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IALR February 2021 Newsletter
IALR September 2020 Newsletter
IALR Seeking 10 AmeriCorps Members to Mentor Students in STEM, Reading
Opportunities include stipend, educational award, professional development
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) is seeking to fill 10 remaining member slots for its Dan River Year AmeriCorps program, which fosters a year of community service consisting of mentoring students in STEM-related areas and coaching literacy skills. Service sites include two positions at Danville Public Schools, three at the Danville Science Center, two at Gretna Middle School, two at Halifax Middle School and one at Martinsville Middle School.
“Our AmeriCorps program is a unique opportunity for individuals looking to enhance their resume, build relationships and add new skills while giving back to the community,” said Dr. Julie Brown, Director of Advanced Learning at IALR. “Not only do service members enjoy helping students, but they also receive professional development, a stipend and an educational award.”
Supported by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service, IALR and the Danville Regional Foundation, the regional Dan River Year AmeriCorps program is designed to build the area’s capacity for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by addressing literacy challenges. The available STEM/Literacy Tutor and Coach positions work with students to enhance their STEM and literacy skills, as well as to help with related service projects. For their service, AmeriCorps members receive a stipend as well as a Segal Education Award to pay for college or to repay student loans.
Twenty positions were recently filled across the Southern Virginia footprint spanning Pittsylvania County, Halifax County and the cities of Danville and Martinsville. There are 10 open slots. To view the list of current openings and to apply for member positions, candidates should visit bit.ly/DRYpositions. For more information, those interested may contact Dana Silicki at Dana.Silicki@ialr.org or (434) 766-6729.
AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and leads the nation’s volunteering and service efforts. The Virginia Department of Social Services, through the Office on Volunteerism and Community Services, oversees the Dan River Year program and provides support. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov.
Dan River Year AmeriCorps member Trina Holiness-Morris writes thoughtful notes to be inserted in stimulus care packages for seniors in residential care to help stimulate their brain activity and provide them cheer during a time of quarantine. She and other AmeriCorps members filled the packages with playing cards or a game, a stamped greeting card to send to a relative or friend, a large-pieced puzzle, an adult coloring book with colored pencils, a marigold plant kit, a large-print word search or Sudoku, and a canvas with paint and a brush.
IALR Awarded Federal Grant to Extend AmeriCorps Program, Seeking Applicants for Positions
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) was one of only five organizations in Virginia to be awarded federal competitive funding by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in support of continuing its Dan River Year (DRY) AmeriCorps program. IALR is seeking applicants for 34 service member positions to start Sept. 1.
“The diligent efforts of IALR staff members Dana Silicki, Jessica Beebe and Audia Harris have helped position our Dan River Year AmeriCorps program as a leading exemplar throughout the state and nation,” said Dr. Julie Brown, Director of Advanced Learning at IALR. “Thanks to the Corporation for National and Community Service and other partners, we are excited to continue the program’s benefits. Not only do service members enjoy mentoring students, but they also receive professional development, a stipend and an educational award.”
In what the CNCS termed as a “highly competitive year,” the federal agency funded $227,615 for IALR’s DRY program and $93,957 for educational award investment. The funds are intended to help recipients “respond to the most critical issues facing communities in the U.S.”
IALR and the Danville Regional Foundation have also supported the existing DRY program at IALR. This regional program is designed to build the area’s capacity for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by addressing literacy challenges. Many DRY members are placed in middle schools to coach students and combat this issue, and others are placed in service positions within community organizations; service sites span the Southern Virginia footprint, including Pittsylvania County, Halifax County and the cities of Danville and Martinsville.
According to the CNCS, “a growing body of research shows that service has an effect on more than just the communities served, but also on the members themselves. AmeriCorps alumni credit their year of service for developing leadership skills that bridges divides, solves problems, and opens doors to opportunities that advance their careers and education. In addition, research shows that alumni gain skills and are exposed to experiences that communities and employers find valuable.”
