Pathways to Employment AmeriCorps VISTA Program
  • About
    • AmeriCorps VISTA
    • Contact
    • FAQs
  • Blogs
    • Blogs
    • Blog Schedule
  • VISTA Resources
    • Program Calendar
    • Important Documents
    • VISTA Toolkits
    • Program Webinars
  • Supervisor Resources
    • 2018 Supervisors' Orientation
    • 2018 Recruitment Webinar
    • 2019 Supervisors' Orientation
    • 2020 Supervisor Orientation
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Photo Gallery

Lauren Raycraft - Allegan Adventures

9/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hi friends!
My name is Lauren Raycraft and I am an MNA VISTA serving at Allegan County United Way. For those of you who aren’t familiar with southwest Michigan, Allegan is a rural county located about halfway between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. As a VISTA, I live in Kalamazoo and commute – about 35 minutes one way – to my service site.  The drive isn’t particularly convenient, but living in Kalamazoo has allowed me to save significantly on rent.

Since starting my service this past August, I have also learned that my commute is not unique. Many people who work in Allegan county actually live outside of Allegan, and vice versa: many people who live in Allegan county work in neighboring cities. Being able to afford this commute, however, is one aspect of privilege that differentiates the levels of poverty in Allegan county: residents without reliable access to transportation experience poverty differently than their neighbors. Resources can be extremely widespread and public transportation is not easily accessible.

Learning about the unique challenges faced by residents of Allegan County has been my first and foremost goal in starting my year of service. Most of the month of August was dedicated to familiarizing myself with the area, my host site, and existing resources and partnerships available to me through Allegan County United Way.

To aid me in this endeavor, my supervisor dedicated one early August afternoon to take a driving tour of Allegan County. My position is unique in that although my official service site is at the United Way, my VISTA Assignment Description involves working with each of the ten Allegan County school districts. The various districts are widespread – it took my supervisor and I the entire afternoon and over 100 miles of driving to visit them all! Thankfully, my supervisor was also able to introduce me to a few key people who have provided an immense amount of support and insight!

After being formally introduced to a countywide group of counselors in mid-September, my day-to-day workload has really grown. I am currently in the process of identifying focus groups of parents and students with whom I’ll convene over the course of the year at area high schools. I also joined the Allegan STEM Initiative steering committee, where I’ll continue to highlight the importance of early career exploration and post-secondary education. Later this week, I will finalize career exploration materials to present at a series of early college workshops in October.  In addition, I started planning a Show Me the Money Day event with one of my coworkers, attended virtual training for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) events this spring, and identified two additional grants to support upcoming events. My service is certainly picking up speed, but I’m loving every minute of it!

 I’m also excited to be mentoring a small group of students through a partnership between the Saugatuck Center for the Arts and Saugatuck High School. Although the project doesn’t relate directly to my VAD, it is meant to foster mentoring relationships between community members (me!) and area high school students to help them solve a problem facing their community, develop soft skills needed to succeed beyond high school, and prepare for their post-graduation plans. My students have been tasked with bridging the gap between baby boomers and millennials in volunteerism. Specifically, they’ll be conducting interviews in the community to understand why or why not millennials are volunteering, and how those efforts are perceived among adults and employers in the community. As a final project, they will produce materials to help solve the problem on a local scale. Specifically, they hope to produce a mini-documentary about volunteerism and the United Way to inspire their peers to volunteer! I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I wholeheartedly believe in the power of volunteering to change lives for the better, but I hope this project inspires them as well. I’m very excited to see what they come up with, and to share it with all of you!
​
As I look forward to October, and my third month of service, I grow more and more excited about what this year holds. I have grown exponentially in the last two months, and can’t wait to see what else a year as a VISTA will bring!  

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Blog ​Archives

    January 2020 
    December 2019 
    November 2019 
    October 2019 
    September 2019 
    August 2019 
    July 2019 
    June 2019 
    May 2019 
    April 2019 
    March 2019 
    February 2019 
    January 2019 
    December 2018 
    November 2018 
    October 2018 
    September 2018 
    July 2018 
    June 2018 
    May 2018 
    April 2018 
    March 2018 
    February 2018 
    January 2018 
    December 2017 
    November 2017 
    October 2017 
    September 2017 
    July 2017 
    June 2017 
    May 2017 
    April 2017 
    March 2017 
    February 2017 
    January 2017 
    December 2016 
    November 2016 
    October 2016 
    September 2016 
    August 2016 
    July 2016 
    June 2016 
    May 2016 
    April 2016 
    March 2016 
    February 2016 
    January 2016 
    December 2015 
    November 2015 
    October 2015 
    September 2015 
    August 2015 
    July 2015 
    June 2015 
    May 2015 
    April 2015 
    March 2015 
    February 2015 
    January 2015 
    December 2014 
    November 2014 
    October 2014 
    September 2014 
    June 2014 ​
    Each blog post was written by one of our VISTAs!

