http://www.ourhouseshelter.org/

An anonymous letter comes from a Learning Center client.

Meet two of our 47 team members in each issue.

Our House thanks two residents who also volunteer.

Six eStem students finish a four-month technology project with Our Club.

March 29th is Our House Day at 9 U.S. Pizza locations.

Shop for unique items at My Favorite Thrift Store.

Apply for one of our 20 Summer VISTA positions.

Georgia reflects on Our House’s first 25 years. Part 2 of 3: VISTA comes to Our House

Are they staff? Are they volunteers? Find out how Our House benefits from two misunderstood government service programs that shouldn’t be kept secret.

www.ourhouseshelter.org 302 E Roosevelt Rd; Little Rock, AR newsletter design & all photos by Amanda Woods, an Our House VISTA, (© Amanda Woods/Our House 2011), except pg 25 ad design by Felecia Cagle, VISTA

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by Megan Corbett, Youth Programs AmeriCorps CIA Member

EAST Students from eStem Charter School in Little Rock, who we have come to know as our tech team, have committed three months of their after-school time to our kids. Every Tuesday and Thursday in October, November, January, and February, these youth have been teaching Our Club’s youth proper photography techniques, video recording and editing, movie trailer design, and music production. These six students, Kadesha Caradine, Trevor Collins, David Jackson, Aeysia Quiller, Patrick Rodgers, & Ayanna Willis, have done much more than instructing our kids in technical skills; they have invested in each child and played to their strengths. Through their dedication to Our Club, they have become part of our family. We are always excited when tech team comes!

Left: Our Club works on a project with eStem volunteer David Jackson. Above: In October, Trevor Collins films a scene for Our Club’s haunted house movie.

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From the moment I walked through Our Club’s threshold I experienced deep the charismatic sense of happiness that the kids expressed. I am pleased to know every child that has come through the program. It makes my teaching them feel a lot less than your average job. Throughout the different skills taught, most of them were mastered the first time. In most cases the creativity the kids display is genuine and pure. Our relationship was very beneficial and mutual. The kids were respectful to every member of the EAST After Hours Team and to both Ms. Katy and Ms. Megan. We enjoyed every minute from 4 to 5 p.m. There wasn’t a moment when the kids didn’t want to learn or operate the

technical equipment.

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Patrick Rodgers

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Left: 8-year-old Antonio checks out the features of the video camera. Above: Darion, 10, works on his music video with advice from Kadesha & Trevor.

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I will never forget the time when Hunter colored his enemy green as a way to get revenge. Also I will never forget the time when we created our first haunted house movie. The glass was foggy, the day was dreary, and the lights were dimmed when the ghost creeped out at Our House!”

Trevor Collins

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by Amanda Woods, Communications Specialist (VISTA)

Everyone knows City Year, travelling in packs in their

bright red jackets, but do you know VISTA? Of all the

branches of the community service organization

AmeriCorps, VISTA seems to be the most misunderstood.

A Facebook conversation about this last fall with a

friend, a Texas VISTA, led to my post, “No one knows

what VISTA is. We may as well call it the secret service!”

A few lols later, that post became this article.

continued on page 10

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

A few members of Our House’s own Secret Service & CIA: Megan, Callie, Lara, Sarah, Amber, Felecia, & Jessica.

Full-time volunteers? VISTA (pronounced with a short I, not a long E) stands for Volunteers In Service to America. VISTAs spend a year or more volunteering full-time, 40+ hours a week, building the capacity of organizations like Our House to improve conditions that cause poverty. Members can renew a term for up to 5 years, a new limit recently raised from 3 years. Five of Our House’s ten current VISTAs are in their 2nd term with us, and one just began her 4th Our House VISTA term.

How can you be volunteers if you get paid?

VISTAs do not get paid for their service and, because they are full-time members, are not allowed to have jobs during their service years. To keep the volunteers alive during their service, the program provides each with a living allowance equal to the poverty level in the community they serve. This is usually enough for rent and basic utilities.

Why VISTA? Can’t regular volunteers do it?

