, and Brother Yusuf Burgess, the Family
Intervention Specialist/Guerrilla Gardener) made the
local news for beginning the process of planting a
raised-bed garden in one of the empty lots on Clinton
Avenue. The empty lot was donated by a church, and
the students were out measuring the lot, in preparation
for the Spring planting season. The idea behind this
service project? Being stewards of your community
said Amanda, VISTA at Green Tech Charter High. They
[the students] have the power to change theircommunities and create change in their communities.
The idea of taking back these abandoned spaces and
creating beauty is whats needed. We are the change.
We often wait around for or think that it s never gonna
come. Weare the change.
Helping the Schuyler Inn Children
By Keri OBrien 10, VISTA Fellow
Here at Peter Young
Housing, Industries &
Treatment, we are creating
and developing multiple
programs that will help us
foster community at the
Schuyler Inn. By engaging
the residents at the Inn, we
hope to help make their
experience comfortable aswell as stress free.
The Schuyler Inn is hosting a
Winter Camp for school-aged
children residing at the
Schuyler Inn, located in
Menands, NY. The camp is
designed to provide the
children will activities to keep
them busy during the school
break and will provide the parents with an opportunity to
search for housing and employment without bringing
their children. As part of our camp activities, we will be
taking a trip to the New York State Museum to participate
in their Winter Fest. In addition, we will be playing low
budget educational games to engage the children at the
Inn.
Kicking off in March, we will be providing childcare
services to the residents of the Schuyler Inn. This
program will provide parents with an opportunity to go
search for employment or housing without the hassle of
bringing their young children. The facility will be staffedby volunteers from both Siena College and the
surrounding community. If you would like to help us get
our childcare services up and running we are always
looking for more volunteers to interact with the children.
We also accept donations such as art supplies, diapers,
strollers, movies, books, or anything you believe can be
put to good use at our facility. Please contact Keri
OBrien at (518) 463-1121 ext. 260 with any questions.
We are creating
and developing
multiple programs
that will help us
foster community
at the Schuyler
Inn.
We are thechange. We often
wait around for or
think that its never
gonna come. We
are the change.
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Family Homeless Prevention at HATASBy Ryan Rose 10, VISTA Fellow
Come into the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
(HATAS) any day of the week and youll find a very busy
and hard working team. As Executive Director Liz Hitt
says, Were a small shop but our team has a big heart.
You would need a big heart to tackle the crisis our
community is currently facing.
At the start of this year we took a look at just how many
people came through our doors. The findings were
frightening. The number of homeless families has
TRIPLED in Albany county over the last ten years. In the
year 2000 HATAS recorded helping 206 families. Last
year in 2010 762 families walked through our front door
on Central Avenue. 762 families!
We took some time to let these figures sink in and then
began to consider the members of these homeless
families. Within these families in 2010 were 224 infants,365 toddlers, and 1102 school aged children. Were
facing an upward trend and something needs to be
done. These are not just numbers; these are real
people in our community. The children that develop in
these conditions are going to have major cracks in the
foundation they build their lives off of. Like any
significant cultural challenge we need both short term
and long term solutions. It is our responsibility to take
the time to examine our culture and society to find the
fundamental causes of these outcomes.
At HATAS, prevention is the key. It costs our community
four times as much to shelter a family than to prevent
their homelessness says Hitt. To fund family homeless
prevention HATAS has launched the Change for
Changeprogram. It asks for $10 a month (.30) a day
and our goal is to recruit 2,500 people who believe that
prevention is preferable to shelter. It s easy to support.
Go to www.hatas.org and click on the Homeless
Children window. You can also add HATAS to your
online banking transaction group.
It is not going to just take money to solve these
problems so please help to promote awareness and if
you have ideas youd like to share please feel free to
contact us!
Ryan Rose
recruiting at the
Franciscan
Center for
Service and
Advocacy
Volunteer Fair in
the Fall of 2010.
Change Makers on WVCR 88.3 The Saint Every Saturday at 5:30 PM
Ryan Rose was recently featured as a guest on our new Office of Academic Community Engagement radio
show, Change Makers, where we invite change makers in our community, across the nation, and around the
world to speak to the Capital Region community about the actions they take to be change makers in our
communities. Listen to WVCR 88.3 The Saint every Saturday at 5:30 PM! Also, coming soon, look for archived
episodes on our website, www.siena.edu/ace.
