Care Force Chronicle – MLK Jr. Day of Service with City Year Milwaukee

On Wednesday, January, 11^th, Ed Savoth, Grace Boal, Ashley Hackett, and I departed Logan airport in Boston, MA to assist City Year Milwaukee (CY MKE) prepare for their MLK Jr. Day of service.  Arriving around 7 p.m. we grabbed dinner and went to the apartments we would be rooming in for the next few days, generously provided by Senior Corps and staff of City Year Milwaukee. I had the opportunity to stay with four CY MKE alumni, three of which currently serve as Senior Corps Members with CY MKE.

In the morning we began our day at the CY MKE headquarters, where we were introduced to Luke Fickbohm, the Civic Engagement Project Leader, and Kara Navin, the External Affairs and Communications Associate for CY MKE. After a briefing by Luke on the event details, he led us in prep. We sorted tools and materials needed for each one of the 24 different projects to be completed on MLK Day. After lunch we took the materials to Alexander Hamilton High School, and had a walk-through of the project. That evening we began preparatory work, which included cutting wood, sketching murals, and ensuring all projects the supplies needed in order to be successful.

Friday morning we started at Hamilton, along with over 60 City Year Milwaukee Corps Members and staff, to complete remaining prep work. After prep, we went with the CY MKE “village” (Staff and Senior Corps) to McBob’s, a restaurant in the North side of Milwaukee.  McBob’s has a fish fry every Tuesday and Friday night, and is a Care Force & CY MKE ‘tradition’ to go there, as this is the third year Care Force went to Milwaukee to assist with the MLK Day Service event.

On Saturday we began later in the morning, giving everyone some time to catch up with sleep lost over the first few days. Starting out at the school we were able to complete the prep work. Sunday we were fortunate to have the day off, but still united as a team for brunch with the Milwaukee Senior Corps Members. After visiting with them, we took a trip with Luke to Oriental Landmark Lanes, a bowling alley on the Upper East Side of Milwaukee built in 1927. We enjoyed a few games of bowling and then headed to ‘Replay’d’, a restaurant nearby, to eat dinner and watch the Patriots game.

Monday, January 16^th was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and our service event in remembrance of his legacy. Well over 300 volunteers attended from a variety of organizations, companies, and universities. After opening program, City Year Milwaukee’s project coordinators lead volunteers into service. The volunteers painted over 100 murals, built benches and a school sign for the main entrance, painted garbage cans the school colors to raise school spirit made the day a huge success.

I enjoyed this trip because of the differences from a typical Care Force trip, and the opportunity to participate in another site-based event. Sharing a place with fellow senior corps in their city was a unique experience and I appreciated learning about the perspectives of Milwaukee from people who are actively involved in the city. Observing volunteers come from across the state to serve on MLK Jr. Day inspired me and made me proud to be a part of it.

Peter Christophersen
Senior Corps Member
Team Care Force

Make a Difference Day: Saturday, October 22nd!

Service With a Smile: Coping With the End of My City Year

By Heather Noble

          I have been clear with my students that this is City Year, that each team of corps members serves for a year and that a different group of people will be filling the red jackets next year. It will not come as a shock to them when I say good-bye at the end of the year, however I am not sure how well I will be able cope with the finality of this painful farewell. Of course I can file away the cherished memories of my students in my mind and paste the tattered the notes that they have written me in my scrapbook, but whether I like it or not, (and I most certainly don’t), I will never see most of my students again after June 13^th. 

          That I will not see my students again after that fateful day is a fact that hits me with an involuntary pang of dread. It is incredibly sad to think that, most likely, our paths will never have the opportunity to cross again. I have drafted encouraging farewell letters which I will give to them, but saying good-bye to my kids is more than what it seems to be. It signifies my departure from the lives of my students, but also my eventual departure from the Beloved Community of the Milwaukee Founding Corps, the terminus of a transformative, inspiring experience. I must, within the next two weeks, continue coming to terms with leaving my students, and in a much larger, existential way, find a cathartic and meaningful way to conclude a year of service that has fundamentally altered how I see myself and the world around me.

