[Community-service] Workshops

Wed Apr 16 07:41:57 UTC 2014

Hi Ashly,

 We would welcome you and anyone else who wants to join any of our calls.
 Also, If you want to submit something to the blog regarding a service experience then please do feel free to contact our Blog Editor Chris Parsons who of course just heard from.
  Thank you for your interest to contribute.
 Best,
  Darian.   

On Apr 15, 2014, at 2:06 PM, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Chris,
> I'd be interested in writing for the blog. If you need submissions, let me know. Then I'll chat off list about specifics.
> I assume the blog should be about our own experiences and thoughts about the service project.
> I could also go on about why people should do community service and how it benefits us and the community, but I would probably be preaching to the choir then.
> 
> As for workshops, I'll attend the next one via phone. Sorry to hear you had no participation in the past.
> 
> Can you post contact info for the resource list committee?
> Also how do we reach Mary Ann? I certainly have ideas.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Ashley
> resource
> -----Original Message----- From: Chris Parsons
> Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 9:43 PM
> To: Community Service Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [Community-service] Workshops
> 
> Hi Cheryl and all,
> 
> Cheryl, thank you for your thoughtful response. You have a lot of really
> good ideas about workshop topics and structure. If you are interested in
> doing so, I agree with Mary Ann that I think you would have a lot to bring
> to the workshop committee.
> 
> As Mary Ann mentioned, there is a particular flurry of e-mails about
> Convention activities right now because Convention is the time that brings a
> lot of people together from across the country, and we want to take
> advantage of this to plan a handful of activities. However, we have in place
> or are working on developing opportunities for people to network, share
> ideas, and get involved outside of Convention.
> 
> We have this listserv, which depends on the posts and collective efforts of
> its members. To anyone who is reading this, if you have a question about
> community service, feel free to ask it here. If you have participated in a
> service project, you are encouraged to write about it here or see if it
> could be included on our blog (nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com). If you
> have a service-related resource or article that you find interesting or
> helpful, please share it. Michele Mitchell currently chairs a committee that
> is putting together a resource list of community service-related
> organizations, Web sites, etc. that we hope to be able to use to point
> interested people to service opportunities in their area.
> 
> We have begun our organizing efforts on the national level; however, because
> service helps those in one's local community, one of our ultimate goals is
> to have one person in each affiliate who will coordinate the community
> service efforts of that affiliate and the chapters within it. Cheryl, I love
> the idea of a national project outside of Convention in which each affiliate
> would participate.
> 
> We also have the conference call workshops that Mary Ann's committee
> develops. If anyone has ideas for workshop topics, please don't hesitate to
> let Mary Ann know.
> 
> Finally, Cheryl, you state that it is difficult to define what the purpose
> of the group is. I see that Mary Ann has included a brief description of the
> group's purpose in her response. Does this make the purpose clearer? If not,
> what do you, or anyone else on the list, believe we could do to make this
> purpose clearer? Cheryl, you are right that as a group seeks to become a
> division, we must have a clear and well-defined purpose, and if this is not
> happening, we certainly want to know this and also what we can do to make it
> clearer.
> 
> Chris Parsons
> 
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Cheryl Fields
> Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2014 5:04 PM
> To: maryann at jmendez.us ; Community Service Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [Community-service] Workshops
> 
> Maryann,
> I am delighted you asked these important questions! Yes I would attend
> workshops, teleconferences that include meaningful topics, speakers,
> and offer interesting and timely round table discussions.
> Topics, my preferences are, building community connections,
> leadership skills, fund raising , and how to create diverse volunteer
> groups.
> 
> Roundtable discussions, can be a wealth of knowledge for discussion
> list participants if guided properly. A friendly, mature,
> knowledgeable and engaging moderator is key to the success of any
> roundtable discussion,  especially one that is held over the
> telephone. Providing opportunities for participants to share
> experiences, how they solved problems/ barriers and sharing future
> plans. some on the list may have a grander idea for service and
> connecting with grant writers, and how to write a business plan could
> assist them greatly. Maintaining a list of locations in each state
> that provide other workshop opportunities for larger community
> projects to participate in may be helpful. For example I live in
> Cleveland and we just hosted the Cleveland International film
> Festival, this event could not happen without a vast amout of
> volunteers. This summer Cleveland will host the Senior Games and an
> annual jazz festival again a huge number of volunteers will be
> recruited for these events. Who do we contact to become involved, what
> is needed for that involvement and how can we best represent the nfb
> by becoming involved?
> 
> Speakers, it would be beneficial to involve some of the existing
> community partners on list, members as speakers to provide overview of
> the opportunities available through the projects they have been
> involved with. Identifying the challenges and satisfaction levels of
> these endeavours. Organizations. Other types of speakers could
