Administrative Announcements

Hold Harmless Agreements for NJ Summit

Dear Colleagues,

As you know, Montclair State's School of Conversation has offered us the use of their facility at a reduced cost for the NJ Summit at the end of the month.  The cost of the facility, meals, etc. will be paid for by funds from the Bonner Foundation and The College of New Jersey.  However, our legal counsel has advised us that each participating school needs to sign a Facility Use Contract with the School of Conservation.  In addition to basic facilities use information, the agreement includes hold harmless language, a liability insurance clause and a request that the School of Conservation be named as additionally insured.  Becky and I can work with your institution's risk management staff to process this agreement if that would be helpful for you.  I am in the process of securing copies of the individual campus agreements and will send them to you as soon as they are available.  If you have any questions or concerns, please call or email me.  If you'd like us to help facilitate the process with your risk management folks, please respond and tell me who to contact.  Thanks so much for your patience and understanding.

Best,

Christen

Submit your Social Media Links

We are compiling a hub of all of the current NJ Bonner Social Media that is currently being used by our campuses.  Please take a moment and compose an email to our NJ BLP Intern, Austin Almaguer at austin@bonner.org with the following information:

Links to all Wiki websites your program updates regularly

Links to all Ning websites your program uses

Links to any photo-sharing websites you have created for your school/program

Links to any youtube channels your school posts videos to

Links to Facebook groups your school uses/updates

Twitter names that your program has created

Any other social media websites your Bonner Leader Program uses...

Also please include in the email to Austin the names and emails of any students you have who are great at social media/are in charge of social media at your school.

Thanks!

Becky

Upcoming Events and Program Calendar 

October 25th: Trenton Area Habitat for Humanity's "Rock the House!"  

October 30th and 31st: NJ Bonner Summit!!! 

The NJ BLP Summit is on October 30th and 31st at the New Jersey School of Conservation (a state forest!) in Branchville, NJ. This year, in place of the NJBLP Launch, we are hosting the NJBLP Summit, a two day conference (with overnight accommodations) of workshops and training sessions around issues facing New Jersey and how Bonners are addressing these issues through service.The event will begin around 5:30pm on Friday and we are setting a 3pm departure time on Saturday.

Things to look forward to:

Things to look forward to....Awesome Workshops on Hunger, Meeting Students from all over NJ, Inspirational Speech from Wayne Meisel, Getting Down and Dirty with service, and Scary Halloween Games and Prizes. 

November 11th: Sally Miller Book Tour

Isles, along with Labyrinth Books, The Community-Based Learning Initiative at Princeton University, The Princeton-Trenton Crisis Ministry, and The Whole Earth Center join in inviting you for a talk and discussion on food activism with Sally Miller, author of Edible Action: Food Activism and Alternative Economics.

When: Wednesday, November 11 at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Labyrinth Books in Princeton (122 Nassau Street)

Hunger is up, obesity is up, food-borne illness is up, farms are lost to debt and despair; the food system fails growing numbers of people across the world every day.  Yet if we adjust our lens, we see ubiquitous commitments to change: food movements and enterprises dedicated to making the world a better place to eat and to live.  Food initiatives - from farmers' markets to fair trade coffee - offer a pattern of powerful alternatives to conventional food economics, which benefit only a handful of people and corporations.  Edible Action argues that food is peculiarly situated to mobilize people against the ills of an unjust economic system.

Sally Miller has worked for almost twenty years in the alternative food, agriculture and co-op sectors, as a manager, consultant, organizer and researcher.  She has degrees in anthropology and environmental studies.  She taught anthropology, writing, and environmental sociology and designed and implemented curriculum, workshops, and materials for non-profits and co-ops in the U.S. and in Canada.  She recently helped to found the Fourth Pig Worker Co-op, a co-op to natural and sustainable building and energy use.

Isles and Labrynth Books hope you will be able to join! 

November 14th: NJ Farm to School Barn Dance!

Training and Enrichment Opportunities 

AmeriCorps 101 Orientation Project

The CNCS AmeriCorps is looking for some experienced AmeriCorps members who can serve as models/actors/spokespeople in some video clips the program wants to create.  The clips would center on any events where CNCS AmeriCorps Videos can gather a few members together to talk about their experiences.  The program is looking for people who would be good spokespersons for their projects and AmeriCorps who can speak about:

-How they speak about and represent their project and AmeriCorps

-Their rolls and accomplishments

-What they have learned from their AmeriCorps experience

If you think there is a time that would work for CNCS AmeriCorps Videos to send a videographer to this event, please contact Sharon Rabb, rabb@campaignconsultation.com, and she will provide more details about the content of the planned video.  

 

Nov. 17th: NJ Human Relations Council Leadership Conference

The NJ Human Relations Council is holding their 14th Annual Leadership Conference entitled "Shaping the Future as Agents of Change" on Tuesday, November 17, 2009.

