This AmeriCorps Life

Laura is our AmeriCorps State member serving with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona as the Volunteer & Engagement Coordinator. Laura is behind the scenes tracking the information and the hours the thousands of volunteers put into serving at the organization. Hear more about her passion for food security and open the awesome events coming up with the Food Bank in this Episode! 

https://www.communityfoodbank.org/

We are so proud of all our AmeriCorps members who graduated from high school, college, and even graduate school this year! On this new episode we chat with on our our recent University of Arizona graduates, AmeriCorps State member Emily! Emily shares her college journey and how serving with Pima County Teen Court has helped to shape her future. Congratulations Emily, we are so proud! 

For more information on Pima County Teen Court follow this link: http://www.pcteencourt.com/

Libby is our AmeriCorps State member who serves with Friends of Aphasia. Friends of Aphasia strives to enhance the lives of those living with aphasia, including individuals who have aphasia, their families, and their community. Libby elaborates on what aphasia actually is & discusses the role of a facilitator in a support group. Learn more and spread the word! 

https://friendsofaphasia.com/

Are you aware of all the native plants that grow here in the Sonoran Desert? AmeriCorps members Cara serving with Mission Garden and Briana serving with Tucson Clean & Beautiful discuss the importance of learning more on the indigenous culture and environment here in Tucson and the importance of sharing. Whether that's information or recipes, sharing is what helps our community flourish and bloom. Hear what they have to share on this episode! 

https://www.missiongarden.org/

https://tucsoncleanandbeautiful.org/

Intimidated about applying for a new job? Not sure how to write your resume? Want additional practice with professional interviews? These are all things that can be done with Goodwill of Southern Arizona in their Job Connection Center! Lexi A. is our AmeriCorps Program Services Specialist serving with Goodwill directly helping clients with job placement in Tucson. 

The centers are staffed with on-site Career Development Specialists who can offer guidance and assistancein the areas of basic computer skills, employment, education and/or community support.

Find out more: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eUl9Y3IFKDP5mLW9BaW4_gzyvvY1Sl9d/view

In this episode, host Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps member Juno Alonzo who serves with SAAVI Services For the Blind. SAAVI Services for the Blind is a blindness rehabilitation training center; providing skills training in low vision and nonvisual techniques to people of all ages. Juno serves to coordinate volunteers and discusses the accessibility of AmeriCorps. 

Find out more: https://saavi.us/

Well, check out this new episode to find out! Michael is an AmeriCorps State member serving with Tucson Clean & Beautiful as their Tree Coordinator.  To help support the Million Tree campaign throughout The City of Tucson, Michael conducts outreach and coordinates tree planting events in specific areas of the city in need of shade! 

Hear more about what kind of tree and the other fun programs Tucson Clean & Beautiful has to offer!

https://tucsoncleanandbeautiful.org/ 

Arizona Serve partners with over 50 different non profit originations in the Prescott & Tucson areas. They help connect individuals to AmeriCorps opportunities. In Prescott, one organization that has been benefitting greatly from AmeriCorps is the YMCA. Hear from our AmeriCorps Supervisor Marsha who has been supporting our members on what AmeriCorps has done for them! 

https://prescottymca.org/

AmeriCorps VISTA Jhiara serving with the City of Prescott's Community Nature Center as the Outreach and Community Education Coordinator sits down with host Mona to discuss her transtion to the wild wild from back east. In her role, Jhiara develops resources and improve coordination between different groups engaging with the Community Nature Center. She also supports the organization's social media, outreach, and training needs. 

https://www.prescott-az.gov/recreation-area/community-nature-center/

Which site makes these members say "I Love My Job!" everyday? Catherine and Riley serve with the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona helping to promote the program and its services to the Tucson and Central Arizona communities. 

Why do they love it so much? Tune in to find out!

https://www.diaperbank.org/

http://www.diaperbankaz.org/

It's a new year at Arizona Serve! You know what that means, a new team with new team leaders! Tune into this episode where AmeriCorps State & VISTA Team Leaders Gianni and Red based in Tucson chat about what they have planned for their teams this year! 

