Friday Hoorays

I don't know about you, but I am having an excellent day. I thought it best to do another round of Friday Hoorays.

1. I work with awesome people. Hooray!
2. In our work, we do awesome things. Hooray!
3. I finished the final edits on the annual report. Hooray!
4. I finished the BCSL display in the Science Center. Hooray!
5. I am going to:

The 2nd Annual Jones Farm Harvest Festival Fundraiser

Wednesday, October 13th

6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

Vermilion Valley Vineyard

Email okeith @ oberlin.edu for info about tickets.

Hooray!

6. I've started planning for an OBB private reading, ExCo, and WT. Hooray!
7. I got to stay in the office and get things done this week. Hooray!
8. The BCSL Advisory Committee met this morning, and it was a lovely meeting full of visions, brainstorming, and networking. Hooray!
9. I am done with a lot of the grunt work on the Day of Service data. Hooray!
10. It is a beautiful day and I had lunch outside. Hooray!

Windswept

Wednesday's post had a list of Things of Note at the BCSL!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has been a whirlwind of activity, both for the BCSL staff and for me.  But mostly I am talking about me today.  I am sooooo excited because next week, I've calculated that I will be in the office for at least 75% of each workday.  HOORAY!!  I can actually get projects done and do my job!  Astonishing, I know.

Last week I had lunch with a friend.  He said "For once, I'd just like to turn in an annual report that said This year I did nothing new, but worked on perfecting all I am currently doing."  As I sprint through my VISTA year, trying to keep up and doing the best I can even though I feel like all I do is fall flat sometimes......I can't help but feel it's rather idealistic to do a VISTA project in a year.  Yeah, a lot can happen in a year.  One person putting in 20,000 hours of work is going to accomplish something. 

Maybe it's just my learning style of needing to do things repeatedly, but I would love to be able to do two taxes seasons because I know the second one would be better than the first one.  If I could stay on for a year, I'd totally Get It and be able to prepare appropriately when Donna says "Oh, man.  When Andy comes back, it just all starts to get crazy."  I'd totally Get It that we have to start preparing for tax season now, whereas today I'll go along with the idea because people who are wiser than me emphasize we need to start early.  I'm getting a bit frustrated because it feels like I'm out of the office half the time; though the trainings and conferences I go to are valuable and my brain is vibrating with learning, the emails pile up and my projects get dusty.  But if I were here for another year?  I'd already be trained!  I could spend more time in the office perfecting what I do based on what I'd already done--it would already be in my head.  There's something slightly ironic about VISTA being a program centered around building infrastructure, but the way it's set up inherently prevents the infrastructure that is only present when a person does the same thing twice.

Of course, this is a rather useless rant because I know I won't be in the area next year.  I took the VISTA position, expecting it to be a one-year placeholder; most VISTAs do.  Life will be taking me other places; I won't have the luxury of considering a second VISTA year at the BCSL.  For one, my student loans are due--I'll need a larger paycheck.  I know I'm not the only VISTA who loves the job, but can't stay on because of the need of a paycheck instead of a stipend.

There's a VISTA tagline contest going on (or it might have already ended).  One person laughingly suggested "PAY US MORE MONEY AND WE WILL SAVE THE WORLD"  I think I'd like to edit that to: "PAY US MORE MONEY AND GIVE US MORE TIME...AND WE WILL SAVE THE WORLD."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Other News:
The US Census Bureau released the stats on poverty for the nation in 2009 yesterday.  Here are some good summary news articles:

Nationwide:

• Tampa Bay WTSP (the shortest article of the bunch)
• New York Times
• The Huffington Post
• The Daily Caller 

Ohio:

• Dayton Daily News
• The Washington Post
• The Columbus Dispatch
• Cleveland.com

If you are interested in the knitty-gritty details, a PDF of the report can be found at:  http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf

Also of interest: A Commerce.com article on the alternative poverty measure coming out next year (because the current measure misses a lot of things)

Random Monday

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service! (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome freshman and Baby Bonners!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Today is Random Monday, because I am not quite coherent enough for a blog post with a beginning, middle, and end. (Idea stolen from YarnHarlot.ca)

1. I spent several days tabling for the Benefit Bank at the Lorain County Fair. I had a lot of fun talking to my fellow tabelers about such things as pig farms, tattoos, the history of Elyria, and the Bee Barn. We handed out a lot of literature encouraging people to check their eligibility, but didn't do so many quick checks or applications.