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The Beauty of Cross PollinationBy Tanya Henderson, VISTA Fellow
It is a beautiful thing when you
are able to help a friend. This
past month I addressed my
Siena VISTA Fellow family
about my dilemma. I expressed
how I am attempting to
transform the Schuyler Inn from
being just a transitional shelter
for Homeless and Travelers Aid Society families and
veterans. Many of the clients here are deprived of
resources and services that could truly help them.
I speak with the families everyday and ask them, What
is it that you need and how can I help you? Most of
the women respond by saying they need housing and
employment. The children respond by saying they are
bored and there is nothing to do there. I sympathize
with children because it is not their home and it is not
built to be kid friendly. In addition, the mothers explain
they are not able to look for housing and employment if
their children are not enrolled in school or in child care
services. However, the children may not be enrolled in
school or child care for various reasons such as
relocation, lack of transportation, no address, and
more.
The VISTA staff shared their resources to assist in the
Beautification of the Schuyler Inn project. Ryan Roseand Liz Hitt of Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
(HATAS) have donated pajamas, toys and books.
Some of the contributions are being used to start the
Schuyler Inns Camp Winter and Child Care services.
Kathryn Ramsey of the Siena Office of Enrollment
Management volunteered her services to assist the
mothers in an art project. Green Tech High volunteered
to assist in a fundraising event. Interfaith Partnership
has donated a stroller and is assisting in recruitment
for the Mentoring Program. Trinity Alliance has
contributed to our resource manual with their services.
Yalitza Negron, Assistant Director of Academic
Community Engagement, has shared ideas to develop
Camp Winter. Carly Smith of the Boys and Girls Clubs
of Albany shared her volunteer recruitment resources.
Clearly, when people work together and cross-pollinate
their ideas and resources, something beautiful is
created.
Upcoming Partner Events
Music Mobiles 33rd Anniversary Benefit
CelebrationFeaturing Capital District Celebrity Guest Singers in a
Special Performance of The Beat of the Street...
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
Thursday, March 24
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The Linda - WAMCs Performing Arts Studio
Boys and Girls Club of Albany DodgeballDodgeball Tournament Fundraiser to Benefit Boys
and Girls Clubs of Albany
Sunday, April 3
9:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Siena College MAC Gym
$500/team of 9
www.bgcalbany.com/settle-the-score/
A Taste of AlbanyA Culinary Showcase and Benefit for Interfaith
Partnership for the Homeless
Thursday, May 12
5:00 PM (Sponsorship and Honorary Committee
Reception), 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Culinary Showcase
New York State Museum Terrace Gallery
www.atasteofalbany.com
Keep up with our community partner
events by visiting our website,
www.siena.edu/ace or staying in touch
with us via our social media!
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BONNERLEADERS
Access to education, opportunity to serve.
Bonner Summer Leadership Institute
PlanningBy Jennifer Simek, VISTA Leader
The Siena Bonner Service Leaders got right to work in the
new year planning for this years Bonner Summer
Leadership Institute (SLI). To be held May 31 through June
3rd at Siena College, SLI will be attended by administrator,
student, faculty, and partner representatives from roughly
80 colleges and universities in the Bonner Network. SLI
will provide participants with learning and professional
development opportunities connected to strengthening the
work of Bonner Programs. There will be an emphasis onthemes such as deepening community partnerships,
supporting students to engage in direct service
opportunities and making connections to public policy and
politics, and building sustainable infrastructures for
campus-community engagement. There will be a variety of
tracks that will highlight Bonner Network initiatives.
The Siena Bonners will play a large role in helping to plan
this years SLI. They launched the planning process at our
first annual ACE Mid Year Retreat that was held February
18th through the 20th. Planning was broken up into
sessions with Ariane Hoy who joined us from the Bonn
Foundation. She has been with the Bonner Foundation
since the fall of 2004 and is currently serving as the Se
Program Officer. She did a great job of facilitating the
planning with the Bonners and after the weekend they
already developed a structure and theme for SLI.
Aside from SLI planning, the Siena Bonners participate
some workshops including one with Elaine Williams,
master-trainer for the Corporation for National and
Community Service and one with Siena Faculty memb
Dr. Paul Thurston.
Overall the weekend was a great success in laying a s
foundation for an incredible event coming up this Sprin
Stay tuned for more information about SLI in the comin
months.