          It has helped me to be more at ease to know that my team is committed to finishing the year strong. Yesterday, my team and I held a small-scale service day at our school, and about twenty students came after school to cover up graffiti by painting panels on the first floor of the building. The project itself was nothing extraordinary, but the experience was. We actively demonstrated the power of physical service with the students and left a tangible reminder of its transformative capacity. For many of the students, this was the first opportunity they had to learn about and participate in community service.

          Seeing our students at the service event last night, I was finally able to fully appreciate profoundly powerful service that the Milwaukee Founding Corps has done this year and take solace in the inestimable good that we have done. As a corps member, I have accomplished more than I could have imagined for the benefit of the community, and the experience has paid me back in kind. I suppose I can never really be ready to say a good-bye those I care about, but I will leave end my City Year knowing that I have been the change I wish to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Side Service Day at Mitchell School

The students and staff at Alexander Mitchell Integrated Arts School are getting excited for the upcoming South Side Service Day scheduled to take place on April 30, 2011. City Year will be leading a group of volunteers in a day of service to clean up and beautify Mitchell School. Some of the projects include painting indoor and outdoor murals, spreading mulch, and painting lines on the playgrounds.

The students have been especially overjoyed with the prospect of newly painted lines for basketball, four square, and kickball. “I want you to come paint my school because we got the best teachers and City Year people,” one student said about the service day. “Also, we have good games on the playground and if we got fresh paint on the ground we could play basketball, football, four square, and kickball. Everyone will respect you and they will show you love. Mitchell’s one of the most fun schools to be in.”

Blacktop, before the transformation

Service days such as this unite communities around a single cause and bring about a feeling of true accomplishment for everyone involved. If you are interested in learning more about our day of service or if you would like to serve with us at Mitchell, then please send a message to us at volunteermilwaukee@cityyear.org. City Year Milwaukee and the Mitchell School community look forward to seeing you there.

Serving on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

      

   

The Martin Luther King Jr. service day, hosted by City Year Milwaukee, took place on Monday, January 17, 2011 at South Division High School. Over 150 volunteers teamed up with the 60-member Milwaukee corps to help beautify the environment at South Division. Murals, canvas paintings, and inspirational quotes were painted on walls across the school.

Volunteers came from many different organizations. There were students from Marquette University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Frito Lay & Starbucks employees, and members of different Greek organizations, including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. It was truly the venue for painters, idealists, dreamers, and activists to unite under the umbrella of service and give back to the community.

And that’s really all MLK day is about; people crossing the invisible lines of segregation; coming together as one to make a tangible difference for humanity. One corps member, Anthony Staton, was in agreement. “It is a joy to see that what Dr. King was fighting for is happening by diverse people celebrating his legacy through service,” he stated.

As a civil rights activist, Dr. King’s main wish was for people of all races and colors to be treated equally. In his I Have a Dream speech, he said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The reality of that dream was recognized yesterday more than ever as people from all different walks of life came together to make a difference in the lives of others.

One of the volunteers from Marquette University said he feels an obligation to service and his community. “He [MLK, Jr.] did so much for us, and made the ultimate sacrifice for the goodwill of others. That is true altruism. I feel compelled to show my appreciation through service.” With City Year’s annual MLK service day, students like that and others are able to give back and push for a better world for all of us. Dr. King planted a tree under whose shade he never planned to sit. Today, we are all sitting under that shade, working on planting more trees for future generations to come.

          Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is in your name and legacy that we serve, hoping to make a profound impact on the people and communities we live.

    

  

Thanksgiving Service

City Year Milwaukee helped the Salvation Army prepare for the holidays last Friday with a powerful day of service readying donations for distribution.

