Virginia AmeriCorps Program Directors Update

AmeriCorps Program Directors Monthly Update | October 2021

Reminder: Next Virginia AmeriCorps Program Director

Zoom Meeting is Monday, December 20, 2021, 10-11am,

Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88644367459 Password @meriCorp5

Slides from October 18th Program Director's Call

Upcoming Virginia Volunteerism Briefing Events

The Virginia Service Commission is hosting several briefing sessions for organizations and government agencies to be a part of a new vision for how volunteerism, community service, and national service can contribute to solving our most challenging problems. We will discuss topics including results from the recent statewide volunteerism survey, the state service plan, AmeriCorps opportunities, and plans for 2022. Please feel free to join us, and share this opportunity widely in your networks!

Webinar Dates:

2pm, Wed., October 27

1pm, Thurs., October 28

10am, Thurs., November 4

1pm, Tues., November 16

AmeriCorps COVID-19 Report

Over the past 19 months, AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers have been supporting communities across the nation as they respond to and recover from COVID-19. As communities continue to feel the impact of the pandemic, AmeriCorps wants to ensure that they understand the full scope of program engagement and response. The information you provide to them allows AmeriCorps to better explain their collective impact to partners, elected officials, and stakeholders, and understand how the agency can best support your efforts.

Fill Out Report

Public Health AmeriCorps Funding Opportunity

Public Health AmeriCorps will include a 400 million dollar investment, over five years, from the American Rescue Plan Act workforce funding that will enable the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders who are ready to respond to the public health needs of the nation by providing public health service in communities. Members will serve primarily in state, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments or in service to public health departments. It is strongly recommended that AmeriCorps members serve in at least teams of two. AmeriCorps has found that placing at least two members at a service site location provides economies of scale and aids in retention of members. The deadline for applications is November 8, 2021.

Program Compliance

Prohibited Activities - Please review the 2021 Terms and Conditions, Section V.C. which states that “All locations where members serve should post a list of the prohibited activities, when possible.” VSC has recently shipped updated posters to your programs. You may also use the following resources (also available on the Resource Portal) to share with your members:

CNCS grantees are expected to provide extensive and impactful staff, member, and site training to ensure compliance with the rules on the prohibited activities. What do we mean by extensive and impactful training?

Extensive: Train staff, board, members, sites, volunteers; re-enforce and re-train throughout program year; use multiple and diverse methods for delivering content; dedicate significant time to this task
Impactful: Check knowledge of all training participants

What do you do if you find a problem with performance and/or compliance? Standard steps to take include (tailor these as necessary for your situation):

Document everything
Re-train staff, members, volunteers
Follow-up within a reasonable period to confirm correction
Take management steps if correction does not occur (e.g., terminate staff or member, end site partnership)
Notify the Virginia Service Commission if you discover a violation of the prohibited activities
Always err on the side of over-informing when it comes to prohibited activities

Performance Measurement

2021-2022 PM Only GPR: This is a new requirement, but is completed just like the regular GPRs. This report can be accessed in the same place, by going under "Reporting" in OnCorps, and "Submit GPR". This is due 9/30/2021.

2021-2022 Data Collection Plan: An updated template and instructions can be found on the Resource Portal under "Reporting and Impact". This is due 10/15/2021.

**All data requirements are listed and explained in the 2021 Data Requirements document available on the Resource Portal. These items are not required for planning grants.

September 2021 Data Performance Elements: As discussed on the PD call, please complete the Performance Data Elements survey in OnCorps for 9/1/2021-9/30/2021 by 11/15. Contact Analise if you have any questions.

Training and Events

Virginia National Service Awards - Each year the Virginia National Service Awards honor outstanding service from AmeriCorps State and VISTA members, AmeriCorps Alums, and AmeriCorps Seniors from the past service year. This year we will be celebrating the honorees during AmeriCorps Week (previously honored a the Virginia Volunteerism Conference) to highlight and amplify their incredible stories of service. The nomination process will kick off in late 2021 so stay tuned for more information coming soon!

Upcoming Training and Events - Please note the following upcoming special events and training opportunities:

Activities and Events

Proposed Dates

Who Participates

Category

Details/

References

MLK Day of Service

January 17, 2022

Program Participation inviting volunteers to attend

Service Project

Programs design/ designate a special project outside their program scope in their community. https://bit.ly/3G5eGXW

AmeriCorps Week

March 7-13, 2022

Program Staff

Celebration/

Recognition

Impact of programs celebrated

https://bit.ly/2Xu6z5I

National Service Awards Celebration

March 2022

Honorees and associates, public event

Celebration/

Recognition

Recognition of a member or Alum from each branch of service, Live-streamed awards presentation.

Nominations open late 2021 https://bit.ly/2ZeQVft

Member Training & Celebration Event

March 2022

Members,

Program Staff encouraged

Celebration/

Training

Content on the annual continuum of support for members

Virginia Volunteerism Summit

May 4-5, 2022

Any Program Staff, AmeriCorps members,

public event

Training

First day Summit - inspiration and information. Second day Institute - master classes.https://bit.ly/3DW5B1K

Communications & Branding

Member Stories - As you begin the program year, please always be collecting and sharing your members reflections and stories to the VSC. To get you started, here's a prompt for you to share with your members this month. We'll continue to supply you with additional prompts throughout the year. Please share widely and have your members respond with a written response and photo or video response to patricia.doyle@dss.virginia.gov. Member stories will be shared on social media and on VirginiaService.virginia.gov on the AmeriCorps Stories page. Members who submit stories will be eligible to win all kinds of prizes!

Fall AmeriCorps Member Prompt:

What led to your decision to serve in AmeriCorps?

Tips for Great Photos - Remember to always be taking pictures of your members and sharing on your social media accounts and with the VSC. Here's a few things to remember when you grab your cell phone to grab a shot!

RULE #1

IT'S THE VIBE THAT MATTERS

Keep your members in action shots interesting by making sure you see their faces -- not just people looking at a computer screen, looking down reading, etc. Stop your members for a moment and get them to look up and smile and pose. This will give your action photos happy and positive vibes guaranteed!

RULE #2

SELFIES ARE ALLOWED

Everyone today is accustomed to selfies and they are no longer seen as unprofessional. Just make sure your selfies are clear and composed well (no weird arms or angles).

RULE #3

INANIMATE OBJECTS MAKE FOR GREAT SUBJECTS

No member photos handy? Take pictures of gear showing the logo or other items to post on social media. (For instance, on National Donut Day sit an AmeriCorps mug next to a plate of donuts or take a picture of beautiful fall leaves and say something about the season with a superimposed AmeriCorps logo.)

RULE #5

USE DIGITAL TOOLS TO MAKE YOUR PHOTOS SING

Use Canva or Photoshop to superimpose the AmeriCorps logo on your image. Make your meh photos pretty with filters (using Photoshop, free photo tools like PhotoPea, or even just the Instagram and other social media photo filters).