Do you have great Learn and Serve stories that you’d like to share? Send them to the Corporation for National and Community Serve and you could be featured on Serve.gov! Send your stories to: Lori Bodine, GA Learn and Serve Coordinator, lori.bodine@dca.ga.gov and to Brendan Bailes, Communications Specialist, Learn and Serve America, CNCS, bbailes@cns.gov *** Learn and Serve Application grant information released. Please click here to view. ***
MLK Day is January 17, 2011-Be a Part of the Moment! Make it a day ON , not a day off! It's time to plan projects for MLK Day 2011! Looking for volunteer opportunities? Need to post a project? http://www.serve.gov More resources can be found at www.mlkday.gov
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Georgia
By Rochelle Barry, Director of Georgia's State Office of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and John Turner , Executive Director of the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Since Martin Luther King first issued that call to service, Americans have sought to find new and inventive ways to build upon our country's long history of service to others - the spirit which Dr. King exemplified. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the law which made the third Monday in January a national holiday to honor King's birthday. Three years later, that same day was designated as a national day of service by Congress, making January 17, 2011 the 25 th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The idea is simple: let's make it a day ON, not a day off!
This year, The Corporation for National and Community Service and the Georgia Commission for Service and Vo luntee rism are encouraging nonprofits all over Georgia to coordinate and host projects to not only honor the legacy of Dr. King, but to bring attention to-and help meet-the real needs affecting so many Georgians.
We are reaching out to all Georgians and asking you to help your fellow neighbors, and those in need by participating in one of the biggest national Days of Service. Let's make sure Georgia shines by having a huge outpouring of support and volunteer efforts!
Dr. King's teachings can continue to guide us in addressing our nation's most pressing social needs today. Each of us can contribute to strengthening our own communities by serving in Dr. King's honor on MLK Day and throughout the year. In addition, by making service part of our daily lives, we can help realize his dream and support our nation's renewal and recovery.
Projects are happening all over the state, ranging from food, clothing, and paper product drives, to cookie baking, tax preparation, flood recovery, winterizing projects, basic household tasks, and mentoring opportunities. The possibilities, as well as the opportunity to help out, are endless. The best part is that doing your part is easy just visit http://www.serve.gov, click on the search icon, and you're ready to find a way to get involved that you will thoroughly enjoy.
Thank you for helping meet the needs of our fellow Georgians. Together, we will "Make it a Day ON, not a Day OFF!"
Rochelle Barry John Turner Director Executive Director Georgia Office, Corporation for Georgia Commission for National and Community Service Service andVolunteerism Service Learning Training and Mini-Grants of $350 - $700 for K-12 Teachers Georgia 4-H is pleased to announce the following opportunity for K-12 teachers in Georgia . Service
Learning Training and Mini-Grants of $350 - $700 for K-12 Teachers.
In order to receive funds, participants must: · Attend one of the trainings listed below. · Develop, and receive approval for their Service Learning Implementation Plan. · Submit receipts for reimbursable expenses. · Submit follow up reports to Georgia 4-H.
Teachers
may receive a PLU if they participate in follow up conference calls.
January
14, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm,
Rock Eagle 4-H Center , Eatonton, GA
To learn more, or to register for one of the three mini-grant training sessions, click here for complete details: www.georiga4h.org/servicelearning/ The University of Georgia , College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension and Georgia 4-H are administering these mini-grants as part of Learn and Serve Georgia.
Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism GCSV Wins the "Team of the Year" Award!!
From the desk of Executive Director, John Turner: The staff of the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism was the winner of the annual "Team of the Year" award for state agencies presented yesterday at the Georgia World Congress Center . The award recognized GCSV's work during the first six months of this year to take over the Learn and Serve program in Georgia and also start a statewide VISTA project sponsored by our commission. I was honored to accept the award on behalf of the GCSV team from Gov. Sonny Perdue and Chief Operating Officer, Trey Childress.
The GCSV staff was one of ten finalists in the Team Excellence category of Team Georgia 's Fourth Annual Governor's Customer Service Awards. Agencies such as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Revenue, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Veterans Services, and many others were included in the category. The award presenters stated that every one of the finalists deserved to win and so to be chosen as the "Team of the Year" is an outstanding accomplishment and a testament to the importance of what we do.
This award truly represents a team effort in every sense and we were honored by the support we received from Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Mike Beatty and the DCA leadership. Special thanks go out to Ruben Burney, Candice Gunn, Zaneta Ivery, and former GCSV team member, Kate Webb, for their dedication to our mission, their hard work and their long hours this past year. We are also grateful to have been joined this summer by new staff members Kiana Sullivan, training and communications, Ryan Coskrey , disability, Lori Bodine , Learn & Serve, Jamora Jackson , finance, Amieko Watson , AmeriCorps, and also Bonnie Roberts , VISTA Team Leader. They have already shown the same dedication and commitment to high standards and they are wonderful to work with. Together this team is now ready to do even greater things for Georgia!