> include, local grassroots organizations that provide training,
> information on faith based service opportunities, how can parents of
> blind children exchange service for other important services such as
> day care or transportation of children to school. saving them much
> needed funds. Speakers could include persons with unusual/ exotic
> skills, feeding animals at the zoo or persons that collect used
> computer/ electronics to be refurbished. This could open conversation
> about how many blind people would like to have access to technology
> but lack the funds for hardware and software. Possibly opening new
> avenues, brainstorming with others to enhance the lives within the
> blind community. The more diversity of speakers may create more
> interest from listeners and encourage others to join the list. Hearing
> from, our Latina community, the African American community, the
> parents of blind children as well as blind parents with sighted
> children and others. We all want to hear from those that share other
> unique challenges that include blindness.  Marketing the
> teleconference/ workshops to all nfb members may be helpful to
> stimulate new ideas and encouraging to others that never thought about
> community service projects. Any speaker should be engaging and open to
> answering questions when asked, and following up when necessary. To do
> this properly the speaker should have a interview process so that the
> moderator of the workshop is  familiar with the speaker/ orgainization
> , in this way the moderator can move the discussion along with
> confidence, introduce other related topics and convey to listeners
> that he/ she is prepared. Speakers can also be nfb members with
> experience and proven success in the community with his/her outreach
> projects.
> 
> I feel it would be beneficial to have 1 national project, outside of
> the covention structure. something simple, meaningful and inexpensive
> for every affiliate to complete within some predesignated time frame.
> This may create interest in this list, participants can share
> experiences on line, post photos, and share the success of the project
> together.
> 
> I don't think this list is the place to post employment possibilities
> for others. This list may be better served by explaining how
> volunteering can boost a resume, provide training for new skills or
> maintaining expertise of existing skills, and help a job seeker with
> networking.
> 
> Finally, I know I have written lots here, but I was glad to have the
> chance to get it off my chest. I was very excited when I first joined
> this list, but have become disinterested and disappointed with the
> content. Community Service exists for many different reasons and not
> everyone is seeking employment or attending the national covention.
> Some of us want to serve our communities and enhance the quality of
> life for our neighbors and our selves while proudly representing the
> philosophy of the nfb. Because of the unique barriers we face, I
> thought this list would provide some support and suggestions. When I
> initially joined, there was the sense that this is what we were
> accomplishing. Then the list became flooded with issues surrounding
> the national covention, this was interesting to me, because most of
> the list users stated that they are not attending the covention. There
> seemed to be no other conversation. I called once and was engaged in a
> conversation where the names of officers and committees was guarded,
> not available to us. There were only a few of us on that call and it
> was a complete disaster, this is the reason I have not participated
> again. it is my understanding that at some future time the committee
> and officers intend to create a division from this list. Well, good
> luck, because it is difficult to define what the purpose of the group
> is. I have not given up on being hopeful to read in exciting and
> engaging topics and will hang in there for a while longer. I am
> willing to assist with the growth of this group, it's worth salvaging!
> I really hope others respond to assist you and the other leaders in a
> positive way to redefine what this list/ group and future division
> will become. Thank you for asking and listening, have a great day!
> 
> Blessings,
> 
> Cheryl Fields
> 
> Contact information; 216.932.6644 or cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com
> 
> On 4/8/14, Mary Ann Mendez <maryann at jmendez.us> wrote:
>> Hi everyone.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I want to share with you that there were 0 participants in attendance for
>> the March 31 workshop.
>> 
>> Here are some questions that can help us develop meaningful opportunities
>> for our service-minded community service group participants. Feel free to
>> respond to me directly with any thoughts. I will not share your individual
>> responses with others. instead, I will use the data to put together a
>> meaningful report based on all feedback.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> *         Would you attend teleconferences that serve as workshops to
>> improve community service? Why or why not?
>> 
>> *         Would you attend teleconferences that showcase a guest speaker?
>> Why or why not?
>> 
>> *         What inspires you to attend a teleconference event?
>> 
>> *         What do you like and dislike about round-table discussions?
>> 
>> *         What do you like and dislike about guest speakers?
>> 
>> *         What  would you like to see in workshops?
>> 
>> *         What would you like to see from guest speakers?
>> 
>> *         And lastly: What would have inspired you to attend the previous
>> workshop on ways to become involved in community service?
>> 
>> *         What have I missed that you would like to add?
>> 
>> Thank you for any thoughts you would like to share about this. Our group is
>> only a product of what each of us brings to it. I look forward to offering
>> opportunities for us to grow in service learning.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Mary Ann Mendez
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
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