Auburn Students arrive in Malawi for College of Education and Outreach Study Abroad Trip

This picture of the students and faculty of the Destination Africa: Malawi 2013 Outreach Education Study Abroad program was taken today as we departed the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Malawi. We are staying at the Mtendere Village and orphanage. Our group was greeted with a welcome ceremony when we arrived by the children, Teachers and Village staff. Click here for more information.

This is a picture of the students and faculty taken as they departed the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Local Volunteer Opportunity with Auburn Day Care Center

Auburn Day Care Center is in need of volunteers! Potential tasks include reading to children, playing with children, and setting up computers in their Moton Center. This is a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys working with and for children; become their advocate today! Contact Shanice Richardson at auburndaycarectr@bellsouth.net for more information.

Looking for a v…

Looking for a volunteer opportunity? Contact Dr. Trellis Williams at trellis234@earthlink.net to find out about tutoring and float decorating with I Am My Brother’s Keeper! They are needing tutoring volunteers on all Monday and Wednesday evenings; you can go to a planning meeting on August 6th or 13th at 6:00 PM to find out more about tutoring with IAMBK. The float needs to be decorated by August 25th, so go lend a helping, creative hand! 

2012 Alabama Poverty Project Summer Workshop and Higher Education Alliance Annual Meeting

Auburn faculty have been invited to participate in the 2012 Alabama Poverty Project Summer Workshop and Higher Education Alliance Annual Meeting, on Tuesday, July 24th from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. at the Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Click here for more details and to register for this workshop.

Adventures in Africa: AU Study Abroad Outreach Education Program

Picture of the team (taken by Chippewa Thomas) at the airport in Adidis Ababa, Ethiopian.

The AU Study Abroad Outreach Education program started with our departure from Auburn on May 26th, 2012. Since arriving we have had an excellent immersion in the culture in Malawi, Central Africa. Saturday, June 16, 2012 we hosted a Teacher Professional Development Workshop at the Blanchard Multi-purpose room in the Mtendere Village, in Lumbadzi where we all are staying. The workshop was held from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and attendees included the Lumbadzi Primary School teachers, Deputy Head Teacher, and Head Teacher as well as Mtendere Village teachers and Head Teacher; 18 education professionals in all. Eleven Auburn University student teachers, Mr. Shakeer Abdullah (Director of the AU Multicultural Center), Dr. Chippewa Thomas (Director of Faculty Engagement, VPUO), and Dr. L. Octavia Tripp (Associate Professor, Curriculum and Teaching, College of Education) presented best practice teaching stratiagies, lifeskills content, and assisted in various capacities to see that the workshop was carried out in success (agenda attached). Each participant in the workshop received registration and workshop materials including a small professional development stipend, a certificate of participation and school supplies for their respective classrooms. We left Malawi on Tuesday, June 19th.There are many more stories to report of our time and work here in Malawi, that our team is looking forward to share.

*Many thanks to Dr. Chippewa Thomas, Director of Faculty Engagement, VPUO, for keeping us up-to-date on this wonderful study abroad experience!

Summer Volunteer Opportunities

Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Auburn, AL

In need of volunteers to assist in a Back to School Summer Enrichment Program.  The program, which will start in mid-July, will focus on preparing K-5 students to return to school.  Tutors are needed in reading and math.  Any interested people should contact Patricia Frazier at 334-444-8998 or 334-826-0678.

Lee County Habitat for Humanity

• Habitat Public Relations Display Project for Annual Event: 2-4 volunteers needed to set up and display point of display materials at an annual community involvement event. Students will be involved with an orientation process on Habitat’s mission and local activity. Students will set up and display Habitat marketing materials and share the organizations purpose with event attendees on June 10.
• Habitat for Humanity Home Construction Project: Construction of a Habitat home sponsored by the We Help coalition of churches Auburn. Welcome skilled and unskilled volunteers needed to help on construction of this home.

Anyone interested in participating in either of these projects should contact Mark Grantham: 334- 745-2123,  mark.a.grantham310@gmail.com.

Calhoun County Extension Office

• We have community garden, recycling and outdoor classroom projects in Anniston. We can use help with site development and/or general maintenance. Opportunities for arts and crafts, construction, clean-up, vegetable production, county wide recycling program, etc. We have wifi at our semi-remote site, so volunteers can stay in touch. Assignments are available Monday through Friday, 8–4:30. Local volunteers are arriving every Tuesday 8 til noon. Call (256) 237-1621 for more information.

