I was really happy to meet the next group of DASCorps members, if only briefly. One thing that stood out to me was the importance of documenting your achievements. It's helpful in a practical sense, having products that you can show to present and future employers. But its also important for your emotional well being as a VISTA. The year has a lot of ups and downs, and when things seem caught up in the day to day, or when projects are locked in limbo, it can be hard to remember what you've already done. Documenting my projects and accomplishments is something that I didn't do very well last year. I'm going to try to make up for it now.

Last summer/fall: made a video for a local basketball club, MASAE, in order to learn iMovie. Planned the org’s summer retreat. Got acquainted with the organization's yearly youth Symposium, and their community mapping project (they had a grant to develop mapping software). Went through their curriculum archives, and sat in on their Asian American Studies Workshop series.

Winter: reorganized the org's physical library (still in the process of the digital catalogue). Spent a lot of time building up the org's relationships with other Asian American youth groups and nonprofits. Wrote a bunch of grants that failed, and the community mapping project lost steam. Planned the org’s winter retreat.

Spring/Summer: coordinated the launch of a city wide Asian American youth Steering Committee. Got a grant from the city. Got my organization accepted as a summer job site. Tested my own Asian American Studies curriculum. Launched the org’s youtube site.

And all the while, compiling and testing stand alone workshops for high school youth, making flyers, etc.

Comment from Ben Sheldon on September 2, 2010 - 11:00am

Hey neighbor. Be sure to share some of your workshops with us so we can put them in the Artifacts section of our website: http://transmissionproject.org/resources And we'll try not to be strangers and come downstairs sometime. Watch out for new students.

"The mission of KDHX is to build community through media, with diverse and independent voices that enrich the perspectives of our audiences."

Here at KDHX we're finishing up a brand-new website. It's been a year-long project, starting from surveys, research, and whiteboard brainstorms and ending up with a website that will help KDHX fulfill its mission in new ways.

What makes this new website great is that it takes "community through media" to a new level. It provides a new, rich medium through which KDHX DJs, programmers, and producers can deliver and add to their content. At the same time, it creates a space for people to engage with that media and continue the conversation. This means a far richer experience than a website that's just about the social aspect, just about posting media, or just has information about an organization.

I was really quite intimidated by the scope of the project when we started a year ago. Having been in charge of quite a few areas in which I had no background or experience, I've learned an incredible amount over the past year (probably more practical development skills than I gained in four years of college). Reading back over some email exchanges and some meeting notes from the beginning of the project reminds me of just how far we've come.

One of the hardest and most rewarding things we had to do actually had nothing to do with technology. KDHX encompasses a quite diverse group of people; the staff members, volunteers, DJs, producers, interns, and community members I have worked with and consulted brought a wide range of ideas, needs, and passions to the project. This variety is a huge asset to the project and the organization, but coordinating and aligning such different opinions was a challenge. We've had to make sure that everyone's opinion is heard and taken into account while keeping the resulting website from ending up as just the least common denominator of all of these inputs, and it's great to feel that we've accomplished that.

I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to work here with such fun people! My year as an AmeriCorps VISTA is up, but my experiences of both community and media at here at KDHX are an ongoing gift.

[This is actually a post I wrote for our organization's blog to sum up my year here. The new website is at next.kdhx.org!]

Comment from Howard Fisher on August 19, 2010 - 11:00am

It sounds like you had a really positive experience overall, Robyn. Would you be willing to talk more about it? I'm doing research for the Transmission Project on past Corps members' work involving database management and websites.

Project

Find New Media Arts Center San Diego location to incorporate a media store, lounge, and workshop space.

Latest Happenings

I located an ideal space at the edge of the North Park redevelopment area. It's 6000 sq. ft. and very affordable. Attention will now turn to securing bids for remodeling and seeking redevelopment money from the city.

Challenges

Meeting requirements to secure city redevelopment funding will be daunting.

Resources

I'm identifying persons interested in assisting us with development plans such as person to draft architectural drawings.

Looking Forward

Much work has to be done to prepare written proposal, PowerPoint presentation, and remodeling plans for city Redevelopment Agency.

Well, the weather has been getting nice and I've been focusing on what I want to try to get done before the end of my term at the Community Software Lab.

My recent work has focused mostly on creating a set of development tools to be used internally to help streamline the process of creating new development user environments to accomodate the influx of summer volunteers we just received. I took a 20 - 30 step process that spanned across a few checklists and automated it into a single command where you give the name of the development user and a few details that can't be calculated (that user's account name on launchpad.net and their primary, non-CSL email address) and it builds everything for you. Pretty slick. Right now I'm slogging through the creation of automated tests for all the subroutines in the module I created. A bit grinding but necessary.

On the personal front, I've continued my search for a job post-VISTA and have been to a few great meetups in the Boston area. One thing in particular I'm excited about is the upcoming New England GiveCamp on June 11th - 13th. Basically, its an event where teams of developers are put together to hack out a web application for a non-profit charity over the course of a weekend. I'm using this opportunity to improve my Drupal development skills while helping out a charity at the same time. Seriously, if you've got the weekend of the 11th free they still could use some volunteers, both technical and non-technical. Check out their website for more details: http://newenglandgivecamp.org/

Let me know if you plan on attending!

