Tag Archives: Volunteers

Tutor With Me!

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by Mary Young, tutor


Tutor Mary Young and Student

 Imagine being a welcoming committee – an ambassador – a guide to understanding – a smiling face – a friend.

There are people in our community that are currently isolated and without a voice to communicate.  They desperately want to learn what it means to live in the United States, to speak, read and write English, and to become a citizen.  You can help them. My morning at the McAuley Center is a gem in my life and I take every opportunity to tell others about my experience as a tutor.

When I decided to start tutoring at CMC, many asked me, “Do you speak all those languages?” The answer is, no, I only speak English and I am not a teacher.  Your goal as a tutor at the McAuley Center is to help your student learn conversational English: to be able to ask “Where is the rice?”; “How much are the potatoes?”; and “How is my child doing in school?”  

As a tutor, you get the experience of an international friendship. I have learned of the different areas of China; about harvesting ginseng in Northern China; where French Guiana is; about Burundi, Mexico and Vietnam. I have helped a student prepare for the citizenship test and would have not passed the test myself prior to studying with my student.  It was a very moving experience for me when she was sworn in as a U.S. citizen. 

Being a tutor at the McAuley Center has given me a deeper appreciation and understanding of the world.  There are currently more than 70 students waiting for a guide to help them communicate and find their way.  Consider giving an hour or more of your week. I think that you will find, as I did, that you gain far more from being a tutor than you give.

 Read more of our FY13 Annual Report.

Hear more about students and tutors at CMC in this Gazette article!

Record Volunteer Service Hours in FY13

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“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to
play. Every individual makes a difference. And we have a
choice: What sort of difference do we want to make?” ~Jane Goodall

 

Value of Volunteer Service Graph

AR13 Volunteer Overview

 

 

CMC services would not be possible without the amazing volunteers who dedicate so many service hours to our mission. The Cedar Rapids community gave more than 11,000 volunteer service hours in FY13.

Volunteer Maintenance Projects

Cornell Service LearnersRead more of our FY13 Annual Report. 

Check out more great volunteer photos on our Facebook page.

Educating the Heart: Service Learning at CMC

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 “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ~Aristotle

Service Learning in FY13

Mount Mercy Service Learners

Mount Mercy service learners clean toys for the Education Program’s childcare room.

 Each year, we engage students from middle school through college in the CMC mission through service. “Across several experiences with individual students and the courses I teach, we have been able to experience the spirit of Mercy by assisting in the delivery of programs and services dedicated to helping those in need. Our bond, forged because of the courageous work of the Sisters of Mercy, has enabled my students to experience service and the impact it can make on the lives of so many,” says Anne King, associate professor of marketing at Mount Mercy University.

Some students do their service learning off-site. Eva and Sean Deegan held a lemonade sale over their summer break to raise money for CMC programs.

Some students do their service learning off-site. Eva and Sean Deegan held a lemonade sale over their summer break to raise money for CMC programs.

 

Students are able to help CMC accomplish necessary tasks and learn important skills. Katie Pahlas, Grant Wood Area Education school social worker explains, “Our students who volunteer at CMC are students with severe autism. This opportunity to learn job related skills (i.e., putting away food, cleaning, and organizing shelves) not only helps CMC, but allows these students to strengthen skills which may someday transfer to the real world of work.”  Learning through service is both memorable and rewarding. Katie says, “The experience of lending their hands to help others is naturally gratifying. The relationship our students have with CMC is a perfect example of the importance of promoting the well being and dignity of every individual.”

 

 Read more of our FY13 Annual Report.

 

Check out more great volunteer photos on our Facebook page.

 

100 Hours of Volunteer Service in FY13

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A special thank you to these amazing volunteers who each served more than 100 hours this year. The did everything from tutoring to graphic design, maintenance, and serve on a committee or the board. Together they served more than 3300 hours!

