Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week Results

TOTAL ITEM COUNT: 252

TOTAL MONETARY DONATIONS: $224.55

All donations will benefit Area 10 Agency on Aging.

THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!

Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week

To correspond with the annual campaign by the National Coalition for the Homeless, START and many local nonprofits and businesses take part in a nationwide effort to bring greater awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness. This year we will be collecting non-perishable food items and money to benefit Area 10 Agency on Aging. Stop by our table in the atrium sometime this week to drop off your donations. There are many other community awareness activities taking place, and we'll also be selling tickets to "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader," a fundraising event taking place at Bloomington H.S. South this Thursday night.

SPECIFICS once again...

When: Beginning TOMORROW (Monday the 16th) through Friday the 20th

Who: All students vs. faculty and staff

Where: SPEA Atrium

Why: SPEA's all about improving communities, remember?!

What: We are specifically looking for protein items (such as canned tuna or chicken, peanut butter, etc.), along with low-sugar foods (cereals, snacks, sugar-free cookies) to donate to Area 10. Their food pantry serves low-income homebound senior citizens with two bags of groceries and frozen food each month. Their program currently serves 165 households, has been running for 15 years, and is run completely by volunteers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know! Thank you in advance for supporting our cause!

Thank You for your Veterans Day Donations

On behalf of START, AmeriCorps Alums, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, thank you to everyone who generously donated items last week. We filled the box in the MPA/MSES office with over 20 items!

Remember our Heroes

November Volunteer of the Month--Kate Slavens

ALL ABOUT KATE:

Degree: First year MPA

Concentrations: Nonprofit Management & Policy Analysis

Internship: Middle Way House

Activities: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, START

Recent Volunteer Experience: Bloomington Multicultural Expo

Hometown: New Castle, IN

Undergraduate Institution: University of Evansville

Blood Drive Success!

Thanks to everyone who gave blood at our Red Cross Blood Drive last Wednesday, October 14th.

Thanks to your efforts, we were able to provide 26 usable donations to the Red Cross!

Yoplait Lids - Save Lids to Save Lives

This week we are mailing 44 Yoplait lids to the Save Lids to Save Lives campaign sponsoring Susan G. Komen for the Cure. For each lid, Yoplait donates ten cents to the fund, with a guaranteed gift of $500,000.
Learn more at http://www.yoplait.com/slsl/, and keep washing your Yoplait lids and placing them in the big envelope on the board in the Grad Lounge.

First Year Representative Voting

CONGRATULATIONS to our two First Year Representative Nominees! Please see their campaign statements below:

Susanna Foxworthy: Hi, I would love to be your first year rep for START! As the first year representative, I would take an active role in shadowing the co-presidents of START for next year. I would also look for and promote volunteer activities and other creative ways for us to get involved in the community. Since we're all involved in other organizations and, of course, classes, I'd concentrate on finding a balance of volunteer opportunities that are one time commitments (i.e. cookie decorating at a nursing home during the holidays, maybe!) and also others that require greater time commitments. This year, I have participated in a couple of events I learned about from START including the service project during orientation week and tutoring once a week at the Pinnacle School, and I am excited for the future events like caroling and forming a Homeward Bound team. Thank you for your vote!

Hey fellow START members! My name is Lindsay Walker and I would love the opportunity to be your first year representative. I am a MPA student concentrating in nonprofit management and just like all of you; I have a strong belief in serving my community and helping those around me in any way that I can. I have volunteered and worked for numerous charitable organizations including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Phoenix Rescue Mission, where I helped organize and implement seasonal food drives and the Fiesta Bowl’s Hole-In-One Golf Tournament which raises money for families of firefighters and police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. I also spent some time working in the communications department of the Make-A-Wish Foundation where I helped convey the organization’s mission statement and objectives. If chosen as START’s first year representative, I will commit to bringing new ideas to the table, sharing all of your thoughts and feedback with the association and carrying on my passion for serving the community in which we all live. Thanks everybody!

Please send your vote to speastart@gmail.com by NOON this Friday (October 16^th). We will announce the new first year rep once all votes are tallied.

Free Hotel Stay for Volunteer Service

Give A Day, Get A Night

Sage Supports Volunteerism

Give 8 hours of community service and Get a complimentary night stay or 50% discount on hotel rooms at all 53 Sage hotels across the country.

Offer ends March 31, 2010

The Details:

Complete 8 hours of volunteer service to a registered 501(c)3 non profit organization by March 29, 2010 to qualify to receive 50% off the published room rate -- or maybe a complimentary night (limited availability).

For more information: click here.

City of Bloomington Volunteer Network

If you are interested in volunteering in a particular sector, but can't seem to find info, check out:

City of Bloomington Volunteer Network

401 N. Morton St. Suite 260
Bloomington, IN 47404
(812) 349-3433
volunteer@bloomington.in.gov
www.bloomington.in.gov/volunteer

And, as always, feel free to e-mail speastart@gmail.com if you have any specific questions!