VISTAs are volunteers, but their service isn’t typical volunteer work. During this year’s AmeriCorps Week (March 10th to 18th), you’re likely to see stories and photos of local VISTAs helping with standard but important volunteer tasks like stacking cereal in a food bank or reading to kids in a library. VISTAs do this work in groups on rare service days to promote volunteering.

What VISTAs do in their everyday posts, however, requires skills and training specifically suited to their positions. VISTAs apply for positions directly with service sites, just as someone would apply for jobs. Each site chooses VISTAs just as they would hire other staff members.

2007-2008 Our House VISTA: Program Specialist Now: Family Housing Manager at Our House, & MSW candidate

2008-2009 Our House VISTA: Development Assistant Now: Special Events Coordinator at Ronald McDonald House

2009 Our House VISTA: Community Engagement Coordinator Now: Co-Director at Together For Hope of Arkansas

2010-2011 Our House VISTA: VISTA Leader Now: Master’s student at the Clinton School of Public Service

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

What do VISTAs do?

All of Our House’s programs have VISTAs, currently ten total, each with a different responsibility. One VISTA, for example, organizes our biggest fundraising events. Another plans adult education curriculum in our Learning Center. Some of our VISTAs have college degrees directly related to their VISTA positions. After completing their terms, many of our VISTAs move on to jobs in the same fields as their service positions. At Our House, as at other VISTA sites, VISTAs are treated the same as other staff members. People who come into our offices can’t even tell which staff members are VISTAs.

During the past 5 years, our VISTAs have increased volunteer numbers, increased donor numbers, and improved communication with the community, making it possible for Our House to offer more services to more people. As a result, AmeriCorps gave Our House the 2010 award for Outstanding VISTA Site in Arkansas. Our House’s AmeriCorps program has continued to grow, adding even more VISTAs and new members from another AmeriCorps branch known as CIA.

related articles: Our House’s CIA, page 12 Executive Director’s Letter, page 14

by Sarah Ryder, VISTA Leader

When most people hear “CIA,” they think of tough people in black suits running around to save the world. Well, here at Our House, our CIA members are a lot like that, except for the black suits. Our House is grateful to have three AmeriCorps members serving through the Community Initiative of Arkansas (CIA) program. The AmeriCorps CIA members are definitely tough. They spend their days engaging directly with children in our licensed child development center and our after school and summer programs, developing curriculum, ensuring safety, and implementing developmentally stimulating activities. Bonnie Ford, Little Learners CIA Member Our House offers a licensed child care program, Little Learners, for children up to 5 years old. Our House is fortunate to have two AmeriCorps CIA members serving in this program. Bonnie teaches the toddlers. She is currently working on her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences at UALR. Bonnie describes her position as extremely impactful, and she is constantly amazed at how wonderful it is to guide the children in reaching important milestones in their development. Erin Lett, Little Learners CIA Member Erin teaches the 3- to 5- year-olds in Little Learners, focusing on preschool readiness and curriculum planning. Erin graduated from Philander Smith with her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Erin was looking for a meaningful job that would allow her to spend more time with her family and develop skills in different areas of her interests when she found AmeriCorps. Erin enjoys creating activities for the kids that are as educational as they are enjoyable. Erin said that watching the kids learn and progress right in front of her is one of the most rewarding feelings.

Megan Corbett, Youth Programs CIA Member Megan joined us straight from graduating from Arkansas State University with her bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Through- out her college years, Megan worked as the youth intern at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro. Through that experience she realized that she wanted to continue pursuing her passion for helping youth, which is what brought her to apply for the position with Our Club, the after school program at Our House. Megan uses her passion daily to serve the community at Our House by planning and implementing fun and educational projects and activities for the after school program. When asked if she realized the effect she would have at Our House, Megan said, “Our House has changed me. These kids are phenomenal. It amazes me every day how much these kids inspire and challenge me to be a better person, and if I give them even a fraction of that, I have done my job well.”

Photo: CIA member Megan Corbett introduces the Our Club kids to the scientific method before leading them in a balloon rocket experiment.