AmeriCorps State Team Leader Alex will be serving in Prescott Arizona for the 2021-2022 year helping to support the state members serving in Yavapai County! Tune in to this episode to hear more about Alex's previous experience serving as an AmeriCorps member with the YMCA helping to teach science to youth in the area. Our new host Mona kicks off the Prescott side of our podcast series for the year! 

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On this week's episode of This AmeriCorps Life, our host Madison Link sat down with two VISTAs to discuss their action committees to learn about the impact on their service on their communities. Each guest brought their own experiences to the table. Milan Abbi, Yavapai County Community Health Services' opioid harm reduction coordinator discussed his awareness work and medication assisted treatment, while Joelle Zuberi discussed her work serving with United Way and her newly founded equity and inclusion committee.

If you would like to learn more about United Way of Yavapai County, check out their website here. https://www.yavapaiunited.org/

On the other hand, if you would like to learn more about Yavapai County Community Health Services, you should check out their website here. https://www.yavapai.us/chs

On this week's episode, our host Madison Link sat down with Katie Kwiatkowski an AmeriCorps State Member serving with People Who Care to discuss her experiences with the student ambassador program and the opportunities she has enjoyed thanks to her service.

Anyone interested in volunteering with People Who Care can find more information here https://peoplewhocareaz.com/

AmeriCorps State member Allison Doty serves with Iskashitaa Refugee Network as the Harvesting Coordinator.  She sits down with host Sarah Haber and discusses how her studies at the University of Arizona in Anthropology has helped her in this new role. Iskashitaa Refugee Network in a nonprofit here in Tucson that combines Refugee Relief with food harvesting. 

Anyone interested in volunteering with Iskashitaa this citrus season you can find more information at https://www.iskashitaa.org/about-us/. 

Kevin Vo is our AmeriCorps State member serving with Boys To Men Tucson as the Teenage Boy Circle Support Coordinator. Vo sits down with host Sarah Haber t discuss how serving with Boys To Men has helped Kevin gain skills in having difficult conversations and how that can be used in his future endeavors in the medical field. 

https://www.btmtucson.com/

On this week's episode of the podcast, Madison Link the AmeriCorps state team leader sat down with Tyler Mathews and Sidney Hoshko, former PeaceCorps volunteers, to discuss the differences between serving domestically and abroad. Mathews currently serves as a VISTA for Boys to Men while Hoshko serves as a VISTA for Yavapai County Community Health Services. 

AmeriCorps VISTA Barbara Moss serving with Yavapai CASA For Kids Foundation as the Funds Development Specialist sat down with our new host AmeriCorps VISTA Team Leader Madison Link to discuss the ground breaking webinar series and events happening in Prescott Arizona! Moss reflects on the "Through Our Eyes"webinar series where CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) came in and share their experiences and also discusses the annual Costume For Kids 5k event happening Sunday October 25th virtually! 

You can register for the 5k here: 

https://yavapaicasaforkids.org/costumes-for-kids-annual-5k/

For more information on Yavapai CASA For Kids Foundation you can search here: https://yavapaicasaforkids.org/

AmeriCorps VISTA Nick sits down with soon to be AmeriCorps State Team Leader Zach and Communications Program Manager Sarah to chat about his service with Changemaker High School as the Sustainability Coordinator. Navigating month 1 of service in these COVID times, Nick has kicked off his new podcast series "Tucson Climate Chats" to highlight the work of local Tucson organizations. 

You can find his podcast here: https://anchor.fm/tucson-climate-chats  

Zach Simmons sits down with host Sarah Haber via zoom for another live podcast! Simmons will be joining the Arizona Serve team September 1st filling the role as the AmeriCorps State Team Leader. Simmons is no stranger to service, he served as an AmeriCorps City Year volunteer in New Orleans and then went on to serve as a PeaceCoprs volunteer in a small county in South East Asia. With his previous teaching experience in service, Simmons will be leading our Tucson AmeriCorps State team this year and will be the driving force behind cultivating  and cohesive cohort. Looking forward to you joining our team! 

AmeriCorps VISTA Prescott Team Leader Emily Carey sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA Sean Stevens and Monique LaFlamme who serve at the Prescott Unified School District as the Attendance Success Coordinator. Stevens is coming to the tail end if his service and LaFlamme is just beginning! Hear what insight they have to share as members that are exiting and entering into service and what plans Stevens has moving forward and what LaFlamme hopes to see for this year!