“For more than two decades, Americans have answered the call to serve by pledging to ‘get things done’ as AmeriCorps members. Through their dedication and sacrifice, I know our nation is in good hands,” said Chester Spellman, director of AmeriCorps. “I congratulate all the 2020 grant recipients, who will make service possible for a new class of AmeriCorps members and salute all our AmeriCorps members – past, present, and future. Their service will help to create a brighter tomorrow.”
For their service, AmeriCorps members receive a stipend as well as a Segal Education Award of up to $6,000 to pay for college or to repay student loans. To view the list of current openings and to apply for member positions, candidates should visit bit.ly/americorpsopps. For more information, those interested may contact Dana Silicki at Dana.Silicki@ialr.org or (434) 766-6729.
AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and leads the nation’s volunteering and service efforts. The Virginia Department of Social Services, through the Office on Volunteerism and Community Services, oversees the DRY program and provides support. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov.
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research serves Virginia as a regional catalyst for economic transformation with applied research, advanced learning, advanced manufacturing, conference center services and economic development efforts. IALR’s major footprint focuses within Southern Virginia, including the counties of Patrick, Henry, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Halifax and Mecklenburg along with the cities of Martinsville and Danville.
The 2019-2020 AmeriCorps members gathered for a week of orientation at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research at the start of the program last September. They received training on relationship building, tutoring strategies and more.
AmeriCorps Members Help Serve Hundreds with Drives and Service Hours
Community service program helps address food and water needs and seniors’ mental well-being
In the past month, 24 AmeriCorps members have served hundreds of families, children and seniors across Danville, Pittsylvania County and South Boston during the COVID-19 public health crisis, and they continue to do so. This service-based group has provided a natural conduit for support of essential needs like food, water and mental wellness, as well as expanded manpower for the nonprofit and community partners who champion these resources.
“As the AmeriCorps pledge states, our members strive to ‘get things done,’ and we are so appreciative of their can-do attitude and enthusiasm, especially during these challenging times,’” said Dr. Julie Brown, Director of Advanced Learning at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), which administers the Dan River Year AmeriCorps program across Southern Virginia. “These members usually serve at schools and other community sites that are currently closed; however, with careful planning and creativity, we have been delighted to offer new, meaningful and safe ways for them to continue to serve and positively impact our region.”
Five AmeriCorps members served for several days at God’s Storehouse packing food bags in support of the Malcom Huckabee Backpack Program that helps feed children when out of school. They continue to support God’s Storehouse with other initiatives, including the Urban Farm and at-home projects to help build the organization’s food capacity now that both food donations and needs have risen.
Ten members have also volunteered on a continual, regular basis with Pittsylvania County Schools to help pack and deliver lunches to families who come to the schools for weekly pick-ups. They have partnered with the Chatham Rotary and other local groups to organize more than 200 lunches at each middle school every week.
Bertina Wilson, an AmeriCorps member who normally serves at Bonner Middle School, organized a water drive and delivered hundreds of bottles of water to Danville communities in need. Paige Warren, who normally serves with the Danville Church-Based Tutorial Program, coordinated food packs for children and the elderly in the Seeland Crossing community in Danville.
Eight AmeriCorps members packed 75 “Stimulus Care Packages” for seniors and delivered them to Chatham Health and Rehabilitation Center and to Sentara Woodview in South Boston. To help stimulate the minds of seniors during this time of social distancing and restricted visits, bags were filled with the following items: playing cards, board games, puzzles or activity books, “thinking of you” greeting cards with stamped envelopes, art supplies and adult coloring books.
Dan River Year AmeriCorps member Trina Holiness-Morris writes friendly, encouraging messages to senior residents of Chatham Health and Rehabilitation Center and Sentara Woodview in South Boston. The notes were included in Senior Stimulus Care Packages along with playing cards, board games, activity books, art supplies and more to keep them engaged and occupied during this time of restricted visits.
IALR’s Dan River Year AmeriCorps program is designed to address literacy challenges and engage youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Members usually serve as mentors, coaches and tutors for students during the school year and during summer educational or enrichment programs. They receive a stipend and Segal Education Award for their service. AmeriCorps leads the nation’s volunteering and service efforts and is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov.
