April 25th

On April 25th the Big Brothers Big Sisters mural was permanently installed on the wall at the YWCA child care center. The process went really well and the mural looks incredible!

After the mural was completely installed we had a small unveiling of the mural for the community, friends, family and supporters to see.
Here are a couple of videos from the event. Enjoy!

St. George Celebrates GYSD 2009

We were a little late for Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22) but perfectly timed to kick off National Volunteer Week (April 27 - May 3) when 25 youth - and adult - volunteers gathered at the Rotary SK8 Park on Global Youth Service Day (Saturday, April 25) to spread 15 cubic feet of redwood mulch at the entrance of this very popular recreational venue. Rotarians, members of the local Rotaract Club, AmeriCorps team leaders Angie, Billie and Sheena, and assorted members of the Youth Volunteer Corps of Washington County, gave up a portion of their Saturday, April 25 to celebrate the contribution of youth volunteers to meeting the needs of every community! Mother Nature cooperated, delivering a cooler-than-usual late April day for the first of many service projects planned at the 2-acre, city owned and managed SK8 Park.

This is the first of many service and service-learning projects at the SK8 Park which was completed in 2005, but never landscaped or lighted due to the city's lack of funding. Mark your calendar and watch for more service opportunities on National Make-A-Difference Day (Saturday, October 24) and National Family Volunteering Day (Saturday, November 21).

One Month To Go

Well there is offiicially less than a month to finish our project and oh so much to do. Right now, after a large group of kids painted the mural today, it is about two-thirds of the way completed. It's so exciting to finally be able to see that it is all coming together and is right on schedule to be finished.

Last week a group of University of Utah students from a class called Art in the Community came and taught a group of about twenty bigs and littles about service at Rose Park Elementary. All of the kids were engaged and participated in reading "Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed". Together with their bigs and their teachers they came up with great ideas about how to portray service through art. Some drew pictures of cleaning their room, donating food, and teaching kids how to play basketball. They will be painting their pictures when they get back from spring break.

Since the last post students from Mountain View, Rose Park, Newman, Whittier, and Washington Elementary have all painted sections of the mural. We've had a couple touch up parties to fill in white spots and a few more to go. Here is one of the fifteen sections completed below and the first two together.

First Planting in St. George

On Wednesday, March 18 - in the middle of Spring Break - nearly a dozen youth volunteers gathered at one of St. George City's greenhouses (the one at Vernon Worthen Park) to plant seedlings in little cups like those you probably remember from kindergarten when you learned "the roots grow down and the plant grows up!" The weather was a balmy 72 degrees and Ryan Kammerer from the city's Leisure Services Division was on hand to share his knowledge of plant names and other details. Everyone had the chance to get their hands in the dirt - all in preparation for Global Youth Service Day on Saturday, April 25 when the plants will have matured sufficiently to be planted at the 2-acre Rotary SK8 Park. Things are moving a lot slower than was first anticipated, but we have great partners and plenty of enthusiam . . . and this just the beginning with lots more service in the future at this location. Come on out and join us!!!

Great Quote, Please Read:

"The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt".

-Leo Buscaglia

Thanks to all of you for your great posts this past month, and for the great work you do on a daily basis! I read this quote during the week, and thought of all the great work each of your organizations is doing, and the difference you are making in the lives of youth you interact with. Please keep up your great efforts and work!

I can't wait to see your March updates! Please contact me if you need anything!

-Katie

Food Bank Project

The Volunteer Connection (Six County RSVP and Volunteer Center) continues to work on the food bank project in Central Utah in coordination with Central Utah Food Share and local 4-H groups among other youth. Boxes are located in local grocery stores within the Six County Region which includes (Sanpete, Sevier, Juab, Wayne, Piute, and Millard Counties). We continue to collect food and look forward to our end result.

Spy Hop Productions Update

Well, there is very little to update for this month. We have made many contacts and are very excited about the projects that are getting underway. The most difficult part of this project is the scheduling. Thanks to all of you who have replied to me about the times and dates of your projects. I look forward to meeting with you and interviewing your participants.

Painting, Painting and more Painting

Right now our project is almost half way done. A little over a third of the entire mural has been painted so far. Over 130 students have painted a section of the mural with their “Big”. It looks amazing so far and it has been exciting to see it come alive and to see the different ideas that the matches are coming up with. There are kids painting fences, telling others not to cut down trees, donating clothes and toys, giving food, recycling, teaching skills, and just being a good friend.

