Community Engagement

Website: sa.bsdvt.org

 Issue:  Environmental Sustainability

Cost per person: $30 (financial aid is available if necessary). Fee covers transportation, lodging in Burlington, all meals, and volunteer activities.

Questions? Contact Ashley Calkins, Associate Director, Community Engagement, jcalkins@middlebury.edu.

Application here: Mini-MAlt participant application Spring 2014.

Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 26th to middalt@middlebury.edu.

This week’s community engagement opportunities are out! Included: Jocelyn Wyatt’s talk this Friday, Valentine’s cards to Living Well, and walking dogs and socializing cats with Homeward Bound. Questions? Email us at communityengagement@middlebury.edu.

http://eepurl.com/N-3Gz

This week’s community engagement opportunities are out! Thoughts? Questions? Let us know!

http://eepurl.com/M_RI9

This week’s community engagement opportunities are out! Thoughts? Questions? Let us know!

http://eepurl.com/MiV5P

Learn more about this summer’s Shepherd Internships!

This summer the Shepherd Internship Program has over a hundred internships available for undergrads in dozens of fields, including Business Administration, Immigration/Refugee Services, Policy Reform, Women’s Advocacy, Youth Outreach, and more. The deadline to apply for this summer is approaching fast: January 15th! Learn more about what the SIP has to offer and how the application process works in an info session at 118 South Main this Wednesday. There is one at 4:30 p.m. and one at 7 p.m. Questions? Contact Tiffany Sargent, Director of Community Engagement, at tiffanys@middlebury.edu.

Produce the 2014 Guide to Local Food & Farms with ACORN!

ACORN is looking for a team of staff writers and researches for our 2014 Guide to Local Food and Farms. The Addison Independent publishes 15,000 copies of the Guide and we distribute it all over the Champlain Valley. This is a great opportunity to meet local food producers and do research that will have a lasting impact on our community. Volunteers can write an article, complete 3-5 hours of research or contribute illustrations/graphic design work. Interested? Email lea@acornvt.org. All content is due February 7, 2014, so sign up soon!

Help local families navigate the tax season!

Addison County Action/CVOEO is looking for volunteers to assist in preparing basic Federal and State income taxes for low-income families and individuals. Training is provided through the IRS VITA program through online self-study and testing. Volunteers will be assisting Debbie with greeting clients, completing intake sheet/review sheet and preparing basic returns. Tax assistance starts February 3 through April 15, Monday through Thursday. Office space is provided and hours are flexible. Contact Debbie at 802-388-2285 or dgoodri@cvoeo.org.

Dance your heart out!

Instructor Chris Giorgio invites Middlebury College students to volunteer with Middlebury Parks and Recreation dance classes on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday afternoons for ages 5-18. Styles of classes include tap, ballet, hip hop, and lyrical dance. Contact Chris, cgiorgio@comcast.net, to learn more about specific class times and volunteer information.

Mentor the next generation of reporters!

Bridport Central School hosts a student newspaper club and needs a volunteer writing coach for the newspaper during J-Term and/or spring semester! On Friday mornings from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. the volunteer will work with two groups of 4th and 5th graders (8 kids total) to brainstorm, take photos, interview, and write articles for their student newspaper. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants hands-on experience in Elementary Education or Media/Journalism. If you need transportation funding for a campus vehicle is available. Interested? Contact Community Engagement, communityengagement@middlebury.edu.

Attend a lecture about cultural competency in education!

Liria C. Evangelista, Graduate Program Director for Middlebury’s program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, will give a lecture called “Touching Selves, Expanding Lives: The Desire for Teaching and the Politics of Cultural Understanding”, addressing the complex issues that a teacher confronts when working with culturally diverse students. Her research is built on many years working with Middlebury College students in various cross-cultural settings, and this J-Term Evangelista is teaching a course titled “Political Violence, Memory, and Cultural Representations”. The lecture is Wednesday, January 8, 4:30 p.m. in the Robert A. Jones ’59 House conference room.

Go to the Active Citizens Conference in Williamsburg!

William & Mary is hosting their Active Citizens Conference this February. Workshop sessions include “Defining the Outcomes: How Learning-Focused Service Enhances Active Citizenship” and “How Does Social Change Happen? An Exploration of Theories for the Every-Day Activist and Educator”. The conference is held Friday, February 15 through Saturday, February 16. Note that students are encouraged to apply for a Community Engagement mini-grant to subsidize the cost of their attendance!

