On March 19, I collaborated with Camp Fire USA – Oneida Council to put together a celebration of the absolutely incredible kids in our community.

This year marked Camp Fire USA’s 13th annual Absolutely Incredible Kid Day. It’s a national letter-writing campaign urging adults to write letters to the children in their lives, honoring them and celebrating them for the wonderful people they are.

Jeremy Fadoul, Executive Director of Camp Fire USA – Oneida Council, and I met in mid-January and quickly began our collaboration on this project. It fits very well with my VISTA goals, so I thought it would be perfect to work on. I also can’t forget that collaborating with the community is a very large piece of the VISTA project.

We started promoting Absolutely Incredible Kid Day community-wide in February, with the help of our local United Way as well as through many other organizations, businesses and personal contacts that we have. Most, if not all, were very willing to help spread to word.

We reserved a space at the Northwoods Banquet Center from 5 to 8 p.m. that Thursday night and started planning activities for families. Jeremy shared a great asset – the fact that he offered services as Jamz DJ as a second job. He said it would be no problem to set up his equipment and play family-friendly music for the entire evening.

I used a personal contact to get a donation of 10 pizzas from Bugsy’s delivered hot right as the event was beginning, and unlimited soda was provided on site.

Jeremy solicited dozens of raffle prizes from area businesses; many were incredibly generous. We asked attendees for a small donation in exchange for raffle tickets; it was well worth it, as many people received multiple prizes.

Other activities of the night included a variety of card and board games, art tables, a cakewalk and plenty of dancing. Jeremy had the kids pull their parents onto the dance floor to participate in classics like the “YMCA.”

At... [Read More]

Computers From the Heart is a simple concept of caring enough to see a need and providing with what was lacking. Though different than many of my other VISTA projects, this has the same root.

It was thought up by Justin Thiel of Tech-Geek Computers in Woodruff and myself during a discussion of my work. We understand that children can be at a disadvantage when they aren’t introduced to a computer until later in life and when they only have time to use a computer during school hours. The School District of Rhinelander donated three used, but very much in working condition, laptops to this project.

This event took place on Valentine’s Day, a very fitting day for the title of the project. Justin reformatted the computers, installed a Linux operating system and educational software, Edubuntu. He used his time and talents to benefit children and families that he would meet only briefly.

Staff members at Crescent, Pelican and NCES were informed about this project via email and through fliers in their mailboxes. They were asked to think of names of students who may not have a computer in their home. I contacted those families, explained the project and asked them to fill out an application if they were interested. Five applications were received and three were chosen through a process with input from four district staff members.

The second best part of this project was the phone calls I was able to make letting the families know they had been chosen. The only requirement was that they clear the schedules for Saturday, Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and show up at the Rhinelander High School learning media center. Nobody said they couldn’t make it.

The families showed up right on time, and though there were a few technical issues, the morning went wonderfully. Cookies and juice were provided and Justin taught the families everything they needed to know a... [Read More]

“Children from middle-class homes have had 1,000 to 1,700 hours of one-on-one picture book reading by the time they enter school. Children at the poverty level have had only 25 hours of one-on-one reading," according to the article Making a Difference; Stamping out Illiteracy by Geraldine L. Haggard.

Twenty-five hours over a five-year period; 25 hours is barely a day.

It saddens me to think that, for whatever reason, low-income parents don’t spend this vital time with their children

The purpose of my position in the School District of Rhinelander is to improve the numbers of involved parents and community members, focusing on literacy education of the younger elementary grades. The bigger goal is looking at poverty in the community and creating sustainable partnerships that can help to eventually eliminate this menace.

Having an office at one of the elementary schools in the district has really changed my view of things. I see the children and families whose lives I am working to make a difference in. I find it appalling to think that some of these children entered the school for the first time just a few months ago with only 25 hours of time spent reading with their parents one-on-one.

I don’t judge the families for not spending that reading time with their children, because many factors have obviously contributed, but I can’t help but want to shove books into the hands of children.