The Corps split into two groups with a common cause. One group sorted through various items of food, while the other sorted through cosmetics, clothes and jewelry. Both groups brought the positive energy and excitement of a morning Unity Rally to an afternoon of service.

 

Last Friday’s service was inspirational,” Jeni Foshey, City Year Milwaukee Operations Manager, said. “Not only were we able to support an amazing cause, but the Corps approached it with such great energy. There were points when the service looked like it was a choreographed show -boxes flying, people smiling, and everyone working together to get the job done.”

The aforementioned Salvation Army location is at 6000 W Silver Spring Drive in Milwaukee. Prospective volunteers can contact Joy Alexander at 414-302-4300 ext 2163

 

 

 

Service with Sam’s Hope!

With Barb from Sam's Hope!

On November 19^th, 2009, City Year Milwaukee partnered with Sam’s Hope Literacy Foundation and the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team to help give over a thousand children their very own brand new book! Students from all over Milwaukee came to the Milwaukee Art Museum to celebrate art, reading, and their favorite team, the Bucks! Upon arrival at the museum, the students took a guided tour of the museum with staff and Bucks mascot, Bango. Then, they broke into smaller groups throughout the museum gallery spaces and read with the players and coaches.  After the small group reading sessions, everyone congregated in the main lobby where the team was announced and the students all got the opportunity to take a pledge in several different languages, as taught by Bucks players. The pledge was to “Read Every Day!”

City Year played a “behind the scenes” role for this event. Two days prior, Corps Members and staff in Milwaukee stood before thousands of books that needed to be sorted by quality, reading level, and school. After much team work, singing, laughing, and 7 hours, the books were all sorted and ready to be given to the students in Milwaukee! All that was left to do was watch the joy and excitement on the faces of the children.

Corps Members with Dan Gadzuric of the Bucks!

"Good luck next year!" - Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks

A Service Excursion by Jason Beinemann

Jason serving with Care Force

Hi, my name is Jason Beinemann. I am a Senior Corps Member on the City Year Milwaukee Start-Up Team. A few weeks ago, I was given an amazing opportunity to step out of the City Year Milwaukee offices and get my hands dirty with some good old physical service down in Charleston, South Carolina. I was an honorary member of Care Force. Care Force is a division of City Year, Inc., that engages our corporate partners and their employees in high-impact community service events. They travel across the country and put on large scale service events to improve youth and family-focused educational, recreational and residential facilities.  During this particular week, we were prepping for a service day for one of our corporate sponsors, CSX. This service day involved revitalizing a park by installing a frisbee golf course, new plants and benches, as well as painting murals and picking up the trash around the park grounds. It was a very challenging and enjoyable week of service. I will take a lot from that experience and bring it to Milwaukee, where our service events will be transformative, inspirational, and sustainable!

Jason moving cement mixer



National Make a Difference Day!

Saturday October 24th was a big day for City Year Milwaukee! It finally happened, we had our first ever service day, and it came on National Make a Difference Day. We spent several weeks planning and preparing for this event, and what an event it turned out to be! We partnered with Fernwood Montessori School to build a large stone labyrinth which completed the service learning unit for the kindergarten class. We had volunteers come out from all over the Milwaukee area. Faculty from the school and City Year Alumni were on hand to serve during the day as well.

Together, we transformed an unusable and muddy area of the students’ playground into an area of reflection. The students will be able to walk through the maze and deliberately take time to think about their day and dream about their future. The volunteers met at the school for the opening ceremony where City Year Corps Members led a powerful and energetic program.      The principal of the school, Mr. Sanchez, said a few words to the crowd and one of the teachers gave a brief overview on how the project came to life due to the kindergarten class wanting to transform their school. For lunch, the generosity of Erbert’s & Gerbert’s Subs bestowed a might feast for all who were serving. This included soup, subs, and cookies. Overall, it was a very successful day and we can’t wait for our next project.

Written by Jason Beinemann and Liz Gaspar.