    Blog ​​​Authors

    All
    Abby Isacson
    Abby Samotis
    Adam Freed
    Adam Stock
    Alejandra Gomez
    Alexa Girouard
    Alexis Farrell
    Allyson Hubbell
    Alyson Ramirez
    Amtheyst Floyd
    Amy Fox
    Andrew Green
    Andy Straub
    Anita Moore
    Ann Roboski
    Ashley McCloud
    Ashley Seals
    Ashlyn Dotson
    Asmara Wheeler
    Assiatou Jallow
    Bashar Dimitry
    Becca Marcott
    Ben Erickson
    Ben Martinson
    Ben Poirier
    Betsie Schoedel
    Bianca Butler
    Billie Patterson
    Branden Dyer
    Brian Church
    Brianna Beaulieu
    Brianna Wilkins
    Britney Underwood
    Brooklyn Granowicz
    Caitlin Fey
    Carisma Ayala
    Carla Valpeoz
    Chelsea Clark
    Chelsea Hart
    Christopher Castle
    Cyerra Haywood
    Damona Platt
    Danielle Congleton
    Danielle Duffie
    David Christensen
    Delesiya Davis
    DeVante McCullom
    Diane Jarvi
    Dimitar Jakimovski
    Dylan Davids
    Ebone' Worthey
    Elizabeth Flanagan
    Emily Swearinger
    Emma Gregory
    Erik Krieger
    Ethan Daley
    Ethan Duffield
    Gabriela Sullen
    Hakeem Weatherspoon
    Hope Dokho
    Jackie Hubbard
    Jack Wong
    Jacob Pollock
    Jake Jermac
    Jarrell Brackett
    Javier Jimenez
    Jaylen Harris
    Jeanette Devito
    Jennifer Burger
    Jennifer Musser
    Jernard Collins
    Jessica Ayoub
    Jessica Foster
    Jim Southard
    Jordan Crandell
    Jordan Meeth
    Jordyn Appel
    June LaVernway
    June Urdy
    Junia Scartezini
    Kaitlyn-dougherty
    Karly-koggenhop
    Kat DeRemer
    Katelyn Kovalik
    Kay Davis
    Kelly Williams
    Kevin Cunningham
    Kim Ellerthorpe
    Kurtis Edwards
    Kye Bright
    Kyra Smith
    La'Shawnda Mansfield
    LaToya Dirrell
    Lauren Raycraft
    Lauren Zlotecki
    Lee Xiong
    Leslie Warren
    Lindsay Regalado
    Loreal Burnett
    Maddie Poindexter
    Madeline Kahl
    Makayla Whitney
    Malina Clements
    Mara Hazen
    Marcella Fox
    Marc Tyler
    Marisa Tear
    Marissa Relitz
    Marlee Schilbe
    Mary Bryson
    Mary Rose
    Matt Sehrsweeney
    Maya Faison
    Megan Lendman
    Megan Rochlitz
    Meghan Thorndike
    Meg McElhone
    Melissa Gonzalez
    Meridith Murley
    Mia Mahanery
    Mia Mahaney
    Missy Wright
    Mitchell Emery
    Mitch Port
    Molly Swisher
    Morgan Benham
    Naomi Coleman
    Natalie Boag
    Neil Anderson
    Nicole Justian
    Pam Ill
    Pat Brewer
    Phaedra Wainaina
    Rachel Blomer
    Rachel D'Alio
    Rachelle Rice
    Rachel Miller
    Rick Gould
    Rini Parekh
    Rita Hockemeyer
    Robbie Metcalf
    Ryan Thomas
    Sabrina Gambill
    Salancia Crowley-Picard
    Samantha Rudelich
    Samuel Howard
    Sandra Anderson
    Sarah Pilson
    Schuyler Pruis
    Schwartzen Jarmond
    Sean Mattice
    Shakita Billy
    Shalyn Stack
    Sheena Threatt
    Shelby Smith
    Sheryl Zukowski
    Sophia Mackoul
    Spenser Warren
    Stacey Johnson
    Stephanie Awalt
    Stephanie Muringer
    Suzanne Melin
    Tessa Wiles
    Treandra Thomas
    Treya Swords
    Trish Sanders
    Tyler Augst
    Walker Kelly
    Zekiye Salman

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • About
    • AmeriCorps VISTA
    • Contact
    • FAQs
  • Blogs
    • Blogs
    • Blog Schedule
  • VISTA Resources
    • Program Calendar
    • Important Documents
    • VISTA Toolkits
    • Program Webinars
  • Supervisor Resources
    • 2018 Supervisors' Orientation
    • 2018 Recruitment Webinar
    • 2019 Supervisors' Orientation
    • 2020 Supervisor Orientation
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Photo Gallery