Alabama Rural Ministries

• ARM will be running home repair projects in Macon and Lee County from June 15th till July 23rd. Volunteers can come anytime from 8:30-4:00
• ARM is running a summer day camp for children in downtown Tuskegee. Camp runs M-F from 8:45-2:30. It meets at Tuskegee Public School.

For information contact Kim Dixon at (334) 501-4276 – kim@arm-al.org

Food Bank of East Alabama

Volunteers assist the Food Bank of East Alabama by sorting product, re-bagging product, preparing sacks of groceries for seniors, stocking shelves, sweeping, mopping and loading agency vehicles.

Hours of operation:
Monday – Thursday 7:00 AM – 12:00 noon
Monday – Thursday 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Friday: 7:00 AM – 12:00 noon court order volunteers only

We are closed from 12:00 – 1:00.

Attire: Casual clothes, shorts & sleeveless shirts are fine; no tank tops or opened toed shoes. No offensive slogans on your t-shirts.

Community service for school or a civic organization: 

• Please call before you come in to be sure there are open spots for volunteers. The hours and dress code apply. The first time you come, someone will acquaint you with the facility and introduce you to the warehouse manager who will direct you on a project.
• If you need verification of volunteer hours for a professor or organization, please tell the person at the reception desk when you sign in.
• If coming as a group of more than three, please call at least 2 weeks ahead to arrange a project specifically for your group.
• Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age.

Court Ordered Community Service

• Please call or e-mail to schedule your first visit to the Food Bank. The necessary paper work will be done to report your hours and a volunteer schedule will be set-up.
• The hours and dress code apply.
• Plan to do a minimum of 2 hours each time you come in. You may do more if it fits with your schedule and ours.
• Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age. If under 18 a parent or legal guardian must come for the first visit to sign appropriate paper work.
• When your hours are complete, our director will send a letter to the appropriate authorities.

For additional information contact: Donna Demous, 334-821-9006

Two Americorps Positions Available

Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps program, is a partnership between Rebuilding Together and the AmeriCorps program.  CapacityCorps assigns full-time AmeriCorps members to serve in a number of Rebuilding Together affiliates in several states across the country, including Rebuilding Together Central Alabama (RTCA) located in Montgomery, AL.  RTCA currently is interviewing to fill two AmeriCorps positions. Click here for more information.

Service Opportunities

Just a reminder about some volunteer opportunities left for this semester. It’s never too late to get involved!!

Bravehearts: April 23rd- Final Performance and Art Exhibit 6pm 

• Angie Burque, burquad@auburn.edu

Women’s Hope: End of May- Walk for Life

• Staci Clifton, staci@womenshope.org

The Joy to Life Foundation: April 21st- Walk of Life

Holly Shoemaker, Volunteer Coordinator (holly@joytolife.org)  

Week Update from A House United: Baldwin County

Here is a brief overview of the wonderful trip to Baldwin County for this Spring Break’s A House United Trip. We all had a terrific time, and we cannot wait to share this with you!

House United Habitat for Humanity Baldwin County Project – March 2012

 

Spring break. Two rival institutions. Two happy families. This is House United.

 

Day one – Travel, meet and bond

On March 11, the Auburn team set out for Baldwin County, home to Alabama’s beautiful beaches. But this was no ordinary spring break outing. This group of undergraduate and graduate students, staff and other volunteers were headed south to build not one, but two homes for deserving families as part of Habitat for Humanities’ House United. Arriving in Foley, Alabama, the group met their Alabama counterparts at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church which graciously provided housing during the project. After a pizza party hosted by the Baldwin County Habitat Office, and some team building games, the teams settled in for the night.

 

Day two – Rain out!

Morning brought a massive thunderstorm through the Baldwin County area. Habitat officials suggested the teams stay put at the church. After lunch and several dozen hands of Uno, the participants were anxious to get building. However, the work site was flooded and the build was postponed for the day.  After some deliberation, the teams decided to follow the old saying “when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!” After spending the day at the areas giant factory outlet mall, the teams reunited at the church for a “do it yourself” spaghetti dinner.  Half the team members cooked, the others washed – all ate and enjoyed a great supper and fellowship.

