Thursday, June 24, 2010
Photo of the Week – June 24, 2010
Thanks for joining us last night for Après at Solas on Boylston! It was a fun night, see you at the next one!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Photo of the Week: June 10, 2010
Today we celebrated the tremendous service our dedicated volunteers do everyday in Greater Boston. Thanks so much for you commitment to our mission & to the children of Greater Boston.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Experience Corps highlighted as a high-impact national service program
In Shirley Sagawa’s new book The American Way to Change, she explores how national service volunteers are changing America…read more by clicking here.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Reading, Science & Family at Kenny Elementary
Recently, I had the opportunity to host a family event at my elementary school. For me, this was a task that I had been familiar with this year. Family events can be tough to get good attendance at, but when I found out our school was hosting a Science Night, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to have our own family event as well. Hattie West, our Site Team Leader, Reading Coaches, and myself decided to do our own Science Fair with our kids. The past month was dedicated to having the students do research on a topic of their choosing, and to create a diorama with the information they found. Everyone involved with the projects put in 100% effort! The kids really took to doing the projects and were so proud of their work. The projects ranged from butterflies to space. We even had a student do one on Chinese Food! By the time the school Science Night arrived, our students had finished their dioramas with great enthusiasm. My main concern was making sure as many people as possible got to see their finished work.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Knitting Relationships
On Wednesday early-afternoons in the Yawkey Boys and Girls Club’s Generations Incorporated (GI) Room, you will find a group of Reading Coaches and AmeriCorps Members using some of their most creative skills. However, it’s not literacy related. These members (all women, at the moment) are knitting. As part of G.I.’s Healthy Aging Program, Crafternoons give our older adults a chance to show off their skills while forming close-knit relationships.
For Anna Coleman, a Reading Coach at the Yawkey, it’s a time for her to continue her hobby of making blankets for patients at the Boston Children’s Hospital. For others including Esther Williams, a Reading Coach at the Yawkey, and Kim Bohling & Meg Licht, AmeriCorps Members, it’s a chance to make scarves, blankets, cowls and socks for their families and loved ones.
Read more…
Friday, April 30, 2010
An Urban Garden Grows More than Vegetables
“Are there worms in there?”
“Ewwww…did you put them in there?”
“What do I do if I find one?”
“What sort of tools are we using?”
“We have to use our hands?! But what if I touch a worm?!”
The students and I stood around our newly constructed garden beds preparing to begin planting. Up to this point the group, consisting of three fourth-grade girls and one fifth-grade boy, only expressed excitement about beginning their urban garden. The garden is part of our lunchtime mentoring program at the Marshall Elementary School in which fourth and fifth grade students have the opportunity to work on long-term projects that incorporate reading and writing. For the last several weeks, they had been reading seed packets and writing supply lists in preparation for our planting. The preparation also involved our AmeriCorps State team braving through a very rainy day of building the beds, shoveling compost and carrying heavy crates of soil.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Say It, Use It, Spell It Bee!
On April 14th and 15th the first Say it, Use it, Spell it-Bee occurred at the Yawkey Boys and Girls Club. Twenty students participated in the event, showing off their vocabulary skills. Our amazing Reading Coaches handpicked grade-appropriate words for their students in a competition that placed equal value on spelling and the use of words in sentences. This Bee, inspired by a literacy tool developed by AmeriCorps State Lead, Kim Bohling, and Reading Coach, Esther Williams, proved to be an exciting event for both students and reading coaches. The two days resulted in two winners, LaDawn Spencer and Janae Vellere. Everyone in the Bee went home with an award to show students that win or lose, if you try you can succeed. The Say it, Use it, Spell it-Bee is an event that Site Team Leader Ruth Villard hopes to continue at the Yawkey Boys and Girls Club!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Reach of our Program: Family Engagement in Revere
Early this spring, our Experience Corps Members (ECM) at the James A. Garfield School in Revere happily carried the student folders and bookfolders from the Generations Incorporated room in the loft of the library into the main lobby of the school for the family engagement event later that day. As students and their families went rushing by to make their parent/teacher conferences on time, the Generations sign caught their eyes. In a coordinated effort with the school to schedule our event at the same time as the parent/teacher conferences, our volunteers were able to meet nearly half of their students’ family members.