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

Georgia Mjartan

Our House is a volunteer-driven organization, built and main-tained through countless hours of service given by groups, individuals, and a good number of very committed full-time volunteers. Our full-time volunteers are our AmeriCorps and VISTA members who make up almost a third of our team and whose numbers increase to 29 during the summer months! Did you know that we rely on 13 full-time year-round volunteers and more than 20 in the summer months to coordinate meal servers, recruit and retain hundreds of volunteers who give over 40,000 hours of service annually, plan fundraising events, develop our alumni association, plan spring break activities for our school-aged kids, create this newsletter, implement our

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

summer feeding program which brings healthy meals to our youth, and care for our little ones on a daily basis? It’s true—we could not do what we do without the dedicated service of our full-time and summer AmeriCorps members and VISTAs. John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B. Johnson: VISTA begins VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) was envisioned by President John F. Kennedy as a national service corps “to help provide urgently needed services in urban and rural poverty areas.” In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation creating VISTA. It was a key tool in his War on Poverty. Addressing the first group of VISTA members, President Johnson said, “Your pay will be low; the conditions of your labor will often be difficult; but you will have the satisfaction of leading a great national effort and you will have the ultimate reward which comes to those who serve their fellow man.”

Left: Summer VISTA Josh Shipman leads a gardening class during Our House’s summer youth program, My Picture Perfect Summer. Above: As Our House’s VISTA program grew, we needed a VISTA to take the role of organizing the program. Rebecca Scissors, shown here at a national service event at a library, was Our House’s first VISTA Leader.

Left: Josh Rowland spent his Summer VISTA term setting up the newly-renovated Family House. Right: One of Jessica Suitor’s favorite experiences as Our House’s In-Kind Donations VISTA was handing out holiday gifts after months of organizing drives and contacting donors to make sure there were enough gifts for everyone.

The very first full-time members of the Our House team, 25 years ago, were VISTA members. These VISTA members recruited local unions to provide volunteer labor to turn a vacant department store on Main Street into a shelter for the working homeless. One role of the VISTA members was to develop our workforce training program, build partnerships with employers, and celebrate our residents’ success in finding jobs. The programs that these VISTA members created over two decades ago remain in place today. Bill Clinton: Delta Service Corps & VISTA join AmeriCorps In 1991, Congress created another national service program that would focus specifically on the states with the highest poverty rates—Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The Delta Service Corps provided needed team members to Our House at a time when our resources were scarce but the need for our services was great. By that time, Our House was no longer a VISTA site,

Photo: Janet Brown, now Lead Teacher in Little Learners, got her start with Our House as a member of the Delta Service Corps in the 1990s.

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

as VISTA is intended to provide only a temporary boost and not to provide long-term staffing. Delta Service Corps provided some of Our House’s most successful Learning Center graduates with an opportunity to give back. Janet Brown, one of Our House’s most senior staff members, got her start as a student in the Learning Center and then served as a Delta Service Corps member before joining the staff of the Our House child care. In 1994, when President Bill Clinton started the AmeriCorps program, Delta Service Corps and VISTA became subsets of that larger national initiative. Joe Ballard: VISTA returns to Our House In 2006, a Clinton School of Public Service Master’s degree candidate, Joe Ballard, came to Our House to do his final project. Initially, he was going to develop an evaluation plan for the Learning Center. His goal was to set up a system that would

http://www.americorps.gov/vista

AmeriCorps at Our House: pages 8 to 21

track student outcomes and measure the impact of the Learning Center on its students. But just a few weeks into his project, Joe realized that Our House needed more than he could provide in just one semester. He saw that the Learning Center needed help. There were dozens of students daily but only one staff member for the whole center. Kids came into the adult learning center after school because there was nowhere for them to go. Joe came to me with a proposal—that instead of doing his initially proposed project, he would write an application to the VISTA State Office to try to get Our House approved once again as a VISTA site. If he was successful in his application, this would exponentially multiply his impact. The initial application proposed three to four members annually who would serve with our adult learning center and our children’s programs. The grant was approved, and in 2007, two VISTA members joined the Our House team. Five years later, our program has grown to be one of the largest VISTA sites in the state. The impact of these members, and of the AmeriCorps Community Initiative of Arkansas members, who started at Our House in 2011, is felt in every program and by every resident of Our House. I am inspired daily by the commitment and talent that these volunteer bring to our team. They make a tremendous financial sacrifice to help alleviate poverty and improve the lives of thousands of people each year. To the more than one hundred members of AmeriCorps, VISTA, and Delta Service Corps whose labor of love, dedication, time, and talent built Our House and sustain it today, thank you.

