It’s been another great AmeriCorps season at the ReNU
office!
This summer, ReNU was fortunate enough to be awarded four
service members from three different programs through The Service Collaborative
of Western New York (formerly WNY AmeriCorps).
If you are not familiar with The Service Collaborative, we encourage you
to
check out their website to see some of the great work they do.
ReNU has been a host site for
AmeriCorps/Service Collaborative members since 2006, hosting VISTA service
members for four years, and then branching out to explore the other programs
that the organization had to offer.
Each of our 2012 members brought their own skill sets, their
own personalities, and their own passions to the table to create a great team
of program staff.
Emily Grubbe – ABLE Member
Emily started with ReNU Niagara on May 21, 2012 as an ABLE
(AmeriCorps Builds Lives through Education) member serving 10 weeks in our
office. She came to us from Seneca,
South Carolina where she recently graduated from Clemson University. Her charge at ReNU was to assist in the
planning and facilitation of the GreenRoots Leadership Development Program for
both youth and adult tracks of the program.
She brought a great energy and passion for education to the office, as
well as a little bit of southern charm.
During her time here she worked with the youth to design a festival that
would encourage other youth to get off the couch and go outside, getting them
to be more active. She also worked to
plan and pull off a film viewing event as a way to recruit residents for the
adult track of the program. Always
willing to do more than was required, Emily was a huge asset to the office this
summer and we wish her the best of luck with her graduate studies at the
University of Kentucky!
John Newcomb – Summer VISTA Member
John was a little more local than Emily, as he was attending
Buffalo State College and was looking for a productive way to spend his summer
off. John’s tasks at the ReNU office included
the management of two garden spaces: the Highland Community Vegetable Garden
and the Niagara University Campus Garden.
He was responsible for daily management of the garden spaces, which
included: identifying and coordinating youth groups to assist with garden
maintenance (watering, weeding, harvesting, etc.), working with community
partners to plan garden/nutrition workshops for the Highland community, and
many other tasks related to community gardening. In addition, John was always willing to provide
an extra set of hands to his fellow AmeriCorps colleagues. John brought a great amount of
professionalism and personality to the office this summer, and we wish him
nothing but the best.
Dennis Darby – ServiceCorps
Dennis was one of two ServiceCorps members who filled the
role one of our Vacant Lot Coordinator positions. His main focus for his six-months with ReNU
was on outreach and how to engage residents and organizations in participating
in the newly formed Greenprint Niagara vacant lot coalition/initiative. In addition, Dennis provided support to his
fellow ServiceCorps and AmeriCorps members, assisting with the Highland
Community Vegetable Garden as well as the Walnut Avenue Kitchen Gardens that
were developed by a ReNU partner. An
avid volunteer with the Boy Scouts, the Magdalene Project and several other
worthy causes, Dennis brought great value to the ReNU staff this summer as a
long-time resident of the area. Dennis
has already been told that we look forward to his future involvement in ReNU
and Greenprint projects, and we hope he does as well.
Natalie Cook – ServiceCorps
Natalie also spent her service as one of ReNU’s Vacant Lot
Coordinators.
Her specific area of focus
was more on policy and planning, where she utilized her background as a
Graduate of the Masters in Urban Planning program at the University of
Buffalo.
Natalie has been instrumental
in the beginning stages of the strategic planning process for Greenprint
Niagara, has provided great support to the Highland Community Vegetable Garden,
and assisted with the maintenance of the community garden located at the Presti
Apartments/Neighborhood Housing Services.
Most visibly, though, Natalie has helped to develop and expand ReNU’s
social media presence; setting up our the blog you are reading this post on, as
well as the
ReNU Facebook page that just recently broke 100 ‘likes’.
She has never shied away from taking on
additional tasks, has always managed to keep herself busy and productive, and
has truly been influential in setting the stage for Greenprint Niagara to
succeed.
In all, ReNU benefited immensely from the work this
extremely effective program team was able to accomplish this summer.
We see nothing but great things coming from
whatever future endeavors they pursue.
We wish all of them nothing but the best.
But, most importantly, we would like to
extend our deepest gratitude for the commitment to service and to the Niagara
Falls community that they have shown during their time with ReNU.