Check out flickr photos of
our ACE Mid Year Retreat
www.flick.com/sienacollegeace
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Foreground: Claudia
Congemi 14 and
Kevin Schafer 15. In
between sessions at
the ACE Mid Year
Retreat, the Bonners
participated in fun
ice breaker activities.
The Torch ClubBy Claudia Congemi 14, Bonner Service Leader
When I found out that I was going to be placed as the
Albany Boys and Girls Club I did not realize how much
my life was going to change. My first day at the club
seems like a blur, all the children running around: I did
not know where to start. However, now that a few
months have flown by, I really have adapted to my site. I
not only work at the Boys and Girls Club, I influence and
give kids confidence to believe in themselves.
I am currently working on re-opening the Torch Club for
Kids 11-13 years old. The Torch Club is a leadership
building opportunity where students will learn about
actively participating in the community and learn to build
relationships with others. Also, the students hope to
have many fun and educational trips to lectures where
they may hear about their dream job or a place they may
want to volunteer. In order for children to feel confident,
they need people in their lives who will remain mentors
for them even at their lowest points. I hope by opening
the torch club students will find the confidence they need
to succeed.
My job is to not only open the club, but be the adult
supervisor for it. I will plan all of the guest speakers,
schedule events, and most of all I wish to be a mentor
for the children. Being an active role model is my
number one goal while being at the Boys and Girls Club.
Honor CourtBy Kevin Schafer 15, Bonner Service Leader
My site is Honor Court, which is a part of Peter Young
Housing, Industries and Treatment (PYHIT). At Honor
Court, I work with four different CASACS (substance
abuse counselors) who work with the people who have
been arrested and assure that they receive the proper
treatment for their addictions rather then send them to
jail. In jail, the root of their problem, in most cases the
addiction to the substances, is not addressed and when
released, their addictions can cause them to end up in
court again.
An average day for myself involves going to the Honor
Court offices and Albany Police Court where I obtain the
docket for the three judges. I check which of the cases
are Honor Court clients, or potential clients. Lawyers
often refer their clients to Honor Court to help avoid long
jail sentences and to better ease the pain of their
addictions. At court, I work with the Public Defenders
(the lawyers appointed by the court for those who cannot
afford to pay for a private attorney - a vast majority of the
Honor Court clients), the District Attorneys (the people
who represent the interests of the state), and the judges.
I receive hands-on knowledge of how the justice system
works. Treating one of the root causes of criminal
behavior (addiction) is much more effective than just
trying to punish the addict for the whims of their
sickness.
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Souper Sandwich ClubBy Tim Golden 13, Bonner Service Leader
My service site is working with the Office of Academic
Community Engagement (ACE) at Siena College. At the
ACE Office, I primarily do Policy Options research for
other Bonners and the various community partners of the
ACE Office. There have been many new developments
in my service site over the past few weeks, on the variety
of projects that I work on.
One of them has to do with the Souper Sandwich Club
which I created in partnership with John DeCirce, a
Bonner, and Kaitlyn Calaluca, the VISTA at FOCUS
Churches. The goal of this club is to provide lunches for
their winter lunch program, using the food that would
normally be thrown out by the Siena College Dining
Services. I am happy to say that the club has made over
600 meals. In addition to this, I will also find out soon
whether or not we will become a recognized club on
campus. This will allow us to be able to apply for funding
for the club, and give us much more flexibility oncampus.
Another one of the projects that I am working on is the
Siena Research Institute project for Catholic Charities.
The goal of this project is to develop a survey that helps
Catholic Charities figure out their name recognition and
serve recognition in the Albany Diocese. So far, I and
several other Bonners, have assisted in the development
of the survey and the first draft has been sent to Catholic
Charities for them to look over. Recently we have started
to draft the actual report, and we are preparing to get the
survey ready to be implemented. I will be excited to see
this survey run to completion and to see my work payoff.
North Albany AcademyBy Stephanie Belmont 12, Bonner Service Leader
My passion for service continues to grow each year
that I return to my community partner site. I have been
placed at North Albany Academy for over two years
now, and this site continues to challenge me and force
me to grow as a person, and a volunteer.
I work with the librarian Ms. Curry during her class
time hours. I have been able to develop strongrelationships with all my students which have enabled
me to watch them progress over the years. Even after
two years of seeing me every day for library class,
their faces still light up and their enthusiastic greetings
never fail. These children have influenced my life and
I have learned more from these children than I ever
could have thought imaginable. I hope have impacted
them as much as they have impacted me.
