Find the Money!

An editorial in today's New York Times urges Congress to find the money to fully finance the Serve America Act, passed earlier this year by Congress and signed by President Obama. I would be disappointed if Congress didn't deliver on its financial promises to expand national service programs such as AmeriCorps, but I would not be surprised. Let's hope that responsible leaders such as Iowa Senator Tom Harkin "stand firm" to deliver the expansion of service opportunities put forth in this important legislation.

Heartbreaking

As Brian Laurent mentioned earlier this year, Barbara Ehrenreich wrotes often about poverty. In her most recent article, Ehrenreich chronicles the daily life of Kristen and Joe Parente, a Delaware couple with three children struggling to get by on a daily basis. The story is awful and heartbreaking, but it is real. Poverty is paralyzing and difficult to deal with, physically and emotionally.

AmeriCorps VISTAs serve to eliminate poverty. We have to work harder, because I don't want to read more stories like this.

I'm sorry for the bummer post. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Not At All Disappointing

Check out this article from baseball writer Jerry Crasnick explaining why Orioles fans have reason for optimism.

Go O's!!

Disappointing, But Not Surprising

This article discusses the recent increase in family homelessness in the United States.

Vietnam anyone?

According to a brief blurb in this morning's Argus Leader, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sioux Falls is asking for two volunteers to represent the community during the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2009 Mekong Build in November. Sounds like a great opportunity!

Or, if you're looking to volunteer for Habitat with a cultural twist but remain close to home, come on out to Mission. We'd love to have you. (Yes, I'm shameless...)

How to Sell Helping Others

Good Morning! In today's issue of The New York Times, columnist Nicholas Kristof writes an article about humanitarian aid and how humans choose to help other humans, or choose not to help. At the beginning, Kristof talks about the humanitarian aid meetings at the G-8 Summit in Italy for world leaders. But near the end of the article, he says several things useful to us as VISTAs.

"As some research suggests," writes Kristof, "people give in large part to feel good inside. That works best when you write a check and the problem is solved. If instead you're reminded of larger problems that you can never solve, the feel-good rewards diminish." Near the end he asks, "I also wonder if our unremitting focus on suffering and unmet needs stirs up a cloud of negative feelings that incline people to avert their eyes and hurry by."

So, how are these thoughts relevant to what we do as VISTAs? Well, part of "indirect service" includes enticing people to contribute to the organizations we work with in some capacity, whether through donating their time or their money. To convince these people to donate, we have to effectively market our services to them, so they don't feel as if they are wasting their time and/or money. This means selling the problems in our communities, and Kristof argues that individualizing "suffering and unmet needs" makes volunteers and donors feel like their contributions will actually help someone this moment, rather than attempting to solve a massive problem in which their contributions will barely make a dent.

Honestly, I'm hesitant to "sell poverty," partly because I feel like I'm using and manipulating other's lives without their consent so my organization benefits financially. I'm still not entirely comfortable with that. But, learning effective marketing strategies to help others can be part of a valuable VISTA service year, and Kristof's article gives us ideas to reconsider as we work to "build capacity."

I hope everyone has a great day!

What Is a Master’s Degree Worth?

For those of us considering the pursuit of a graduate degree after VISTA, this article in the New York Times and the accompanying comments were fascinating.