Martin Luther King Day of Service in Prescott Featured in Service For Peace's National Report

Service for Peace (SFP) awarded the Yavapai County VISTA Project $1,000 to support the local Martin Luther King Day of Service event held in Prescott on January 18th, 2010. SFP is an independent nonprofit organization providing service and learning opportunities through community projects which promote transformational and sustainable personal and community development around the world. They bring together people and partners of diverse faiths, ethnicities, nationalities, generations, and cultures to address profound social needs by discovering commonality and genuine appreciation for differences – all through service. SFP believes that peace begins with the inner peace fostered by service to others and that active cooperation provides the foundation and the real hope for peace. 

SFP used a portion of YCVP's event report in their National MLK Day Update!  Click this link to read the full update!

Service For Peace National MLK Update

MLK Day 2010 - Great turnout and success despite the rain

The Yavapai County VISTA Project (YCVP), in association with Service For Peace, held its 3rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event on Monday, January 18th, 2010, from 9AM to 2PM at the Prescott United Methodist Church. Attendance was high, and so was the energy in Agape Hall of the United Methodist Church in downtown Prescott. Attendance numbers captured 406 people present for the morning activities. The kickoff celebration at the church’s sanctuary included remarks from the Yavapai County VISTA Project, a brief video on the MLK Day of Service, and focused around the theme of “make it a year on, not just a day”, as 15 community non-profits participated and tabled the event to encourage volunteerism throughout the year.

Service projects for event participants included: the Prescott Creeks Watson Woods Preserve clean-up, where 66 volunteers collected refuse, learned about the preserve, and prepared over 12,000 Willow tree saplings to be included in the restoration; “Big for a Day” with Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters where over 25 adults volunteered to be matched with a local little brother or little sister; and, at the Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary, one of our largest projects, brought together 147 people who hauled 2,300lbs of trash and brush from the park’s grounds. A mid-winter cleaning and other organizational efforts were a common theme among our other service projects, with over 65 volunteers serving at the Prescott Area Women’s Shelter, Disabled American Veterans thrift store, The Coalition for Compassion and Justice, Prescott Valley Food Bank, and Goodwill Industries’ two Prescott locations to clean, organize, and sort various items.

Youth and youth engagement became a central focus of the event as well, as many attendants volunteered for the day as a family. Projects were designed and implemented by YCVP staff for youth, ages 2-6, 7-10, and 12-18. Youth projects focused on teaching about the legacy of Dr. King and developing an appreciation for people who give back to the community. The youth participants created over 200 thank you cards for area workers performing public service, including: firefighters, health care workers, librarians, and the men and women of the armed services. The teen event engaged 16 youth to think about how they can change the world through building an interest in service and by committing to continue to create change in their home communities.

A VISTA update from Rimrock

In early December following the Thanksgiving season, VISTA member Annika Head returned to work developing youth activities and community resources at Rimrock’s isolated Beaver Creek School. This is when she received the unfortunate and ill-timed news. Annika’s supervisor informed her that the Central Arizona Food Bank had to immediately discontinue all donation operations to Rimrock’s local food distribution center for December, predominately due to an inopportune logistical issue.

Karin Ward of Beaver Creek School, the Verde Food Council, and Annika immediately began collaborative efforts to ensure a delivery from somewhere. They directly contacted the St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix and were recipients of good news: St. Mary’s was eager to help. Rimrock’s Beaver Creek Food Bank typically averages 150 people per month, mostly due to an unreliable and limited food distributor and lackluster community outreach efforts. St. Mary’s said they would be in the area next Saturday and could provide food for 700 people.

Annika and Karin now recognized their situation at the Rimrock Foodbank as a crisis of opportunity. They attended all community meetings with the announcement, flyers were sent home with every child at Beaver Creek School, and the news was circulated in the community’s e-newsletter. In the few days before the shipment was to arrive, Annika also spent time calling and contacting everyone that had ever expressed a need for food donations.

When the morning finally came, an hour before opening a line formed out the door, and by the end of the day nearly 650 people received food that Saturday, quadrupling the average amount of food recipients. With the remaining perishable items, Annika and Karin were also able to donate additional food for the Kiwanis Christmas Food Box Drive, providing food for families in need during the holidays.

What could have been a catastrophe turned out to be a gift in disguise. Relationships have since been repaired with the Central Arizona Food Bank, and Rimrock Food Bank is operating again normally. The amount of people in attendance for Rimrock’s January distribution stayed nearly as high, with the increased numbers believed to be due to the immediate and extensive outreach efforts of December. Through St. Mary’s large delivery in December, the unfortunate needs of Rimrock were seen, but larger deliveries can now be ensured.

Project preps for MLK Day 2010 - Monday, January 18th - 9am to 2pm

The Yavapai County VISTA Project (YCVP), in association with Service For Peace, will host its 3rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event on Monday, January 18th, 2010, from 9AM to 2PM at the Prescott United Methodist Church. The event is an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to come together in common purpose and engage in meaningful service and volunteerism in recognition of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The day will feature volunteer and service opportunities with local organizations, a keynote speaker who will highlight the life and legacy of Dr. King, and a Volunteer Opportunity Fair where attendees can visit with leaders of local organizations and sign up to volunteer throughout the year.  

Service project participants include: Prescott Creeks, Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters, Prescott Alternative  Transportation, Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary, Goodwill, and the Disabled American Veterans organization, among others. The event will provide free refreshments, and the opportunity to earn free admission to Disneyland and Disney World parks through partnership with the Disney and HandsOn Network’s “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day” promotion.

