...The story of our love,
Is an endless story never to be lost,
I don’t know if I will ever see him again,
But I always keep my fingers crossed.*******Knight in Shining Armor***Margery Wang
First full week that I was not doing anything hands-on related to my AmeriCorps Buffalo
volunteer activity at the belle Center and the Portal Program. I certainly felt a sense of emptiness. The emptiness inspired me to write a short essay about my feelings to Michael Rivera , who is a director for career development at the University of Buffalo, and is also the President of the Board of Directors at The Belle Center. My thoughts were as follows:
Dear Mr. Michael Rivera;
In coming together with AmeriCorps Buffalo, and getting assigned to The Belle Center, I felt I had found a real CALLING, working with the underprivileged, disadvantaged, and marginalized Hispanic community of the Lower West Side. I was asked specifically to help fulfill The Portal Program's objective of getting 17-24 year-old young adults, ready for the "work world." At anytime, such a task is daunting. But in light of the current socioeconomic circumstances that our culture and society finds itself in, the challenge to fulfill the program objectives, is escalated. The idea is to develop soft skills; life skills exposure, and set-up participation-structures that can manifest hard-and-fast work-world skill-sets. The results would be getting the necessary tools-in-the-tool-belt, so-to-speak, to get these young adults groomed for work-world-readiness, and life-style self-sustainability. I felt driven to undertake the objectives of this program~~~and run with it. There certainly was a real need for this; to encourage the Trades and the Vocations as a viable career opportunity. And then, to get the young adult ushered into such a program and having them getting their feet wet through the hands-on exposure.
Through the contacts; through the public relations work, which I worked diligently to establish, avenues were getting paved to facilitate the Portal Program objectives. Additional endeavors such as The Vocational Trade Fair, and the TRAVELING-ROAD-SHOW, where the Portal Program Director Michael Szymanski, and myself, visited entry-level apprenticeship building-trades training facilities, helped these partnerships become more congenial. These visitations took place in Rochester, NY, Ithaca, NY, and a state-of-the-art facility in Richfield, Ohio.
Mr. Rivera, in cutting this path, this AmeriCorps Buffalo volunteer at The Belle Center Portal Program, put his heart, soul, mind, inspiration, and very being into every single aspect of THIS CALLING. I found that I had always conducted myself with a conviction that this is Substantive, this is Righteous, and this had developed a momentum where the Program was actually starting to bear some fruit!!!
I felt this Portal Program was more than just filling 'time' as an AmeriCorps term obligation.
While the first term has ended, the Need is still~~~very evident.
I as well, recognize the importance of protocol. So I made it a point first thing Monday AM, to get a THANK YOU card to Ursula Davis, the Director of Operations at
VIVE la Casa. VIVE, as you may recall, is the community out-reach facility that the
powers-to-be, are trying to arrange a second AmeriCorps Buffalo volunteer at.
And what put some misled optimism in this was an article in the BUFFALO NEWS that
gave the 'impression' of AmeriCorps Buffalo getting some 'new' financial life-blood.
I emailed an associate that I trust with his directness and transparency~~~and he replied, explaining the REALITY:
Subject: Buffalo News
Updated: October 18, 2010, 6:40 AM
Buffalo AmeriCorps and staff at the Belle Center will receive funding for the 2010-11 fiscal year after the decision not to fund the program was overturned.
Buffalo AmeriCorps recently got a $283,277 State Commission on National and Community Service grant.
The Buffalo AmeriCorps program, based in the Belle Center, provides resources towards socioeconomic advancement in the community through service. In the past three years, $206,000 in education awards have been given to members who successfully completed their term of service.
...and Dr Jack's reply:
The Buffalo News took a month to put this in. There is no change from what you have previously been told, that we are reduced to 25 Corps Members and that puts us under a fiscal strain that does not completely support Buffalo AmeriCorps. Because of that the match is paramount, without a match from others, we cannot support the program. I can’t give you any more specifics about your placement, that is in the hands of Daytuan and Pam. Otherwise I want to be transparent with you. Essentially the News piece was old news to you. Pat, the security guy had a similar perception, so we will have to deal with such.
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced; live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.
Cherokee Saying
During such a transition, the idea of trying to CREATE an opportunity, takes hold. I had recently developed a rapport with an operative from GERARD PLACE who had just started exploring the idea of an in-house young-adult work-world-readiness Program of their own. Well wait-a-minute, I thought. Why re-invent the wheel, when GERARD PLACE can just park me in a chair. Of course like anything else, the seed is planted and we will see if, and how well, it takes root.
With some free time, I thought I was going to go to the Buffalo Historical Society Tuesday AM, to the Railroad Barons Club, to have my 2-8-8-2 articulated mallet run as a guest-locomotive, but that got pushed aside by another 'matter' that I had to attend to at the Buffalo State College Kangaroo Court. It related to an alleged handicap parking-infraction.
Ticked-off; Over-the-Top!!! C-4!?!? Buffalo State College, and the surrounding community, would have been~~~done-like-dinner!