Good news!!!!! SEDC finally has a new, permanent Board of Directors and a permanent Executive Director. We recently got our new Board of Directors in April, and we just heard the news about the Executive Director yesterday. Having permanent leadership will help the organization to move forward. Basically, a lot of donors don't like to give money to an organization that doesn't have a permanent ED because that makes it look unstable. Now that we have a permanent ED, hopefully we will be able to receive more funding.

Also, I have a new idea for a way that SEDC can help clients to earn some additional income. My idea is that SEDC should open a store and sell Cambodian, Lao, Hmong, and Vietnamese items created by the clients. SEDC can take a 10 or 15% cut (we actually have to for legal reasons), and the rest of the profit can go to the clients. It would be kind of like the store Ten Thousand Villages that offers fair trade to people in other countries, only with people in America. I've already seen some birds they made for one of the caseworkers, Thida, and the birds are really amazing. I'd buy one, and I think other people would, too. I asked two caseworkers if they think their clients would want to do this, and they said yes, definitely.

One caseworker, Toua, had an idea that we could have classes at SEDC where the clients teach other people how to make the birds. He said we could charge a registration fee for the classes and use that money for SEDC's programs. I think it's a great idea! I plan to bring up both ideas at the next staff meeting and see what people think.

The only downside to the store is who would be in charge of running it? Would we be able to pay someone? Would the administrative assistant be able to do her own work and run the store too? Or maybe we could find volunteers to run it? I will bring up these questions also at the staff meeting and see what everyone says.

Also, here is a link to a video I put on You Tube of a volleyball tournament:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKFPtk-B3Ow

Unfortunately, right after this game the students on the losing side tried to beat up the students on the winning side...well, we are trying to teach them good sportsmanship, but it's a work in progress!

Josefina Luna is one of the kindest, warmest, friendliest women I've ever met. We started talking one day when we were both waiting to be let into the office, before I was given my own key. She speaks fragmented English, but it's a thousand times better than my broken Spanish. Still, she's been nice enough to teach me Spanish words and speak slowly to me in longer sentences so that I can understand her.

Yesterday, she told me the story of her life. In the Dominican Republic (her native country), she was an accountant. She said she focused mainly on auditing, which she loved. She had her own car and her own apartment.

Then the IMF decided it was time for the Dominican Republic to pay back its debts. The DR government didn't have the money, so it taxed middle and upper class people (Josefina was middle class). She became impoverished, so she moved to the United States. Here, she tried to get several accounting jobs, with no luck. Then, she tried to work as a manager at a factory, but she was rejected as being "overqualified." She removed her accounting experience from her resume and tried again. This time she was hired, but as a laborer. She had to get up at 5 a.m. to take the bus to the factory for work.

Now, she works at SEDC as a meal site worker. She prepares and serves food to elderly Meals on Wheels clients who are transported to SEDC three days a week during the lunch hour. She works only part-time, and she can't afford a car. She needs to take a test to be certified as a public accountant in the U.S., but her English is too limited for her to score well.

I feel like there must be a solution somewhere, but I can't think of it.

Anyways, right now I'm trying to make the file of the SEDC logo larger. It's a .jpg file now, and it has a low resolution, and I've been told that what we need is the original vector file. If we have that file, then we can blow up the logo as big as we want on a sign, poster, etc. Unfortunately, there's been so much staff turnover here that we have no idea who originally designed the logo. I called a local print company, and they said they can redraw the logo for us and put it into vector form, but the charge will be $100/hour. They estimate the time at 2-3 hours. We can't afford to pay that, and I certainly can't redraw it myself, so I don't know what we can do.

Also, I'm updating the website with new events, and I wrote a new version of the newsletter describing the SEDC Cambodian and Lao New Year event in April. I'm working on putting together an informational movie about SEDC and the work it does in the community.

Fortunately, we have a new 15-member Board of Directors, and we should have a permanent Executive Director by the end of the month. My supervisor is one of two candidates for the position, so I'm rooting for him, but we'll see what the Board decides.

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all doing well and may the warmer weather be treating you kindly and hopefully not causing your body to react to unfortunate world of allergens or even to the adjustment to the change in weather. My allergies are sucking bad right now, especially considering I do not even know what is causing this discomfort out here in the South West! GO NETI POT!

On a positive note, my service here with Quote...Unquote, Inc could not be going better. I am re-signing my VISTA membership with QUQ, YAY! I really feel confident in the work I am executing and I have a great staff support system, which is always reassuring.

I also attached a nice outline/spreadsheet that our fundraiser committee developed. Please check it out & provide feedback. This outline is proving itself effective as it is easier to organize which development ideas are more feasible than others.

