Northwest Service Symposium

Thursday-Friday, I was in Portland, OR at the 14th Annual Northwest National Service Symposium. It was a forum to learn what other AmeriCorps/AmeriCorps*VISTA/AmeriCoprs Learn & Serve members were doing. The Symposium is through the AmeriCorps Network Northwest that serves Washington and Oregon.

We're the only groups in the country who have a symposium and they've been doing it for 14 years. They ask for submissions of artwork -- poems, games, paintings, stories, etc. -- and they get collected and put into a book published for the attendees of the symposium. There are also different break out sessions put on by AmeriCorps and VISTA members about what they are doing at their sites. It was a really great forum to get new ideas, hear about other people's positions and network with other people, creating bridges between various organizations across the Northwest.

I learned about "Warm Socks for Cold Soles" started by a woman in Washington. She just started out small and it grew exponentially. She has now been asked to come to the White House to speek to a committee about making it into a national program. I am thinking about implementing it along with the Homeless Count. We collect blankets for the event to be passed out, but socks would be a really great thing to be able to give to the homeless as well. I also learned about a program at OSU (Extension, not to be mistaken for my biggest rival Ohio State, but Oregon State) that is a simulation that I could use instead of doing the Walk-a-Mile program. It was also a great place to meet up with PSO members and find out how their service was going and what issues/problems they had had already.

I've also learned that the UCAN VISTA Coalition is one of a kind. It has been a great help to have other Vistas as a support, as well as more senior (already been serving for several months) act as mentors to help me adjust to the area and find out about resources in the community for work and personal use. I couldn't do without it!

I should find out this week whether I got the money I requested from the Mercy Foundation for my summer activity program. I will also hopefully have picked my other Summer Associate!