Make A Difference Day 2008 Summary

National Make a Difference Day was Saturday, 10/25. Here's a list of what various Safe Corps sites participated in:

Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley, ARC of Santa Clara, and ARC of Palo Alto: Green Challenge Event: For part of our project for Saturday, AmeriCorps will be assisting Our City Forest with transplanting trees to get them ready to be planted. Volunteers will transplant 5 gallon trees into 15 gallon buckets. For this project, we will be having 2 shifts from 9-11am and 11-1pm. The space at the Tree Bank is a bit limited and we do have a Kiwanis Club that will be helping us out too. Other projects planned include a general litter pickup and some CFL distribution into the surrounding neighborhoods.

ARC of Ventura: Habitat for Humanity

ARC of Greater Los Angeles: Downtown Women’s CenterAssisting in making shower kits and Christmas gifts together- a CDE presentation to their clients and staff will follow.

ARC of Humboldt County: Humboldt is working with other AmeriCorps programs in the service area to help provide people power for local non-profit organizations and projects lacking resources. Josh will be leading a group at the Jacoby Creek Land Trust in forest ivy removal and land restoration. Michelle will be working with the Northern California Indian Development Council helping assemble Emergency Preparedness backpacks with 20 others.

ARC of Santa Monica: Shelter Operations

MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAY 2008

Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others -- a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. The next event is Saturday, October 25, 2008.

Millions have participated. In 2007, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.

Your project can be as large or as small as you wish! Look around your community and see what needs to be done. Or let the Idea Generator help you find a project idea to help your community.

Each Safe Corps members MUST participate in this day of service. Please send me a description of what you plan on doing. Also, please serve with other members in your area if possible!!!

More information about the day can be found at: http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/index.html

Service Inclusion Event

After Hurricane Katrina many people with disabilities were left without medication, proper transportation, food, and water to survive. In event that a disaster strikes Los Angeles, California Safe Corps members want to prepare as many people as possible, especially people with disabilities, for a disaster. On Sept. 30, 2008 past and present California Safe Corps members from the Los Angeles and Santa Monica ARC Chapters hosted the Service Inclusion Network Meeting at the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles.

With over thirty participants, Eliza Riley, a 2006-2007 CSC Alum, taught the necessary steps to tailor their preparation at their homes and workplaces for their individual needs. Participants not only received preparedness education, but CSC members guided participants and helped create individual take home disaster kits. Representatives from the following organizations attended the event:

Beyond Elite
Westside Regional Center
City of Commerce Urban Literacy Program
Volunteer Center of Los Angeles
Community Senior Service of Claremont
El Rancho Unified School District
Mariposa Endeavors
Easter Seals
Advantage Day Program
LA Works
Options for Life
Disability Rights Legal Center

With such a diverse population in the Los Angeles area CSC members hope to reach various age groups, ethnicities, and cultures with the message that we all need to “Be Red Cross Ready” for a disaster. The goal of this event was to have people with physical and cognitive disabilities receive the education and resources necessary to prepare for a disaster along with increasing the Chapters outreach to vulnerable populations.

This project will increase the number of Chapter volunteers that have physical or cognitive disabilities and create a more diverse and inclusive environment at the Chapter. The project will also help foster a greater number of CDE presenters who have disabilities. These volunteers will work along side the California Safe Corps members to provide education to vulnerable communities throughout Los Angeles County.

Hurricane Gustav: Cory Russell, ARC Santa Monica

After Cory's experience in Louisiana with Hurricane Gustav, he submitted the following article to the local Santa Monica paper. Follow the link below to read his article on page 4.

http://www.smdp.com/site/archives/092208.pdf

California Safe Corps 2008-2009

The 2008-2009 California Safe Corps team comprises of 20 new members and 4 returning members from all over the United States. Newly trained and empowered to serve, we currently have 24 members serving over six areas throughout California.

American Red Cross of Santa Monica:
Cory Russell
Janet Cheng

Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley:
Giovanna Biondi
Adriana Garcia

American Red Cross of Palo Alto:
Tommy Truong
Luis Hinojosa

American Red Cross of Santa Clara:
Crisanta Garcia
Vaughn Klebig

American Red Cross of Humboldt County:
Michelle Woo
Joshua Schultz

American Red Cross of Ventura County:
Tina Hoogenaker
Taylor Johnson
Danit Kaya
Ellen Salvador
Cristina Navia

American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles:
Katrina Rawls
Erica Helson
Sonny Montoya
Roxanne Sengok
Sarah Romig
Jeanne Patraw
Justin Yuen
Cindy Sanchez
Miho Yoshimura