I desire to share as many literacy resources as possible with families, but then I wonder how much pamphlets and Internet links will help. In any case, it's possible a family may not have Internet, or even a computer, at home, and pamphlet-reading implies a luxury of time that many overworked families just don't have.

I'm learning that it’s actually all about relationships. For me to get to know these parents and know why they aren’t spending that reading time with their children is more important than handing them something to read... [Read More]

Could I have been any more insensitive? There I was, tapping my foot in line behind the elderly lady. She didn’t have enough cash and she was complaining about something. Things at Wal-Mart are not supposed to move this slowly.

Then I listened and looked for a moment. She had about seven items. After the cashier rang them up, the elderly lady counted her bills and coins and said she didn’t have enough for the total. As she asked the cashier to one-by-one remove the least-needed items and ring up a total again, I stood there staring. She looked up at me. “I just spent $40 on my medicine. I don’t have enough for what I need.”

The lady was down to three out of the initial seven items and finally had enough. As she left with 14 cents, I wondered why I hadn’t offered to help, why I had just stood there tapping my foot and staring. I could have handed my debit card to the cashier and said, “I’ll take care of it.”

Would the elderly lady have accepted that? Has anyone ever acted that kindly towards her before? Or have they all stood impatiently behind her as the line built up?

This is what I work for. I work to eliminate situations like this. I work so that I don’t have to tear up, remembering the insensitivity of the world and of myself at times. I am supposed to be fighting poverty with passion. That’s our VISTA motto. But sometimes we overlook things.

Let’s open our eyes and reach out a hand. Everybody we touch may in turn touch somebody else. It’s the ripple effect. Don’t be insensitive; and someday you may be repaid by somebody touching you during a time when you are in need.

I am disappointed in myself after the situation with the elderly lady in Wal-Mart, but I won’t let that bring me down. I won’t let that stop me from doing my work and doing better next time.

As an AmeriCorps VISTA in the School District of Rhinelander, I organized a food drive at Pelican Elementary to support the desperate need of the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry.

Students were asked to bring in non-perishable food items started on Monday, Nov. 17. On the Friday before, I introduced the food drive at Jump Start, a short morning assembly, and parent notes went home with students after school.

Monday morning was absolutely overwhelming in my office. Nearly 100 kids poured in with donations. The incentive for bringing in items was that the first 100 students to bring in three items received a free book, funded by the district’s curriculum department.

Within an hour of arriving to work, I found hundreds of food items covering the desk and floor of my office and 89 books had been given out. So that parents knew what the book was from, a label was placed in each book that said, “I donated three items to the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry and got this free book!”

On just Monday, the students collected 329 pounds of food.
After being out of the office all day Tuesday, I returned to my office Wednesday morning and was again overwhelmed and grateful for the donations covering the floor and my desk. The running total at the end of that day was 495 pounds—five pounds away from my goal of an even 500 pounds.

Donations slowed down but continued to come in steadily on Thursday and Friday. As of Friday afternoon, students and teachers had collected 577.5 pounds of food.

The drive officially wrapped up on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with the grand total of 595.5 pounds.

I believe even if I hadn’t offered the book incentive, that we still would have collected just as much food. These kids are wonderfully giving and I truly appreciate them and I know the food pantry does as well.

Click here to check out my VISTA page for more information abo... [Read More]

Usually education-based in the school district, family nights provide time for families to interact and bond as well as to learn a little something outside of the school day.

Pelican Elementary School hosted one of its regular Family Nights on Thursday, Oct. 16, in its gymnasium. With a fall theme, scarecrows made by classes in the school, hay bales and corn shucks decorated the area. Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, apples with caramel and lemonade were served.

Estimation jars were there for children and adults alike to guess how many items the jars contained. Also, there were door prizes and a leaf art activity. Dave Dall, 4K teacher, dressed as a scarecrow, as well as Paul Zuiker and Luke Aschbrenner, provided entertainment. Information was also available about the widely used SMART boards.

