Site Visit to the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council

07/02/2008 08:06:29 PM EST by kmo27 in Action Network Forum

Today’s site visit was a little bit different than the other ones I went to thus far. It was the most casual meeting but at the same I really enjoyed sitting down and meeting with the Director of Special Projects at the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council.  But I learned a lot today.

Letter to the Editor in Regards to AmeriCorps

07/01/2008 01:31:44 PM EST by kmo27 in Action Network Forum

The City of Pittsburgh is a city full of non-profit organizations everything from the University of Pittsburgh to UPMC to the United Way. But one of the things most people take for granted is the idea of national service and how national service will help aid the work of non-profit organizations.

Thoughts on Congressional Campaigns

06/27/2008 12:53:09 PM EST by kmo27 in Action Network Forum

While working on a spreadsheet that was looking at the contact information for the different candidates running for Congress this year, a few things really started to stick out for me.  The first thing was that there were some candidates that pretty much given up the ghost before the campaign was even done.  Another thing was how hard it was to get some people’s information when it wasn’t on a website.  Plus looking at the campaign information, I realized I am still more bound to Philadelphia then I am to Pittsburgh.

AmeriCorps Impacts its Volunteers

06/20/2008 10:19:47 PM EST by kmo27 in Action Network Forum

AmeriCorps has a great ability to help change lives. This is not only through the lives that AmeriCorps programs try to help but it also impacts the lives of its volunteers in many ways.

Reflections on an AmeriCorps Site Visit

06/19/2008 06:42:36 PM EST by kmo27 in Action Network Forum

Yesterday I headed down to the Human Services Building not knowing what exactly to expect.  I even arrived early (although that was more due to the bus schedule rather than trying to be super early for a morning meeting).   So I was asked to browse the website and the various videos on the site until Sharon was able to arrive.

"What should the next president do to expand national service? And Why"

06/18/2008 06:44:55 PM EST by kmo27 in Action Network Forum

The next president can do two big things for national service. First, push for national service program through words.  Two is to expand the amount of people and money given to national service programs.

National service is something that is still relatively unknown to many people. It is sad to say that, but it’s something people don’t always think about as an option. People don’t know that doing good deeds and helping the community can be a profession.  So it can be extremely important for people to actually start hearing more focus put onto the work of national service projects.

This means more than just highlighting community service programs and volunteer efforts. It means going into the neighborhoods and really talking about Americorps nationwide. Peacecorps has less people then Americorps but it is more recognized.   People also know about programs like United Way and the Boys and Girls Clubs which help the community in different ways. There needs to be a focus on giving back and trying to encourage service work at an early age and teach the differences between charity, volunteering and national service programs.  That way people know how there are so many ways to really give back.

It’s a dual edge sword to talk about Americorps and their umbrella of organizations. They can only help so many people. So by using the word of mouth allows a need to be met in some places without rejecting huge portions of people needing their services.  It’s something the Pittsburgh KEYS program is faced with.

So if the next president puts a focus on national service, they need to make sure that they really expand the numbers of Americorps and Peacecorps . You can reach so many more people when there are more open positions. It’s not like there aren’t people who want to be involved in national service, it’s just not big enough to handle everyone.

Plus if you want to expand national service, it’s more than just creating more positions. It’s means also means expanding the budget given to national service programs.  Each program can only match so much money. It would be ideal if the money matching was 50/50 but that’s not always the case and it could mean turning away programs after a few years because they aren’t sustainable money wise. Not because there isn’t a need for the programs or people to staff them.

The next president really needs to put more focus on doing national service. Plus the next president would have to expand the budget and the numbers of people in national service.

Book list for driving community change

06/18/2008 02:42:23 PM EST by zach in Action Network Forum

I subscribe to the list serv for Rich Harwood's "Redeeming Hope Blog."  It's one of the more insightful and thoughtful blogs that I've come across.