I have been working with a couple of art education classes at the University of Utah. We currently have 5 students also helping with the project. They are putting together lesson plans and teaching our matches about service, murals and art; including composition and painting.

It’s definitely starting to feel like crunch time. With only two months left we’ve still got a lot to do. With the help of the other staff at Big Brothers Big Sisters and the college students I am sure we’ll get it done. Since the last post students from Emerson, Redwood, Pleasant Green, The Boys and Girls Club of Midvale and Nibley Park have painted on the mural.

SK8ers Gather for Planting

Rudibeckia triloba, gaura lindheimeri, coreopsis, echinacea purpurea, salvia caradonna, "heavy metal" switch, miscantus malepartus and "big twister" juncus . . . not the spelling list from your Latin class, but the names of beautiful, colorful and heat resistent perennial wildflowers and grasses which have been ordered by the City of St. George for planting at the Rotary SK8 Park! On the second of several national service days, focusing on the completion of landscaping at the Rotary SK8 Park, youth volunteers will gather first on Saturday, March 14 at the city's greenhouse to plant the fragile seedlings into little containers. On Saturday, April 18 youth volunteers will come together again to put the plants into the ground at the SK8 Park . . . and on Global Youth Service Day (Saturday, April 25), three trees will be planted at the park entrance signifying the 3-fold vision of the SK8 Park project - community service, leadership and skillbuilding - alongside the new and permanent Rotary SK8 Park sign. Although the involvement of the Youth Volunteer Corps of Washington County is just the beginning of this 3-acre landscaping project, we are excited about the opportunity to work alongside the Rotary Club of St. George and the City of St. George. Plans are already being made for more youth volunteer service opportunities at the Rotary SK8 Park on Make-A-Difference Day (Saturday, October 24) and Family Volunteer Day (Saturday, November 21).

Shara, Matt, Suzanne/Heidi, and Linda,

Thank you all so much for your first months post. It is so great to see a little bit about what each of your projects is involved with. It looks like there is some great planning and progress being made. I hope to continue to see great things from your organizations and youth. Please give your participants a pat on the back, the Commission on Volunteers recognizes and appreciates their hard work and efforts!

I can't wait for February's post, keep in mind, you may post more than once a month if you would like. Keep up the great work!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has".
--Margaret Mead

Food Bank Project

The Six County Volunteer Connection (RSVP & Volunteer Center) kicked off the Global Youth Service Day Project on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 19th, 2009. Boxes have been distributed in local grocery stores throughout the Six County Region which includes (Sevier, Sanpete, Piute, Wayne, Millard, and Juab Counties) to collect food for Central Utah Food Share due to a higher demand in needed food. Local 4-H youth were designated to man the boxes and encourage residents to donate at least one item of food while doing their regular grocery shopping.

Spy Hop Productions Video Project

We are currently in the pre-production phase of our project. This means lots of phone calls and emails and scheduling. Our goal is to interview participants and document as many of the other projects as possible. Unfortunately, due to school and work schedules, we will be focusing on projects that are based along the Wasatch Front. Our team is assembled and we are in the process of waiting for replies or planning shoots. We hope to begin interviews the second week of February.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Mural Project

The mural is coming along pretty well at this point. About a third of the mural has been prepped for painting and has actually started to be painted by the kids. About 35 students from Beehive Elementary, Horizon Elementary, Parkside Elementary, Vista Elementary and Parkside Elementary have all participated thus far. Their Bigs that have been the leaders of the project have been from Kearns High School and Taylorsville High School. We still have quite a bit of work to do at this point. It has been challenging to schedule different weeks to go to different schools. The kids and their mentors have come up with some really great ideas and have been really excited about doing a service project for other kids. I am hoping to have some Art Teaching students from the University of Utah help facilitate the project in the coming weeks.

St.George SK8 Park

Jett, Rulon and others who frequent the popular SK8 Park in St. George are eager to get started on this project, but disappointed their early suggestion for a BMX track alongside the SK8 Park was shot down by the city of St. George. From an engineering standpoint, it was determined there is the problem of a catch basin which would gather debris and would require constant maintenance. In the meantime, seedlings are being ordered and in a super-duper service learning project, student participants will get together to plant the seedlings in those famous Styrofoam cups from their elementary school days! Once the seedlings have matured a little, the youth volunteers will transplant them to the SK8 Park, according to the city’s master plan for landscaping at the site.

LINDA SAPPINGTON