Go to the IMPACT conference in Chicago!

In a similar vein to the above, Valaparaiso University is hosting the annual IMPACT conference at the end of February. As per their website, IMPACT is a long-standing annual conference “focused on the civic engagement of college students in community service, service-learning, community-based research, advocacy and other forms of social action.” It features networking blocks, an opportunities fair, and over ninety workshops! The conference is held Thursday, Febuary 27 to Sunday, March 2. Note that students are encouraged to apply for a Community Engagement mini-grant to subsidize the cost of their attendance!

Chaperon at the Sustainable Living Expo!

The Sustainable Living Expo is an annual day-long exposition promoting sustainable living in the Champlain Valley on March 29 at Middlebury Union High School. The Expo hosts hundreds of exhibits, presentations and workshops, and they’re expecting more than a thousand visitors this year! They’re looking for volunteers for everything from setting up Friday night, greeting people at the front table, assisting exhibitors, monitoring workshops, directing traffic, and supervising little ones in the children’s playroom. All volunteers will get first-hand experience at event planning, meet new people, have fun, and get a free Expo t-shirt. If you would like to be an Expo volunteer, email lea@acornvt.org.

Questions?

If you have questions about any of these volunteer opportunities or you want to learn even more opportunities to get involved with the communities above, contact Ashley Calkins, Associate Director of Community Engagement, at jcalkins@middlebury.edu.

Summer 2014 Paid Internships

If you would like to take action to make a difference in the fight against poverty and develop important life skills, gain experience working across difference, and advance your own career exploration process, consider applying for the national Shepherd Internship Program. Information is also available on our own Privilege & Poverty program website. These internships are available to students whose institutions are a part of the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). It is a diverse group, including HBCU, faith-based, public, private, and work institutions (click on Member Institutions to view). A cohort of students from a variety of colleges and universities live together, providing a core group with whom to learn, explore, and grow. Interns receive a stipend, funding to support some travel/living expenses, housing—and participate in opening and closing conferences, in addition to the internship experience.

INFO SESSIONS:  Wed., Jan. 8^th at 4:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the conference room of 118 South Main Street.

Application Deadline: Tuesday, January 15^th (11:59 p.m.). MUST apply through both MOJO (search Shepherd, poverty) and the Shepherd Internship Program online application.

Paid internships are available in several fields of service including:  Art, Business Administration, Case Mgt., Community Organizing, Dance, Domestic Violence, Economic Dev., Education, Environmental, Financial Literacy, Food Security & Educ., Healthcare, Homelessness, Housing Access, Immigration/Refugee Services, Job Placement, Law, Migrant Services, Policy Reform, Prison Release, Residential Camps, Teaching, Women’s Advocacy, and Youth Outreach.
About twenty Midd students have participated over the last ten years! Learn more through the website links above and by coming to an Info Session.

Staying local over winter break? Volunteer at the Charter House!
The Charter House winter housing facility serves as an emergency home staffed 24/7 by trained volunteers who provide a warm, welcoming environment for families in stress. Volunteers are needed to take shifts over winter break! Contact James McMillan (jmcmillan@middlebury.edu) to sign up.

Community Friends Feature of the Week
Do you enjoy dancing, playing, reading stories, drawing, and identify as a woman of color? Community Friends, a campus-based one-on-one mentoring program that matches Middlebury students with Addison County children ages six to twelve, is seeking a big sister for a five-year old child of color, whose parents would like to see her spend time with a female student of color in order to help their child in a predominately White school district.  If you are creative and responsible, you could easily be a role model for this young girl just by meeting with her for two hours each week. Flexible meeting times on your own schedule; only requirement is enthusiasm and willingness to build a meaningful, consistent relationship. For more information about our program and/or how to apply to be this or another child’s mentor, please visit our website (go/cf) or email us at comfriends@middlebury.edu .

Mentor needed! [2-3 hours per week commitment]
The Vermont Center for Child, Youth, and Families, an outpatient psychiatric clinic and research center affiliated with the UVM College of Medicine and Fletcher Allen Health Care, is looking for a female, college student to serve as a mentor for one of a patient in Middlebury. She is 16 years old, athletic, funny, and kind. Besides being a companion and role model, we are also hoping  the mentor will participate in a mindful activity with her, such as yoga or tai chi. It would probably require about a 2-3 hour weekly time commitment. It would not be necessary to have a vehicle. An excellent opportunity for anyone interested in psychiatry, psychology, counseling or social work! Interested? Contact Merelise Ametti, 207-399-8417 or Merelise.Ametti@med.uvm.edu.

