The document summarizes the experiences of several AmeriCorps members over the course of a year. It describes how the members came from various locations to serve together in Seattle. It then highlights some of the projects they worked on, including a tax campaign, hunger action week, and a community resource exchange. The summary concludes by noting that while the members are sad to leave, they are grateful for the experience and looking forward to their next steps.

1. A Brief History of Our Time as
AmeriCorps

3. We came from all over the world!
Ariana (Seattle) 0 miles
Katherine (Tacoma) 34 miles
Morgan (Moscow, Idaho) 296 miles
Nora (Rochester, New York) 2,664 miles
Jenny (Suwon, South Korea) 5, 183 miles

4. 2 VISTAS + 3 AmeriCorps =
Fresh Ideas
Smoothie loving
Moving the Needle
Integrated
Collective
Impact

6. But now it is like….

7. AmeriCorps Survival Tip #1: Free food
Morgan took home the gold in honor
of all AmeriCorps, ever.
The first ones to arrive and eager to eat!

8. AmeriCorps Survival Tip #2: Free Clothes

9. AmeriCorps Survival Tip #2: Free Clothes

10. AmeriCorps Survival Tip #3: Free Bus Passes
AmeriCorps Survival Tip #4: Food Stamps

11. Monthly Chart of AmeriCorps Food Security
Stress Eating: Project due
Food stamps refilled:
Grocery Shopping!
Stress Eating:
New project
you don’t
understand
Celebration: Project
finished!
Out of Food Stamps
5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (days)

12. AmeriCorps Through the [Seattle] Seasons

14. Pre-Service Orientation for VISTAS
Location: The Yak!
Highlights: Nice Weather…
(And meeting each other - new
partners-in-crime for the year!)
We learned all
about capacity
building and
fighting poverty!

15. Pre-Service Orientation for AmeriCorps
Location: Hampton, Georgia
Highlight: Ariana, Morgan and
Jenny bonding time in our log cabin
Jenny carrying 70 lbs.
of concrete mix

16. Day of Caring
Project: Sorting clothes at DESC’s thrift store

17. United Way really knows how to throw a party!!!

18. Bridge to Basics
Phone Bank Nights
Results:
• Reached 360
clients
• Helped nearly
200 qualify for
benefits like
utility assistance!

20. The School Year Begins, more Readers begin

22. CRE: The day before
It fit!
Is it going
to fit?
2,000 Personal Hygiene Kits

23. Community Resource
Exchange
1500 participants
100 Service providers
40 pre-event supply drives
130 people received flu shots.
500 people received
education and employment
information.
700 people received haircuts,
hand care and foot washing

24. 25 people were tested for
hepatitis C.
49 guests connected to
community voice mail.
75 applications for public benefits
were submitted.
85 people received family
planning information.

25. After the event we were
bone tired, but Jenny kept
us laughing!

26. Volunteer Reader Event
Volunteer Readers connecting and
sharing tips and stories!
Listening to our panel of experts!

27. Tax Campaign
• 16 tax sites
• 650 volunteers recruited
and trained
• 100,000 flyers and
posters dispersed
throughout our
community
• 10th Year of the Tax
Campaign!

28. Tax Campaign
Results:
• 14,400 returns prepared
• $20.7 million in federal
refunds
• $7 million in EITC

29. Even the Easter Bunny filed
his/her taxes with us!

30. Bridge to Basics at Tax Sites
Katherine & Nora trained
and placed 45 Bridge to
Basics volunteers at 11
tax sites to do Intake and
public benefits outreach!

31. Results:
• Helped 100 clients fill out
Basic Food applications
• Gave over 600 other public
benefits referrals

32. Nora and Katherine go to Vancouver, CA!
<- She’s a beaut, eh?
Highlights: Visiting urban
farms, food banks,
community kitchens, and
meeting amazing food
policy advocates!

33. Katherine, Nora & The Rainier Valley
Eats! Team in Vancouver

35. Spring
• Financial Fitness Day
• Spirit of Caring
• Hunger Action Week
• Food Security Survey
• AmeriCorps Week
• New Books for Volunteer Reader
Sites
• Volunteer Reader Recognition
• Tax Celebration

36. Financial Fitness Day
300 Participants
40 Providers
20 Volunteers
FFD is basically a financial
CRE. Morgan was the
volunteer chair recruiting the
volunteers that they needed.
These pictures are of the tax
volunteers who prepared
taxes for FFD participants.