CMC Volunteers “100 Hours Club”

  • Amber Bohlen
  • Lalisa Brown
  • Deb Cave
  • John Chaimov
  • Lauren T. Duvall
  • Sara Elahi
  • Kimberly Gardner
  • Kristi Heiderscheid
  • Sr. Rita Heires
  • Rose Mary Kerschenske
  • Del LaGrange
  • Jennifer L. Mackey
  • Betty Mallie
  • Jennifer L. Reierson Mims
  • Melissa Pence
  • Floyd Sandford
  • Ann Sullivan
  • Robert Yeats
  • Beth Wallace
  • Gabrielle Watkins
  • Sarah Watson

 Gabby WatkinsOur PR volunteer, Gabby Watkins, dedicated more than 180 hours at CMC last fiscal year.

“I first began volunteering at the Center during an internship over the summer 2012 to finish my degree at Kirkwood. Once the internship was done, I was gone for only two months before I missed it too much and had to return. I am often asked why I volunteered so much at CMC and it’s really very simple: it made me feel like I was actually doing something to improve my community. The love the staff has for their work is infectious, as are the smiles of those they are helping. I know that my service really helps improve lives and, perhaps most importantly, has helped me grow as an individual.”

 Read more about our dedicated volunteers. 

Seeds of Change: A Recipe for Empowerment

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Transitional Housing Kitchen Remodel Project

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Transitional Housing Program strives to continuously assess and improve services that address the current and most pressing needs of residents. First and foremost is the need for a secure and healthy home. Over the past several years, through community grants, CMC has been able to make much needed improvements to our housing program facilities, keeping them safe and functional. But our facilities are also an important part of programming outside the need for shelter. A recent partnership with the Cedar Rapids Soroptimist Clu

b has opened an opportunity to dream a little bigger for our facilities and the programming that we can offer.

The Healthy Women’s Series, a group learning and treatment model, often addresses issues of health and wellness. Many women in poverty lack the resources or know-how to prepare healthy meals. Through our partnership with the Soroptimists and other community

support, we hope to remodel and transform the current kitchen space in our main building to provide a functional, classroom-style kitchen for residents. The current kitchen has limited workspace that is not conducive to group learning and has outdated appliances and cabinetry. The kitchen space is so limited that only two women at a time can use it comfortably. These confining conditions can be a trigger for survivors of violence. Our new kitchen design takes into account best practices for dealing with trauma and will allow all of the women to feel safe in the space as they cook for themselves and learn as a group.

 

Can You Help?

We’ve dreamed, we’ve planned, and now we need your help!

To achieve our dream and build a better, more efficient and accommodating kitchen, we continue to rely on grants and community partners. Our dream is big and comes at a cost of more than $50,000. We hope to cover much of this cost through donated labor, appliances, materials, and funds. We’d like you, your organization, or your business to be our partner in making this dream a reality. Please consider contributing to our project in some way. Every partnership is another vital ingredient in this recipe for empowerment.

For more information on how you can help click here to read our complete Kitchen-Project-Proposal!

Seeds of Hope: Tutors Make A Difference

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by Monica Soto

Click Here to see Monica deliver this speech at the United Way Volunteer Breakfast.

Monica Soto Byline PhotoHave you ever felt lost, alone, without hope? Have you ever thought that some divine power put someone in your life to help you?

When I arrived in the U.S., I felt like an intruder. I couldn’t speak or understand. Not just the language…the white, tall, blonde people. When I moved to my first apartment, all the white people in the building waved to me and smiled. I always ran the other way, with the fear that they would speak to me and I would have to answer with one of the few sentences that I had learned in English – “I don’t speak English.” I promised myself that I will learn English no matter what so I can say hello back to the kind people who waved to a stranger in the hallway.

Someone told me about Catherine McAuley Center, a place where you can go and get an English tutor. I said “That sound very expensive.” She answered, “It’s free. The people volunteer their time.” I said to myself, “If it’s free, why not try it?”

As soon as I stepped through the door, they welcomed me as a friend. They interviewed me in my own language and gave me a tutor, as they called them. For me it was more than that. It was a teacher. A light in the tunnel. It was funny how we both got excited when I started mumbling the words that sounded like the ones they were trying to teach me. When I saw their genuine concern about my frustration and we shared with happiness my achievements, I never saw them as the white, tall, blonde people again. They were my friends

I’m profoundly thankful to my tutors. For giving me my voice back so I can share my experiences. For teaching me how to survive in this country. But most important of all, for giving me hope when I felt lost. For giving me the hand that I needed to stand up every time that I fell.