AmeriCorps VISTA Team Leader Emily Carey sits down with AmeriCorps Alaska alum Lorna Rose based in Alaska! The 2 talk about their experience serving as NCCC volunteers and this different approach to national service! 

Host Emily, AmeriCorps VISTA Team Leader of our Prescott team sits down with our newest VISTA member Sidney. Sidney is a Returned PeaceCorps volunteer who served in the Ukraine. Now Sidney has just begun to embark on an AmeriCorps VISTA term serving for the Yavapai County Community Health Services as the Exceptional Child Care Coordinator. Welcome Sidney, and good luck!  

Chelsea Forer, our AmeriCorps Community Schools member is back! Forer and host Sarah Haber sit down with the founder and Principal of Changemaker High School Luis Perales to reflect of the Guest Speaker Series training on The School To Prison Pipeline. Perales shares his experience as an educator and the importance of going above and beyond for our students. 

Happy Mother's Day to all! On this special episode of This AmeriCorps Life host Sarah Haber sits don with here mommy, Nicole Doliner. Nicole served as a PeaceCorps volunteer from 1983-1985 in Kenya. Hear her perspective on all different kinds of service as well as the perspective of a parent reflecting on their child serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer!! 

AmeriCorps VISTA Sue Kim serving as the Diabetes Care Coordinator at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona & El Rio Santa Cruz Neighborhood Health Center joins host Sarah Haber for the second ever This AmeriCorps Life LIVE. Sue discusses her experience relocating to Tucson from New Jersey to help coordinate food distributions in the Tucson community. 

AmeriCorps VISTA Team Leader Emily Carey sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA Paul Rizik serving as the Farm to School Coordinator for the Prescott Unified School District and discuss how to educate students on healthy fruits an vegetables.  

We are LIVE! On this special episode of This AmeriCorps Life, host Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA Emily Parker serving as the Outreach Coordinator for the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona. Parker shares her experience serving for the first ever Diaper Bank in the nation and  answers questions on how to navigate your VISTA year on the VISTA budget! Special thank you to our guests for joined us!  

AmeriCorps VISTA Prescott Team Leader Emily Caret chats with AmeriCorps VISTA Kirsten Slora serving at the Yavapai County Community Health Service as the Exceptional Health Care Coordinator. Slora has being coordinating the Yavapai Special Needs Support Group *Virtal* Event. This will entail a panel discussion with special education professional in Yavapai County. Hear about how just coordinating this wonderful event!

http://www.yavapai.us/chs 

Due to the current state of affairs, This AmeriCorps Life, is going ZOOM! Hosts Sarah Haber and  Emily Carey sit down (from a distance) with Annie Reifsnyder, Training and Program Manager of Arizona Serve and Kelley Villa of Pinnacle Prevention. All 4 served as the VISTA Team Leader in Prescott. Hear about the perspective of a team leader role from 4 different generations as well as what our AmeriCorps program is doing in response to COVID- 19. 

http://www.pinnacleprevention.org/

Sounds like we've got a new host on board! AmeriCorps Community Schools Team Leader Nadia Nichols makes her hosting debut. Nichols sits down with AmeriCorps Community Schools member Pamela Salen who serves at El Rio as their Mindfulness Coordinator. Hear how she brings mindfulness practices into the classroom and relax as Salen facilitates a mindfulness practice in this episode! 

AmeriCorp VISTA Team Leader Emily Carey sits down with AmeriCrops VISTA's Grace Sinsisalo and Alexa Melena. Sinsisalo serves with the Yavapai County Health Department and the Opioid Harm Reduction Coordinator. Melena serves with Sonoran Prevention Works as the Overdose Prevention Coordinator. Hear about their work to address the opioid epidemic in Yavapai County from two differenct angels and approaches! 

Curious as to what our Tucson Team did on MLK Day? AmeriCorps member Max Serventi and AmeriCorps Community School member Chelsea Forer both presented workshops for our MLK Day celebration about the power vulnerability in our service.  Serventi is a STEM Coach out of the AmeriCorps program at the University of Arizona where he helps mentor students in the STEM field. Forer is apart of the Community School Initiative serving at Palo Verde Magnet School working with students to prep them for success. 

