Life is a highway

I'll take a brief break to tell you a little about my latest project. My materials: maps and stickers. Lots of them.

As you know, I compiled a database of over 320 organizations and agencies throughout our 7-county region that are not currently OBB sites but that, we believe, could make potentially good sites. While part of my assignment is to increase the number of OBB sites in each county, I hope to employ some strategy in my site recruitment.

Most of our current, active sites, are located in urban areas of each county, with many of them only a few blocks from each other. This over-saturation of urban OBB sites tends to be particularly prevalent in Northeast Ohio. Here in Southwest Ohio, we have also found that with so few local, rural OBB sites, many rural families and individuals are not being served.

Last week at community training orientation, Sam Flores, a VISTA from the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio, told me about a project that she has been working on to address over-saturation issues that involves mapping all OBB sites. She tipped me off to obtain maps from county engineers and to create Google maps to get a better idea of where our current sites are located and where we really need more sites. I ordered [free] maps from each of the seven counties in my region and over the past two days, I have been working on plotting each of the current sites on the appropriate county map, as well as creating a Google map of each county's sites.

Here's how I'm doing it:
I type in the address of the site from our spreadsheet into Google maps. I save the spot on the map, then find it on my paper map, where I place the appropriate sticker to represent which type of site it is.

A green star sticker denotes an active OBB site, while a green star with a black dot denotes an active site that is open to the public. (One concern among Regional Coordinators and VISTAs around the state is that too many sites serve only their own clients and are not open to the general public. While the number of OBB sites may be high in an area, that number can be deceiving if the general public can not access any of those sites. It's good to have an accurate depiction of the sites' policy.)

So far I have only plotted 48 current, active sites (green star, green star/black dot) for Butler, Warren, and Montgomery counties. I'll continue working on plotting the remaining counties' current sites, before moving on to the potential sites in the database. I imagine a gold star will denote a potential OBB site that is currently partnered with Shared Harvest, and a blue star will denote a potential OBB site that is not currently affiliated with the foodbank. I might also use red or silver stars to show where we can access computer labs for trainings or meeting rooms for presentations.

So thanks, Sam, for the great idea--not only are we able to get a better picture of the sites in each county, but I am learning a lot more about the region without having to leave the office!

Say cheese!

Check out this good-looking bunch of VISTAs! This photo was taken on the last day of our Community Trainer Orientation in Columbus last week.

In this photo: Savannah Turner, Clintonville-Beechwold CRC; Kaitlyn Baker, Shared Harvest Foodbank; Alex Ives, Wilmington OBB Direct Service Office; Annen Stuckert, Wilmington OBB Direct Service Office; Sarah Grace Harpster, Lutheran Social Services of NWO; Robert Fellows, Clark County Habitat for Humanity; Leslie Liedtke, United Way of Coshocton County; Tara Pavlovcak, Cleveland Foodbank: Ashtabula; Patricia Russo, Second Harvest Foodbank of Mahoning Valley; Zach Rinker, Second Harvest Foodbank of CCL; Sharon Loukas, West Ohio Food Bank; Shelby Edwards, United Way of Hancock County; Michelle Lydenberg, Free Store Foodbank; Samantha Flores, Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio; Joree Jacobs, Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank; Danielle Gray, Senior Community Service Employment Program; Robin Stears, Girard Multi-Generational Center

Click for the cheesiest

To all you do-gooders out there,

Go to this site--http://brands.kraftfoods.com/sharealittlecomfort/

Every time you click, Kraft donates 10 boxes of mac 'n cheese to Feeding America. You can only click one time a day (but you can fill out an email form to tell all of your friends about it too!) and the promotion is only going on through 7/31/09, but hey, every click counts! Also, check out the coupons posted for some cheaper cheese of the mac 'n variety.

And this one--http://www.freerice.com/

Brush up on your vocabulary, foreign languages, art, and more while also feeding the hungry! For every question you get right, 10 grains of rice will be donated to hungry people around the world.

Look, Ma, no hands!