2. I went to the Cleveland meeting of Voices for Ohio's Children. Hopefully I'll be able to make that another post, because I'd really like to share what I learned.

3. But first I should clean my car and find all the hand-outs they gave us.

4. I went to my first Second Harvest Farmer's Market. Or rather, I learned the difference between the two Oberlin Roads that run parallel to each other but end in radically difference places in the county. I showed up embarrassingly late and frustrated, only to be completely charmed by the Ohio Benefit Bank van crew, Russell and Erin.

5. I seriously need to investigate a GPS.

6. Welcome Baby Bonners!!! And welcome freshman! The possibilities are endless. :)

7. I forget what 7 was supposed to be.

8. The LEADS Economic Challenge happened on Friday. I was thrilled to see the game come to life, and I can't wait to add in the suggestions I got to the rules for when the Baby Bonners play it.

9. Tomorrow Sam (Second Harvest North Central VISTA) and I leave for Columbus for the big Benefit Bank conference.

10. I'm hoping that as my thoughts about this whole poverty thing coalesce, my blog posts will become more coherent. I can't help but feel the reflections and discussions I am leading are scattered because my own thoughts are so scattered.

Hello from Canton

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service! (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello from a Kent State University in Canton where I'm leading my first Benefit Bank training (my other two first trainings got canceled). All is going well so far. I even managed to get through the traffic jam and arrive early to the training location. Later I will be in Wellington at the Lorain County Fair promoting the Benefit Bank. It is a Benefit Bank filled day!

Also, a big thanks to fellow VISTA Travis for setting up the training, making sure I found the library, and giving me the last of his business cards to fill out. :) Thanks to Greer too (my regional coordinator) for answering the questions I could not.

Swimming in statistics

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service! (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome, LEADS students!  :)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This weekend I sifted through all the wonderful research and articles Claudine left behind for me on poverty in Ohio, Lorain County, and Oberlin.  I'm trying to put together some informational sheets to hand out this week at LEADS.   What I'm discovering is poverty is such a complicated issue with so many aspects that it is hard to boil it down to simple statistics. 
 
The argument over how to measure the number of people in poverty is the best example to begin the conversation.  Currently the U.S. government looks at how  much it costs to eat cheaply and nutritiously for a year (as determined by the USDA standards).  This number is then multiplied by three to calculate the income below which people are considered to be in poverty.  The total number has been readjusted each year to account ONLY for inflation.

Cost of food in the 1960's      x    3    =    Federal poverty level

When this measure was established in the 1960s, it was estimated a family spent 1/3 of its income on food.  Do you spend 1/3 of your income on food?  I don't.   I spend more on rent and my cell phone and my car insurance.  There are many costs we pay today that I doubt were as significant in the 60s.  If I can get people to think deeply about how poverty is calculated, I think I can make them understand how many things poverty affects and hopefully get a glimpse of how many facets poverty has.  The more an issue is understood, the better and more nuanced the solutions are...in summary:

This logo belongs to NBC

VISTA Blogs

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service! (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
As part of my self-guided orientation, I've been surfing blogs of other VISTAs in my area. The blogs I have read tend to be a bit more...philosophical than mine, for lack of a better work. I tend towards posts that are "here is what I did today" rather than "here is the issue I pondered today." But these VISTAs that I've been browsing? They think deep thoughts. They ponder the VISTA experience, the struggle of poverty, the meaning of it all. They are blogging lots of thoughts that didn't occur to me and some thoughts that did.

http://makingsocialchange.blogspot.com/

http://mylifeasavista.blogspot.com/

http://myyearinthetrenches.blogspot.com/

http://activehope.blogspot.com/

http://measuringayearasavista.blogspot.com/

I love learning about people's experiences and applying their lessons to my own life; sadly, VISTA is not the position best suited towards this passing on of knowledge, yet it is a position that could use it because VISTAs deal with some heavy stuff. But so it goes that one experienced VISTA leaves and another comes in the next day, fresh from Pre-Service Orientation . There is only so much that one can pass down in official documents or insert into the infrastructure of the position. I can leave instructions on how to meet with a client and sign them up for benefits, yes, but how do I convey the emotional component of asking personal questions, listening to their story, and the frustrations that come from only being able to offer limited help? How do I help the VISTA who follows me deal with all the heavy questions of poverty and access and need? I was lucky to have Claudine with me for a month to guide me through some of the knotty-ness stuff. Most VISTAs don't get overlap--they have to start from scratch.

