Author: An TranVu
-
Above The Clouds On Mt. Unorthodox by Gabe Alderson
The handwritten caption read “MLK Read for Peace 2020”, describing a photo featuring then governor of Montana Steve Bullock, shaking hands and meeting with an AmeriCorps MTCC service member who was running him through the plan for that event. It was displayed on my 2nd floor cubicle wall at the Department of Labor and Industry in…
-
You Get What You Expect by Jamie Miller
I loved college. Growing up: my mother didn’t send me to bed with fairy tales. Instead she sang me to sleep with the enchanting, alluring stories of “the college days”. I understand many hear the phrase “college days” and a hundred different visuals of partying gone astray enters their mind. But that isn’t how my mother sold…
-
So Much Love by Emma Burke
Hi everyone! My name is Emma and I am from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. That’s only 2 and half hours away from Missoula, but surprisingly I had spent very little time in Montana before I made the move. Before I started my service with AmeriCorps, I was a tad bit farther away than Idaho. I was…
-
Becoming The Fertile Grounds To Sow Seeds Of Service by Natalia Boise
My path to serving with AmeriCorps wasn’t a straight one- nor has it been one I would have expected. Last year this time I was offered a position serving in North Macedonia with the Peace Corps. I don’t think I could have known what the year would hold; I certainly didn’t expect a pandemic, or…
-
Waking Up To Serve by Mary Sullivan
It’s 8:00. Time to wake up. Since last March, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged many lives in many ways around the world and here in Montana. As I write this, the most updated numbers are reporting that 75 of my fellow Missoulians have died. 1,152 Montanans, including 64 residents in my hometown of Butte, have…
-
The Power Of Hours Adding Up by Jamie Miller
Time’s linear pattern as a force always moving forward feels like it may be the last concept we can depend upon as a consistent reality of life. All other contributing theories that keep the earth spinning have cracked and disintegrated thanks to our new friend Covid-19. Our perspective of equality has been challenged, our economic…
-
Total Eclipse Of The Plant by Andrea Aviles
One morning I woke up and glanced over to my window. To my surprise, I noticed how my favorite plant, my golden photos, was dying. An upset feeling washed over me. How was this possible if yesterday she was perfectly normal? I watered her regularly, sang to her, and made sure she received any available…
-
East To West by Sabrina Morin
After being pulled out of service in the Peace Corps Philippines with such short notice due to covid -19. I somehow, and somewhere between the months of quarantine decided it seemed right to finish another year of service. Initially I sought out to do two years with the Peace Corps. However, due to the pandemic…
-
Journey To Becoming An Antiracist by Jerico Cummings
My final year of high school I had to take a senior level government class to meet the social studies requirement per the Rapid City Area Schools district policies. I remember being in a classroom taught by the head football coach at the time.His classroom was in the freshman wing, on the ground floor, which meant…
-
Episodes Of The Heart In Butte, MT by Sierra Hancock
I never thought that my service year in Butte, MT would turn out the way it has so far. When I arrived in Butte, it was a super lovely day with breathtaking views and not a cloud in sight. Months later, the weather is below freezing most days, snow/ice on the ground, but the sun…
-
Not So Lonely by Cas Kendley
How much do you think Google searches for the topic “loneliness” have gone up in the U.S. since COVID hit? The person I was a year ago would have chuckled darkly, said “a lot,” and left it at that. But I’ve learned there’s more answers out there than you’d think since then, and so I…
-
Community Assessment | MTCC Community Building Institute
For the first of our Fall 2020 CBI sessions, Dr. Laurie Walker discusses approaches to evaluating community needs.
-
Stakeholder Involvement | MTCC Community Building Institute
In the second session of Fall 2020 CBI, Dr. Andrea Vernon discusses practices for involving stakeholders in community projects.
-
Strategic Planning | MTCC Community Building Institute
In the fifth session of Fall 2020 CBI, Dr. Deb Kottel discusses creating a strategic plan and organizational mission.
-
Advisory Groups | MTCC Community Building Institute
In the third session of Fall 2020 CBI, Sam Garetson from GEAR UP Montana discusses the considerations that should go into forming advisory groups for community focused projects.
-
Marketing for Nonprofits | MTCC Community Building Institute
In the fourth session of Fall 2020 CBI, McKenna Cramer from the Pintler Group shares insights for nonprofit marketing and social media strategies.
-
Service In Quarantine by Julian Costantini
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson 6 months ago I wouldn’t imagine that I’d be moving to the Flathead Indian Reservation in the beautiful state of Montana and living there for a year. In the last year, I haven’t lived…
-
My Transition Between Two Service Years By Laurie Berg
About 6 months into my first year of national service, COVID-19 became a large issue in my community and organization. It affected our everyday work, bringing us to work from home, open a community fund for relief efforts, and view the current child care crisis from a new lens. A lot was on my plate…
-
Leaning Into Uncertainty With Grace by Cony Craighead
Ever since I was a small child, I was enraptured by the idea of service to one’s country, even if for just a year. I think something of great importance is transferred when offering yourself, your skills and your abilities, to the larger community. It can help develop the social connective tissues that allow us…
-
Evaluation | MTCC Community Building Institute
In the final session of Fall 2020 CBI, Kate Chapin, the Program Evaluator for the University of Montana School of Social Work, discusses how we can better incorporate evaluation across the lifetime of a community project.