 

Day three – Building starts, more rain falls

Finally out on the building sites, the teams met the families for whom the homes were being constructed.  The two homes were side-by-side, but had been started at different times.  The exterior walls and roof were erected on one home, but the other was only a slab foundation.  The teams went straight to work and by late morning had completed the walls on the second house, while workers insulated the first house. Lunch was provided and the teams settled in for a break when the first sprinkles of rain started to fall. Within minutes, the site was soaked by a driving rain, sending team members running for whatever cover they could fine.  Once again, work was suspended for the day and the soggy workers went back to headquarters.

 

Day four – A full day and progress

Sunny Wednesday was productive.  Work proceeded rapidly finishing the wall erection on the second house.  After lunch, work was scheduled to suspend for the teams to spend the afternoon at the beach.  A fine mist covered the beaches, but team members enjoyed Frisbee, football and relaxing on the shore for a couple of hours. However, many of the students wanted to stay and work to catch up after losing so much time to rain. So construction continued into the afternoon with the groups reuniting for dinner.

 

Day five – A roof over our heads!

The greatest challenge yet faced the teams.  Mounting the roof supports required almost all the team members working in unison to lift and place the massive pieces into place.  About fifteen students worked on the ground while the rest perched at the top of the walls to grab and pull the supports into place, one by one.  By lunch, all supports were into place and mounted securely. Meanwhile, finishing work continued on the first house with all insulation being completed and the first of the electrical wiring being installed.

 

Day six – All hands on deck!

The roofs on both houses were the focus of the last day of work.  On the first house, the roof decking was in place, but had to be covered in preparation for shingles to be installed.  On the second house, the decking panels had to be installed on top of the supports which were mounted the day before. Midday, the teams came together for group photographs with their homebuilding families.  By the end of the day, the decking was completed on the second house, and each looked more and more like the homes they would become. In the evening, the House United team members assembled for one final dinner and reflection on the week of good, hard work together.  On the way back to headquarters, the group descended on Brewsters ice cream on the beach.  The shocked servers were about to close for the evening when more than 40 new customers came walking up.  After lots of laughs, cones and sprinkles, the teams headed back to Foley for the last time.

 

Day seven – Ground blessing and goodbyes

The final day, the teams cleaned up their church headquarters and packed before leaving for the work site.  Today was for reflection on the week’s work and dedication of the site to the families.  Habitat staff performed the ceremony, thanking the students for their hard work and sharing time with the extended families who will occupy the new homes.  After lunch and a number of heartfelt goodbyes, the teams parted for home – half to Auburn and half to Tuscaloosa.  But even though separated by campus and traditional rivalry, everyone involved will be always united in spirit by the homes they build together in House United.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all involved in the planning and execution of the 2012 “House United” Habitat for Humanity Baldwin County: Joyce Thomas-Vinson, Auburn University Office of Public Service; Ron Anders, Alabama Association of Habitat for Humanity Affiliates; Wahnee Sherman and Rachel Edington, University of Alabama; Tim King, Brittany Loper and Whitney Esdale, Auburn ASB; and Walter Hendrix, Kristine Underwood and Cathy Blake, Baldwin County Habitat for Humanity. Special thanks to Father Keith Talbert and the congregation of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, and Mr. and Mrs. George Hawthorn for their hospitality in housing the teams; to State Farm and the Alabama Poverty Project for their support of the project; and to India Sewell and Cassandra Garrett and their families for allowing us to be a part of the building of their homes.  

 

Auburn team participants included: Daniel Benton, Kathleen Carroll, Amanda Currvin, John Dasher, Allison Erwin, Whitney Esdale, Ralph Foster, Erica Keyes, Brittany Loper, Molly McGowan, Jonathan Moore, Bailey Noel, Julie Scott, Sarah Tam, Joyce Thomas-Vinson, Charles Valadie, and Sara Wells.

 

“House United” is a joint project of the Auburn University Office of Public Service, the Alabama Association of Habitat for Humanity Affiliates, and the University of Alabama.

A House United Applications DUE THIS WEEK!

HELP BUILD A HOUSE DURING SPRING BREAK A House United is a joint project between Auburn University, Habitat for Humanity and the University of Alabama: . Volunteers from each school will work together on a building project March 11-17 in Baldwin County. The approximate cost for the trip is $300. Applications with payment are due Wednesday, Feb. 29.  Submit applications with payment to: Office of Public Service 201 O.D. Smith Hall Auburn University, AL 36849-5607 For more information, contact Joyce Thomas-Vinson at 844-5117 or thomaj5@auburn.edu. Applications are available online.