The GCSV team was recognized for its work in creating a new Learn & Serve America K-12 program for Georgia that resulted in $525,000 in grants to 12 schools and other organizations. The award also recognized GCSV's work to create a statewide VISTA project in partnership with Georgia 's Regional Commissions to promote volunteerism and fight poverty.
Please join me in congratulating the GCSV staff for this honor!
John
Photo by Alana Joyner, Office of the Governor For the full press release, click here. Service Learning for Students with Disabilities A promising practice that supports students with disabilities and maximizes the positive impact of service learning is incorporating service learning into a student’s Individualized Educational Program (IEP). An IEP is a document for children with disabilities that describes the educational program that has been designed to meet the child’s unique needs. An IEP includes current performance, educational goals, services and accommodations, and transition plans. Service Learning can be included as a part of or extension of the educational goals included on a student’s IEP. A team of people including the student, teachers, parents, school administrators, and other professionals develop the IEP. The benefits of integrating service learning into an IEP can include: - allowing students to explore their interests - providing students opportunities to develop work knowledge and skills - working with peers with and without disabilities and individuals from the community allows students to increase important social skills and can provide an opportunity for students with disabilities to be seen as valued team members and service providers. When designing service learning programs, teachers, tutors and service members can aim to use the concept of universal design. Universal design methodologies can help to create a learning environment that is accessible to everyone and emphasizes the participation and strengths of all students involved to serve their communities and hold leadership roles. When service members, volunteers and professionals engage students with disabilities in service learning the communities and individuals involved have an opportunity to see a young person with a disability as a productive, engaged citizen and a change in attitude toward people with disabilities becomes more likely to occur. For more information on Individualized Education Programs visit http://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html For more information on Service Learning see http://www.learnandserve.gov/Default.asp www.serviceandinclusion.org/conf/InclusiveServiceLearning_O.ppt For more information on including Service Learning in IEPs see Teleconference on Service Learning and Individualized Education Plans (IEP) http://www.serviceandinclusion.org/conf/ServiceLearning082003.doc http://www.serviceandinclusion.org/conf/SERVIC~1.PDF As always, if you have any questions on this subject or any other subject related to service and inclusion please feel free to contact the National Service Inclusion Project. Yours in service, Erin Gannon Training Associate National Service Inclusion Project Grant to help Valdosta High students prep for disasterThe Valdosta Daily Times VALDOSTA — Valdosta High School received a $25,000 grant from Georgia Learn and Serve for the implementation of a student-driven crisis-response program. Cross Keys Granted 25K to Help Kids - Brookhaven ReporterBy Jody Steinberg
Cross Keys High School has been awarded a Learn and Serve America $25,000 grant for two innovative programs designed to connect students and curriculum to the Hispanic community to improve health, reduce childhood obesity and train adults in on-job skills. “I’am a big advocate of Learn and Serve, because I have seen academic achievement increase. I have seen students’ attitude towards school improve, and I have seen students want to go to school and want to be a part of school because they’re taking ownership in their own learning,” says Glenda Bonds, who submitted the grant application for Cross Keys. Service learning is when students take academic lessons and apply them to real-world situations outside the classroom in ways that improve their communities, explains Joe Turner, director of the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism. GCSV administers the K-12 grant program, which originates from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Twelve grants totaling $538,000 were awarded this year in Georgia, says Turner, some of which will be redistributed in smaller amounts by the grantees. Bonds coordinates work-based learning, apprenticeships, Skills USA and other career technology programs for Cross Keys and will help develop and manage the projects under the grant. She has handled similar smaller grants before at DeKalb’s High School Technology-North, where she was based until it merged with Cross Keys last year. Cross Keys students from career tech, health and science classes will design and teach job skills, including resume writing, as well as health and nutrition, including meal planning, to adults at the Latin-American Association. They will also teach nutrition and gardening and discuss food choices with fifth-graders at Woodward Elementary, addressing childhood obesity through positive role modeling. “The goal is to retrain the parents and educate the children,” says Bonds. Many of the students will be Hispanic and will provide services to their own community by working through the Latin-American Association. Grant funds can be used to bring in specialists who help students translate their goals into civic action and for resources such as nutrition charts, gardening equipment, presentation and office supplies, transportation and other materials not provided through the standard curriculum. “Service learning has to be tied back to one of the academic components that they are studying,” explains GCSV Learn and Serve Coordinator Lori Bodine. Components of each project must align with specific Georgia Performance Standards – the academic objectives specified by the state department of education. The goal is that students will take material learned in the classroom and use it to identify and serve needs in the community, and that hands-on experience will teach real-world skills and reinforce the academic curriculum. When students use what they learn in the classroom to serve their own community, everyone benefits, says Bonds. While teachers instruct from the curriculum, students must take that information and translate it into effective presentations. “Students decide what they are going to present and how to present it,” says Bonds. “They must take charge of what they are doing. Service learning increases literacy skills and motivates students. We see achievement grow and leadership develop.”