And so I am grateful for the blogs that give me a window into the past when yesteryear's VISTAs were struggling with the issues I confront today. Intentional or not, it's an of emotionl infrastructure I was delighted to find (and I am sure there is more out there). I'm not entirely sure how this blog will contribute to the infrastructure since it is oriented to the BCSL instead of my personal VISTA experiences, but maybe once I sort out these things I've been thinking I'll be able to contect it all together and contribute too.

It's given me a lot to think about, to say the least.

Google Alerts

To educate myself, I've recently signed myself up for Google Alerts set to receive notifications of articles and blogs including the keywords "poverty" and "ohio poverty."  I've just finished reading my alerts for this past weekend, and here are my favorites from the lot:

Principal's War on Poverty Helping Test Scores
An uplifting tale of a town pulling together to help those who need it

Measuring Poverty (10): Multidimensional Poverty
An article describing a proposed solution to the debate of how to best measure poverty with statistics and numbers

They're known as 'the 99ers,' and their numbers are growing in Ohio and nationwide
Stories of elderly people and their social security payments

Roots of World Poverty Misunderstood
An investigation of poverty worldwide

Friday Hoorays

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service!  (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms).

------------------------------------------------------------

1.  I am going to spend today at the graphics computer making flyers and pamphlets for the BCSL.  Hooray graphics!
2.  I got a SS card and it didn't take ages.  Hooray efficiency!
3.  I am eating peanut butter and pretzels for breakfast.  Hooray comfort foods!
4.  Yesterday I found a bunch of data files I needed and hadn't been able to locate previously.  Hooray discovery!
5.  I got my to-do list done yesterday and got a head start on today's so it is more manageable.  Hooray productivity!
6.  My office is located such that everybody who comes into the BCSL says hello to me.  Hooray BCSL staff!
7.  I am learning a lot by reading other VISTA blogs (hopefully more blog posts to come on this later).  Hooray social media!
8. I got all the information I needed off of Claudine's computer before it froze.  Hooray luck!
9.  I am slightly nervous about the upcoming weeks before school because I have a lot to get done before the students get back, and I have to give my first training as a Benefit Bank counselor...but I've got a plan and a low meeting concentration next week to get things done.  Hooray optimism!
10.  I have a list of ten things to say Hooray! about.  Hooray hoorays!

(Now I've typed hooray so much it looks misspelled...)

Dear Sandman

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service!  (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms)

--------------

One of my current projects this week has been updating, organizing, and refining a poverty simulation.  The goal is to have it ready so that LEADS participants can play it at the end of the month.  The simulation gives each player a family financial scenario, and the goal is for the player to create a budget to find out how much money they have for food, and then travel around to stores, food pantries, and social services to obtain 2000 calories of the most nutritious food they can find.

The first thing I noticed about the simulation when Claudine and I started organizing it from the last time it was played was that it has a lot of little, tiny paper parts.

The simulation barely fit on the conference room table.

I am rewriting all the instructions and descriptions to make the simulation specific to Oberlin.  I've revamped the transportation system, and I'm excited about the new cars I've added to the game.  Here is the description I enjoy the most:

It's got a Grim Reaper graphic!

Though I still want to tweak the car rules a little bit, I think I might be done with all my re-writing and am ready to move on to crafting the discussion that will follow the simulation.  I'm hoping that since I read all the background information yesterday and today, when I wake up tomorrow all the information will have coalesced while I slept and I will have a brilliant idea for what stats to include on my Lorain County/Ohio poverty and hunger information sheet.  This will probably translate into reality as waking from a cold sweat at 3 AM from a dream where I walked into the room with all the LEADS participants waiting expectantly only to realize:

• I've forgotten all the materials at the office
• I've forgotten I was supposed to give it that day
• I'm naked
• I forgot to put the little Grim Reapers on the old car transportation card and put a Miss Piggy image instead

But I can always hope!