AmeriCorps VISTA Sarah Banta serving as the Quality Improvement and Practice Transition Coordinator at Banner Health of the University of Arizona's Department of Family and Community Medicine sits down with host Sarah Haber. Hear how Banta serves in the realm of medicine and data collection to help improve systems and practices at the clinic .

For more information feel free to visit: https://www.fcm.arizona.edu/

AmeriCorps State members Nolan Rose and Jessy Forelli sit down with host, Sarah Haber and chat about their service with refugee relief. Rose serves as the Refugee Program Associate at Iskahitaa Refugee Network, combing food preservation with refugee relief. Forelli serves as the SOT Program Support Associate for International Rescue Committee.

To find out more information on their work, visit https://www.iskashitaa.org/ and https://www.rescue.org/united-states/tucson-az. 

Curious as to who the man behind the intro is? AmeriCorps VISTA Emily Carey sits down with Rich Ormond, Director of Career Service at Prescott College.  Hear about his work with Prescott College as well as his experience in National Service as a PeaceCorps volunteer. 

AmeriCorps VISTA Prescott Team Leader Emily Carey sits down with community member Kendra Hobbs with the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace and Justice Committee.  Tune in to hear all of their hard work that they've done to put together this years Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service celebration held on Monday January 20th 2020. 

Interested in in signing up to volunteer? You can sign up here! https://signup.com/go/YxurZWS

Listen to the creative tactics AmeriCorps VISTA, Kelsey Weed is implementing to tackle the opioid epidemic as the Integrated Care Program Specialist from La Frontera's Hope Center.

AmeriCorps VISTA Team Leader Emily Carey sit down with Jesus Gutierrez, volunteer coordinator of Stepping Stones Agency. Stepping Stones is dedicated to ending intimate violence in all forms and promoting individual self-sufficiency, personal growth, self-worth and resiliency in the adults and children that we are committed to serve. They also partner with Arizona Serve for Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service.  

If anyone is interested in serving with Arizona Serve on MLK Day you can sign up here: https://signup.com/go/YxurZWS

We are here in Tucson!! Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA, Brieanna Chillious serving with Make Way For Books Foundation as their Digital Division Specialist.  Hear about their incredible work with early literacy initiatives here in Tucson!

Have any questions? You can reach Breianna at brieanna@makewayforbooks.org.

Find out more information on Arizona Serve at our website: http://arizonaserve.org/

Interested in the Make Way For Books App? Find out more here: https://makewayforbooks.org/app/

Arizona Serve's AmeriCorps VISTA Prescott Team Leader, Emily Carey sits down with VISTA alum, Molly Peterson. Molly served with Prevent Child Abuse Arizona as their Fund Development Assistant. Check out how her path led her to service!

Check out this lost episode that was made this past summer up in Prescott. We chatted with our VISTA member serving with Yavapai CASA 4 Kids Foundation, Katie Retwaiut. Just in time for their annual Costumes 4 Kids 5k event happening Sunday October 27th!

In this latest episode, Sarah Haber sits down with 2 gentlemen who really rock. Eric Welsh and Giovanni Hernandez of GEM Environmental, a community partner of Arizona Serve, discuss the great geological field work opportunities at their organization.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is coming up Monday, January 21st 2019. Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps alum Brittini Ward to discuss the big plans for the special day as well as Brittini's experience as an AmeriCorps member.

Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA Mona Stephens of Yavapai CASA For Kids Foundation where they discuss how to better market yourself.

Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA Lacey Carlock serving with the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic Foundation as they discuss what it's like leaving New York and coming to Arizona.

Renee App the Tucson VISTA Team Leader visits Prescott and discusses life as a leader for our Arizona Serve Team!

Sarah Haber sits down with AmeriCorps VISTA Jordan Thompson of Boys To Men Mentoring to discuss the Prescott Sexual Violence Awareness Conference which Jordan was the driving force behind. The Conference will be Saturday, November 10th from 12pm-7pm at the Adult Center of Prescott.

Sarah Haber, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader, hosts this authentic look at what it means to be an Arizona Serve AmeriCorps member in both Yavapai and Pima County.