 

The conference will be held at the Hughes Justice Complex located at 25 Market Street, 4th floor conference room in Trenton, New Jersey.  

 

In addition, we are taking nominations for the NJHRC Unity Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in community relations to be presented at this conference.

 

To register and for more information on the upcoming conference:

Please refer to the NJ Human Relations Council website http://www.njhrc.org/.  You can find the registration information (and award info) on the bottom right hand side under highlights.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

*Spaces are limited so register early. 

**Please provide a valid email address for confirmation of registration for the course.   Due to limited space, you must receive a confirmation email in order to attend the course. Confirmation email will contain directions, parking and security information. 

 

To nominate someone for the NJHRC Unity Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in community relations please go to:

http://www.njhrc.org/awards/Nomination-Form-UAA-2009.html

 

If you are having any problems with the website - please call the main line @ 609 - 292-9021 and ask for assistance with registering or nominations for the conference.

 

Volunteer Opportunities 

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Homefront's Thanksgiving Basket Drive 

 

Homeless Person's Memorial Day

Date: December 21, 2009

Agency: The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey

Description:  Each year since 1990, on or near the first day of winter, which is the longest night of the year, many communities have held a Homeless Person's Memorial Day. In New Jersey, two communities have honored the homeless with memorial events: Camden and Atlantic City.

 

In an effort to maximize the impact of the day, the Advocacy Network to End Homelessness is encouraging local organizations involved in ending homelessness including Continuums of Care and non-profit service and housing providers, the faith community and other statewide organizations to hold memorials for those who have died homeless in their communities.

 

The Advocacy Network, encourages you to not only support the statewide efforts but also become involved in organizing local events in your community.

 

Event Links:

To read the full post on Homeless Person’s Memorial Day go to this web address:

 http://www.njaneh.org/2009/09/25/homeless-persons-memorial-day/

 

For a flyer for the event go to this web address:

 http://www.njaneh.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/MemDayPosterColor.pdf

 

For a copy of the organizing manual go to this web address:

 http://www.endinghomelessnessinnj.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/memorial09.pdf

 

for more information on how to become involved visit http://www.njaneh.org/memorial-day/ or contact Richard Brown at rbrown@njaneh.org or 908-272-5363 ext. 225

 

 

Attention AmeriCorps Alumni

AmeriCorps Alums has just launched three advanced project teams and are looking for volunteers to help out alums across the country.  The focus of the teams are Communication/Marketing, Technology andSignature Service Events. Each project team will actively work to connect and support alums and help AmeriCorps execute the new strategic plan. Be the first to get the scoop and sign up here.

 

Also, AmeriCorps has recently begun a partnership with  The Extraordinaries, who provide what they call 'micro-volunteering' opportunities through their iPhone App, Be Extra.  Well, now they have a way for you to take action from your personal computer and AmeriCorps Alums is a featured partner! Check it out here:www.beextra.org.  (It was also featured in the TIME volunteering special here).

 

 

Job, Internship, and Funding Opportunities

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2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll 

The Corporation for National and Community Service is now accepting applications for the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll (the Honor Roll) to recognize exemplary, innovative, and effective community service programs.

 

President Obama has made service a central cause of his administration, and through his United We Serve initiative he is calling on all Americans to make service part of their daily lives. The President places a high priority on supporting and developing the role of institutions of higher education, and their students, staff, and faculty, in addressing the nation’s most pressing social needs.  As service programs and initiatives grow, colleges and universities are reaping the benefits of service --- attracting high quality faculty and students, enriching learning, and building stronger alumni and community ties.

 

The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, supported by the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, the American Council on Education, and other higher education associations.  Over the past three years, nearly 900 colleges and universities have been named to its ranks, of which 18 have received the Presidential Award for exceptional contributions and institutional leadership.

 

The Honor Roll is an annual recognition program.  Institutions must apply each year to be recognized.   Please complete the electronic application available at http://myproject.nationalservice.gov/honorroll/. 

 

The deadline is 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, October 29, 2009.

 

Applications will be accepted in two categories for service performed during the 2008-2009 academic year:

 

General Community Service: This category recognizes the breadth and quality of a broad range of service activities.

 

Special Focus Area:  This category commends service projects that support the high school graduation and college readiness of disadvantaged youth. 

 

Six institutions – three from each category – will be named as Presidential Award winners.

 

For more information on the Honor Roll and to watch a short video on the Honor Roll, visitwww.NationalService.gov/HonorRoll.

 

The Presidential Award winners will be recognized at the 2010 American Council on Education Annual Meeting, March 6-9, in Phoenix, Arizona and at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service,  June 22-24, in New York City. 

 

If you have any questions about the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, please contact Kevin Michael Days, Advisor, Higher Education Special Initiatives, 202-606-6899.