Whoosh

It has been a whirlwind of activity at my desk lately....which justifies how it looks (I seriously need to acquire some 3-ring binders...).  I've been crunching numbers on data, bothering people for data, and compulsively checking my Google surveys to see how many people have replied.  The exciting news is I have a hunch all my data collection is paying off (stay tuned for more news), and the less exciting news is now I have to compile all the data reports.   Spreadsheets, pie charts, and numerals are the life of the Data Collection Coordinator.

In non-data news, Oberlin Community Services was awarded a grant from OBB for tax season.  Hooray for money for sturdy new tables!  I was down at the OCS food distribution this Saturday publicizing my tax clinics and I can confirm that some of the tables are in pretty bad shape.

To do:
1.  Clean desk and compile better to-do list
2.  Make OBB certifiates for private reading students
3.  Update email lists on who has responded to my surveys
4.  Complete follow-up paperwork for OCS grant
5.  Scan in books for WT readings.

Also, here is a neat quiz on poverty stats.  Fill it out--maybe you'll learn something!

Crunch crunch crunch

With lots of snow on the ground and lots of cold in the air, it is the perfect time to stay inside and crunch all the numbers from various surveys I am sending out.  Be sure and fill out the fall, campus-wide community engagement survey if you haven't already!

Hertz Connect

When I got to Oberlin as a freshman, I was thrilled I could walk everywhere in town.  Downtown Oberlin is packed full of useful and interesting shops that supply a lot of the basic goods I needed.  The only thing Oberlin does not have a good supply of is clothes; one time I took the Lorain County Transit down to the mall for pants and it was an all-day affair because the LCT, which has since been eliminated by budget cuts, was not a super fast public-transit service.  I was also lucky enough to have a roommate with a car who pitched in on during the bad times, like when I dropped a heavy computer speaker on my foot and couldn't shuffle to the hospital for proper care (or at least couldn't do it within a reasonable time frame).  By relying on my feet, my friends, and the LCT, I was able to get by without a car during my time as a student.  

Since graduating, I have acquired a car; her name is Flapper Fay.  She is dear to me because she is freedom-- I can go clothes shopping or to a Benefit Bank outreach event or to the Cleveland Reptile Show whenever I want.....but despite her excellent gas mileage she is also expensive, especially when a belt breaks, she starts smoking and I have to get her towed to the dealership.   Fay is freedom of transportation, but not owning her was freedom of my checking account.  There are pros and cons to each situation.

Upkeep costs of the car (car maintenance, Oberlin parking pass fees, insurance) can be prohibitively expensive for those students on a tight budget, especially when the car is not used frequently.  That's why I think it's cool Oberlin College participates in a car-sharing program where students can rent-a-car by the hour or by the day for all those errands outside the Oberlin Bubble.  It's the best of both worlds---you get transportation when you need it*, but don't have the high costs of car maintenance to bog down your budget.  Here is an article in The Source detailing what the car-sharing program is and how Oberlin College students can sign up for it.  

*The BCSL can provide transportation and car rentals for students doing community service!  Find out more about it on our website.

Wrap up

Hello from the Mansfield mall!  I am down here today with my fellow VISTAs Allison and Jessie wrapping gifts as a fundraiser for Jessie's tax clinic.  We're only a few hours into the shift and we've already wrapped over $20 gifts and earned over $30.

In other news, here is a cool article on the Apollo Outreach Initiative:

http://www.theoberlinnewstribune.com/obe/eastwood-video

Education Discussion Lunch

Today, Monday, 12:00-1:15
* Wilder Hall, room 112
* Education Discussion Lunch for college students, faculty, staff, and community members interested in K-12 education in Oberlin
* Guest speaker:  Angela Wu, talking about the Oberlin Street Law project and their focus issue this year, local foods in Oberlin schools
* Free pizza and salad lunch

Tweet, tweedle-lee-dee

Hello from the Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain where I am doing Ohio Benefit Bank and Second Harvest Foodbank outreach.  It is a wide-open, well-lit room with a stage, a concession stand, and basketball hoops. There are lots of young children running around and playing with the games and crafts set out.  There is also someone dressed up in a Red Robin mascot costume; the kids are fascinated/terrified.

I appreciate when communities pull together to offer a resource fair.  It gathers multiple resources in one place (which makes outreach easier for the resources) and it gathers people together in a space they feel comfortable.  It is hard to ask for help or know where to go.  I am having much more success handing out the Santa Land flyers advertising Santa's visit to Lorain County Community College than I am passing out food assistance literature.
---------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to drop by the BCSL if you still need a WT project or you want to find one involving community service!

Still looking for a Winter Term project?

The BCSL still has WT opportunities open!

Site: Bonner Center for Service & Learning

Website: www.oberlin.edu/bcsl

Position title on ObieOpps: Winter Term Web Media Service Intern

Job Description: The Web Media Intern will help the BCSL improve its online presence on common social networking sites.  Projects include making videos for the BCSL YouTube channel, editing the BCSL wiki, editing the BCSL website (content management system) and cross-linking the current BCSL social network sites.  The practical experience will be complemented by readings and investigations of groups and individuals who have successfully marketed themselves online.

