CAPn Kangaroo!

I was lead to believe the roos would not taste good since Aussies don't eat them so I went to my old friend the internet to see what I could find after a friend gave me some roo steaks. A very lean meat, I learned it's best to marinate 'roo steaks in oil-based marinades. I read that native Aussie spices of course pair well with the meat but was unable to locate Australian spices in Rapid City. So I mixed up a variety I found in my cabinets and had a delicious meal. Served this time with Fried Green Tomatoes, pickled beets (delicious!) and whole-grain, gluten-free bread. I just wish I'd brought my camera!

Marinade:
1/2 c Coffee grounds
2 T cocoa
1 T cinnamon
1/2 c honey
1 c white wine or ww vinegar
1 c olive oil
1/4 c crushed black pepper
1 T cayenne
1 T salt


I put four 'roo steaks in the marinade and added enough water to cover, put it in the fridge for two days, and then grilled the steaks to medium rare. Yum! 

The Historic Adams House

This weekend I went to see a Spirited Tour of the historic Adams House Museum in Deadwood. The Adams were one of Deadwood's founding families and their family home has been restored to its original condition. The Spirited Tour is an October special for Halloween and the tour guides act out some of the more famous legends associated with the house and the family. I don't want to spoil the surprises, but some of the legends were gruesome!
I spoke with the curator of the museum when I was making my reservation and told him I was exploring South Dakota as a VISTA member for the year. He didn't know what AmeriCorps or VISTA was but after I explained our work, VISTAs get member prices for the tour this weekend. It's a great opportunity to see a part of history here where I am serving, something I wouldn't be able to see without VISTA to bring me to SD!

Who do you ask for donations?

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_235e3e82-dd13-11df-9851-001cc4c03286.html

Cram the Closet Diaper Drive

We were able to get a Mayoral Proclamation signed in honor of our Diaper Drive and in conjunction with Make A Difference Day

Just look at all those diapers!

Debbie and the live remote staff from Rushmore Radio's Magic 93.9

Carrie's on the radio!

Carrie and Debbie kick off Cram the Closet!

Early in my VISTA service, a chaplain from the hospital came to Mommy’s Closet to request diapers for an emergency. A family with six children, three in diapers, was in a horrific auto accident. The children were fine but the parent was not, so the children would go stay with a relative. The relative, however, was financially unprepared to diaper three children. The chaplain came to Volunteers of America, Dakotas to explain the circumstance and find out what we could do for that situation. With enough diapers, we could ensure that no child would go undiapered for long. But diapers are difficult to come by, even for us. So we got to work.

Saturday, October 16, was the culmination of Mommy’s Closet’s first Diaper Drive to Cram the Closet, and it was a success. We spent time gathering community support and hanging posters to raise awareness. Rushmore Radio’s Magic 93.9 joined us at the Family Thrift grocery store on Omaha for a live remote to promote our endeavor, and KEVN created and ran a fantastic commercial. All area Walgreen’s placed their store brand diapers on sale for the week to help us Cram the Closet and advertised on their marquis. While driving on LaCrosse  Street last week, my son shouted, “Look! Mommy’s Closet is on that sign!” when we passed the Walgreen’s by WalMart and I saw Cram the Closet flash across the marquis, a great way to raise awareness but too fast for a photo!

Since Huggies is promoting their Every Little Bottom study that focuses on diaper need among low income families, Sam’s Club was able to allow us to utilize a collection bin that featured the national drive sponsored by Huggies for our local event. Mommy’s Closet has helped low and very low income families in the Rapid City area for three years, and we are working towards becoming a Diaper Bank which will allow us to accept donations from the Huggies national campaign as well as help other agencies that also provide tangible assistance throughout the area.

We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our sponsors: Simpson’s Printing, EPIC, Family Thrift Stores, KEVN and Magic 93.9 of Rushmore Radio. 

Crispix Mix!

Here's the recipe for the Crispix Mix that I brought to the retreat:

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

1 pkg. Crispix cereal

1 (10 oz.) pkg. pretzels

2 cups peanuts

1 lb. M&M's

Combine butter, brown sugar, and white syrup; microwave on high for 2 minutes then stir. Microwave 2 more minutes; add vanilla and baking soda. Pour cereal into a brown paper sack and pour caramel mixture over; microwave 1 1/2 minutes. Shake and microwave 1 1/2 minutes more and shake again; add pretzels, peanuts, and M&M's, stirring until well mixed.

(Tip: I usually wait to add the M&M's until after the mixture has dried. Otherwise, they tend to melt.)

Fantastic online seminars for volunteer management

Hi everyone,
I'm listening to a Webinar on how to engage Pro Bono and skilled volunteers, and remembered a while back telling everyone about VolunteerMatch's webinars. I just wanted to share the link to those with you. They are free to sign up for and to attend.

Click here for the list.

Good luck.
- Mike

New Opportunities with the Black Hills Workshop

Hello, all!

Getting volunteers is proving as difficult as I expected it to be. A lot of the problem, I think, is the term "volunteer." As most of us know, being a "volunteer" carries a lot of different connotations, not the least of which can be an attitude shared by coworkers that you aren't as valuable or capable as they are, just because they are getting paid.

However, I am dedicated to recruiting and equipping as many people as I can to be a part of what the Black Hills Workshop is doing in Rapid City: providing excellent services and support to people with disabilities to help them live a full, satisfying life.

In order to help me accomplish my goal, I have enlisted the aid of a wonderful little site known as VolunteerMatch.org. I have created an organization profile for BHW and have began listing various volunteer opportunities that can be viewed online. Anyone wishing to help can request information and volunteer their time directly through the site! It really is wonderful.

Check out BHW's organization profile, and all of our volunteer opportunities.

If this site can help you out, I encourage you to make a profile for your organization and begin posting your organization's opportunities. Then, find simple ways to advertise that you are on the site, otherwise people might not know to look for you, and many might not even know about the site. You could be the reason they end up using VolunteerMatch for years to come!

Good luck.
- Mike