The 365 Days of an AmeriCorps Recovery VISTA

I met at 11 with Amy Silvey, the Development Director. We just chatted and I had a few surface-level questions about my VISTA service here. I felt better after meeting with her.

For lunch I went downstairs and witnessed a Pampered Chef demonstration or whatever. Free lunch and I won a mini-spatula. Yep. That’s all I have to say about that.

After lunch I submitted the rest of my materials to Alex the Food Stamp Coordinator. She is very friendly and helpful and I am glad to have that out of the way. Now I wait to hear from them. I better get approved or I’m up a creek if you know what I mean.

Later I held a meeting with Paul and discussed strategies going forward regarding compiling a list of prospective donors. Very productive and now I am getting better acclimated with Raiser’s Edge and Foundation Search. My goal by early next week is to compile a list of maybe 20-30 Texas foundations whose giving interests are human services, food, nutrition, etc.

I also let Adrienne know that I’d like to sit down with her next week and discuss the portion of my VAD that applies to her area.

Today was productive up to a point. I could’ve been more efficient today but the news about swine flu (tired of that term like five days ago) was a bit distracting. My first project today, from Adrienne, regarded researching strategies for engaging major gift donors via internet. I wasn’t sure if she intends to establish a sort of social network for the purpose of increasing events attendance, or is looking for a more comprehensive engagement strategy. Either way, I didn’t find out today because I missed our 3p meeting due to a last-minute change in scheduling for my meeting with Alex, the Food Stamps Outreach Coordinator. Had to prioritize there, and unfortunately not starving in a few months took top billing today. My meeting with Adrienne is rescheduled for tomorrow morning. For some reason I want to impress her.

My second project was to provide a report on the Aetna Foundation regarding a Regional Community grant. Tough sell. They primarily donate to health care organizations and the like, but it was still a good exercise as I had to comb through their 990 contribution list very carefully to dig up any useful info. At least I think I was looking at the right info. We shall see. I worked until 6:30 today, with only a half hour lunch break. 10 hours today, 27 for the week. I need to remember to email Paige my hours on Friday.

Anyway I am exhausted, time for bed.

I should have started this last week, but I’ve been sick with what may be bronchitis or something. I suppose that is what I get for driving 1400 miles in two days with little rest beforehand.

Pre-service orientation was held in Albuquerque, NM during a four-day period last week. I really ought to get around to facebooking the other VISTAs that I met. My four days in the desert were fun yet exhausting, and I couldn’t wait to get back to an environment with actual humidity. Nonetheless the PSO was inspiring in that we were the first group of VISTAs sworn in under the national service bill signed by President Obama, which happened to be the same day that PSO started (Tuesday, April 21). Historic for sure.

Fast forward a couple of days and I am now nearing the end of my second day on the job as the Development Research VISTA at the Capital Area Food Bank. So far I really enjoy working here, as my cubicle is extra large and the office is well-lit with just the right amount of natural light and air conditioned to perfection. In a lot of ways, this office is a great place to work. My co-workers, ranging from a few fellow VISTAs to about 55 full-time staff, are very diverse and friendly. There seem to be a lot of people here with good educational—whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Apparently an Open Plate dinner was cancelled for tonight, and now I get to take home a bunch of free meat and cheese from Central Market! Kick ass! I should probably take the time to mention that VISTAs get paid very little, so any time I can get free food you know that I am all over it. Oh, and Central Market is the equivilent of Whole Foods or something. Actually I’d say its more like Plum Market. But only an Ann Arborite would get that.

I’ve been working on securing a bunch of opportunities to complete my staff orientation activities checklist, which consists of a bunch of things AmeriCorps would probably consider direct service. However, I see these activities as contributing to my overall understanding of what the Food Bank does, and therefore educational.

The purpose of this blog is to track my progress on the job by way of listing my activities and accomplishments on a day-to-day basis. So here we go.