How to Apply for a Social Security Card

Incoming Freshman: It's not too late to sign up for the 14th annual Day of Service!  (you may also fill out page 57 of the Big Book of Forms)

--------------

STEPS COMPLETED:
1.  Procastinate
2.  Get busy with other things
3.  Finally decide you really, really need to apply for food stamps
4.  Spend a long time navigating the phones trying to get in contact with a SS representative to ask them a question.
5.  Find SF5 application online at www.socialsecurity.gov
6.  Fill out application
7.  Hunt down the social security numbers of parents to finish the application

TO DO:
8.  Find car to drive down to SS office
9.  Drive down to SS office not during lunch time.
10. Wait to get the card in the mail

Realizations

I was incredibly lucky to snag a VISTA position with so much support. I overlaped with Claudine, the previous VISTA who established the whole position, by a whole glorious month so she can show me the ropes, tell me her visions for data collection, and answer all my nagging questions (apparently the scissors were right behind me...who knew). My supervisor, Beth, has a good memory of what Claudine did and what needs to be done so I don't have to float in some vague, goal-less void. As for the rest of the BCSL staff...they're just fun co-workers.

Mine is a unique position among Benefit Bank VISTAs (and potentially all other VISTAs). I'm working primarily with two organizations--the Benefit Bank and Oberlin College--to build connections and partnerships between the two. I do this by training Oberlin College student volunteers to navigate the Benefit Bank software for clients at Oberlin Community Services. So really, I'm responsible for trying to tighten these relationships:

• Benefit Bank/VISTA
• Benefit Bank/Oberlin College
• Benefit Bank/Oberlin Community Services
• Benefit Bank/clients
• Oberlin College/Oberlin Community Services
• Oberlin College/greater Oberlin community

That's a lot and I probably missed a few; I hadn't even realized how much that was until I typed it out. And that's not even counting the outreach work to LCCC and the other random Benefit Bank sites.

It's a long-winded partnership to explain since I am paid, supported, and housed by at least 3 or 4 different organizations --only one or two of which your average relative at a wedding probably hasn't heard of. I tried out several elevator speeches on new acquaintances this weekend and I'm still not sure which version is best.

Headed off to build relationships,
Ondrea
Americorps*VISTA, BCSL Enthusiast

Dear Claudine

Dear Claudine,

We hope your first day at Legal Aid has been awesome, exciting, and informative. The BCSL was very empty without you today. Make sure you come back and visit!

love,

The BCSL staff

Building Character through Organization

When I applied for this job, one of the interview questions was: "Are you organized? Can you juggle many things at once?" I thought "Psht, I have juggled multiple classes, multiple jobs, and multiple extracurricular over the past four years. I can totally juggle the requirements of a single job."

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the universe for my cockiness and present it with the chip that has fallen off my shoulder because man oh man, this job requires me to be on top of my game and build character like nothing else before it. I am wearing multiple hats, all of which could be made into at least part-time, if not full-time, jobs:

• Data collection coordinator for the BCSL
• random graphics/PR projects for the BCSL
• Benefit Bank Counselor
• Benefit Bank Trainer

It is totally doable, I just have to work at it. I also realize that part of being overwhelmed at this point is learning the new vocabulary of people and organizations I need to know, but I need to work on some new systems to better organize myself since I have about 3 different hubs of activity I need to check in with. Right now what is working is to take the first hour of each day to attack my emails and make a to-do list on paper, in my notebook for the rest of the day: I hereby resolve to repeat this behavior for the sake of my sanity. And since I've posted the resolution on my blog for teh internets to see, everyone knows it absolutely *must* come to fruition.

Hurryupandsit

I can't help but feel that a large part of my VISTA year so far has been hurryupandsit in meetings/trainings. Many of the meetings/trainings are useful and I get to meet cool people, learn new things, and eat free tasties, but it's frustrating to be nagged by my ever growing and fun filled to-do list while I'm trying to enjoy the food and company at a lunch meeting. Yet I am learning so much of networking that takes place over a meal is crucial to program development and partnerships that I cannot dismiss them in favor of my to-do list.

Yesterday was such a day where I had to sit in more meetings than planned and so I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, so today I had to miss a networking meeting to get my tasks done before Beth (supervisor) needed it for her meeting with a Dean. So it goes. What Claudine and I got done on the BCSL annual report, though, was really cool. I am a graphics nerd and love projects like these. What made it extra fun was trying to get it done by the deadline--some days I really enjoy working within time constraints. Here are the front page designs we came up with (and I suspect Claudine is downstairs making last minute changes as I type):

New graphic element, black and white

New graphic element, school approved colors

Old graphic element, school approved colors

Our theme is "Beyond the Bubble" and I'm really excited about some of the graphic things we're doing with it.

Now! To tackle more time sensitive to-do list items before Enterprise comes to pick me up for my car rental for tomorrow's Benefit Bank training observation.

Ready, set, go!