One family approached our table saying that their third grade daughter insisted that they meet her volunteer. As I listened to this family retell the enthusiasm their daughter had for our program and her persistence that they meet her reading coach, I not only saw, but felt the reach of our program. It was clear that the volunteer had made an impact in this girl’s life and she was eager to share that with her parents.
As the volunteers watched families go through the lobby, their faces lit up with the possibility of meeting their students’ families. In the end, our ECMs were pleased to meet many of their students’ families. This event was a success not only because of the number of people who attended, but also because by meeting family members the strong, mentoring relationships between our ECMs and students grew even stronger.
by Lisa Tankanow, AmeriCorps State Member
Friday, April 9, 2010
Why I Serve
As I’ve been nearing the end of my 2nd year of AmeriCorps service, I’ve been reflecting quite a lot about why I came to Generations Incorporated. Many people know that I came here from a non-profit job after deciding I wanted the opportunity to do more direct, hands-on work than my current job allowed. Few people know that I had a very personal reason for serving, as well. I knew I wanted to do service focused around literacy, as my passion for reading is one I hold near and dear. What drew me to Generations Incorporated in particular though, is that they encouraged a love for reading in the same way my own had been cultivated.
When I was in kindergarten, I only attended school for half of the day in the morning. I was fortunate enough to have my grandma living just a block from my home, so she was able to care for me in the afternoons. We had a very regular routine when I stepped off of the school bus. We would eat lunch together while I told her about my day. Then she’d move to her well-worn rocking recliner and I’d happily rummage through the desk drawer filled with my books. I’d select one or two and contentedly settle into her lap. If I picked Go, Dog, Go, I’d stumble along through the story on my own with occasional gentle guidance. If Bob the Dinosaur was the chosen story, she’d read this harder book aloud to me. It was my favorite time of the day. You would never have guessed by my grandma’s attitude or excitement that we had read these same books countless times. When I read to her, I was quite certain that I was the most gifted reader to ever recite the words of P.D. Eastman. It was easy to believe in myself because she acted like everything I did was so darn extraordinary. Yet, I also knew that I could make a mistake because she’d still think I was exceptional and brave for trying. Read more…
Latest Tweets
@sarahellenmac @idejmcd Thanks for the RTs! - tweeted on 30/07/2010 12:50:08
The great group of riders here at Generations Incorporated are getting geared up for the Rodman Ride for Kids.... http://fb.me/CFuWgYUT - tweeted on 30/07/2010 12:30:23
Team @Generations_Inc has raised close to $3K for the Rodman Ride for Kids. Lets keep things in gear. Donate now! http://bit.ly/bwE2Cv - tweeted on 30/07/2010 12:16:23
Loving your tweets! RT @MassMentoring: What about Lord of the Rings? Oh yeah, Gandalf was totally a mentor to the Fellowship. #mentor - tweeted on 30/07/2010 12:13:23
Follow some great #nonprofits in #Boston: @CityYearBoston @Mass_NonprofitNet @RoomtoGrow_org @everybodywins @socialcap @MassMentoring - tweeted on 30/07/2010 10:41:38
Feeling great. New #AmeriCorps members are here! RT @CityYearBoston: Good morning everyone, happy Friday! How's everyone feeling? @CityYear - tweeted on 30/07/2010 09:31:58
@socialcap and @eric_andersen: Thanks for the kind words. #tedxboston was a great event. - tweeted on 30/07/2010 08:42:13
RT @socialcap: #FF gr8 tweeps & speakers from #tedxboston @eric_andersen @rajmelville @generations_inc @lessig @Joselinmane @connectorsRus - tweeted on 30/07/2010 08:38:39
Photo of the Week: July 29, 2010 Welcome to our 2010-2011 *VISTAs who started their training this week! Our... http://fb.me/DZ9omN84 - tweeted on 29/07/2010 15:07:44
Watching tech entrepreneur @sethpriebatsch speak. - #TEDx live on http://bit.ly/cGLzAI - tweeted on 29/07/2010 10:45:13