37. Spirit of Caring: aka
try to get everyone
to sign up for HAW

38. Hunger Action Week & The Hunger Action Forum
HAF Highlights:
• Hearing keynote Ellen Gustafson speak
• Facilitating different break out sessions
HAW Team Roles:
• Morgan – community outreach and
engagement wonder
• Nora – food blogger and social media
whiz
• Katherine – food security survey guru

39. HAW Highlights
• Almost 2,000 participants
• Official declaration of Hunger Action Week from the
Seattle City Council
• DJs from KEXP, food bloggers, students, and community
leaders took the hunger challenge and spread the word,
supported by Nora and the social media team. (Even
Katherine finally got a Twitter account to join the
#HungerFreeKC blitz!)
• Successful volunteer-driven community food security
survey in the Rainier Valley

40. It’s official! The Seattle City Council
Proclaims Hunger Action Week.

41. Hunger Action Week
activities…
Morgan spreads the
word about Community Kitchen
‘everyday foods’ at the Rainier
and ‘sometimes Community Center
foods’ to a group of
Little Eagles
AmeriCorps HAW dinner party
potluck!

42. Hunger Action Week
Rainier Valley Food Security
Survey
• 50 volunteers
• 16 survey sites
• Almost 500 community
responses collected to
inform future anti-hunger
work!

43. Volunteer Reader
Recognition
Volunteer Readers received thank-you cards, VRP bags, hand
puppets, nametag lanyards, posters, Starbucks cards and VRP pins!

44. New Books for VRP!
Labeling
Party!

45. AmeriCorps Week
March 10-18

46. AmeriCorps Week
Seattle AmeriCorps honored by the Mayor
• Gettin’ Things Done
• Organized AmeriCorps
Info session at Seattle
University

47. Our Mascot:
Lucky
Winkler

48. Tax Celebration
The Tax Campaign celebrated
another successful year by
hosting a Dim Sum brunch for
250 volunteers and their guests.

49. Tax Celebration
Event Featured:
• Guest speakers
• Rockin’ music
• Delicious Dim Sum
• Door Prizes

51. Door Hanger Party!
Prepping 8,000 door
hangers to spread the word
about Summer Meals in
South Seattle and South
King County
We have fun just, ya know, hangin’
out…

52. Summer Meals Outreach Events
…Then sent 60 volunteers out to distribute
8,000 door hangers…
We mapped out summer meals sites….
…All to make sure cuties like these guys
have enough food in their tummies during
…While catching some sun here and there… the summer!

53. Social Media
We write for the blog, post on Facebook and write newsletters…

54. CRE Prep: recounting
bags…within more bags

55. All in a day’s work at the
United Way!

56. Who knew
counting soap-
filled supply
drive bags could
be so much
fun!?

57. S:projectsCommunity
ServicesCRE-
Community Resource
ExchangeCRE OCT
2012Main Contact
List 2012
Terrence
taking all
of
Morgan’s
CRE
knowledge

58. Passing the AmeriCorps Torch
Good luck, Terrence!

59. Oh, the places you’ll go…
What lies ahead for these
AmeriCorps doing more?

60. Morgan
Projects: CRE, Financial Fitness
Day, HAW, Summer Meals
What’s Next: Morgan is currently applying to jobs in the
nonprofit sector and has had several interviews. In the
meantime, she looks forward to spending quality time
with Lucky and reaching ever-greater heights of culinary
achievement.

61. Katherine
Projects: Bridge to Basics, HAW, Rainier Valley
Eats, Summer and Afterschool Meals
The signs of genius appeared at an
early age…
What’s Next: Katherine is applying to a variety of jobs and
plans to pursue a career in policy and social justice – but
first she’s just excited to move out of a storage unit and
into a real apartment again.

62. Nora
Projects: Bridge to Basics, HAW, Rainier Valley
Eats, Summer and Afterschool Meals
What’s Next: Nora’s ultimate goal is to end world
hunger, but for now she’ll settle for finding a “real
person job” in a social service nonprofit and
eventually get her Masters in Public Health.

63. Ariana
Projects: Volunteer Reader Program & Recognition
What’s Next: Starting in the fall, Ariana will be a
teaching assistant for two 4th grade classes at The
Westside School. Although she will miss working for
the Volunteer Reader Program, she is excited about
returning to the classroom. Ariana plans to pursue a
career in education.

64. Jenny
Projects: Tax Campaign & Volunteer
Celebration, FINRA, FAFSA grant
What’s Next: Starting this fall, Jenny will pursue her MSW
at the University of Washington. In the meantime, she will
enjoy a month off work by moving into a new apartment,
volunteering with a summer camp for Burmese refugees,
and going to the dentist.

65. We are sad to be leaving…

66. But we are so grateful for
this amazing experience
at United Way…

67. Thank You,
United Way!