Get involved! Make a Difference! Volunteer! ACE Office offers variety of service organizations to join

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Located on the first floor of the McCullough Student Center, the Alliance for Civic Engagement (ACE) is Middlebury's impressively successful facilitator of volunteer opportunities, ranging from social advocacy to environmental protection to education and mentoring. Created in 2003 through an alumna's support, it has developed into a multifaceted organization that provides Middlebury students and professors with enriching opportunities.

One of ACE's main goals, as expressed by its director, Tiffany Sargent, is to foster a more intimate relationship between the College and the town. It aims to achieve this by providing students with the chance to pursue their passions outside of the classroom, while contributing to the betterment of the community. The directors of ACE maintain regular communication with the town to remain updated on its needs. Such projects are often short-term or one time events. Presently, some projects that do not require a regular commitment include volunteering for the Charter House, a new transitional housing facility in town, and preparing community supper on Friday nights at the First Congregational Church.

Another way ACE cultivates this symbiotic relationship with the town is through finding ways to connect coursework with community projects; thereby allowing for the practical application of skills, as well as invaluable support for the community. One project undertaken by students in a geography course helped the Addison NE Supervisory Union redirect its bus routes to be more cost-efficient.

ACE's impact spans far beyond the Middlebury community, though. Through Middlebury Alternative Breaks (MAlt), students have the opportunity to volunteer both nationally and internationally. Past trips have included community development in El Salvador, trail maintenance in Utah and farming in Mexico.

At present, essentially endless opportunities exist. After one trip to the ACE office you could partake in a service, volunteer or advocacy project every day. If there is a new project you would like to undertake, the ACE staff is more than willing to help. They enjoy their advisory role through which they can facilitate "networking, connections, and to a certain degree funding," said Peggy Burns, associate director of ACE. Just five years ago, a student proposed bringing Relay for Life to Middlebury. Through his collaboration with ACE, Middlebury has since raised over $800,000 through this event.

This past week ACE held its biannual MiddAction Fair when many of the groups that collaborate with Middlebury congregated in McCullough to present their organizations and encourage involvement. If you missed it and are interested in incorporating your talents and interests into a service project, check out ACE online or stop by its office. The ACE staff also sends frequent emails of updated opportunities. Read their emails before deleting them! The ACE team is an invaluable resource to our community; it is worth the quick trip to their office to see what they have to offer.

What follows are just a few of the clubs and organizations that help connect the College and community and work to make a difference where they can.

- Corinne Beaugard, Staff Writer

PAGE 1 LITERACY

Page 1 Literacy exemplifies the kind of devotion and unswerving commitment that Middlebury students embody. If not the most active community service group on campus, it definitely ranks high on the list. For years now, the students of Page 1 Literacy have pledged their services to literacy in Addison Country, trying their utmost to give children a passion for reading and learning. As Molly Holmes, the group's off-campus coordinator said, "We try to promote literacy by making reading a fun and accessible activity."

Every week, Middlebury students contribute their time to eight elementary after-school programs and one middle school book club. In addition, the group plans various larger events during the year to promote reading, such as a Halloween party, a Winter Reading Carnival and a Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Reading Day. Yuki Shinoda, the current treasurer, described last year's Spring Reading Carnival with enthusiasm. The carnival was held in tents to give it a jungle theme and various clubs on campus "provided books to read and craft activities related to their club[s]," according to Shinoda.

Overall, Page 1 Literacy is positive about its group's efforts to create a reading culture in a fun and lively way. "The continuing interest that the schools show in having Page 1 volunteers (be it reading program, homework helpers, creative writing) tells that what we are doing is welcomed," said Shinoda.

If you would like to get more involved with Page 1 Literacy, contact Rachael Jennings at rjenning@middlebury.edu.

- Dana Walters, Staff Writer

BEEMAN MENTORS

Of the 118 kids who attend Beeman Elementary School in New Haven, Vt., 80 percent of them, in third through sixth grade, are fortunate enough to be mentored by a Middlebury College student. About an hour drive north from Middlebury, Beeman hires student volunteers from the college to tutor kids one day a week for one hour.

The benefits of being a mentor is a two way street. "I think that College students would say it is just as rewarding for them as it is for us," said Julie Olson, director of Beeman's mentorship program.

Beeman's program brings Middlebury students into a community that asks its members to commit to leading children towards the pursuit of a college education. Olson's long-term goal is for all students who are eligible for the mentorship program to have a mentor. Mentors from Middlebury range from hockey players to theatre majors, from the women's lacrosse team to the Nordic ski team. Scheduling is flexible: Olson ties Middlebury's and Beeman's schedules together, so students can plan mentoring sessions accordingly.