Nearly 300 people attended Family Night and it was a hit. The activities were at difference places in the school, so families could participate in what they were interested in at any point during the night.

Also in attendance were people with referendum information and two people signing up voters in the town of Pelican.

I organized a district-wide, literacy-based family night at Crescent Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 23. The Costume and Reading Family Night started with a free supper of baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and lemonade. Following that, all attending 4K–3rd graders were able to pick out a free book from a selection provided by the Curriculum Department and there was time allotted for families to read together.

All children and adults in costume participated in a Costume Parade, led by librarian Linda Ruohoniemi, around the gym, followed by impromptu dancing. Staff from the school district was present to serve food and assist with the rest of the activities of the night. Goodie bags and gift certificates were raffled off at various points during the night.

Various booths were set up along the ... [Read More]

In my quest for knowledge about poverty in our community, I took a trip to the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry (RAFP). It opened in April 2005 to fight hunger in our community.

I spoke with food pantry manager, Jane Motowski, who said, “Our community is very good about donating.” Food is also bought locally or comes from Second Harvest, a food bank that non-profits can purchase from. Last year, 40 percent of food was bought from Second Harvest, 20 percent was bought locally, 12 percent was commodities, 25 percent were community donations, and 3 percent was from the Rhinelander Area Community Garden.

There is a steady donation level throughout the year, but donations always increase during the holidays, with 50 percent of money for the year coming in during this time.

The Rhinelander Area Community Garden “works in cooperation with Master Gardeners of the North to provide freshly grown produce for summer distribution. Over 10,000 square feet of garden offers fresh, nutritious selections for families in need,” according to a RAFP brochure.

Gardener Laura Marquardt and volunteers harvested 213 pounds of produce on a Monday in August, surpassing the 198 pounds from the Saturday before. Everything from tomatoes and carrots to cucumbers and radishes to beets and beans to cantaloupe, herbs, peas, eggplant and broccoli are available for those in need. The pantry tries to provide recipes for those who come in, and herbs have ways of using them right on the label.

Also, the UW-Extension provides pamphlets on how to use the produce. Last year, the pantry had trouble getting rid of herbs, but this year, they don’t have enough because people figured out how much better their food was by adding herbs.

At the food pantry on any given Wednesday or Saturday anywhere from 40 to 70 people will come for food assistance. “Monday is normally our slowest day, which can be anywhere from 30 to 50 people,” said Motowski. “It always amazes my volunteers tha... [Read More]

On Sept. 8 International Literacy Day was celebrated around the world as well as right here in Rhinelander. Brown Street Books offered 20 percent off their selection of children’s books. They saw an increase in sales becauase they were celebrating their 15th anniversary—everything else in the store was 15 percent off and the children’s book special was advertised well.

Also on International Literacy Day at 4 p.m., I recruited two speakers to come to the Rhinelander District Library conference room for a presentation. Though the attendance was lower than I had hoped for and anticipated, the presentations and discussions were informal and informational.

Teresa Jensen, sign language interpreter and creator of the Bilingual Learning Club, spoke first on the topic of deaf literacy. I had the pleasure of reading a modern version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears while she interpreted the book through sign language for the audience.

Following Jensen’s presentation was Rose Prunty, director of academic success at Nicolet College. She used a definition of literacy from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy to begin her presentation.

Literacy is defined as “using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” Prunty gave us straight facts about the literacy skills of those in the U.S.: 93 million adults have very poor or marginal literacy skills (National Assessment of Adult Literacy, 2003) and businesses lose more than $60 billion in productivity due to lack of basic skills (National Institute for Literacy).

A startling Wisconsin fact is that 39 percent of Wisconsin adults struggle with the functional literacy skills required to succeed in everyday life (National Institute for Literacy, 1998).

Prunty wrapped up by offering information on how her program at Nicolet College can help change these statistics by the variety of things they offer. Visi... [Read More]