Here is a list of some things I have been working on and developing (Every 2 weeks I send my boss a bi-weekly report of the things I have been doing, so it is easier to copy & paste that report into the field report):

-Researched an effective and efficient underwriting/membership tier system to assist with the fundraising committee to develop a membership package. This model will be used by Amelia Salas, who is QUQ's Underwriting/Sales staff person. When she meets with prospective sponsors this will help with the sale.

-Compiled content from other staff for the creation of our monthly e-newsletter and sent it out to all subscribers (I have also created a "How To create an e-newsletter" that will be used as a guideline for it to become eventually sustainable).

-Mike Trujillo and I developed a contract/template to send to the NM Film Office which will help to clarify the terms in which QUQ receives programming for Encantada TV and ways to cross-promote each organization

-Had a meeting with Regina Chavez, Creative Albuquerque, discussing ways we can partner with eachother (cross-promotion)

-Had a phone meeting with Maresa Thompson from the Albuq. Convention & Visitors Bureau office about them submitting programming and QUQ receiving a trade membership that would allow QUQ to get listed on their website and to send out an article in their monthly e-newsletter

-Meetings about the Prometheus community radio tour--helping to develop the schedule for when they visit and how their presentations will pertain to QUQ and youth

-Fundraiser Meeting (every Tuesday) to update eachother about grant opportunities and to develop a strategies to execute some of these funding models

-Met with members of Enlace Comunartio and Citizen School to discuss ways QUQ can help them with creating a youth-focused PSA about healthy vs unhealthy relationships (focusing on domestic violence within teenage relationships)

-Had a productive phone meeting with Anne from Miro Community to discuss how QUQ is utilizing our Community Media Space to the best of our ability with highlighting local offices (ACVB) and giving Anne feedback on the site, advice

-Met with members from the NM Latin Dance Festival. John Ortiz & I discussed how we can help cross-promote each other. The exchange is that QUQ will work on media/videos for them and in exchange they give us advertising space

-Steve and I went to the NM Community Foundation website to create an organizational profile that as certain funding comes in through their office, when they do a search they match up projects with available funding. They basically have a searchable database that they use, they do not have an application.

-At the fundraising meeting, we delegated different grants to the members to research & report back their feasibility and application to QUQ (i.e. is it worth our time to fill out the application). I will include this in my "How to Outreach & Fundraise Guide."

-Also, Steve, Amelia and I finalized a draft for the "QUQ Annual Membership Package" which breaks down the membership into tier levels (different incentives for each category, more incentives for the "higher category"). This will hopefully be an incentive for producers to want to enhance their membership and purchase the higher of the categories. I will include this in my "How to Outreach & Fundraiser Guide."

-Attended the in-service training/staff development for the Prometheus workshop (learning about different communication models and how to effectively construct a message to convey to a particular audience)

-Attended the main Prometheus event at MACCS which presented more of a media literacy 101 and how to better understand your community and their issues

-Sent out outreach email through a media industry listserv requesting filmmakers to submit their programs to Encantada TV, I have received a few emails indicating their willingness to submit!

-Worked on compiling content/articles for the newsletter (which Steve and I decided to only send out once a month)

-I was brainstorming ways to better promote our community media space and I came up with sending out a monthly e-bulletin titles "Community Video Showcase." This will highlight a video from our CMS and send it to everyone on our newsletter mailing list. This had a high "open" rate from our subscribers.

-Had a follow up meeting with Maresa Thompson, from Albuq Visitors & Convention Bureau about finalizing our contract/trade agreement. QUQ will supply broll footage to ACVB and event/video coverage of the arts & culture festival "Savor" in June, in exchange we get a ACVB (valued at $400) membership

Things have been moving along out here. I'm currently in the process of developing our blog, the Idea Exchange. We've recruited bloggers and in addition to regular content, I've just started up a bi-monthly series called Introducing Our Bloggers, which allows our writers to share some information about themselves.

I've also created an online archive of our publications here: http://issuu.com/namac/docs

This is part of a bigger project to streamline our website and make it more user-friendly. I also make sure that front page is dynamic, with the graphic button changing regularly and regularly bringing in new articles.

I'm planning to build an Online Community Management toolkit once things with the Idea Exchange settle down a bit. I've struggled some over the past months trying to understand what exactly the role and function of an OCM is-- so I thought it would be a great way to pool resources that I've come across and add NAMAC's unique experiences to the discussion.

Projects

The NEW MEDIA STUDIO offers educational and networking opportunities for youth and local media artists. The focus is on acquiring marketable skills in the media arts and life skills which will improve academic performance and enhance workplace productivity.

Latest Happenings

The grant that I wrote and submitted to the Bravo Foundation was approved resulting in a $12,500 donation to the NEW MEDIA STUDIO.

Challenges

The challenges remain the same: Finding funding for the project.

Resources

I just try and identify foundations and companies that have funded similar projects in this area and tailor grant proposals to the their requirements.

Looking Forward

I do the same thing, day after day, week after week, month after month. I research and write grant proposals.