Initiated by Congress in 1994, the MLK Day of Service builds upon Dr. King’s legacy of service through transforming the federal holiday honoring Dr. King into a national day of community service. The aim is to make the holiday a “day on”, where people of all ages and backgrounds come together to bridge social barriers, meet community needs, and improve lives.

Participants are encouraged to register for their preferred service project in advance on YCVP’s front page, or on the day of the event. The Prescott United Methodist Church is located at 505 W. Gurley Street, in Prescott [Get Directions].

Stories In-Service (November 2009)

In November, VISTA member Stacy Raker launched a new volunteer program for the organizations People Who Care and Neighbor to Neighbor to more comprehensively utilize the skills and assets their volunteers bring to the organizations. People Who Care and Neighbor to Neighbor are both organizations that meet the individual transportation needs of elderly, disabled, or home-bound individuals. This new Community Liaison program is designed to help the agency connect with various faith communities, service or civic organizations located in the Quad-City communities (Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Dewey-Humboldt). To date, over 35 People Who Care and Neighbor to Neighbor volunteers have participated.

The 28th Annual Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters Gala was held on Saturday, November 21st at the Prescott Resort and Conference Center. VISTA member Meghan Quigley helped to organize and plan the event, which is intended to honor the top 350 donors of the Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. The gala honored their donors through a formal dinner and dancing, featured silent and live auctions, and former football hall-of-famer, Lynn Swann, was the celebrity emcee. This event raised over $250,000 for Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The Prescott Area Women’s Shelter (PAWS) held its 1st Annual Winter Fundraiser on December 3rd at Jazzy’s Wine Bar in downtown Prescott.  PAWS VISTA member, Erika Stone, helped organize the event and worked with volunteers for over a month gathering donations from businesses and individuals for the silent auction and raffle. Over 70 silent auction items and 30 raffle items were presented during the evening, nearly 150 community members attended, and PAWS raised over $5,000 for its operations. Since officially opening in February 2009, PAWS has served over 100 women and 10 children.

Beth Ashton, a VISTA member serving with the United Way of Yavapai County in Prescott Valley, AZ., helped to facilitate the organization’s role in the Verde Valley’s, “Mitzvah Day.” On November 15th in Sedona, AZ., the “intergenerational and interfaith day of service,” successfully engaged approximately 500 volunteers in 30 different service projects in the Verde Valley communities. The event was sponsored by the Verde Valley Caregivers, the Jewish Community Foundation of Sedona and Verde Valley, and the Keep Sedona Beautiful organization.

VISTA member Sam Kissinger, who runs a literacy program for students ages 7-11 at Humboldt Elementary School in Humboldt, AZ., organized a community service project called Campus Clean-up. As the title indicates, volunteers were solicited to come help weed, rake and pick up trash. The idea, initiated by Sam, was for everyone involved in the school and in the community of Humboldt, to physically demonstrate their commitment to the school. The day ended with 30 volunteers, far surpassing the wildest expectations, and over 1840 square yards of weeds, yard waste and garbage collected.

Prescott Area Women's Shelter (PAWS)

 The Prescott Area Women's Shelter (PAWS), originally YCVP VISTA project in 2007, is now a fully operational shelter serving the needs of women and women with children in Yavapai County. Thanks to VISTA member Donna Bellina for creating this video. To learn more about PAWS, visit http://www.prescottshelter.org

Stories In-Service (October 2009)

From October 22-25, Kado Stewart, a VISTA member serving with the Prescott Pride Center and 1n10, Inc. of Phoenix, successfully organized and facilitated the 2nd annual OUTdoors! Youth Leadership Conference for Arizona LGBT youth (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). The conference brought together nearly 100 youth, 25 workshop presenters, and 68 volunteers at the beautiful Camp Sky-Y in Prescott, AZ. for a weekend full of opportunities for youth, such as leadership development training, learning healthy communication techniques, and cultivating a strong community. The conference was a huge success, with many youth and volunteers having personal breakthroughs during the weekend. All conference costs, and half of next year's budget, (approximately $15k) were raised by Kado through fundraising efforts, personal donations, and modest registration fees.

In the month of October, Augustine Lopez, VISTA member and Coordinator of the Community Circle program, and the Coalition for Compassion and Justice (CCJ), received a $15,000 critical community needs grant from the United Way of Yavapai County to expand and improve current operations for CCJ's shared case management program. Augustine is continuing to refer clients to the Community Circle, and this month, 4 new clients received services, two of which were homeless. With the additional funding, Augustine will work to refine the initial Community Circle program procedures and expand the available service network in the Quad-City communities (Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Dewey-Humboldt) as well as throughout Yavapai County.

VISTA member Nathaniel Hoag, serving with the environmental organization Prescott Creeks, recently completed a community-oriented feedback process for use in planning a comprehensive website overhaul for the organization. During the feedback process, members of the Prescott Creeks community and others were invited to suggest improvements for the Prescott Creeks website, and organization presence more broadly, through in-person interviews and a web-based survey. Nathaniel will use this gathered feedback to prioritize features for the new Prescott Creeks website which will be aimed at user experiences, volunteer coordination and registration, and increasing the organization's community presence.

VISTA member Jacquie Welsh was awarded a $500 grant for the Verde Valley/Sedona office of Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters. The mini-grant, from MATForce and the Yavapai County Substance Abuse Coalition, will be used to support drug abuse prevention efforts in the region and also provide the agency with funds to support two distinctive programs. Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters is excited to utilize the funding in order to support a substance abuse free community!