Trainings, team days and orientations are important events to in-coming Community Service Consortium ‘Building Bridges’ AmeriCorps VISTA Program members in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. The new team started their year in Portland at the four-day Pre-Service Orientation sponsored by the Corporation for National Community Service. The VISTAs received information, insights, and concepts relating to poverty, and participated in break-out sessions on topics such as resource mobilization and volunteer development.On September 21st, the 9 VISTAs and their community organization site supervisors joined Tifani Erpelding, the Program Coordinator, and Katherine Finch, AmeriCorps VISTA Leader for a program-specific orientation .
A workshop was presented by Heidi Henry, Director of CSC Community Relations and Development and Supervisor of the ‘Building Bridges’ AmeriCorps VISTA Program at CSC. The team learned about individual Meyer’s Briggs Types and how different personality preferences can work together and communicate efficiently.
Policies and procedures were reviewed, a team building exercises was played, and each person decorated a composition journal with images and words relating to their individual inspirations for getting involved in national community service. The journal will be used as a way to track personal thoughts and experiences surrounding the important work to be done this coming year. The day ended with reflection about each team members’ professional and organizational expectation’s for their service year.
This years’ team consists of: Anthony Vendetti, Emergency Planning Coordinator at City of Albany Fire Department; Brittany Russell, HELP Volunteer Coordinator for Lincoln County School District; Elise Jordan, Lincoln County Homeless Planning Coordinator at Lincoln Commission on Children and Families; Hanna Connett, North HELP Volunteer Coordinator for Lincoln County School District; Jeanna Weathers, Volunteer Coordinator at Albany Helping Hands, Inc.; Jessica Stallings, Benton County Homeless Planning Coordinator at the Benton County Commissioners’ Office; Lauren Berentes, Regional Planning Coordinator at the Community Services Consortium; Melissa Poole, Volunteer Coordinator for ChristWalk Supportive Transitional Housing and Michael Spinello, Linn County Homeless Planning Coordinator at the Community Services Consortium.
