We know it's been a while, but better late than never. Overall, we had a phenomenal AmeriCorps Week with record breaking turnouts at some events! Here is a run down, and below is a little slideshow of the week. If you have any pictures, please upload them to our facebook page, or send them to AmeriCorpsAlumsCT@gmail.com
For our third annual Advocacy Event, we again had 5 pizzas from BAR donated, and we engaged over 20 people on the New Haven Green. It was particularly exciting, engaging youth about AmeriCorps programs who had never heard of them before.
We also sponsored a Service Day with Fairfield County's Habitat for Humanity.
5 people served: 3 current VISTA members and 2 Alums. AmeriCorps AlumsCT also provided the group with free pizza lunch!
Pizza was our theme of the week, Just kidding! But, our theme of the week was "Made in AmeriCorps." RJ Mercede, one of our fearless Alum leaders, started an annual tradition of highlighting "Champions of Service" and he even wrote a blog about it, which was highlighted by the national chapter. See who our winners were!
Our biggest event of the week was our Happy Hour/Social Networking event at Rudys. We had 20 + people attend including Alums from throughout the state, Public Allies, current members, and we presented the Champion of Service Award to Jim Paley & Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven.
Last but not least, we handed out a bunch of AmeriCorps Alums CT pens!
Thanks to everyone in CT who made AmeriCorps Week 2013 such a successful event! A special Thank You to All involved in the planning of this week. You hard work and dedication to "Getting Things Done" in Connecticut does not go unrecognized.
AmeriCorps Week Planning Champions:
RJ Mercede, Luis Chavez-Brumell, Tina Lindstrom, Noor Al- Ghanem, Trevor Brightman, Emily Kaas, Sam Rigotti, Anne Ostberg, Julia Silberman, and Eileen Bakos.
AmeriCorps Alums National- Greg Heinrich, Ben Duda, and Ken Tran.
Volunteers from AmeriCorps Alums CT, AmeriCorps VISTA and U.S. military Veterans worked together on a volunteer service project to provide welcome baskets for Veterans who were formerly homeless and are newly housed. The team of 14 people created 32 baskets and organized household items, some of which had been donated at previous events like the Crazy Sweater Party / Donation Drive at Luck and Levity a week ago [article]. Each basket contained a number of vital household items such as dish soap, dish ware, towels, toiletries, bedsheets, pillows, shower curtains, cleaning supplies, light bulbs and many of the bare essentials these Veterans would need for their new life inside their own home. During the event, the inauguration of President Obama played on the radio. And we also had a discussion about an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "Drum Major Instinct" sermon, highlighting personal definitions of "service" for the betterment of society as a whole.
For more information about future service events, in the case that you would like to volunteer or donate to help homeless Veterans, follow the AmeriCorps Alums CT page on Facebook. Links:AmeriCorps Alums CT SiteAmeriCorps Alums Facebook PageLuck and Levity ArticleMartin Luther King SpeechSupport provided by Target, WalMart, Home Depot, Knights of Columbus, HomeGoods, and the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund
