Mr. Jones (not his real name) is a single father of two who has been coming to the Catholic Charities/Centro San Jose Family Center for several years. He originally came in to talk to our case manger to receive assistance accessing benefits through the EarnBenefits screening program, as well as use our food pantry when he was unable to find child care, and thus employment. Recently he came to enroll his two children into one of our NAEYC accredited, full day, full year school readiness programs on Grand Avenue. His two boys, ages 3 and 4, had never been in school before. Mr. Jones has been so appreciative that his boys have a warm, nurturing and educational place for them to go to everyday and has been able to go back to work since he has child care for them.

Over the last couple of years, United Way of Greater New Haven has been building a community blogging presence. Our theory was that United Way is uniquely positioned as a connector for many area social organizations and community leaders. For this reason a United Way blog would be a natural way to connect more people in the community to these perspectives. We saw it as an efficient way to make the Greater New Haven nonprofit sector a little more transparent and show the community the various perspectives of people working in the field. 

We started with staff and later expanded to include bloggers from many positions in the community, yet saw that many of our new bloggers struggled to find their voice. One of the first things we learned is that bloggers were hesitant to undertake the more informal communication style of a blog. Another challenge was that many bloggers were unsure why it was important to blog. Even with these challenges, we have seen the blog slowly grow and improve over time.  Our traffic is still relatively low, however in the last year we have seen a 63% increase in traffic.  Hopefully we can maintain that trend. 

Last Wednesday night was open house for the parents and guardians of Barnard students, a chance to meet teachers and see what the school year ahead holds for the kids.

As the parents and guardians entered the school, they were greeted by a banner declaring that Barnard is proud to be a Boost! school. In addition to this outside banner, there was me, included in the row of tables introducing the parents and guardians to the Student Services office and the fall fundraiser, among other things.

Hello! My name is Deede Dixon and I'm here with United Way: Boost! through the Episcopal Service Corps! I graduated from Trinity College in 2010 with a biology major and a religion minor, and I spent the last year up in the mountains of New Hampshire. I worked at an outdoor education center that focused on environmental education, community building, and leadership development. It took my love for the outdoors, combined it with the magic that can be found in intentional communities, and included faith in every individual's potential to flourish. The programs ranged from a 6th grade class to families influenced by down syndrome, and they came for one to five days. The program showed me how to connect and play with youth, and I learned great leadership and organizational techniques. I loved the support, knowledge, and growth that we could share with others at our site. The fun games, beautiful views, and silly songs were always a plus too. 

When I immigrated to New York, the first thing I saw the huge sign entering the borough, “Welcome to the Bronx.” My eyes were filled with tears knowing that I was leaving my family and my home country of Peru.

Growing up in the South Bronx was no easy task. According to the New York census, the South Bronx is considered to be one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York State. So, how do I get to become an AmeriCorps Vista for the Boost! Program? Seeing the huge amount of poverty in the Bronx made me realize that a lot of children won't take advantage of the education in the United States offers. The reason for this problem is there are not enough positive role models or families involved in the schools.

Imagine a man with salt and pepper hair that resembles a mullet, with a body in peak physical condition, and always wearing a bright purple item of clothing. This man held you responsible for your actions, accepted nothing but the best from you, and if you weren’t paying attention, would jump on top of your desk. His mantra was to always have a “positive mental attitude” and even after cancer attacked his body, the only change you saw was him ramming into your desk with a scooter instead of jumping on top of it. Mr. P was my 7th grade social studies teacher and he rocked. Everyone wanted to be in his class. I considered myself lucky when I found out he was my teacher because that made me the 4th member in my extended family to have him. It also meant I had 4 different names. They all had told me to watch out, he was crazy, but a good kind of crazy. And after being in his crazy classroom, the only thing I wanted to be was a teacher.

I began working with kids in high school, coaching at first, then working at a summer day camp, and then running a site at an after-school program, all of the time thinking that it was great practice for me for when I became a teacher. I spent 5 years of college and 17 very long weeks student teaching in order to graduate and earn my certification in secondary education with a concentration in social studies. However, the summer after I graduated, I decided to try something different, and applied to an AmeriCorps position as the Education Coordinator for a Boys & Girls Club in Olympia, WA. To my surprise, and to the surprise of my family and friends, I was on a plane to Olympia three weeks later.

When I tell people that I am one of three AmeriCorps VISTA members working with United Way's Boost! Initiative, their first reactions are to say, "HUH?!"

Interestingly enough, AmeriCorps can be described as a domestic Peace Corps. Volunteers across the country work in various positions to combat the same issue, poverty.

Instead of traveling half way around the world to volunteer my time to the greater good, I moved from Waterbury, CT to New Haven. It was not that big of a leap, considering I received my undergraduate education at Southern CT State University here in the City and I am familiar with the area already.

With my skills and background, I know I am a great fit for the Boost! project. I majored in Anthropology with minors in Wellness and Women's Studies. Since wellness is the health of body, mind, and soul, or a wholeness, it is only befitting that I work with Boost!. The project focuses on four broad areas: physical health, social and behavioral health, family support and engagement/extended learning opportunities.