Service Projects & Special Events

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September Events

Volunteer Fair - This event was hosted at Wor-Wic Community College, and is centered around parents and their children.  The AmeriCorps members volunteered their time to not only talk to others about what they do for AmeriCorps, but they also entertain children with science projects so that their parents could browse the other volunteer opportunities at the fair.  This event not only has a positive effect on children but on the parents as well because the children learned about science while the parents could browse and not worry about their children while they looked at the different organizations that attended the fair that day. 

National Day of Play - This event was hosted that the Salisbury YMCA.  This event was sponsored specifically for children so that they could come out and play in a safe and healthy environment.  There were refreshments like snow cones, face painting, a live band, a moon bounce, interactive sports games, and a guest speaker.  The guest speaker was Jim Ireton, the mayor, who came to support the youth in the community for wanting to have fun in a positive way.  This event allowed for fun and clean interactions between children so that they know that they can still have fun without doing anything wrong. 

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Breast Cancer Walk - This event was hosted at the Winterplace Park in Salisbury, MD.  This event is a 5k walk to support Breast Cancer Research.     

Garland Hayward Youth Center Cheerleading Coaching - This event is hosted at the Garland Hayward Youth Center and this event starts in October and continues all the way until the end of the school year in May.  Practices are every Wednesday, and since the girls have a supporting and caring coach, who is an AmeriCorps member, they love coming to practice and enjoy working with the other girls on the team.  They not only learn how to cheer, but they also have fun doing it.  The AmeriCorps member takes them bowling and to other social events so that they can all interact in situations where they are not pressured to do anything they do not want to do.  They hope to raise money so that they can continue to travel to competitions. 

Alcohol Awareness – This event was held at Camp Arrowhead in Lewes, DE where some of the AmeriCorps members met with high school students to talk about alcohol and its effects when is experienced at a young age and the dangers of drunk driving. 

Night of the Living Zoo – This event is located at the Salisbury Zoo in Salisbury, MD and is held at night.  At this event, there is a moon bounce, walk-around cartoon characters, handing out candies and snacks, and meet and greet the animals.  Meet and greet the animals was the zookeepers way of demystifying what was so scary about crocodiles, snakes, cave crickets etc. so that the kids would no longer be afraid of these animals.  This event was also held so that parents could bring their children to a safe Halloween party without having to worry about the candy or people being safe.  Finally, in addition to being a benefit for the community, parents and children, it helped raise money for the Zoo’s wildlife education program so that it can continue to educate children about animals throughout the rest of the year. 

Seagull Century – This event was set all over Salisbury University and Salisbury, MD.  The AmeriCorps members were placed in Furnace Town the past year to pass out Gatorade and water to the bikers who were going through the pit stop they were running.  Seagull Century is not only fun for the bikers but is raises money for different school programs and scholarships. 

Gimme 5 Youth Day – This event was held at Prince Street Elementary in Salisbury, MD.  This event is a part of the Giraffe Hero Project which is a program that promotes “sticking your neck out” for your community.  The AmeriCorps members talk to the kids in the community and they get the kids to understand and respond to the Giraffe Heroes in their own community.  In this particular project though, the AmeriCorps members supported vendors such as Wicomico Mentoring Project, Kool Smiles, Wicomico Rec & Parks, Girl Scouts etc. who tried to represent the 5 aspects that represent our youth: Good health, safe place, caring adult, marketable skills and a willingness to serve.  This event gives the community a chance to come together and have good fun like face painting, pumpkin painting, fall festive games and other fun crafts.  To see the safe places click on Gimme 5 Youth Day.

Service projects

November Events

Veteran's Day Flag – This event is held at Delmar Elementary School in Salisbury, MD and in this event the children created a flag that was 8’ x 10’ which was made of cut out hands signed by every child and staff member in the school.  When the flag was finally completed it was hung in the school cafeteria.  This project was about commemorating veterans and education on who veterans are and what they do for our country.  It also got the children involved at the school and excited to do something simple and creative.  AmeriCorps members are planning on holding another Veteran's Day Flag event in May as well.

Youth Career Tour – This event is located in a variety of places, such as Salisbury University, the Fire Station, Wor-Wic Community College, and the Food Bank which are all located in Salisbury, MD.  For this event, the AmeriCorps members take seventh and eighth graders to visit local businesses and colleges so that they can try and find the students interests in a field of study.  Specifically, they were trying to educate students on the kinds of jobs that will be available to them if they go or do not go to college and how they can obtain the jobs of choice. 

College Tours – these events are held at colleges where our AmeriCorps members are able to reserve with.  This past year it was with the Naval Academy, Salisbury University and other local colleges in the area.  The AmeriCorps members educate young adults from the Kids of Honor Club about college and the benefits that it can bring to them in the future. 

University of Maryland College Park Workshop – This event was located at UMD College Park in College Park, MD and was created for selected seniors in Somerset County where they could apply to 1 college/university for free.  They could also attend sessions on creating a resume, individuality, time management, organization, financial aid and other college related topics, along with learning about the college life and how to cope with a new environment. 