Beyond the classroom, Middlebury's mentors organize activities for their kids. In the past, Beeman has come to athletic events to see their mentors on sports teams in action and has even roamed outdoors with the Mountain Club.

All mentors are encouraged to stay with Beeman for four years, so the child has the same mentor from third through sixth grade This fosters a strong connection and develops a relationship that works to effectively teach and imbue a passion for learning, mentor to child and child to mentor.

Contact Julie Olson at juolson@anesu.org for more information.

- Carson Dietz Hartmann, Staff Writer

SISTER-TO-SISTER

Sister-to-Sister combines community outreach, personal support, discussion of women's issues and good old-fashioned fun, described Ashley Panichelli '10, who has participated for three years. The program is a collaboration of three generations of women to establish a community and create an outlet for discussion that Panichelli termed a "safezone." Once a month, the group hosts an event paired with a forum on a related topic. Past events have included afternoons of swimming and log rolling followed by a dialogue about body image and a day cooking together while discussing what it means to be a good friend. The three generations of women involved, that create what Panichelli described as a "three-level system of mentoring" are seventh and eighth-grade students from Bristol, Vergennes and Middlebury Union middle schools, Middlebury College students and faculty and staff.

"We always talk about how awkward middle school was," Panichelli said of conversations she and her fellow student volunteers have had with the older members. "One of the best ways to learn and teach someone [how to survive the 'awkwardness' of middle school] is to have experienced it yourself," she said. "We still haven't mastered some of these issues, and neither have the adults in our group, but we can show the girls that it gets easier."

Paniche
lli emphasized the importance of the diversity of volunteers' interests and experiences. "Middle school is a really unsure time in your life," she said. "We are able to present to them that there's not one right way to deal with it, and it's good to be able to show that kind of diversity at what you can become and what you can achieve."

Contact Panichelli at apaniche@middlebury.edu or Hallie Fox '09 at hfox@middlebury.edu, or drop by one of Sister-to-Sister's meetings at 7 p.m. on Thursdays in the Chellis House if you are interested in attending or planning an event.

- H. Kay Merriman, Features Editor

Features Editor

RELAY FOR LIFE

A thousand people, live music, overnight camping, food and free t-shirts? Relay for Life is certainly a unique and dynamic fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. This event's slogan, "If cancer doesn't sleep, neither do we," is championed by volunteers who gather down on the athletic fields to "celebrate, remember and fight back" for an entire night by maintaining at least one member from each team on the track at all times (from 3 p.m. until morning). One in three people suffer from cancer in their lives, making Relay a very worthy cause to support, but even if you just enjoy having fun on a spring evening you should check it out. Relay for Life is the biggest community service event on campus, have raised over $830,000 so far, but one of its co-organizers, Tiffany Orlowski, let slip that it is actually "a big overnight party."

As a former participant Orlowski said, "there is an aspect of Relay for everyone and you can really make it your own." The football team conspicuously fields a relay team each walking what, five minutes? There are only a billion of them.

Or if you are superhuman, you can be like one Middlebury student who has walked the entire time, about 18 hours, for the past two years. When you're not on the track, you can enjoy performances by a cappella groups, DJs and Riddim World Dance Troupe, and food provided by the Lion's Club. There is still plenty of time to sign up. Visit www.relayforlife.org/middleburycollege and participate on May 1.

- Jamie Studwell, Staff Writer

COMMUNITY FRIENDS

Since 1960, Community Friends has existed as a mentor-based organization at Middlebury College. Today, the group is still running strong, having already matched nearly 4,000 Middlebury students with children in Addison County.

"The goal is to match volunteers with children in the community that are needing extra support and a positive role model," said Betsy Mackey, assistant director for community service at the College. "It's a great opportunity for the children to come on campus so they can see college down the road for themselves."

School guidance counselors, therapists and parents recommend the children for the program.

"A lot of the parents of the children had a mentor when they were children, so it's kind of neat to see that cycle," said Mackey.

The pairs are matched according to interests and often decide together how to spend their time. Typical activities include going to hockey games, eating at the dining halls and going to movies. The ideal mentor is someone who is energetic, friendly and willing to make the commitment of about two hours a week for a minimum of a year.

"For a child to be matched with someone, then have the volunteer bail out - that's worse than not having anybody at all," said Mackey.

Over the years, Community Friends has evolved into more than a mentoring program: it now serves as a cultural exchange and a way to put things into perspective by getting out of the Middlebury College lifestyle.

"I think it's a connection and a friendship and just a different perspective," said Macket. "It's great for the College students to get off campus and get to know the greater community."

For more information on how to get involved with Community Friends, contact Betsy K.B. Mackey at bbassin@middlebury.edu or by phone at (802) 443-3010.

- Catherine Ofelia, Staff Writer