If you never considered being a tutor because you feel you’re not a teacher, let me tell you that you can make a difference in someone’s life. You can be that friend that we desperately need. You can be that hand that they’re trying to reach, but no one grabs. You can be the inspiration that they’re looking for to overcome the fear of saying hello to a stranger. You can make them feel at home and not an intruder. To them. To my tutors who share their time, their knowledge, and their experience. To my friends, my respect, my appreciation. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

April Showers Bring May…Volunteers?

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by Brianna Schwenk

Cargill front page

With the help of a generous grant from their corporate office, Cargill employees were able to transform our empty flower beds into beautiful, welcoming landscaping, designed by expert gardener, Dana Land with The Personal Gardener.

In the past few weeks, there’s been an exciting buzz of energy around the Catherine McAuley Center. Spring has finally arrived, and with it, came groups of committed, generous, and eager volunteers who were ready to tackle big projects and make a difference in the community. In just three days, volunteers logged over 430 hours of service – that’s $9542.34 in volunteer labor! Together, the May groups contributed over $2,000 in supplies and monetary donations. Check out more photos of our projects and the great volunteers who contributed on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CatherineMcAuleyCenter.

We  would like to extend a huge, heartfelt thank you to all of the volunteers who have shared their time and skills with us this May. Without support from groups like these, we would not be able to offer the welcoming, quality services we are committed to developing and maintaining at the Center. It takes a lot of heart and many hands to keep CMC running. Our volunteer coordinator, Brianna Schwenk, is available to schedule and design a group volunteer experience for anyone who is interested in making a difference. If you or your organization is looking for a volunteer opportunity that builds teamwork, creates memories, and has a definite impact on our community, please contact our volunteer coordinator at 319-363-4993 or e-mail volunteer@cmc-cr.org.

A crew from GE Capital took care of our many spring cleaning projects such as: cleaning shelves, organizing our food pantry, shampooing the carpet, and creating a great working space for our office volunteers.

A crew from GE Capital took care of our many spring cleaning projects such as: cleaning shelves, organizing our food pantry, shampooing the carpet, and creating a great working space for our office volunteers.

The group from Toyota Financial undertook the massive project of getting our community garden ready for planting. Thanks to their volunteer labor and materials donation, we were able to paint the fence, till and plant the garden, paint our deck, power wash our houses, and make more space in our garage for storage.

The group from Toyota Financial undertook the massive project of getting our community garden ready for planting. Thanks to their volunteer labor and materials donation, we were able to paint the fence, till and plant the garden, paint our deck, power wash our houses, and make more space in our garage for storage.

Volunteers, We Couldn’t Do It Without You!

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Celebrating Our Dedicated Volunteers

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Volunteer Coordinator, Brianna Schwenk, greets volunteers at the door with a special thank you gift.

On Wednesday, May 1, our volunteers joined us for CMC’s Volunteer Appreciation Open House.  As a small non-profit organization, it would be impossible to carry out our mission without the support of so many dedicated and passionate volunteers. This event is just one small way that we can show our gratitude.

Since May of 2012, CMC has had more than 500 volunteers who served in a variety ways.

  • Volunteer tutors provided more than 7,000 hours of one-on-one tutoring in the Adult Basic Education Program. This continues to be a great need at the Center, particularly for morning tutors.
  • Local Businesses, schools, churches and other community organizations gather groups of volunteers for big projects like painting, landscaping, and clean up.
  • Coe College, Cornell College, University of Iowa, Mount Mercy University have all sent talented students for internships in social work, public relations, volunteer management, and education.
  • We have a number of volunteers who come each week to help us with day-to-day operations by stocking the food pantry, entering data, and answering the phones.IMG_0204

Volunteer Award Nominations

Several of our dedicated volunteers were nominated for service awards in the past year: United Way Volunteer Award Nominees

  •  Students in the Mount Mercy STEPS Program commit to serving CMC throughout their college experience and provide valuable support on a weekly basis.
  • Mercy Medical Center is an incredible support to CMC and has several staff members who provide services to the Center.
  • Sr. Rita Heires and Amy Schwake were nominated for their incredible dedication to the Center and long record of service as tutors in the Adult Basic Education Program.