One of the projects I am currently a part of is working
with a select group of girls that wanted to perform a
play. Every lunch period they are permitted to bringtheir food to the library where we rehearse the
different scenes that they will be performing in front of
the younger students library classes.
It is the small things that these girls do, like their ability
to laugh at themselves when they forget their lines, or
simply their ability to have fun doing whatever it is
they are doing, that remind me why I am in this
program.
The Souper
Sandwich Club
was recently
featured on
the front page
of the Siena
newspaper,
The
Promethean.
Even aftertwo years of
seeing me
every day for
library class,
their faces still
light up and
their
enthusiastic
greetings
never fail.
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Combining academic study and hands-on
service.
New ASL Coordinator and ExcitingSpring ASL CoursesBy Jennifer Simek, VISTA Leader
We are very excited to welcome a new team member,
Ruth Scipione, to the Office of Academic Community
Engagement. Ruth is joining us as the Assistant Director
and Coordinator of Academic Service Learning (ASL)
and will be helping ACE take ASL the next level. Ruth
graduated from SUNY Brockport in International Studies
with an emphasis in Latin American studies. Beforeattending college, Ruth lived in Spain for a year and
during college she studied abroad in Chile. In Chile,
Ruth worked at a non-profit that accepted donations for
people in need. She played a pivotal role in researching
the history of the organization and created a handbook
of her research.
After Ruth received her undergraduate degree she
moved to Albany to attend SUNY Albany and pursue
teaching Spanish as a career. While at SUNY Albany,
she was recruited to join the Spanish and LinguisticsPhD program where she has been studying and working
with a group of Mexican indigenous speakers who speak
the Triqui language. Ruth will be defending her PhD in
May. Throughout her educational and study abroad
experiences, Ruths desire to be engaged with the
community has always been a major influence.
In May 2009, Ruth attended the Office of Academic
Community Engagement Problem-Based Service
Learning Training and was inspired by Sienas
commitment to connect academic rigor with student
learning activities. Ruth is excited to take ASL at Siena
College to the next level and will assist faculty members
in course development, advancing service learning
techniques, supporting community connections, and
much more.
Ruth can be contacted at (518) 782-6951 or
[email protected]. Please join us in welcoming Ruth
to our team!
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St. Rose Counseling Graduate Program
and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany
Carly Smith 09 is in her second year of AmeriCorps
VISTA service at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany.
She plays a pivotal role in supporting an ASL
connection with the College of St. Rose. We had a
chance to ask her a few questions about the
partnership and here is what she shared with us:
Q: How did the partnership initiate?
A: The partnership has been an on-going one initiated
through a previous VISTA (Nefisah Sallim).
Q: Who is the faculty member teaching the ASL
course?
A: Professor Claudia Lingertat-Putnam of the St. Rose
School Counseling Graduate Program.
Q: What are the projects the students are working
on?
A: The students are working with Club REACH (Ready
for Employment, Academic achievement, Character
development, and Hope for the future) doing college
preparation, career development and life-skill training
in collaboration with their class at St. Rose. Each week
they create a theme and reinforce the theme through
team-building activities, games, public speakers,
assignments, etc.
Q: What need is the ASL class helping with at your
site?
A: This class is bringing necessary and crucial
information to our teens about college preparation and
career development techniques along with life-skills
training, all of which our teens do not get enough of.
The small ratio and enthusiasm in this program
encourage our members to be engaged in the activities
there and learn about the many themes.
Siena College School of Business and
Interfaith Partnership for the
HomelessBy Samantha Tymchyn 09, VISTA Fellow
Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless (IPH) is
enjoying partnerships with Siena College. A
connection made with Paul Thurston has opened
many doors. This semester we are working with twoclasses:
The Honors section of the Business Strategy and
Policy course (BUDV 450) and one team in the
Leading Organizational Change course (MKMG 425).
Working with the students gives us the opportunity to
share knowledge and at the same time learn through
their experiences. Being engaged with Siena students
makes us look closely at how we are running our non-
profit and allows us to focus on finding new, innovative
ways to improve our services and the way we do
business.
In the Business Strategy and Policy Course, the
students will prepare a strategic plan proposal for
Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless. In that
proposal they will identify factors that are critical to
success, then use those factors to identify and provide
compelling evidence for strategic issues facing IPH.
For each strategic issue, the teams will developspecific action plans to implement the recommended
alternatives. The management team and board of
directors are looking forward to the end of the
semester when the students will be making their
presentations.
