Wartburg-ICAP Pre-Service Orientation

1. Wartburg-ICAP Pre-Service Orientation

2. Orientation Purpose • The purpose of this pre-service orientation is tri-fold: • Provide general information • Determine eligibility for participation • Ensure commitment to the process

3. AmeriCorps Benefits • $1,132 education award • The difference you make in the community • Provides opportunities to grow professionally and personally • Allows networking with other students committed to improving communities • Joining the National Service movement through AmeriCorps

4. Why Should You Join? • SERVE your community and “give back” through service • LEARN about your community and yourself • EARN an educational award of $1,132 to use towards your education expenses, student loans, and continuing education

5. How the process works • Attend the info session on Sept 10that 11:15pm (Sustainability Office) or meet individually with Anne Duncan to discuss your service plan • Complete this pre-service orientation PowerPoint presentation. • Email Anne your completed application (found at www.wartburg.edu/cce/icap.aspx by Monday, September 16th@ 8:00 a.m. • You will receive notice of your acceptance status into this program via email by Friday Sept 20th • On Tuesday, September 26th@11:30-12:30 you will meet with Anne in the CCE to finalize your enrollment documents…most of this will be done online. • Attend monthly meetings with other Wartburg-ICAP members. These meetings occur on the first Thursday of every month @11:30-12:30pm. • Serve your community, document your hours, recruit volunteers, and record activities using the online timesheet. • Complete requirements of program (i.e. recruitment of volunteers and Disaster Preparedness training) • Finish the program, complete necessary paperwork, and earn an educational award!

6. Application Timeline • Sept 10th@ 11:15am, Sustainability Office • Informational Meeting • Sept 16th @ 8am • Applications for the program are due • Sept 20th • Selections made • You will be notified by email of your acceptance status • Sept 24th@ 11:30am, Sustainability Office • Submit all enrollment paperwork • Oct 1st • Begin service!

7. The BIG Picture… • Wartburg-ICAP is an AmeriCorps (pronounced Ameri-Core) program. • AmeriCorps is federally funded through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in Washington D.C. • Since 1994, more than 350,000 Americans have served in AmeriCorps • In addition to AmeriCorps, CNCS also manages the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and funding for Senior Corps

8. The BIG Picture… • Most AmeriCorps programs are run at a state level. Our program, ICAP, is hosted by Iowa Campus Compact and available to member colleges and universities in Iowa.

9. The BIG Picture…

10. What is AmeriCorps? • AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs that engage more than 75,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. • Members serve in more than 2,100 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations. • Members tutor, mentor, build housing, teach skills, clean parks, run after-school programs, and help communities respond to disasters.

11. Eligibility for AmeriCorps • At least 17 years old • GED, high school diploma, or working towards one of the above options and will receive it before using the service scholarship • United States citizen or permanent resident Required Documentation: • U.S. Citizen: Need a photocopy of either your current passport or birth certificate • Permanent Resident: Need a photocopy of either your permanent resident card or current passport with INS approval of resident status.

12. Getting More Specific… • AmeriCorps service is focused on meeting identified community needs. • AmeriCorps members connect colleges and universities with local communities as service liaisons, sharing resources, skills, knowledge, and time. • AmeriCorps supports students engaged in “Careers in the Common Good” such as teaching, social work, healthcare professions, psychology) and student leadership/service programs.

13. Terms of Service through Wartburg-ICAP • Serve 300 hours, EARN a $1,132 education award • The program officially begins Oct 1st. Technically you have one calendar year to complete your hours. But all service must be completed within a 30 mile radius (unless otherwise approved) of the college and thus Wartburg requires hours to be completed by end of May 2014. • Recruit and document 10 volunteers to assist with your service activities • Attend all monthly meetings (first Thursday of every month @11:30-12:30) • Participate in required trainings: Disaster Preparedness, Volunteer Recruitment, Communication, Life After AmeriCorps • Participate in some reflective journaling and dialogue • Submit monthly timesheets online

14. Terms of Service cont’d • Individuals can earn up to two (2) full time Ed Awards in their lifetime (currently set at $4725 for one full time award). • The education award is issued to members two to four weeks after successful completion of service hours, evaluation, and exiting. • Members who exit without completing their service term receive no education award and can NEVER be involved in an AmeriCorps program again.

15. Service - What Will You Do? • Our main program goal is to assist the sustainability department with capacity building. • 4* students will serve as eco-reps; designing and leading monthly activities to engage the student body, providing educational resources at weekly eco-rep booths, and serving as a campus leader for sustainability. • 2* students will work on the production and implementation of a natural resource management plan for the college. • 2 students will be unaffiliated with the Sustainability Dept. and work at qualified off-campus non-profit agencies. • You canserve an internship simultaneously. • *Qualified Members need to have an understanding of natural resource management and techniques.

16. 300 hours - What Will Count? You will work with the ICAP coordinator to create a “service plan” that fits your goals as well as the needs of the community. • The majority of your service hours (240) must be completed with the Sustainability Office or a Qualified Service Agency. • Some on-campus engagement including: Service-Learning activities associated with classes(for example Community Builders), MLK Day, or the Res program may count

17. 300 hours- What Will Count? Member development/training is an important part of AmeriCorps service. Member development hours can account for up to 20% of your total service term and include: • Class time related to training for your direct service • Professional conferences or workshops • Faculty meetings or agency staff meetings • On-site training with your organization • Monthly ICAP training meetings (8 hours) The maximum number of member development hours you can accrue with each term of service is: • 60 member development hours out of the 300

18. 300 hours- What Will Count? Fundraising can account for up to 10% of your total service term and includes: • Fundraising for specific service projects and soliciting in-kind donations The maximum number of fundraising hours you can accrue with each term of service is: • 30 fundraising hours out of the 300

19. Prohibited Activities It is really important that you know up-front what some of the activities are that you cannot do as an AmeriCorps member. Individuals may engage in these activities in their personal time, but may not include these activities as part of their term of service nor can AmeriCorps related paraphernalia be worn/exhibited.