I am proud to report that my first community training went well today! There were, though, a few mishaps along the way. The road into Xenia is known as route 35, and branches into a business route into downtown Xenia and a separate route that would lead you around the city and further east, closer to Washington Court House. Because my training was at the Jobs and Family Services Office in Xenia, and because the directions didn't specify, I assumed that I should take the business route to my destination. Wrong choice--I couldn't find my final turn anywhere and I only had about 20 minutes until the class was to begin.

Help!

A little panicked, I called Meredith and she quickly got me back on track. I eventually arrived to find her standing in line at the front desk of the Greene County Department of Jobs and Family services waiting to be directed to the computer lab. At one point, a caseworker shouted through the Plexiglas window casing to see if any of us had appointments. No one responded, but when she saw our laptops and training materials, she hastily directed us to the media room in a different section of the building. We gladly left the line and ventured to our room, only to find it locked. I returned to the front desk in search of the key, but ended up at the end of the line we had just left. Finally, I caught the eye of another caseworker and secured a key to the room. I also asked that someone come and check on us in a few minutes in case we encountered any other problems. And sure enough, when I unlocked the door, we found: no computers. We opened every door we could find, but ended up with a bunch of open closets and exit routes. Eventually, a woman from the office found us and directed us to the right location--a little lab containing 6 computers.

The computer lab was situated in the middle of offices and cubicles, and it was enclosed only by partitions that didn't quite reach the ceiling. Needless to say, throughout the day we could hear noise from caseworkers processing applications with their clients, and they could hear us. While the computers were nice, a little more privacy would have been ideal. This was Meredith's and my first time using the computer lab, and we agreed that I should continue looking for additional computer labs for future trainings throughout the county. I'm working on it!

The presentation went well--I quickly relaxed and felt my voice lose its quiver a few minutes into the training. I surprised myself with my confidence! But I encountered my next frustration when my trainees began using the computers. Out of my 5 students, one was particularly...methodical...during the first practice scenario. She had only made it through half of the program when everyone else had finished the first scenario. I asked the others to try out some optional scenarios so that the woman could have a chance to catch up. Finally, we couldn't wait any longer and we had to go to lunch. She was close to finishing the scenario, but never made it all the way to the end. Fortunately, she had another chance in the afternoon to complete a full scenario, this time with a partner. We moved quickly through the afternoon, and we even finished 15 minutes ahead of schedule! The participants were surprised to learn that that had been my first training, which was a great feeling to end on.

On my way home, I realized that no matter how prepared I am, I can never anticipate the issues and challenges participants may bring to the class, including a lack of computer knowledge. This year I hope to increase my patience and learn how to better troubleshoot when such issues arise. I also look forward to feeling more comfortable navigating each of the 7 counties in my region--that, or getting a GPS unit!

Training wheels

I'm back from Columbus and I'm taking off the training wheels for my first community training tomorrow in Xenia, Ohio. As you know, the last step of my certification process is to conduct two trainings of my own. Of course, Meredith will be with me, but for the most part, I'll be in charge of the 6-hour class.

I spent the day preparing for my class by gathering 2 training booklets, marketing materials, and practice materials for each of the 5 people in my class. I also entered information into our statewide spreadsheets for the first time. Tomorrow, Suzanna from the OBB state office will access the information I entered and create log-in names and passwords for the people who attend my class. I'm excited to be linked to the other community trainers in the state!

But I'm also getting a little nervous. According to my resume, I am an experienced public speaker, so I should have nothing to worry about. But OBB community trainings last all day, and the information we cover is complicated and extensive. We have applications for at least 22 benefits and programs, and I have to teach all of the new counselors not only how to use the software, but also a little about each of those programs. I'm nervous that I will leave out important information or become so flustered that the class loses confidence in me and the OBB. I know Meredith will be there for back up, and I look forward to learning how I can improve my trainings. But honestly, I have perfectionistic tendencies and just I want to do this right the first time.

I'm going to look through my materials a few more times tonight and practice at least a portion of my presentation. Wish me luck!