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appreciation
July 2009 
What was the best thing that happened yesterday?
Posted on Jul 27th, 2007
by 
martha
martha
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for July 27, 2007:
Bunches of good things happened yesterday, and gee, I'm not sure I think hierarchically about which one is the best. I do think that living every day noticing, and in celebration and gratitiude about all the good things life can bring, and then taking the not-so-good things as just part of the deal, if possible... you know.
I'm happy about the Advocacy Institute we're creating this summer where I work. I got some funding through a grant, and we're creating a program that pairs our students with community residents. (The student gets to choose the community resident.) They do an interview, which is actually a follow-up to a research process that we did in the spring, but the interview will give us more in-depth information. During the interview, the student will tell the resident about our advocacy program and show them our brochure, if they seem at all interested. Then, if they want to, the student and the resident become a "mutually mentoring pair," who will attend a workshop, in a very relaxed format, where we just discuss and explore what kinds of things there is interest in working on, in the community--and what skills or support might the participants need in order to feel confident about taking a deeper look into their area of interest. The advocacy program has 3 focuses: Parenting/Education advocacy (building parents skills in reading with kids, working with school teachers and staff, etc.), Health Care advocacy (we offer many health/nursing career courses, so this is a natural fit for students who are interested in community health issues), and then Community Leadership (kind of a wild card, where an individual's interests can be developed). We will be able to offer noncredit courses, ESL and training in public speaking skills through an associated Americorps program, so there will be some good resources in place to support people who have been hesitant about "going to college," but who want to step in and develop their skills. Sooooooo, anyway, that's the background.
So many wonderful things have simply "fallen into place" as this advocacy program has come together. People have actually been walking around, looking at each other, and saying, "It's a 'God Thing!" :) Seriously, it has been like being in the middle of the unfolding of a giant miracle. It has been like the answer to prayers.
And the good--maybe the best, I don't know--thing that happened specifically yesterday was putting the draft brochure for the Advocacy Institute on my Dean's desk, and it was really good stuff, and it was something she had dreamed about for a long time--it was really her idea, and another person's, too. And then suddenly, it's coming into reality! Something amazing. Stuff like this just doesn't happen, does it? Well, ---sometimes, it does!!!
I'm happy about the Advocacy Institute we're creating this summer where I work. I got some funding through a grant, and we're creating a program that pairs our students with community residents. (The student gets to choose the community resident.) They do an interview, which is actually a follow-up to a research process that we did in the spring, but the interview will give us more in-depth information. During the interview, the student will tell the resident about our advocacy program and show them our brochure, if they seem at all interested. Then, if they want to, the student and the resident become a "mutually mentoring pair," who will attend a workshop, in a very relaxed format, where we just discuss and explore what kinds of things there is interest in working on, in the community--and what skills or support might the participants need in order to feel confident about taking a deeper look into their area of interest. The advocacy program has 3 focuses: Parenting/Education advocacy (building parents skills in reading with kids, working with school teachers and staff, etc.), Health Care advocacy (we offer many health/nursing career courses, so this is a natural fit for students who are interested in community health issues), and then Community Leadership (kind of a wild card, where an individual's interests can be developed). We will be able to offer noncredit courses, ESL and training in public speaking skills through an associated Americorps program, so there will be some good resources in place to support people who have been hesitant about "going to college," but who want to step in and develop their skills. Sooooooo, anyway, that's the background.
So many wonderful things have simply "fallen into place" as this advocacy program has come together. People have actually been walking around, looking at each other, and saying, "It's a 'God Thing!" :) Seriously, it has been like being in the middle of the unfolding of a giant miracle. It has been like the answer to prayers.
And the good--maybe the best, I don't know--thing that happened specifically yesterday was putting the draft brochure for the Advocacy Institute on my Dean's desk, and it was really good stuff, and it was something she had dreamed about for a long time--it was really her idea, and another person's, too. And then suddenly, it's coming into reality! Something amazing. Stuff like this just doesn't happen, does it? Well, ---sometimes, it does!!!
Access: Public
That's a really cool program, I don't think my college had anything like that. We had music club. Which was essentially DDR club. >.> But awesome, I hope its successful!