Definitely Real – This event is held in Crisfield High School in Crisfield, MD and the AmeriCorps members performed a Financial Literary education class through the Delmarva Education Foundation.  Specifically, the AmeriCorps members talked to eighth graders about the value of the dollar and how to spend, save and understand how money works.    

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December Events

Toys for Tots – This event was held at St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church in Salisbury, MD.  The AmeriCorps members were wrapping presents for lower income families with children who could not afford to give their children presents for the holidays.

Salvation Army Give-a-Way – This event was located at the Salvation Army and the AmeriCorps members took toys that were donated and gave them away to families with children who found themselves in poopr economical situations and had no gifts for the holidays.  

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January Events

Martin Luther King Day – was held in the Wicomico Civic Center.  What the AmeriCorps members did though was the Giraffe Project Table promoting children to “stick their neck out” for what they believe in and to stand up for themselves.  There were also other businesses who had tables came to celebrate Martin Luther King Day and to inspire unity and a commitment to a better world as well as a better local community.  At this event, there were activities such as face painting, educational games/puzzles, food/ beverages, freebees and guest speakers. 

College Goal Saturday – this event was located at Washington High School and the AmeriCorps members were holding a financial aid workshop for the high school students.  The seniors from Somerset County came and learned how to complete their FAFSA forms and learned how to apply for scholarships.  Not only did the members connect with the seniors but with the seniors’ families and siblings which made the experience even more rewarding.

College Application and Scholarship Workshops – This event is located at Washington and Crisfield High School every Wednesday starting in January 26^th and continues throughout the year.  For this event, the AmeriCorps members host 3 hour workshops for high school students to attend so that the members can help them apply to college and find scholarship money for future endeavors.  These programs really motivate high school students to go to college and make something for themselves.   

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February Events

Raking Leaves – This event was held at the Village of Hope in Salisbury, MD.  The Village of Hope is a program that houses abused or addicted mothers and their children so that the women can get help and eventually learn how to re-enter society.  What the AmeriCorps members did for this project was clearing leaves from the parking lot, sidewalks, nature trails, gardens, and playground.  They also picked up trash in those areas as well, making the kids of the mothers want to come outside and play more.  The children were also happy that people came to help them in their time of need.    

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March/April Events

Career Exposure – This event is going to be held in the Culinary School, Beauty School, the Hospital, and or medical center where the AmeriCorps members will take some of the youth from the Kids of Honor Program in the local high schools to look at these places to see if they could possibly express interest in any of these fields.  This gives the young adults more knowledge about possible future careers and what they can do to achieve them. 

Prom Dress Drive – This event is held throughout February until the beginning of April.  The AmeriCorps members collect prom dresses from Salisbury University students and from other college students in the community.  Girls in the community donate their old dresses that they have collected over the years and then in April they will given away to local high school girls who do not have enough money to be able to afford a prom dress.  By giving these dresses out, it enables the young women to feel beautiful even when they do not have adequate finances to buy a prom dress. 

May/ June/ July Events

Junior Achievement – The third week of May at Chipman Elementary, AmeriCorps members worked with second graders in 45 minute sessions teaching different subjects. While they teach the members and students do activities dealing with community in which we live in and jobs within the community. The main goal in this event is to drive home the fact that children need a good education to receive a good job and succeed in life. This event gives children the ability to take a break out of their day and learn about jobs and the possibilities that await for them after school.

Eggstraviganza- On May 24^th, 2011 the event “Eggstraviganza” was put on for kids and families to come and enjoy Easter related activities. These activities would include Easter Egg Hunts, where members would set up different hunts for different age groups, set up games for the different age groups, arts and crafts as well as egg dying for all the children to take part in. This event enables kids and the parents to have a safe and enjoyable environment.

Garden Planting- This July on Delaware Ave in Salisbury Maryland, members planted a big garden to help clean up the surrounding area. Member’s visit the site as often as possible to ensure that the gardens presence will make a “bad” area of town a beautiful and relaxing place for the community to visit. Our hope is that this garden will benefit the community that live around there and hopefully, just by being there, it will change someone’s negative perspective and turn it into a positive outlook.

Summer Basketball Leagues- From late Spring to early Fall, the program Summer Basketball League allows children in the Salisbury area take part in the Men’s Basketball Leagues. Children that are highly involved in basketball and those that are just fans of the game come out to the Men’s Basketball League to keep score and stats for the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union)Tournaments. The Men’s Basketball league was held at local playgrounds such as the Lake St Playground and the Billy Gene Jackson Park, where the community would come out to support and where the children could have fun and play in a safe environment.

Hometown Heroes- The show “Hometown Heroes” was created to highlight the youth in the Salisbury Area and present how they are making a difference within their community. These youth groups are programs and mom-profits such as Boy Scouts, Junior Red Cross, ROTC and more.  This event benefits the youth who are being highlighted as it allows people to see what a difference they are making and recognizing how important it is to reach out to others.

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