Five-year-olds playing violin: Volunteers needed for J-Term/Spring Semester
Mary Hogan Elementary School is in second year providing violin instruction for kindergarten students and needs volunteers to help out! String/violin experience helpful but not mandatory. The classes will be held Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and volunteers could come on a day that matches their schedule! Interested? Contact Mary Gill, mgill@addisoncentralsu.org.

Lunch: Environmental Law, Vermont Law School Scholarship Opportunity
Thursday, December 5 11:15a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest 1^st floor lounge
Are you interested in possibly pursuing an environmental law degree at some point after graduation? Join a lunch/info session/career conversation this Thursday to learn more about a full scholarship opportunity for Midd alumni to attend Vermont Law School. RSVP to Janet Wiseman, jwiseman@middlebury.edu. Topics will include Melissa Scanlan’s career path, social entrepreneurship, Vermont Law School offerings, and the VLS/Middlebury scholarship opportunity. Bring your questions and topics of interest. Following lunch at 12:30p in The Orchard, Franklin Environmental Center 103, Melissa Scanlan will give an ES Colloquium talk entitled, Social Entrepreneurs: Be the Change You Want to See.

Apply to the Flex Fund to finance your initiatives!
Whether it is transportation expenses, games to play with Porter Hospital residents, or turkeys to cook at the local shelter, we want to help you serve others. Visit here to find the SCB Flex Fund application. Email scboard@middlebury.edu for more information.

Questions? If you have questions about any of these volunteer opportunities or want to learn more ways to get involved in the local community, contact Ashley Calkins, Associate Director, Community Engagement, jcalkins@middlebury.edu, 802.443.3099.

Sonam Choedon ’14 writes about his experience at Machik Weekend.  

Machik Weekend is an initiative started in 2007 by Machik, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes meaningful social change in the Tibetan plateau by working directly with communities inside the region. The weekend-long annual conference aims to build awareness and understanding for Machik’s unique approach to the complex challenges facing Tibet and to update its network of supporters on the progress of the organization’s work. The theme of this year’s conference was “Engaging Tibet: Conservation and the Plateau” and the goal of the meeting was to highlight some of the environmental issues facing Tibet, and their impact on local communities. The conference kicked off with opening remarks from Machik’s co-founders Dr. Lobsang Rabgey and Dr. Tashi Rabgey about their Machik’s mission and their personal interactions with conservationists inside Tibet, and continued with panels such as “Education for Change,” “Conservation,” and “Tibet Through the Lens.”

Before attending Machik Weekend, I had only watched documentaries about Tibet as it related to the independence movement or Buddhism, but during the conference I was exposed to a new wave of documentary filmmakers who focus on issues that affect Tibetans inside of Tibet. The most intriguing presentation was that by Lynn and Nelson Walker and their film “Summer Pasture,” focusing on the problem of displacement of nomadic lifestyle due to modernization and rangeland degradation via the story of a nomadic couple in the Zachuka grasslands. The movie puts a human face to the environmental problems facing Tibetans and the difficult decisions they must make.

Although the conference mainly focused on issues inside of Tibet, it also shed light on issues facing Tibetans in exile. Tenzing Jigme and Stephen Wang from the Mosaic Institute, a “think and do tank” from Canada, presented their program, “New Beginnings: Young Canadians’ Peace Dialogue on China and Tibet” which combines peace-focused inter-community dialogue with collaborative community service projects by bringing together Canadians of Chinese and Tibetan descent to engage in constructive dialogue about the issues that divide these communities and about Canada’s relationship to the region.​  Another project,“Lamton,” was founded by two college students Tenzin Norzin Waleag and Tenzin Tsetan Lobsang. The Minnesota-based program connects college students with Tibetan high school students by providing guidance, support, free biweekly tutoring session and encouragement to pursue higher education.

It was truly inspiring to see young Tibetans engage in their communities and to learn about the conservation efforts led by Tibetans within Tibet. I am grateful for the Middlebury College Community Engagement Mini-Grant to attend Machik Weekend 2013.