Quarterly Report on Service and VolunteerismThe Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism reported volunteer numbers for the first quarter of 2010 that show AmeriCorps members in Georgia recruited 5,981 volunteers and together the members and volunteers served 30,015 people. AmeriCorps members in the 21 AmeriCorps programs funded by the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism served 95,559 hours between Jan. 1 and March 31. The volunteers they recruited served 14,623 hours. Notice of Funding Opportunity for 2010 Learn and Serve America School-Based K-12 Grants Georgia Commission For Service and Volunteerism
For Immediate Release Monday, April 19, 2010 The Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism (GCSV) announces the availability of approximately $525,000 in Learn and Serve Georgia funds to support school-based service learning programs for the 2010 school year.
The Learn and Serve Georgia K-12 grants, which will be awarded on a competitive basis, will fund programs and projects that use a service learning method to help students learn academic subjects and skills by planning and participating in service activities that directly benefit local communities.
"Our vision is for Georgia students to look beyond their classrooms for the kind of learning that connects them to their communities," said GCSV Executive Director John Turner Monday in announcing the grants.
"We
want these Learn and Serve grants to be used wisely to involve students
in helping to solve important real-world problems through service.
Our goal is not just more civic engagement and higher graduation
rates in our schools," Turner said. "We want students
equipped with knowledge that will take them beyond a high school
diploma and on to a lifetime of learning."
The Learn and Serve Georgia grant competition was transferred from the Georgia Department of Education to GCSV in February, 2010. The federal funds are part of the national service group of grants and programs administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
GCSV will seek Learn and Serve applications that use service learning to promote civic engagement in all grades, improve school drop out rates and serve disadvantaged youth. The grants are contingent on federal approval, which is expected in time for GCSV to offer the program for the 2010 school year.
School systems and other eligible organizations such as Regional Educational Support Administrations, colleges, charter schools, private schools and some community groups will be able to apply for the Learn and Serve Georgia K-12 grants this spring. Applications will be submitted to GCSV and Learn and Serve grant awards will be made in June.
Application guidelines, instructions and deadlines for the Learn and Serve Georgia K-12 grants are available at www.AmeriCorpsGA.org/news.html [see links below]. GCSV staff members are available to answer questions or to discuss rules and requirements of the grants. GCSV will conduct a technical assistance call for anyone interested in applying for the grants on April 29. Information about the conference call, as well as general information about the Learn and Serve grants, is available with the application instructions found on the GCSV web site.
For more information about the Learn and Serve Georgia K-12 grant, contact Lori Bodine at 404-679-4997. About Learn and Serve. Learn and Serve America has its roots in Serve America, a program created under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to distribute grants in support of service-learning in order to simultaneously enrich the education of young people, demonstrate the value of youth as assets to their communities, and stimulate service-learning as a strategy to meet unmet community needs. Learn and Serve America provides direct and indirect support to K-12 schools, community groups and higher education institutions to facilitate service-learning projects by: Providing grant support for school-community partnerships and higher education institutions; providing training and technical assistance resources to teachers, administrators, parents, schools and community groups; and collecting and disseminating research, effective practices, curricula, and program models. Learn and Serve America is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency created to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation. About AmeriCorps. In 1993, the National and Community Service Trust Act created AmeriCorps as a partnership between the federal government and state commissions to meet educational, environmental, public safety and health care needs, to reward service with expanded educational opportunity and to build the ethic of citizenship among participants and the people they serve. Each year, more than 65,000 AmeriCorps members serve with hundreds of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based organizations nationwide - from small community groups to nationally-known organizations. For more information on AmeriCorps in Georgia visit www.americorpsga.org. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) was created in 1977 to serve as an advocate for local governments. As outlined in its mission statement, DCA seeks opportunities that support "partnering with communities to help create a climate of success for Georgia's families and businesses." DCA operates a host of state and federal grant programs; serves as the state's lead agency in housing finance and development; promulgates building codes to be adopted by local governments; provides comprehensive planning, technical and research assistance to local governments; and serves as the lead agency for the state's solid waste reduction efforts. For more information about DCA, please visit www.dca.ga.gov. #### Information on the new round of competition, such as deadlines and submission requirements, is posted below. Please Download each document in this section prior to submitting an application.
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Photo
by Alana Joyner, Office of the Governor 
Commission for Service Director John Turner.
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