Governor’s Volunteer Award

Board Member and long time tutor, Sher Jasperse,  was nominated for the Governor’s Volunteer Award.

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Volunteer Coordinator, Brianna Schwenk and Executive Director Paula Land present a “100 Hours of Service” Certificate to Ann Sullivan who is a tutor and serves on the Board of Directors.

“One-Hundred Hours Club”

The event also recognized the volunteers who have logged over 100 hours of service at the Center in FY13. A special thanks to those volunteers!

  • Debra Cave
  • Carrol Chipokas
  • Sr. Rita Heires
  • Del LaGrange
  • Betty Mallie
  • Floyd Sandford
  • Ann Sullivan
  • Bob Yeats

Volunteers with Professional Skills Valued at CMC

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From The Mustard Seed, Winter/Spring 2013

More than 50 staff at Geonetric helped create new websites for 4 non-profits in Cedar Rapids

More than 50 staff at Geonetric helped create new websites for 4 non-profits in Cedar Rapids

One of our greatest assets at the Catherine McAuley Center is a community of businesses and professionals who seek opportunities to give back. Most recently, Geonetric donated new website designs to 4 local agencies, including CMC, in an event called Operation Overnight. As they said themselves, “Why Operation Overnight? Because Geonetric’s team of software engineers and marketers don’t know how to build houses (at least not very well). Instead, we figure we can use our mad, website development skillz, social media ninja expertise, or our guerrilla marketing ideas to help these non-profits in their missions to improve our local community.” With 24 hours and a lot of coffee, a team of Geonetric staff used their amazing technical skills to build a new website for CMC. They improved our web presence and trained our staff to maintain the website. We have harnessed the power of social media to share the success of clients and promote our events. Since launching the site, we have been able to reach more than 1,000 CMC supporters through e-newsletters, Facebook, and website visits.

Geonetric staff works diligently on CMC's new website build
Geonetric staff works diligently on CMC’s new website build

Geonetric’s contribution is just one way that professionals and organizations in our community are improving the efficiency and quality of services at CMC.  Each of our board members brings professional knowledge that is an asset to our mission. So many of our volunteers bring valuable expertise as professionals in the fields of finance, investing, facilities maintenance, fundraising, law, marketing, technology, and so many others. By utilizing volunteer expertise and in-kind services wherever possible, we are able to make the most of monetary contributions. Time and again, members of our community have said, “I can do that!” and offered their skills to the Center: Mount Mercy University nursing students present  health and nutrition topics to women at the Transitional Housing Healthy Women’s Series; Mercy Medical Center staff provide design and printing services for several CMC projects; Robyn Hepker of Benson & Hepker Design volunteers her expertise to our Annual Report and this newsletter; Waldinger staff donated their time to take apart an old boiler so it could be removed from the Center, and Ovation Networks donated and installed a video security system, just to name a few.

We know that professionals right here in Cedar Rapids are reaching out to their community looking for a way to give back by doing what they do best. Do you have a skill that could benefit CMC programming or operations? Let us know. Our new website makes it much easier for potential volunteers to sign up and get started. Check out our volunteer opportunities here. 

Girls Scouts Volunteer in November 2012

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Girl Scouts Build Courage, Confidence, and Character volunteering at CMC

by Jennifer Tibbetts, Transitional Housing Program Manager & Girl Scout Leader

Girl Scouts focuses on building courage, confidence, and character. The Girl Scout troop from Marion demonstrated how they possessed all of these traits through their help at CMC.

On November 16th these 5th grade Junior Girl Scouts stocked our food pantry shelves with 583 pounds of food and a truckload of personal care donations that we received through Mercy Hospital’s Mission Week project. Through the girl’s experience they not only helped the residents and students gain access to these basic needs but they also learned about the issue of homelessness. The troop learned how CMC helps meet the needs of those living in poverty and that they can each make a difference and have a positive impact in our community.