Photo: During a field trip, Summer VISTA Jenn Croft teaches Jacovee how to ice skate.

how did you feel at the end of your last summer job?

how did you feel at the end of your last summer job? 20 positions available in these areas

Little Learners Child Development Center

My Picture Perfect Summer (Youth Program)

Summer Feeding Program for Youth

Case Management Support

Development Support

Positions last 8 to 10 weeks, including training.

Members get an $858/month living allowance and their

choice of either an Eli Segal AmeriCorps Education

Award of $1,132 OR a summer stipend of $250.

To apply, send your resume and cover letter

to Sarah at vistaleader@ourhouseshelter.org.

Photo: Jacovee, participant in Our House’s 2011 My Picture

Perfect Summer, says good-bye to VISTA Jenn Croft.

be an Our House Summer VISTA

AmeriCorps at Our House

I am a Certified Paralegal.

I was a car hop at a local restau-rant in Arkadelphia, AR.

I really enjoy learning about different cultures, so I read about the ones that interest me & travel to as many as possible to learn more about them.

Ms. Gladys on The Ellen Show

Bayard Rustin. He believed in equality & the importance of being humane.

Accepting my circumstances & working toward new opportunities.

I manage day-to-day functions of the shelter, & I work with the Case Management Team to help residents reach their planned goals. I also manage our Tran-sitions program.

It has challenged me to recognize & stand behind the values that I cherish. I have learned that I am more similar to than different from most of the residents I have met. We all want security, we all want to be cared for, & we all want to be valued.

My favorite memory is when I first started working here because I saw that all of the staff members & residents worked together as a community & looked out for each other.

education Applied Communication MA, UALR 2013 community involvement Past President of Commu-nication Honor Society Lamda Pi Eta, UALR Chapter; member of Arkansas Crisis Response Team since 2010 Our House staff since July 13, 2009

Unbelievable but true: in high school I was on the speech team. In my first year I qualified for NFL & my prose made it to state.

Books! I’d hide for hours & read about pronunciation & grammar in the dictionary. Non-fiction was the best, but I also read Puff the Magic Dragon over & over, trying to understand the ending.

I had a duck for four years. I still have some of his feathers.

Corey Ford (former Our House co-worker). He made it through a lot of bad things that happened to him, & now he helps other people.

I wish I could see my favorite people every day forever.

I’m a documentary photographer. I take almost all of our photos, & I design our major materials: newsletters, brochures, annual reports, etc. My photography goal is to end stereotypes. You can’t tell that someone is homeless just by looking at them, & their situation isn’t their fault. They are normal people, the classmates & co-workers you see every day.

Some homeless people won’t go to a shelter because they don’t want to be pressured to change their religion. Our House & VISTA help all people & don’t interfere with their religion.

A photographer.

I was the Easter Bunny at the mall.

hometowns Rochester & Bowling Green, KY education Photography BA, Carson-Newman College Our House staff since November 3, 2008

benefitting Our House

109 N. Van Buren St. Little Rock 353-0642

4606 JFK Blvd. North Little Rock 246-5741

Pick-up is available for furniture donations.

Sarah Ryder VISTA Leader

Our House

shirt $4.50 books: adult hardback $1.50 adult paperback 75₵ children’s hardback $1 children’s paperback 50₵

unless otherwise marked

table lamps: multicolored $49.99 orange $15.99 sunglasses $3.99 chair & ottoman set $199.99 1940s rattan from the Philippines

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4606 JFK Blvd. North Little Rock 246-5741