Credit: Half or Full

# positions available: 3

Site: Bonner Center for Service & Learning

Website: www.oberlin.edu/bcsl

Position title on ObieOpps: Winter Term Public Relations Service Intern

Job Description: The PR Intern will help with updating the literature of the BCSL current to Communications Office standards.  Projects include making brochures for BCSL programs, composing a fall newsletter, designing and decorating a Day of Service Bulletin Board, and writing articles for the BCSL blog. The practical experience will be complemented by readings and investigations of what contributes to a successful public relations campaign.

Credit: Half or Full

# positions available: 1

Site: Bonner Center for Service & Learning

Website: www.oberlin.edu/bcsl

Position title on ObieOpps: Winter Term Dr. Seuss Day Service Intern

Job Description: Dr. Seuss Day is an annual family literacy celebration organized by the America Reads tutoring program and hosted by the Oberlin Public Library.  It has been held the first weekend of March for the past 10 years, and has become an anticipated event for local children and families.  More than two hundred people typically attend.  The task of the Dr. Seuss Day Planner is to build upon the past success of the event, while giving it a unique theme and flavor. The Planner will decide the title and theme for the day, design activities for children, and recruit special guest readers as well as other performers.  The Planner will also purchase children's books and other materials, and execute a publicity campaign for the event.  The work will be carried out in partnership with Andy Frantz, Program Director for America Reads, in the America Reads office in the Bonner Center for Service and Learning.  While most of the work is done during Winter Term, the Planner must be available for the event itself, the first weekend of March.

Credit: Half or Full

# positions available: 1-2

Site: Oberlin Early Childhood Center

Website: www.oberlinearlychildhood.org

Position Title on ObieOpps: Winter Term Self-Assessment Service Intern

Job Description: OECC has been accredited through the National Association of Early Childhood Programs since 1995.  Since then the accreditation standards and process has been revised.  There are three main components of this position:

1. Prior to applying for re-accreditation a self-assessment must be completed and results compiled.  The self-assessment includes surveying families and teaching staff on services provided by the center.

2. After survey results have been compiled a performance improvement plan will be written.

3. A system for providing evidence that the center and classrooms are meeting performance standards need developed. The students hired will work with the Executive Director and Director of Education to complete a self-assessment to complete the survey, compile the results, write a performance improvement plan, and to set up a system to document evidence.

Students who wish to pursue a career in the field of education would benefit from understanding how to provide support and evidence that performance standards are being implemented.  A student interested in evaluation and assessment may also benefit from this position through the process of obtaining and compiling survey results and creating an improvement plan based upon these results.

Credit: Half or Full

# of position available: 2

Site: Community Peace Builders
Position Title on Obie Opps: Winter Term National Deficit Research Service Intern

Job Description: The interns in this position will work to compile a report to present to US senators, and possibly to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, an initiative of President Obama, led by Senators Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles.  Research would include an investigation of numbers for the value of properties in the US to decide the taxes that support the department of defense, the value of properties owned abroad by US citizens, and other information to fill in the background of the nation's deficit.  The primary thesis of this report is that the National Defense should be funded in the same manner as insurance -a fee proportional to the value of that protected.  The interns chosen can work from their own living space, or can choose to work at the home of the project supervisor.  Weekly meetings would be required to update work progress.

Credit: Half or full

# positions available: 2 

Site: Lorain County Food Policy Coalition
Position Title on Obie Opps: Winter Term Food Systems Mapping Service Intern

Job Description: Connect the many consumers and producers of local food in Lorain County by mapping components of the local food system, including farmers' markets, community gardens, community-supported agriculture programs, City Fresh stops, farm stands / farm producing locally sold food, grocery stores, restaurants with a commitment to serving local food, and organizations working on Lorain County's food system.

Credit: Half or Full

# positions available: 2

Site: Lorain County Food Policy Coalition
Position Title on Obie Opps: Winter Term Food Policy Project Service Intern

Job Description: Research food policy in Lorain County.  For each town, investigate laws on the books that affect food production issues such as the legality of various kinds of livestock, front yard gardens, bees, chickens, etc.  The end product will be used to help the Food Policy Coalition draw a county-wide picture of how policy encourages or prevents personal food production.

Credit: Half or full

# positions available: 2

Site: Lorain County Food Policy Coalition
Position Title on Obie Opps: Winter Term Food Policy Coalition Website Design Service Intern

Job Description: Create a website for the Lorain County Food Policy Coalition using the open source Drupal Content Management System.  Previous knowledge of Drupal is not necessary, and you will end the project familiar with some of the food system work being done in Lorain County as well as the process of building a website with Drupal.

Credit: Half or Full

# positions available: 2

Site: Lorain County Community College

Website: www.lorainccc.edu/servicelearning

Position Title on ObieOpps: Winter Term MLK Day of Service Event Service Intern

Job Description: The MLK Event Planning Intern will work on the preparation, implementation, and reflection of Lorain County Community College’s MLK Day of Service, which will be held on January 14^th. The Intern will participate in communications with media outlets and local nonprofit organizations, coordination of site leader volunteers, volunteer recruitment, Service Celebration planning and preparations, and other duties as assigned. The Intern will have the assistance of the full-time Americorps VISTA and part-time Americorps volunteers who are, along with the Intern, part of the team coordinating the MLK event. Our community partner service sites include the Lorain County Urban League, Harrison Cultural Community Center, Second Harvest Food Bank, Save Our Children, and the Early College High School. This is a great educational experience for anyone who is interested in civic engagement, marketing/event planning, leadership, project/program development and assessment and more!

Credit: Half or full

# positions available: 1