Feed Your Mind

You spent Thanksgiving feeding your belly. Now take some time to feed your mind! For those of you who missed the Living on the Stipend training here is a sample one of the resources, a listing of free/cheap educational opportunities available across the state:

• EnCorps: This website offers free resources and tutorials for AmeriCorps members on topics like recruitment, planning trainings, and post-service life.
• EXCO (Experimental Community Education of the Twin Cities): Take or teach free community education classes or workshops on a variety of topics with EXCO. Check the website for current listings.
• Goodwill Community Foundation Learn Free: A fan of distance learning? Looking for free online classes on a variety of topics including finance, Excel, or basic math? Look no further than Learn Free.
• InterCorps Council of Minnesota: The ICC’s Training and Education Committee will offer free monthly trainings for AmeriCorps members in 2011-2012. Follow the ICC website and social media platforms for training updates. Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ICCofMN or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ICCMN
• Libraries: Libraries are bastions of knowledge. Not only do they house reference librarians and various types of media, many also offer free computer classes, author talks, or historical/cultural events. Check out your local library’s website for upcoming events.
• Mind Tools: A professional development website with many free tools covering topics like program and time management, creativity, and communication. Feeling stressed at your service site? Consider taking the burnout self-test.
• MN Youth Intervention Programs Association: YIPA hosts trainings on a variety of topics related to working with youth throughout the year and will give discounts to AmeriCorps members. Don’t be afraid to ask!

Holiday Cheer

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Bridge to Benefits

Trainings:

The last week of November is chock full of great training opportunities. Here is a sampling:

• VISTA budget getting you down? Come to the ICC’s FREE Living on the Stipend training on November 29 from 6-7:30 PM at the Merriam Park Library in St. Paul. Learn about and share tips and resources for stretching those pennies.
• Interested in fundraising or development work? The MN Council of Nonprofits is hosting a training double feature on December 1–Art of Asking and MN Foundations. Save money by registering for both!
• Need some help creating a volunteer handbook? MAVA is hosting a webinar entitled Developing a Volunteer Handbook on December 6.
• Looking to gain a little more cultural competency? Neighborhood House’s Refugees and Immigrants: A Provider’s Perspective takes place on November 30.

Cheap Eats/Food Resources:

Looking to spice up your cheap dining options? Consider trying one of these delicious and reasonably priced ethnic restaurants in the Metro.

• Black Sea: A Turkish restaurant with awesome vegetarian options on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul.
• Maria’s Cafe: A Colombian restaurant famous for its corn pancakes located on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis (right next to PPL!).

Free/Cheap Entertainment:

• Think English Renaissance theater productions are beyond your budget? Think again! The Classical Actors Ensemble  offers sliding scale ticket prices and a pay-what-you-can performance for each production.

• Looking for a fun way to expand your repertoire of good reads AND meet new people? Consider joining/starting a book club! Many local libraries have monthly book clubs or you can join Books and Bars, a Minneapolis group that’s part book club, part happy hour.

Volunteer Opportunities:

• Volunteering can give you more than that warm, fuzzy feeling. It can also get you awesome discounts or FREE tickets to theaters! The following Metro theaters actively seek volunteers and reward their hard work: Mixed Blood Theater, Hennepin Theater Trust, Stages Theater, Theater in the Round, and Frank Theater. Favorite theater not listed? It doesn’t hurt to ask if they need extra hands!

Cool Websites:

• VISTA budget stretched a little thin? Check out the Bridge to Benefits portal! It’s a simple online screening tool that tells you which social services you can apply for given your financial situation AND where to apply.

VISTA Exchange Network:

Your fellow VISTA Abigail is seeking donations for her site, A Chance to Grow. If you have any gently-used blankets, pillows, or family friendly (G or PG) DVDs that need a home, contact Abigail.