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Our House would like to recognize and say thank you to Ms. Cathy and Ms. Laura for their outstanding service to other residents. These women have worked hard to become better residents in the Our House community and better citizens to the community at large. They have been a joy to get to know and a pleasure to watch grow. Our House residents are known for stepping up and taking responsibility within their community. Laura and Cathy are no exceptions. These two women have been at Our House for over a year, and despite having outside jobs, they both use their free time to give back to the community. Over the last year the shelter has had times when dinner servers did not show up to serve. We never had to worry because Ms. Cathy and Ms. Laura always stepped up to the plate (no pun intended). No one ever had to ask them to help. They took it upon themselves to serve over eighty residents on each of those nights. What makes it even better is that they are both wonderful cooks. The residents were always fed, and the food was delicious. It is not uncommon to find these women cooking, cleaning, or just helping a new resident get acquainted with the program. They are Awesome! Ms. Cathy and Ms. Laura, your service is greatly appreciated!

by Ty Stacey, Shelter Manager

A client left this anonymous letter in the shelter comment box, praising the staff of our adult Learning Center.

Diane Kidwell & Jo Lynn Short Diane & Jo Lynn had a bra fitting for Our House’s women & donated 100 bras.

Fellowship Women’s Bible Study Group The women’s group members have been regular volunteers, leading arts and crafts projects in Little Learners.

Girl Scouts North Hills Service Unit The girls collected bedding, mattress pad covers, alarm clocks, Kleenex, & night lights to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts.

Disciples Church Youth Group The youth group, led by James Nam, hosted a Valentine’s Day party in the shelter with music, and crafts, and they performed a Valentine’s Day skit.

Immanuel Baptist Church Girls in Action The 4th grade GA group made Valentine’s Day goodie bags for Our House’s kids & collected paper towels for the shelter.

Joshua Morgan Joshua Morgan donated diapers & pull-ups for Little Learners.

Alexis Thompson Alexis Thompson donated a sewing machine for a 16-year-old resident who is passionate about making his own clothes.

Acxiom Acxiom collected $1,000 worth of VISA gift cards for the residents & donated 90 flash drives & computer accessories for the Learning Center.

Ben E. Keith The Ben E. Keith company donated a brand new dishwasher & dish soap for the shelter kitchen.

Diane & Jo Lynn had a bra fitting for Our House’s women & donated 100 bras.

Rock Creek Professional Women The Professional Women’s group hosted a game night in the shelter.

US Bank US Bank donated 500 new pairs of socks.

UALR Intro to Social Work UALR students in Intro to Social Work class have been serving as tutors and assistants in Our Club and Little Learners.

St. Theresa Catholic School The students collected umbrellas & bath towels for the shelter.

U.S. Pizza Company U.S. Pizza employees collected 443 cold & flu medicines for Our House.

Individuals S.Z. Abbasi Rosalind Abernathy Lucy L. Abraham Katrina Alewelt Twylla & Drew Alexander Katy & H. William Allen Anonymous Donor Anonymous Donor Anonymous Donor Amy & Hamlin Au Linda & Donald Bacon Sandra & Major George Baker Hank Bates Jane & James Beachboard John Beasley Bethy Kay Bell Mary Bellande Elaine Berg Mary Boaz Donna & Joyce Bobbitt Jane Brown Catherine & Antoni Bozynski Dianne Branch Drs. Pamela & Steven Brown Bettina Brownstein Gio Bruno Betta Carney Amanda & Steve Chason Alison Chino David Choate Ann & Larry Coleman Carol & Henry Core Coulson Foundation Sally & Huey Crisp

Patti & Jim Dailey Daughters of Charity Jill & Matthew Dozier Neil Elenzweig Lori Ducey J. Ryan Dunn Danne Easton Connie Fails & Leslie Singer Penny & Travis Farrar Ellen Fennell Lisa & Kris Fischer Karen & John Flake Robin Forward Tracy & Gil Foster Stephanie & Jeff Fox June Freeman Judy & Mark Fulton Mary Diane & Rick Gammill Anna & Edmund Gangluff Kelly Gardner B. Giles Tanya D. Giles Diane & Gregory Graham Barbara Graves & Barry McDaniel Emma & Travis Gray Marion Green Lynn & Bruce Greenberg Susan Stroock & Chris Hackler Vicki Reed Hall Kevin Hamman Carol & Ralph Hamner Janet & Gregory Hartz Jon Michael Haslauer Elizabeth Henry