Students in the Leading Organizational Change
course are learning about the many aspects of
Planned Giving. The students are reaching out to
professionals in the field (including Sienas very own
Planned Giving team). They will be breaking down the
information and giving IPH recommendations and
steps to take so that we can be more involved with
planning giving. Having planned giving options
available to our donors will give IPH more opportunity
for long term growth and planning.
Members of IPHs management team are working with
Suzanne OConner during workshops that involve
building interview skills and creating resumes.
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Siena College Sr. Thea Bowman
Center for Women and Body Politics
Course
Ariel Palter joined the VISTA Fellows Program in the
summer of 2010. Her VISTA position is with the Sr.
Thea Bowmen Center for Women at Siena and she
has focused on building student connections with girls
in the community. We had a chance to ask her a few
questions about her ASL partnership and here is what
she had to share with us:
Q: How did the partnership initiate?
A: My site supervisor told me about Rachel Stein and
her body politics class. I knew I wanted to work with a
class on something since I am on campus and she
seemed like a great choice. We connected and
discussed potential opportunities and projects her
class could work on and created a project involving a
conference I am planning, Hannahs [Siena VISTA
Fellow placed at North Albany Academy] Girl Scout
Troops and her class.
Q: Who is the faculty member teaching the ASL
course?
A: I am working with Rachel Stein and her Body
Politics class.
Q: What are the projects the students are working
on?
A: The students are working on two projects. Half the
class is working on developing a workshop on body
image which will be part of the girls day conference I
am developing for April. They will practice the
workshop with Hannahs girl scouts and then
implement it at the conference.
The other half of the class is working on Siena
monologues... similar to Vagina Monologues but Sienastyle. This will raise money for Domestic Violence
organizations in the community.
Q: What need is the ASL class helping with at your
site?
A: They are helping us connect with the community
through issue based learning and connecting with
young girls.
Music Mobile and Computer ScienceBy Jennifer Simek, VISTA Leader
Music Mobile, an organization located in Albany, is dedicated to
building peaceful communities through music. Over the course
of the 09/10 and 10/11 academic years, Music Mobile and
the Siena Computer Science department have forged an
exciting and innovative approach to learning classroom
objectives. Professors Mary Anne Egan and Johanna Horowitz
have welcomed Music Mobile into their classrooms and allowedMusic Mobile to share the organizations need for visual
accompaniment to original songs written by Ruth Pelham
(Executive Director).
During the week of March 7, 2011 Ruth Pelham and current
Siena VISTA Hilary Rainey did a presentation for Professor
Horowitzs class. Hilary provided a brief synopsis of Music
Mobiles mission and vision for the community and Ruth led the
students in song. By engaging the students and performing
some of the songs, the students gained a better understanding
of the positive impact the songs have on children in our
communities. The students will be utilizing the program Alice
this semester to animate the songs, which will then be viewed
by the children in the Capital District community. Pictured to the
right is Ruth Pelham during the presentation to the class.
8/7/2019 DEEP Service Newsletter: March/April 2011
14/14
Our Mission
The Franciscan Center for Service andAdvocacy AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows
Program provides help to build, sustain,and promote civic engagement by
fostering reciprocal DEEP relationships
between students, faculty, administration
and our local community in need.
Our program focuses on assistingfaculty, students, and community
partners to work with all walks of life.
Our actions commit to our core values ofSt. Francis and allow our students,
faculty and administration to seek directactions towards academic excellence
through their civic engagement and
participation in programs that help toincrease capacity in areas of our
community that need it most throughDEEP Partnerships.
Our Partners
Peter Young Housing, Industries and
Treatment/Schuyler Inn
Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
FOCUS Churches
Boys and Girls Club of Albany
Unity House of Troy
Catholic Charities/Roarke Center
Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless
U.S. Committee for Refugees andImmigrants
North Albany Academy/SNAP
Grand Street Community Arts
Trinity Alliance
Music Mobile
Capital District YMCA
Green Tech Charter High School
Siena Office of Enrollment Management
Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Women
Siena Research Institute
Compassion in Action/Koinonia
Capital District Habitat for Humanity
Albany Housing Authority
Siena College Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy
Office of Academic Community Engagement515 Loudon Road | Loudonville, NY 12211
P: (518) 783-6886 | F: (518) 786-5080
E: [email protected] | W: www.siena.edu/ace
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