20. Prohibited Activities Political Activities • Efforts to influence legislation (i.e. lobbying) • Engaging in partisan political activities • Advocacy for or against political parties, platforms, or candidates • Voter registration drives • Participating in boycotts, strikes, or protests

21. Prohibited Activities Religious Activities • Engaging in religious instruction or proselytizing • Conducting worship services • Constructing or maintaining facilities devoted to religious instruction or worship Union-related Activities • Assisting, promoting, or deterring union organizing • Interfering with contracts for services or collective bargaining agreements

22. Prohibited Activities For-profit Businesses • Providing a direct benefit for a for-profit entity, a labor union, a partisan political organization, or an organization engaged in religious instruction Specific Kinds of Fundraising • Grant writing or fundraising for operational expenses at the non-profit agency

23. Prohibited Activities Service that one would normally do… • The program’s intent is not to reward those for activities that would be done anyway Greek Philanthropy • Services completed within the Greek system cannot be used for AmeriCorps service hours

24. Prohibited Activities Tutoring…well sort of anyway • Tutoring by itself is not an allowable activity UNLESS it is with an organization that meets all requirements of a tutoring program. • Moreover, these activities need to be referred to as mentoring in the service performed section of the timesheet.

25. Prohibited Activities International Activities • All volunteer work must be done in the United States National Activities (outside of Iowa) • All activities need to be completed within Iowa Safety Factors • Participating in activities that pose a significant safety risk to clients.

26. The $1,132 Education Award • Is a voucher issued by the National Trust in Washington, D.C. • Is received by the member two to four weeks after being exited from the program. • Can be applied to a financial institution or to an institution of higher education (Title IV school). • Is considered taxable income by the IRS in the year it is used, not the year it is earned. • Can be taken away from a member if a member receives a felony drug conviction after successfully completing their service term.

27. The $1,132 Education Award The Education Award can be used in three ways: • Past  members can repay qualified student loans such as the Stafford, Perkins, Federal Direct/Indirect • Present  members can apply the voucher to their current education expenses through the financial aid office on their campus* • Future  Members can use the voucher for up to seven years toward graduate programs, individual classes, specialty and trade schools, and study-abroad *Check with the financial aid office to see how the education award may be used for tuition or other educational expenses.

28. Next Steps… • Personally complete the pre-service reflection questions found in the next slide. • Answer the review questions by indicating the appropriate letter on Section 2 of your application. • Email your completed application to Anne Duncan at anne.duncan@wartburg.edu

29. Pre-Service Reflection Questions • What motivates you to pursue this term of service in AmeriCorps? • How does your participation in AmeriCorps relate to your professional/personal goals? • In what ways do your professional/personal goals support lifelong involvement in your community? • Serving as an AmeriCorps member requires, time and dedication. Do you have 8-10 hours/week to devote to AmeriCorps? • How will you balance the other activities you are involved in with being an AmeriCorps member?

30. PowerPoint Review Questions **Identify your answers by highlighting the appropriate letter in Section 2 of your application. 1. How can you use the AmeriCorps Education Award? a. I can use it to pay for the cost of attendance or towards outstanding student loans. b. I can give it to a family member for them to use. c. I can wait and use it in 10 years. d. All of the above 3. What is member development? a. It gives you the opportunity to pursue personal and professional goals that are education and service oriented. b. It is time spent reflecting upon your service c. It is time spent in training, workshops, classes or conferences related to your service d. All of the above 4. How many hours of service can be spent on member development? a. 20 b. 40 c. 60 5. How many AmeriCorps awards can you receive in a lifetime? a. 1 (one) b. 2 (two) c . Up to the equivalent of 2 full time awards d. Unlimited

31. PowerPoint Review Questions (cont’d)**Identify your answers by highlighting the appropriate letter in Section 2 of your application. 6. Which of these are prohibited activities? a. Religious activity, political activity, fundraising for capital or operating costs b. Serving with a for-profit organization, lobbying, or union organizing c. Service in a church’s food bank or mentoring students at a parochial school d. All of the above e. “a” and “b” 7. Can you count volunteer work done internationally? a. Yes b. No 8. What specific requirements are associated with the Wartburg-ICAP program? a. Disaster Preparedness training b. Reflective journal c. Recruit 10 (ten) volunteers d. Attend monthly meetings e. All of the above 9. How long do you have to complete your AmeriCorps program? a. 6 (six) months b. Technically 1 (one) calendar year but Wartburg requires hours to be completed by end of May 2013 c. Forever 10. If you enter the program and quit or are removed can you ever participate in another AmeriCorps program? a. Yes b. No

32. AmeriCorps Pledge I will get things done for America-to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier. I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities. Faced with apathy, I will take action. Faced with adversity, I will persevere. I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond. I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

33. Wartburg-ICAP Contacts • Iowa Campus Compact • Justin Ellis • Office # (515) 235-4681 • jellis@iwcc.edu • Wartburg Campus ICAP Coordinator • Anne Duncan • Sustainability Office, Basement of Old Main • Office # (319) 352-8536 • Anne.duncan@wartburg.edu

34. Thank You! Thank your interest in Wartburg-ICAP! If you have any questions please contact the ICAP coordinator Anne Duncan, anne.duncan@wartburg.edu