Staying on campus but looking to put the “giving” in Thanksgiving this upcoming break? Volunteer at the Charter House!
The Charter House winter housing facility serves as an emergency home staffed 24/7 by trained volunteers who provide a warm, welcoming environment for families in stress. Volunteers are needed to take shifts over Thanksgiving break! Contact James McMillan (jmcmillan@middlebury.edu) to sign up.

Clothing Donations Needed for Addison Central Teens (ACT)
ACT is hosting the annual clothing swap & shop on Wednesday 12/4 and Thursday 12/5 at MUHS from 11:30 am to 3 pm for students only and from 3 pm to 7 pm for the public. They are seeking donations of clothing, especiallything, especially female and male outerwear, like warm winter jackets/coats and scarves or men’s suit jackets. As always jewelery, ties and fun hand bags are favorite items. This year they are also looking for holiday items or gift items teens can purchase as presents for their family. You can drop off items at the teen center until 12/3 from 3 to 6 pm and this Saturday, 11/23 from 10 to 3 pm. Questions? Contact Jutta Miska, jutta@addisonteens.com.

Apply to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s February Break Trip to Pongoteague, Virginia
This will be our fourth year in a row working with our community partners in Pungoteague. Every year this trip is filled with good food, good laughs, time at the beach (!), and of course, a whole lot of house-building. The leaders for this year’s trip will be Huy Nguyen (’16) and Sarah Scott (’17). More detailed information regarding the trip is available on the application itself. To apply, you can find the application on Habitat’s Middlink page under “documents” (go/middlink -> login with your midd id -> go to “Organizations” and click on Habitat -> click on “documents” on the left-hand bar). Applications are due Sunday Dec. 1st by email to Huy and Sarah (hnguyen@middlebury.edu and sscott@middlebury.edu). Please feel free to contact them with any questions as well.

Put your math skills to work in the local community! 
Volunteers are needed to tutor a high school students in math at the Middlebury Union High School Learning Lab. The Learning Lab has a high demand for extra assistance with homework and studying and could use drop-in volunteers to help with various coursework in various math classes. Volunteers are specifically needed Monday – Friday during any of these shifts: 11:30 a.m. -12:15 p.m., 12:50-1:30 p.m., 1:35-2:15 p.m., 2:15-2:55 p.m., 3:00-4:00 p.m. Interested? Contact Ben Krahn,bkrahn@addisoncentralsu.org.

United Way is seeking Middlebury College students to serve as Community Impact Volunteers, participating in a community grant process as part of an impact team in the areas of Health, Education or Financial Stability. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the operations of local agencies, review grants, and build relationships with community members. Volunteers are ambassadors for United Way of Addison County and read each grant application in their assigned impact area (Health, Education or Financial Stability), develop a list of questions to discuss at site visits, visit agencies, participate in the team scoring process and recommend a funding amount for the board of directors to approve.  The work takes place from approximately January 13th through the last week of March (United Way can accommodate your absence over February Break and Spring Break). Volunteers are expected to be interested in the community, non-profit sector, applying agencies and the United Way grant process.  Confidentiality and professionalism are musts. Enthusiasm, curiosity, and a sense of humor are valued highly! Interested students should contact United Way of Addison County Executive Director Kate McGowan (kmcgowan@middlebury.edu) by Wednesday, December 4th for more details.

Global Engagement Summit
April 16-20, 2014 at Northwestern University
The Global Engagement Summit (GES) builds the capacity of the next generation of change-makers through our annual summit, yearlong programming, and staff curriculum. By identifying talented, young individuals, providing skills training and connecting driven students with innovative thought leaders, GES empowers them to produce responsible and sustainable solutions to shared global problems. Apply here. If you are accepted to the Summit and need funding support, apply for a Cross-Cultural Community Service Fund Grant!

Apply to the Flex Fund to finance your initiatives!
Whether it is transportation expenses, games to play with Porter Hospital residents, or turkeys to cook at the local shelter, we want to help you serve others. Visit here to find the SCB Flex Fund application. Email scboard@middlebury.edu for more information.

Questions? If you have questions about any of these volunteer opportunities or want to learn more ways to get involved in the local community, contact Ashley Calkins, Associate Director, Community Engagement, jcalkins@middlebury.edu, 802.443.3099.