Angela Hill Sarah & Theodore Hood Amanda Hughes Meredith & Christopher Johnson Edna Jones Kathleen & Steve Jonsson Fearney & J.R.B. Kern H.H. Ketcher Wendy Lair Ann & Ralph Lassiter Lisa & Paul Lawson Elaine & Stephen Lienhart Theresa & Robert Lorsbach Derick Malone Lisa & Eric Mantle Ann Marshall Michele & James Martin Susan & Kenneth Martin Beth & Larry Maze Alicia McAlister Andrew McDonald Sam McGuire Jennifer Medford Mike Metzler Shanna Miller Sonya Miller Joanne & Charles Mills Letha & Charles Mills Nell Matthews Mock G.K. Molock Jacqulyn P. Murphy Elizabeth Murray Betsy & John Muray Thompson Murray

Marita & Sarkis Nazarian Aaron Nichols Marla Johnson Norris Sarah & Matthew Olney Beth & Roger Page Anne Parker Mr. R.L. Penton Linda & Gene Pfeifer Laura Phillips & Tom Frothingham Allison D. & Slocum Pickell Jana & John Piechocki Carolyn Pierce Elizabeth Pierre Valerie Pruitt Kelly Quinn Gordon S. Rather Tracy Rice Allison & Ben Richardson Dorothy Robbins Sandy & Rex Robbins Julie Robertson Latriana Robertson Leatrice Rosen Lisa Rowland Andrea Roy Mary Sanders & Alfred Angulo Chris Schaffhauser John Schmedeman Carol & Byron Schriver Melissa & Doug Serfass J. Shively Laura & Jay Shue Robert Shults Carol Silverstrom

Individuals, cont. Ashlin & Aaron Spann D.C. & S.A. Spann Vikki Stefans Cindy & Scott Stern Dorothy Stuck Anne & David Suitor Barbara & Bruce Thalheimer Benjamin Thielemier Dr. T.T. Tyler Thompson Dorothy & R.F. Toll S.P. Treece Nicolas Trujillo Bridget & Andrew Upchurch Amelia & Rev. Donn Walters Allen Ward Vivian Webb Cheryl Weldon Kathy Wells Ann West Stephanie Willbanks Jackie Williams John Winkelman Beverly Wittenberg Jodi Woods Theresa Wrape & Dennis Lee Tanya Wright Lawrence Young Dawn & Evan Zangerle

Congregations Christ the King Catholic Church Church of the Immaculate Conception Immanuel Baptist Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church Second Presbyterian Church St. Anne Catholic Church St. James United Methodist Church St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Temple B’Nai Israel Government AR Special Nutrition Program City of Little Rock: Summer Youth Program Pulaski County Organizations Catholic High/Central High Wrestling Teams NLR Moose Lodge 942 Heart of Arkansas United Way Corporations CAS Associates Regency Realty Group

Individuals Katrina Alewelt Sonya & Arthur Anderson Anonymous Donor Melanie Fox Tanya D. Giles Michelle Hicks Mary & Andrew Hiegel Sarah & Theodore Hood Leslie & Jay Lipke Lynn Luther Mellor & O’Donoghue Family Barbara & Jack Osborn Beth & Charlie Porter Shana Ricks Chris Schaffhauser Diane & Dennis Smith Raida Snyderman & Alyson S. Cate Rosalyn G. Snyderman Kate M. Stewart Bridget & Andrew Upchurch R.A. Walker Shelby Woods Sherry & H.E. Wortsmith Lisa Yocum Lawrence Young Amanda Gunn Zraick

Congregations Cathedral of St. Andrews Church of the Immaculate Conception New Challenges Sunday School Class Our Lady of Holy Souls Catholic Church Park Hill Christian Church St. Anne Catholic Church St. James United Methodist Church Government AR Special Nutrition Program Dept. of Arkansas Heritage HUD: Supportive Housing HUD: Transitions Organizations Heart of Arkansas United Way United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania Corporations Bank of America Morgan Stanley Summit Bank

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