Having gotten that off my chest, I decided for Wednesday AM, I was going to go to 'my-trax' and watch some real trains!! So I watched a STACKABLES rolling-stock freight-train, with three diesels and 117 rail-cars, go by. And after that, there was this AMTRAK!! Damned, that Angel~~~was flying!! Those engineers don't waste time opening the diesel engines, up!!
Alright; fun-time over, so it was back to the program at hand. Had to get my networking element up to 'grade', at the BUFFALO EMPLOYMENT TRAINING CENTER(BETC). So I made my 'rounds' there, both face-to-face, and by way of email.
I must submit this.
Keep in mind. the BETC has; now check this out, 11 dedicated handicap parking slots. ALL are occupied. With the universal symbol for handicap being the wheelchair, I'm thinking, I'm going to go in there, and we are going to have a wheelchair/scooter basketball game in progress!!
Then we wonder why New York State, and Social Security is 'broke'. In all of the BETC, besides myself, there was only one other person that was 'handicapped'; using a cane. While I had to park at the other end of the lot, because we have thousands of people out of work in the Buffalo area, I at least had my scooter with me to cover the distance. I was so happy, too. While it was pricey, I now have a brand-new battery, and charger to keep my scooter "juiced."
Through Wednesday, it was appearing that there might be a couple of us that were feeling like the kid leaning up against the fence in the school-yard, waiting as the team-captains were making their choices~~~and never getting picked.
But Thursday was interesting~~~on a couple of different levels.
In the AM, Michael Szymanski of The Belle Center, actually initiated a cell phone
call to me. While it wasn't going to happen overnight, apparently there is some
conversation about a youth-development project that may come to fruition sometime
after the First-of-the Year. The one critical element is the data-entry; registration process. Dr Jack Norton would like the process to be the NYSDOL; AOSOS procedure. At The Belle Center, I was the only one that KNOWS that procedure. So another
seed is planted. We'll see what happens with this one.
I get a 'break' on some scooter-charger pricing at Sheridan Surgical and the Buffalo State College Butler Library usage, through emails, makes for a very very PRODUCTIVE afternoon.
On Friday I wanted to follow through with protocol, again. I called Ursula Davis, of VIVE la Casa, to ask for a progress-report, if you will, on the AmeriCorps Buffalo volunteer-placement there. The conversation was upbeat, and gave me every impression that the placement had me ear-marked, as soon as 'matching-funds' were approved. Assuming that was straight-up, and not double-talk, I'm being given the understanding that once we are into November, a decision should be made. She initiated a thank-you to me, for the THANK-YOU-CARD that I sent to her, and an engaging conversation developed around that!! Talking-points such as smiling faces while interacting with clients, and positive energy to make the client feel at-home, seemed to resonate well with her.
By late Friday evening, I'm spending five hours just reflecting, going over notes, thinking happy thoughts, finding out The Rangers dumped the Yankees~~~and feeling that I too, would be~~~the little engine, that could.
--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise
NB: So I finish this Web log at 5:02PM of Saturday~~~and at 5:10PM,
I receive this email from Dr. Jack Norton of The Belle Center;
-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Norton
To: crazielou@aol.com
Cc: Mike Szymanski
Sent: Sat, Oct 23, 2010 5:10 pm
Subject: OSOS
Lou, I have a question. Does the OSOS keep any or all of the following numbers in its system? Foster care and justice system are two of the things that I am not sure we have data on. The rest are a bit easier.
Does OSOS allow you to build a report which we can access? I need to actually include reports in the proposal I am working on. Let me know what you think.
2.7
Specify the number of youth, ages 9-24, your organization serves who fall within one or more of the following categories. Please provide actual figures for last year and projections for the current year:
· Youth in and/or transitioning out of the criminal justice system
Last year:Current year:
· Youth who have dropped out or are at high risk of dropping out of school
Last year:Current year:
· Youth who are both out of school and out of work
Last year:Current year:
· Youth in or transitioning out of foster care
Last year:Current year:
· Youth involved in or in danger of engaging in high-risk behaviors such as criminal activity and/or teen pregnancy
Last year:Current year:
· Youth from low-income households as defined by federal guidelines (households earning at or below 200% of the federal poverty level) or from a geographic area defined as a low-income community
Last year:Current year:
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced; live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.
Cherokee Saying
Jack Norton, EdD
Program Development
The Belle Center
Home of Buffalo AmeriCorps
104 Maryland Street
Buffalo, NY 14201
716-845-0485, Ext. 28
Fax: 716-845-0486
http://www.thebellecenter.org/
Of course, I replied~~~immediately:
In all instances, the items below can be documented in the Comments TAB.
In some of the SPECIFICS below, there is actual PROVIDER tabs, and EMPLOYER tabs that
allow details to be disseminated.
And in each these TABS there are sub-tabs that allow for entries to detail more specific information.
A long-form 'report' on a client(I'm assuming this is what you mean, when you 'say' report), could be
copy & pasted into the COMMENT tab. I'm not sure of character-count in COMMENTS as my comments
on Portal Program clients tended to be short and to the point. Like many things~~~even COMMENTS
can be 'worked' to fit the need.
One would just copy & paste a series of COMMENTS, until the 'report' was~~~completely filed.
Lou Marconi
716.578.8568
...and the beat goes on!!!!!!!
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