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rtlie PoCemic/ Octo6er 29, 1997 !News 3 Participants in the Alpena Pride Program refur- bish a house on Ford A venue on Alpena's north side, one of the Volunteer Center's recent · initiatives. AmeriCorps builds hope BY BECKY BLACK During the week, every- STAFF WRITER one present participated in a service project of our own. This fall an exciting new There were three options-- movement is sweeping building a butterfly garden at throughAlpena--AmeriCorps. the facility where we were This national service organi- lodged, painting a mural at zation works to involve youth the camp, or traveling to the ages 11-18 in direct commu- QuindaroRuins, the largest ar- nity service through service cheological underground learning in their own class- railroad site in the nation to rooms. AmeriCorps has been do a little "landscaping." around four years and is So I headed off to funded by the National Ser- Quindaro, weed-whacker in vice Organization. Across the hand. Weactually"unearthed" nation, there are only 11 a couple of stone wall build- AmeriCorps sites and 45 ing remains, one being a AmeriCorps members. Al- school. It was a great experi- peria was awarded three of ence for everyone. these 45 slots, and Alpena is AmeriCorps focuses on the only AmeliCorps site in four major areas of need--en- Northeast Michigap. · vironmental, human, The three Alpena educational, and public safety. Some of the projects already underway locally are the neighborhood PRIDE pro- gram, in which a group of students are working to paint and refurbish houses on Ford A venue in Alpena; packing conunodities at NEMSCA; working with elementary at- risk children to help with reading readiness; and also a collaboration with Roger Witherbee's education classes. Although Ameri Corps works mainly with junior high and high school age youth, you will see us around here at ACC. Feel free to ask ques- tions. We'd be happy to answer them for you. Volunteer Center provides First Step AmeriCorps members are Tony Rosado, Kristen Issacs • and myself. In exchange for donating a year of service working the youth of the conununity, AmeriCorps members get a living stipend throughout the year. Upon successful comple- tion of the 1700 hours of service, each receives an edu- cational award of almost $5000 to help with college. BY MARIA STA."'IDEN, STAFF WRITER Many new develop- ments have been happening within the A.CC Volunteer Center. Besides co-sponsor- ing the October 29 Student Action Fair, the Volunteer Center has been busy with two new programs--the First Step Program and the Alpena Neighborhood · Pride Pro- gram. Providing a meaningful opportunity for both volun- teers and the community has been one of the main objec- tives for the Volunteer Center as it celebrates its 20th anni- versary this month. The program started in mid-August. During the first semester,the participants take a course to introduce and help them to decide on a ca- reer to pursue. The second semester involves courses to train the participants for the job of their choice. During the program, participants also at- tended a Ropes Challenge Course that focuses on team building and leadership. In its first year, the program has 27 people that range in ages from. 18 to 51. "It [the program] has been very favorably received. . . the participants have been very committed, energetic, and willing to learn," said An- gel. Funded by First Federal Savings & Loan of Alpena, the Alpena Neighborhood Pride Project will be focusing on homes in need of refurbish- ing on Alpena's north side. This year's project in- cludes painting five houses and siding two houses and 1 will be done by the end of Oc- tober. Angel said 'that the program will start .:.gain next spring and he foresees it growing to be even bigger and better next year. In- volved in this year's project were the ACC Student Sen- ate, the men's and women's basketball teams, Youth Vol- unteer Corps, Habitat for Humanity, and First Federal. "Even though the cost of living is rising and people are working hard to keep up, there still is a need for volun- teering," stated Angel. After the first year is completed, members have an · opportunity to re-up for a sec- ond term of service and a second educational award, making this an opportunity for members to receive almost $10,000 for college. Alpena's AmeriCorps members recently returned from a weeklong training in Kansas City. All AmeriCorps members from around the country were sent there to net- work, share ideas, learn a lot, and have a great time! Becky Black (left), an AmeriCorps member, changes the landscape during a recent training in Kansas City. Alpena's Volunteer Cen- ter is unique in that it is oneof · eight volunteer centers in the country that is associated with a university or community college. "Alpena was always highly regarded as a volun- teering community ... so there already was a strong founda- tion here for a volunteer center," said Chris Angel, Di- rector of the Volunteer Center. "Even though we are not noted as being one of the biggest volunteer centers, we have been noted as being a progressive center with a lot of great things happening and we are always continuing to grow." Angel credits much of the success of the center to the staff. "We have a won- derful staff here at the Center. Everyone works really hard to make the Center what it is," said Angel. "Trends are showing people getting involved in more short-term volunteering, things like volunteering with your family or doing volun- teer work at home are becoming patterns. Since state and federal funds have decreased - the need for vol- unteers has increased," Angel added. 'Phi Theta Kappa expands membership First Step Program, funded by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTP A) and the Northeast Michigan Con- sortium, is a pilot program to provide job training to in- come-eligible individuals. If you are interested in volunteering or want to find out more about the Volunteer Center, contact Chris Angel at 356-9021, Extension 335. BY JEANETTE KoRTMAN STAFF WRITER Everyone has heard ref- erence to Phi Theta Kappa at one time or another around . campus. But PTK is not a fraternity or a branch of the student government. So what is it? Phi Theta Kappa is the International Honor Society :=:: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ; : ; : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : ; : : : : .: : : : : : : : : : : : ; : : : : : : : : ; : : : ; : : : : : : : : :~ ACC Bookstore BTC . . .............................. . . 25% off all Stuffed · Animals ·.::: : : : :::::: : :::::: : :::: ::::: ::: ;:: ::::::: ; ::: :::;; :::: ; :::::::::;;::;: ;::::: ::::::::::: : ·: ::::::::::;:::::::::::::: : ,: : : :.: for students of two-year col- leges who are able to maintain a 3.5 or better grade-point av- erage and are enrolled in an associate's degree program. At ACC, Phi Theta Kappa has approximately 60 active members and is ad- vised by Wesley Law, political science and history instructor. The purpose of the organization is to recognize and encourage scholarship among students. "I believe that Phi Theta gives opportunities to those members who put forth an ef- fort to improve the organization. Hopefully, scholarships and other awards will be given to our members after we accomplish our goals," said Sherry Hairstyling • Barbershop Nails• Tanning Salon Specializing in men and women's hair Walk-ins & evening Appt. Available Call for your Style (517) 354-3303 140 South Ripey Alpena, MI 49707 Srebnik, the treasurer of Alpena's chapter of PTK. One thing that the group is required to do is to partici- pate in one major project each year. Last year PTK sponsered an AIDS Aware- ness presentation in the college's new theater, which was a complete success. This year's endeavor will be • a family oriented project entitled, "Family: Myth, Meta- phor, and Reality." Phi Theta Kappa will be holding monthly meetings in which all members are en- couraged to attend and get involved. These meetings will usually be held on the last Wednesday of every month and will be advertised around campus. The Best \lalue Under The Sun.- •Pool • Sauna • Whirlpool • In-Room Jacuzzis 1496 M-32 W. • Alpena, Ml 49707 (517) 356-6118 For Alpena Reservations Call: 1-800-582-9050 'Ifie Law office of Mark John Hunter (jenera{ Practice of Law (517) 356-3171 Hours: Noon to 5p.m. Monday thru Friday