VISTA IST 2010

Please mark your calendars for the annual VISTA Individual Service Training (IST) Conference! The Conference will be held at the Provo Marriott on January 27-29, 2010. All VISTAs in Utah are expected to attend, and if you cannot, please let Carrie know ASAP. We are very excited for this skill-based training, and the theme is "Tools for Sustainability." Topics include: sustainability, stakeholders, social media, PR, evaluating your project, and more.

Please make sure you register for the conference online by this Friday by click on the following link:
VISTA IST Registration


All food and lodging will be paid for, and gas mileage round-trip will also be reimbursed. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let Carrie know. Get excited for this helpful and fun training!

November in the South Franklin Community Center

Every month the Community Center keeps on growing! More and more people are getting involved in their own community. Last week, there was the first of a series of Neighborhood Leadership Meetings. These meetings are the result of a collaboration between VISTAs and DCFS workers/University of Utah Social Work grad students. The meeting went well, with neighbors discussing what they liked about their community, and what they thought could improve. The second neighborhood meeting will be on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm at the South Franklin Community Center (750 S. 650 W.)

Be sure to check out the community center blog (sfccboulders.blogspot.com) and Facebook Fan Page (South Franklin Community Center) for the November calendar of events as well as for updates on the Thanksgiving activity!

VISTA Project Pipeline

Every month Brian, our benevolent VISTA leader, compiles a newsletter full of tips, ideas and suggestions to help us in our jobs as VISTAs. I thought it would be fun to include parts of the newsletter in our blog.


Retain the One-time Volunteer

Many people this time of year are looking for the “episodic” or “one-time” volunteer experience, however even though this might be the initial desire of the volunteer, consider the following to help your project retain these volunteers:

Be a great place to volunteer, be prepared and make volunteers feel welcome.

Train sufficiently, set expectations and give them a purpose.

Recognize your volunteers!

Carefully screen and match volunteers to organizational tasks.

Be careful in how you supervise and communicate with volunteers, don’t make them feel like they are at their job.

Provide a culture that is welcoming to volunteers and allocate sufficient resources to support them.

Adopt practices that are directly concerned with satisfying volunteers to help you increase your rate of retention.

Brianstorm Opportunities

Brainstorm ideas of new volunteer opportunities. Many organizations get overwhelmed with volunteers, making any available opportunity a hot commodity. Be creative and get ideas from all members of your organization.

Plan Ahead

Think big and think ahead. The holidays are the perfect time of year to try and fill your wish list. Whether you need more volunteers, an in-kind donation or monetary contributions, by planning ahead and making the ask you have a perfect opportunity to tap into the resources in your community.

Get the Word Out

Make sure your volunteer opportunities accessible! Get the word out about how volunteers can help your organization this holiday
season. Use your local volunteer center or the state wide online services to help connect you to volunteers.

Look forward to next month's newsletter as well! Thanks Brian!

Family Volunteer Day

Each year VISTAs are encouraged to participate in several national service days. Family Volunteer Day is a great way to for us VISTAs to get involved in the community that we serve.

This November, Utah County will be among hundreds of communities nationwide participating in Family Volunteer Day. Locally, Family Volunteer Day is hosted by United Way of Utah County and gives families the opportunity to participate in improving their neighborhoods and communities.

“Family Volunteer Day is a chance for families to get together and experience meaningful service,” said Raquel Lopez, youth volunteer outreach AmeriCorps*VISTA with United Way of Utah County. “This is a good opportunity for parents to teach their children the value of service.”

On Saturday, November 21, teams of family volunteers will gather for a pancake breakfast and will then split up to serve in various locations. Projects include helping with home construction for families in need, making and setting up holiday decorations for elderly and disabled community members, cleaning at a special needs day care center and putting together charitable care packages for the children of disabled persons.

“It is neat to see families wanting to teach their children to appreciate what they have,” Lopez said. “It can be hard to find service projects for a whole family, and this creates a day for them to serve together.”

Last year, more than 130 volunteers donated their time to five projects including making stockings for low-income children and putting up holiday decorations at local nursing homes.

“Often volunteer opportunities aren’t designed for families or younger children,” said Brian Wayment, AmeriCorps*VISTA leader with United Way of Utah County. “Typically it is hard to include the whole family. We try to have family-friendly activities that include everyone.”

Projects are geared toward volunteers of all ages and skills to include every family member. Volunteers are assigned to projects depending on their interests and capabilities. Families of all sizes with children of any ages are encouraged to attend. Church and community groups are also welcome to participate in the day’s activities.

“It gives families the opportunity to learn something together,” Wayment said. “Children who learn to serve at a young age are more likely to be involved in their community in one way or another.”

Family Volunteer Day starts with a complimentary pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at Community Action Services and Food Bank (815 S. Freedom Blvd., Provo). Service projects will be from 9:30– 11:30 at various sites from Payson to Orem. Interested families should sign up at www.unitedwayuc.org or call Raquel Lopez at 801-691-5330.